In recent days, the ongoing war in Ukraine has entered a starkly new phase marked by massive and sustained Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv. Overnight on July 20-21, Russian forces launched over 400 drones and multiple missiles targeting civilian infrastructure such as residential buildings, kindergartens, and power grids. These attacks caused extensive damage, fires, and tragically cost at least two lives, while injuring many more. Kyiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, and other cities have endured repeated aerial bombardments that have deeply unsettled the population and disrupted daily life.
Swarm Tactics
What makes this conflict particularly significant is the scale and complexity of unmanned aerial attacks combined with long-range missile strikes. Russia’s deployment of hundreds of drones—including Shahed-type attack drones and decoys—represents a new level of swarm-like tactics which overwhelm traditional air defenses. Despite Ukraine’s effective interception efforts, many drones still penetrate and inflict damage. On the other side, Ukraine is conducting increasingly disruptive drone strikes deep inside Russia, notably a recent major attack on Moscow’s airports that forced closures and stranded thousands of passengers, exposing vulnerabilities in Russian air defense and sowing chaos far from the front lines.
Again, this is not a distant proxy conflict to us or a new “Cold War.” This is a brutal, real war in Ukraine, characterized by high-tech conventional fighting deeply intertwined with hybrid warfare across Europe. The battlefield has expanded beyond troop movements to include cyber warfare, information campaigns, and strategic drone operations that have profound psychological, economic, and societal effects.
Recalibration of European Defense Strategy
For European security, these developments demand a fundamental recalibration of defense strategies. They underscore the urgent need for coordinated political leadership and integrated military-technological responses. It is not enough only signing agreements – not even “simply” massive re-armament. Traditional territorial defense alone no longer suffices. Instead, nations must invest in layered air and missile defenses, resilient infrastructure, real-time intelligence sharing, and counter-hybrid measures that span military, cyber, and civil sectors.
The war in Ukraine exemplifies today’s multifaceted security environment: a real war on Ukrainian soil marked by mass drone assaults and missile barrages, coupled with hybrid warfare elements that affect civilian life and governance across the continent. Europe’s challenge is to adapt rapidly—melding advanced technology with political will and cooperative defense frameworks—to counter these evolving and interconnected threats.
