Russia fired over 2,800 drones at Ukraine in August amid war tactic change

# Analysis Russia's deployment of over 2,800 drones in a single month represents a fundamental shift toward attrition warfare that prioritizes overwhelming Ukraine's air defenses through volume rather than precision. This tactic exploits a critical asymmetry: while Ukraine must expend expensive air defense missiles to counter each drone, Russia can manufacture cheaper unmanned systems at scale, gradually depleting Kyiv's finite inventory of Western-supplied interceptors. The practical consequence is that Ukrainian cities face increased casualties from successful strikes on civilian infrastructure, hospitals, and power grids, while simultaneously, Ukraine's ability to defend itself diminishes with each interceptor fired. Unless Western allies significantly accelerate air defense deliveries or develop cheaper counter-drone technologies, this escalation threatens to gradually erode Ukraine's defensive capacity through a war of attrition designed to outlast Western support.