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<\/p>\nBy striking eight targets across Russia, Ukraine could badly damage Russia\u2019s war machine, according to some U.S. experts.<\/p>\n
The Hudson target list details \u201ceight high-value and militarily plausible targets that Ukraine should pursue to weaken Russia\u2019s warfighting ability and increase the political cost of invading and occupying Ukrainian territory,\u201d wrote Hudson researchers Luke Coffey and Can Kasapo\u011flu.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWhile a single strike against any one of these targets would not by itself constitute a decisive blow, cumulatively, a sustained attack against several of them could significantly damage Russia\u2019s military infrastructure and complicate its continued aggression,\u201d the report argues.<\/p>\n
The Volga-Don Canal<\/a>, a 63-mile waterway connecting the Caspian and Black Seas, enables Russia to sail ships into the Black Sea, and Iran to ship weapons to Russia. Damaging the canal\u2019s 13 locks would be difficult: Though Russian air defenses in the area are weak, Ukrainian drones and missiles would still need powerful warheads and pinpoint accuracy. However, \u201ca successful strike would deal a major geopolitical blow to Russia as well as to the Islamic Republic,\u201d Coffey and Kasapo\u011flu argue. <\/p>\n \u201cMovement of military and commercial vessels between the Caspian and Black Sea would also slow and halt, causing economic disruption,\u201d according to the report.<\/p>\n A joint Russo-Iranian drone factory in the Russian republic of Tatarstan manufactures most of the Iranian-designed Shahed drones that have pummeled Ukrainian cities. While Ukraine probably can\u2019t destroy such an enormous facility through bombardment, it can target the factory\u2019s Achilles-heel, its electrical supply. <\/p>\n \u201cThe factory draws electricity primarily from the Tatarstan power grid, most likely sourced from the Nizhnekamsk Thermal Power Plant \u2014 a major generator in the region,\u201d the Hudson report noted. \u201cAny disruption to this regional energy network could impact factory operations.\u201d<\/p>\n Border crossing points between Russia and China convey Chinese electronics and other goods that sustain Russia\u2019s military and economy. In particular, 60% of cross-border rail traffic passes through the Manzhouli\u2013Zabaykalsk<\/a> and Suifenhe\u2013Pogranichny chokepoints. While Coffey and Kasapo\u011flu are careful not to advocate a Ukrainian attack on China, \u201cthere are several vulnerable and critical transit chokepoints within a 100-mile radius on the Russian side of each crossing.\u201d <\/p>\n The Hudson report identified four bridges that connect Russian-occupied Crimea with Russia. In addition to the Kerch Bridge \u2014 which Ukrainian attacks have periodically damaged \u2014 the Chonhar, Syvash and Henichesk bridges are also vital to Russian logistics. <\/p>\n \u201cThe West should prioritize arming Ukraine with the weapons it needs to destroy, or at least incapacitate, the Kerch Bridge,\u201d the report said. \u201cThe German Taurus missile, with its smart fuse technology and destructive warhead, remains the ideal weapon for this operation.\u201d<\/p>\n Rail bridges in Russia\u2019s Western Military District, which abuts Ukraine, were also flagged in the report. Much more than Western nations, Russia depends on rail transport to move troops and supplies. While previous attacks on trains and rail yards have achieved only limited success, destroying railway bridges, transformers and traction substations offers more promise. <\/p>\n \u201cIn the aftermath of such strikes, cascading bottlenecks would likely emerge across the broader rail network, creating secondary targets of opportunity for follow-on attacks,\u201d the report noted.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/5Z53VLRUTVELTKJ3HBKAA5DILQ.jpg\")
A Ukrainian officer shows a thermobaric charge of a downed Shahed drone launched by Russia in a research laboratory in an undisclosed location in Ukraine on Nov. 14, 2024. (Efrem Lukatsky\/AP)<\/p>\n