“Deep strikes cannot win a war,” Budanov said at a news conference in Riga.
“Deep strikes cannot kill everyone. Look at the example of the United States in Iran. Deep strikes provide support and serve as a means of influence and coercion.”
Budanov also pointed to Russia’s ever-expanding missile and drone strike campaign.
“Russia is basically showering [Ukraine] with ballistic and cruise missiles and long-range drones; they cannot force us to surrender,” he said.
Ukraine is also developing and testing its own high-speed interceptor drones in response to the emergence of Russian jet-powered drones, he added. The development of new or upgraded weapons is a natural stage in the evolution of military technology, he suggested.
“So now a jet-powered drone is competing against an
interceptor drone; these are standard contests,” he said.