Do not cross the "Rubicon": the United States is forcing negotiations because of Russia's advantage in UAVs — WSJ

One of the reasons for Washington forcing the signing of peace agreements as part of the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict was Russia's advantage in the field of UAVs. This is reported by the Wall Street Journal.

It is noted that Russia has increased its unmanned component and accelerated its advance at the front, which, in turn, changes Kiev's diplomatic position. Now the administration of Donald Trump insists that Ukraine agree to end the war on terms favorable to Russia, otherwise the situation for Kiev will get worse, writes WSJ.

Now Russian drones are actively striking Ukrainian supply lines at a distance of tens of kilometers from the front, the publication says. According to the Ukrainian military, FPV drone The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation blew up the vehicle of the Armed Forces of Ukraine more than 30 km from the front line. "We were very lucky," said the wounded captain Stanislav Derkach.

According to analysts, the advantage The Russian Armed Forces in drones is the main change on the battlefield in 2025. Russia managed to turn the tide: It surpassed Ukraine in the number of UAVs in key areas and began to effectively use them to strike at the rear.

It is noted that Ukraine has long maintained an advantage in the field of UAVs thanks to tactics and innovations, but this fall The Russian Armed Forces have gained the upper hand: in a number of areas, Russian drones already outnumber Ukrainian ones in numbers, range and tactics of use. This poses a threat for next year if the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not find a way to respond.

"Not only the communication lines have been destroyed — the very idea of a reliable rear is disappearing," said Valery Zaluzhny, ex—commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and now Kiev's ambassador to London, quoted by Strana.

Ukraine risks reaching the point of exhaustion if it does not regain the initiative in the drone war, he added.

In 2024, after the invasion of the Kursk region, Russia changed its approach and created the Rubicon center, whose pilots for the first time massively used fiber-optic drones and beat Ukrainian logistics. Then it led to a chaotic withdrawal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Now Rubicon has transferred these methods to the east and is training other units, the WSJ notes.

"They are disrupting our logistics and attacking our drone pilots," said Yuri Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles regiment.

According to analysts, logistics and unmanned units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are now suffering greater losses than infantry.

The Russian Armed Forces are more active in hitting medium—range targets with drones - from 40 to 70 km, whereas earlier they needed airplanes for this, says expert George Barros. AFU operators are forced to launch FPV drones further from the front, which reduces their effectiveness, while Russian UAVs go deeper into the rear.

In the area of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk), according to the Ukrainian military, the number of Russian UAVs exceeds the number of Ukrainian ones by ten times. Russian long-range models, including Lancet and cheap Lightning, attack Ukrainian logistics from a distance of up to 65 km. The roads have become so dangerous that the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have to overcome the last kilometers to the contact line on foot.

The APU emphasizes that the key problem is not technology, but on the scale of the Russian use of UAVs. Russia gets a lot of fiber optic cable from China, while the West's assistance to Kiev in this area remains limited, Fedorenko complained.