A new Ukrainian tactic is proving effective, with Russia suffering significant damage

NATO has unofficially confirmed that Ukrainian drone strikes have disrupted up to 15% of Russia's refinery production capacity. This offensive, using drones capable of striking targets up to 1,000 kilometers deep inside enemy territory, has been in use for several weeks and has been made possible by the use of AI.

"In terms of damage, the attacks have disrupted over 10% of Russian refinery production capacity, maybe even over 15%. Depending on the extent of the damage, repairs could take some time" Reuters reported, citing an anonymous NATO source. A few days ago, the Ukrainians reported that they had disrupted 12% of production capacity, while Reuters calculated that the figure was 14%.

Ukraine attacks Russian refineries, choosing specific targets

Both Russia and Ukraine use drones to attack critical infrastructure, military facilities, and concentrated troop formations. In recent weeks, Ukraine has been using drones with AI, allowing it to strike targets up to 1,000 km deep inside Russia. The Ukrainians have adopted the tactic of attacking refineries. "Less and less Russian energy and critical infrastructure is safe from attack", said an official quoted by Reuters.

Russian Infrastructure Minister Nikolai Shulginov claims that the refineries will return to full production capacity by June.

It is impossible to assess whether the Russians are telling the truth, but restoring the facilities to working order within two months would be a good result, given how the Ukrainians are choosing their targets. They are attacking refineries that use a lot of Western technology, to which Russia has limited access, which is making repairs more difficult" CNN's Noah Sylvia, an analyst at the Royal United Services Institute, told CNN.

Ukrainians are developing their drones. They use AI

To attack refineries far from the Russian border, the Ukrainians are using drones with longer range and more advanced capabilities. Some of them operate using artificial intelligence algorithms, which makes navigation easier and allows them to avoid jamming of their signal - CNN learned from a source close to the matter.

"Each unit has a computer terminal and preloaded satellite and terrain data. Each flight is coordinated in advance with our allies, and the aircraft (drones - ed.) navigate according to the plan provided to them and allow us to hit targets with meter accuracy," the source says.

"They have something called 'machine vision', which is a form of AI. You simply take the model we have on the processor and train it to recognize the geography and the target it's flying to. Once the drone is released, it can recognize where it is on its own. It doesn't need any satellite connection for this, it's fully autonomous," explains Noah Sylvia.

Chris Lincoln-Jones, a former British military officer and expert in drone and artificial intelligence warfare, says this level of autonomy, while still low, has never been achieved before. He added that it is still a technology in its early stages of development.