At last, Putin is getting a taste of his own medicine

Telegraph

01-06-2025

Sunday, June 1, may go down as one of the most significant days of this war. It may be a sign that the pendulum is at last swinging in Ukraine's favour. The Russian Air Force has apparently just suffered a terrible blow, with up to 40 fighter jets, including long range nuclear bombers, destroyed thousands of miles from Ukraine.
In what could be a sequential attack, the Russian rail network near the Ukraine border has been decimated by several strikes, and even Russian bases in the Arctic have been hit. This would have been considered unthinkable a few months ago, including by Putin no doubt.
It is seemingly now apparent that restrictions of the use of Western weapons by Ukraine are being lifted. This brings into range anything within 500kms of Ukraine – including Moscow. The Ukrainian military has also confirmed they had developed a drone with a range of over 3,000kms. Indeed, we may have seen both these capabilities in action today, and even the great Russian propaganda and disinformation machine will struggle to portray this as anything but a disaster for Putin and the Russian forces.
Where is all the air defence protecting these airfields and trains? Perhaps protecting Putin's palaces, or given away to North Korea in return for ammunition?
The timing of these attacks is significant: discontent is mounting in Russia amongst the rank and file. As Putin drives their economy and way of life into the deck, rumblings of rebellion will be even harder to stifle.
This is not one way traffic and Russia also launched a massive drone attack over the weekend, almost exclusively hitting civilian targets. Putin seems to believe if you kill enough people they will acquiesce and give up, but his instincts and his tactics could soon bite him back hard, very hard.
Now that much of Russia is now in range of Kyiv attacks, be it drones, missiles or the frighteningly efficient assassins of Ukraine's secret service the SBU, how will the Kremlin respond?
This bold action also lays bare the inadequacies of the UK military. Could Britain execute such ingenious and effective attacks, after 20 years of funding cuts and neglect from successive governments, such that the only way we can ensure the security of our Islands in future is through the re-introduction of tactical nuclear weapons? Putin has exploited our lack of conventional deterrence for too long, but he respects strength, and nothing shows strength in this context more than nuclear capability.
The level, range and intensity of these attacks shows that after three years of repelling Russian attacks, Ukraine is now returning the compliment. As the UK Strategic Defence Review is unveiled, let us hope it reveals that we are now learning from the Ukrainian experience and developing capabilities for tomorrow's battlefield and capabilities which will deter tyrants like Putin, rather than just kit that looks good on the parade ground.