Rob Lee@RALee85
I disagree with this. Ukraine has destroyed or damaged Tu-22M3 and Tu-95MS bombers at Russian airbases before, they have repeatedly targeted airbases with Russian strategic aviation (including the recent strike on Engels), large-scale UAV strikes deep into Russian territory (including in the Moscow region) are now common, Ukraine has damaged or destroyed many Russian oil facilities, Ukraine previously did serious damage to the Kerch bridge, Ukraine has killed generals and other officials in Russia, Ukraine struck the Kremlin with a UAV, Ukraine conducted an offensive into Kursk, the Wagner mutiny, etc.
This war has been very costly for Russia and the costs have increasedโincluding many embarrassing episodesโbut the war continues. I'm skeptical this will significantly alter Moscow's perception of whether to continue the war because bringing the war to Russia has not led to significant political pressure on Putin and Ukraine is clearly very important to Putin. This strike is important because it will degrade Russia's ability to launch cruise missiles at Ukraine, and will force Russia to shift resources to protect facilities far from Ukraine. Also, the air component is the weakest part of Russia's nuclear triad, and Ukraine has previously targeted these bombers.