Ukraine: High-Tech 'Kill Zones’ And The New Economics Of Warfare (S01E73)

Thursday, May 21, 2026, IstanbulUkraine stunned the world last weekend with a fresh, robust drone and missile strike on Russia’s capital. It wasn’t the first Ukrainian attack on Moscow, but it was most definitely the most robust, targeting Russian energy infrastructure in an attempt to decrease Russia’s ability to wage war. In an exceptional and insightful interview, Ukrainian analyst Anastasiya Shapochkina, of the Eastern Circles think tank in Paris, discusses the latest attack and how it is the result of an ongoing tech-driven with ever murkier rules of engagement and frontlines. “The front line, as we have understood it, has disappeared,” she tells badlands. “It’s gotten replaced with a kill zone of about 30 kilometers and anything that goes anywhere near there is directly targeted and annihilated. It’s an environment completely saturated with drone presence, which means it’s absolutely transparent. The technology which now dominates the battlefield it allows both sides to see at night to see based on the heating that a body can produce.”Please listen or watch, comment, subscribe, and share.badlands is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit borzou.substack.com/subscribe