How Ukraine hid drones in mobile homes and blew up nuclear-capable aircraft in Russia
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'The smartest thing Putin could do right now would be to not respond immediately,' wrote Vladimir Pastukhov, a Russian political scientist based in London. 'Putin's best response is to delay his response – which he is good at.'
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'Putin does not have many spectacular 'good' moves in the current situation,' he continued, 'Ukraine has no comparable facilities that can be destroyed without infernal civilian casualties and enormous damage to the environment … which would traumatize the already troubled Trump.'
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Pro-Kremlin military blogger Mikhail Zvinchuk, who runs the Rybar Telegram channel, said that the attack would cause substantial 'moral and psychological damage' and that Ukraine's operation was not only aimed at exploiting gaps in defense but also 'creating colossal tension' in society and discrediting the security services.
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If Ukraine can attack air bases, he speculated it could also attack highways and transport routes, stirring panic.
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'Of course, from the point of view of undermining Russia's military potential, this is an extremely unpleasant story, especially in the context of the loss of the Tu-95MS,' Zvinchuk said, referring to the mainstay of Russia's fleet of nuclear bombers.
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Russian opposition figures meanwhile marveled online at Ukraine's 'amazing' and 'crazy' operation.
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'Everyone says that the only way to negotiate with Putin is to negotiate from a position of strength. Well here it is,' wrote Russian opposition politician and former political prisoner Ilya Yashin on social media.
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Yan Matveyev, a military analyst at Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, described the attack as 'a direct and highly sensitive blow to the nuclear triad' that destroyed 'rare and expensive bombers.'
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'Most importantly, it reduced the Russian Air Force's ability to strike Ukrainian cities,' Matveyev wrote on Telegram.
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