Russia Switching War Strategy as Missiles Run Out

Russia is reportedly focusing on drone training while dealing with short supplies of missiles and military equipment used in the ongoing war with Ukraine.

While there have been indications that Russia has drastically reduced its use of missiles in Ukraine in recent months, the country may be building a large stockpile of the weapons to be used in an impending winter attack. In the meantime, Moscow may be turning to other weapons to continue its current assault.

Center for Naval Analyses (CNA) adviser Samuel Bendett, an expert on the Russian military and drone technology, wrote on Wednesday that Russia had learned "lessons" about Ukraine's success in using drones and was attempting to emulate Kyiv in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter.

Bendett cited a recent Russian-state media report that claimed Russia's Ministry of Defense is expanding an "FPV [first-person view] drone instructor program," which Bendett said aimed to further the goal of "institutionalizing FPV drone piloting as required knowledge" in Russian military academies.

"One of the key lessons the Russian military is taking from Ukraine is the need to train the FPV/quadcopter trainers who can then teach many others how to fly such drones," Bendett wrote. "The Russian MOD is trying to standardize such training."

"What's not clear is the extent of volunteer group involvements in these official MOD efforts, given that it's the volunteers that still provide most of the FPV training and FPV tech to the front," he added. "An official MOD connection to some of these efforts is likely."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Wednesday evening.

A report published by The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday claimed that Russian government officials had contacted allies to ask for the return of some military equipment and weapons that it had previously exported, possibly indicating that supplies for the Ukraine war are dwindling.

Egypt is reportedly planning to return around 150 helicopter engines beginning in December, while Moscow is said to have attempted similar deals with officials in Pakistan, Belarus and Brazil. It is not clear whether any plans to return other equipment or weapons have been set in motion.

Russia launched over 100 missiles toward Ukraine in September, but only 40 missiles in October, according to Ukrainska Pravda. The outlet claims that Moscow is capable of producing up to 120 longe-range missiles per month.

Ukraine's pursuit of drones to fend off the Russian invasion has been highly successful, with the country having launched an "Army of Drones" program months into the war. The success may have helped trigger a drone-based arms race between Moscow and Kyiv.

Drones have been a key component of the Russian arsenal over the past year, with Iranian-made Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones having been used most frequently. However, supplies of the Iranian drones have been shrinking, as they've either exploded at their targets or have been destroyed by Ukrainian forces.

Vadym Skibitskyi, representative for the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense, said earlier this month that Russia had "recently begun to increase production" on domestic drones made with "components supplied from Iran." Moscow was said to be falling short of its purported goal to build 200 drones per month.