Vladimir Putin: The Kremlin leader must explain the Ukrainian attacks to the Russian people.Image: keystone
Ukrainian air strikes regularly hit Russian territory away from the front lines. For Putin, this is a problem that can no longer be hidden and to which he must respond.
June 13, 2026, 10:04 p.mJune 13, 2026, 10:06 p.m
Charlotta Siemer / t-online
Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged some setbacks by the Russian military on the occasion of Russia Day. However, he did not address the full extent of Russia’s military challenges, explains the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The Kremlin chief is said to have particularly emphasized the challenges posed by Ukrainian drones during a conversation with Russian soldiers.
“We are fully aware of the problems that drones cause us,” the Kyiv Post quoted Putin as saying. “I know what it means in some cases to raise your head when these drones hang there like flies.” Accordingly, he emphasized that commanders report this to him every day. According to ISW, he claimed that the Ukrainian drone attacks were an attempt to sow discord in Russian society and cause economic damage.
A week earlier, Putin acknowledged damage caused by Ukrainian drone attacks during a meeting with journalists on the sidelines of the economic forum in St. Petersburg. “Unfortunately, some of them manage to break through,” he said, according to the AP news agency. And added that Russia has an air defense system. “We have to improve and strengthen it and that’s what we will do.”
Putin’s sudden willingness to speak publicly about the drone strikes is no coincidence. Ukrainian drones are no longer a secret problem hidden from the Russian public. They hit targets deep inside Russia, regularly set oil refineries on fire and attacked other industrial targets. After Ukrainian attacks, videos of Russians can be found on social networks expressing anger, fear and doubt as well as incomprehension.
Putin does not address the loss of territory
According to the Kyiv Post, Russia’s assurances follow a pattern: after the admissions that the Ukrainian drones are a problem and that Ukraine is quickly adapting to the course of the war, it always follows directly that Russia has new technologies and enough weapons. The only question is to select the most effective ones and get them to the front faster. So Putin’s public admissions are largely about convincing the Russian people that a solution exists. And so Putin does not address Russia’s net loss of territory over the past two months.
Since spring 2026, Ukraine has regularly attacked Russia with drone attacks aimed at energy infrastructure and military buildup. It can even report hits in places hundreds of kilometers behind the Ukrainian border. Russian air defense does not currently appear to be geared towards this.