‘Long-range sanctions’: Ukraine hopes strikes cause Russia fear and losses

Al Jazeera is given rare access to one of Ukraine’s long-range drone units tasked with targeting Russia.Deep strikes against Russia have greatly improved the outlook of many in Ukraine's army, a colonel told Al Jazeera [Screen grab/Al Jazeera]Published On 10 Aug 2026Eastern Ukraine – In a farm field in Ukraine" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="182179" data-entity-type="location">Eastern Ukraine, a choking engine interrupts the sound of crickets and nightingales.Then come indistinguishable shouts of male voices, followed by a crescendo – a loud sound like scissors tearing through wrapping paper.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Woman screams in fear as Ukraine war recruiters pounce on manlist 2 of 4Russian forces kill several in Ukraine, launch ‘brutal’ attack in Odesalist 3 of 4Germany warns of ‘daily hybrid warfare’ after explosive-laden drone foundlist 4 of 4‘Like the movies’: How Ukraine’s ground robots are changing rules of warend of listIt pierces the night as a brief flare of flame illuminates the sunflower field below.“Like an orchestra, every part has to work together in order for us to achieve effective strikes,” says Colonel Ray, commander of the Kairos Battalion of the Magyars Birds Brigade.Ukraine hopes its long-range strike campaign against Russia turns the tide of the conflict [Screen grab/Al Jazeera]The drone, roughly the length of a compact SUV with a wingspan of nearly 6 metres (19.7 feet), climbs into the night. Where exactly it is headed is known only to him.Before reaching its target, the drone will travel at about 160km/h (100mph), thousands of metres above the ground, passing over the bombarded cities and battlefields along Ukraine’s front line.Once it reaches cruising altitude, control is handed over to a command centre elsewhere in Ukraine.“You could pilot it from Pennsylvania once it’s up there,” the brigade’s spokesperson says, explaining how the drones navigate using satellite systems.Scaling upAlong its journey, the drone is careful to avoid towns and cities where it risks being intercepted.Data on Russian air defences is fed back to planners, helping give the hundreds of drones Ukraine now launches on some nights the best possible chance of making it through.Lately, Ukraine’s long-range drones are striking targets sometimes more than 2,500km (1,553 miles) inside Russia, reaching cities like Moscow and St Petersburg, across the Ural Mountains and even into Siberia.Their targets include oil refineries, factories and warehouses.While long-range drones are not new to the war, the scale of their use has changed.Ukraine now produces its own one-way attack drones by the hundreds, allowing it to cut through red tape from Western partners that once prevented it from striking deep into Russia.When it began ramping up such attacks in March, some Western allies urged restraint.The US-Israel war on Iran had already disrupted global energy markets, and Ukraine’s increasing attacks on Russian energy infrastructure have threatened to add further pressure.But Kyiv kept going.Ukrainian officials began calling the strikes “long-range sanctions”, a tongue-in-cheek way of arguing that Kyiv was enforcing, through drones, the economic pressure Western sanctions had failed to deliver.‘Do not touch! Moving part’ reads a label on a piece of Ukraine’s weaponry [Screen grab/Al Jazeera][Screen grab/Al Jazeera]The logic behind this is that Russia’s oil and gas industry remains a critical source of money for the state, accounting for roughly one-fifth of federal budget revenues.More recently, however, Ukraine’s long-range campaign has expanded beyond oil and gas.Among its targets is Wildberries, Russia’s largest online retailer. Ukraine says the company’s marketplace is used to sell dual-use goods, pointing to listings for items including body armour, military helmets, drone components and fibre optic cables used in drones that kill Ukrainian soldiers and civilians alike.“Thirty percent of all dual-use or military goods are bought and sold by [Russia’s] Ministry of Defence through Wildberries marketplace,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, tells Al Jazeera.He says the strikes have three objectives.“First, fear. Second, losses – business losses, lost revenue, lost goods, whatever it may be. And third, making [Russians] feel the reality of war.”‘It’s like a boxing match’Back at the launch site, the soldiers pack up quickly.Six drones have been propelled in about five minutes. Each flash carries the risk of exposing the position to Russian reconnaissance drones. For the crews responsible for a campaign reaching deeper and deeper into Russia, remaining hidden is crucial.These are just six of hundreds of drones that will be launched that night, Colonel Ray tells Al Jazeera. The next night, his team will likely do it all again.“It’s like a boxing match,” he says, describing the war. “In the first 10 rounds, professionalism is what matters. But in the final two championship rounds, it’s also about morale.”Ray says Ukraine’s success with its deep strikes has greatly improved the outlook of many in the army. As the war grinds on, the fight is increasingly one of endurance.“It comes down to one question: why are we doing this? I think the Russians still don’t know why they are doing this. But our guys have a clear understanding of what it is all for – because we are defending our people and our land.”