Ukraine expanding drone strikes on Russian supply routes: analysts

The strikes coincide with a broader strengthening in the position of the Ukrainian army, which started making net battlefield gains this year for the first time since 2023, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

"Ukraine's successful mid-range and frontline drone strike campaigns are limiting Russia's ability to transport personnel to the frontline and to supply and sustain frontline positions," the ISW said in a report on Wednesday.

Among the roads that Ukraine has targeted are the M-14 highway linking southern Russia to the occupied Ukrainian cities of Melitopol and Mariupol, as well as routes to the Russian-held city of Donetsk, the report said.

Residents in Russian-occupied areas have also reported an increase in drone strikes targeting roads and vehicles.

One couple living near the Russian-occupied town of Debaltseve in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region told AFP they were using their car less amid an uptick in Ukrainian drone attacks.

Pro-Russian military blogger "1.infantry" reported last week that Ukraine was launching "mass daily attacks" on roads in the Russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region.

"These attacks are escalating daily," it said.

Pro-Ukrainian military outlet Shrike News last week reported it had mapped out 30 destroyed vehicles on a stretch of highway between Donetsk and Mariupol, as well as 15 between Crimea and the Russian city of Rostov.

AFP was not able to immediately verify this report or the ownership of the vehicles.

Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced earlier this week an expansion of Ukraine's medium-range drone strikes -- those that operate at a distance of between 30 to 200 kilometres (about 20 to 125 miles) -- in an attempt to blunt Russia's offensive operations.