Ukraine’s Attack Exposed America’s Achilles’ Heel

It turns out Volodymyr Zelensky did have another card to play.

Ukraine’s astonishing drone attack on military airfields and critical assets deep inside Russia on Sunday blindsided the Kremlin, destroyed at least a dozen strategic bombers and marked a seismic shift in modern warfare.

The mission, dubbed Operation Spider’s Web, was a fresh reminder to leaders of the world’s most advanced militaries that the toughest threats they face today are not limited to their regular rivals with expensive gear. Instead, swarms of small, off-the-shelf drones that can evade ground defenses can also knock out billions of dollars of military hardware in an instant.

What happened in Russia can happen in the United States — or anywhere else. The risk facing military bases, ports and command headquarters peppered across the globe is now undeniably clear.

We don’t yet know if the operation will impact the Trump administration’s push for a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, but it nonetheless delivered a tactical defeat to Russia’s military and will put pressure on President Vladimir Putin to respond. And what is almost certain is that the innovative use of inexpensive technology will inspire other asymmetric attacks that inflict serious damage against a well-heeled adversary.

Mr. Zelensky, Ukraine’s president, called the attack, which was planned by Ukraine’s Security Service, or S.B.U., his country’s “longest-range operation.” By smuggling more than 100 explosive-laden quadcopter drones across the border in cargo trucks, Ukraine managed to evade air defenses and then fly the drones undetected above four Russian bases, where they damaged or destroyed what Ukrainian officials said were more than 40 high-value aircraft used in the assault on Ukrainian cities. Those involved with the attack left Russia before it began, Ukrainian officials said. The operators could watch live video and hover the aircraft above their targets before steering them into a nosedive.

The extent of the attack — and the choice of targets — opens a new chapter in how drones are used in modern warfare, one that was improbable even a decade ago. The widespread availability of technology in the intervening years has empowered Ukraine to have mostly free rein in the skies above its larger, wealthier enemy, despite having a limited traditional air force.