Ukraine has been implementing a long-term, well-planned grand strategy they should have been allowed to pursue all along, thus winning the war NATO hoped it would never have to fight.

With a reported six or seven A-50 AEW&C planes still operational, and the world’s biggest airspace to watch, the Kremlin now faces a burgeoning Ukrainian drone threat, with a diminished A-50 fleet.

With its now four-month-old air bombardment campaign of Russia’s energy industry, Ukraine is exploiting gaps like Russia’s A-50 shortage to pursue more and more complex objectives.

The primary goal, measured by burning refineries and tanker loading terminals in Russia, and by Bloomberg and Reuters reports on the prevailing per-barrel price of Urals Blend or Russian Export Blend Crude Oil (REBCO), is to reduce Russian oil output and overseas energy earnings.