The allies Putin could arm to attack the West – and where they could strike

Nick Reynolds, a researcher at the Royal United Services Institute think-tank, agreed that Russia could seek to undermine Western foes by forcing them out of former strongholds abroad, or through “sub-threshold” warfare, like the recent spate of sabotage attacks in Europe. But he added that Russia now produces its own versions of Iran’s Shahed drones, which could provide a cheaper option for striking at Ukraine’s supporters. “This would be a much more economical way of supplying allies particularly in areas where there isn’t good air defence capability,” he said, adding the drones are “potentially very disruptive technology that can be produced at a fairly low price point”.