Going forward, if Ukraine cannot defend its civilian population from drone attacks, Zelensky will have to throw in the towel.
I couldn't disagree more.
Attacks directed at civillian populations have always made surrender
less likely.
There's been a belief, amongst Generals and politicians, at least since the Great War, that the opposite is true, but it has never yet been demonstrated to be the case.
The Zeppelin raids of the Great War hardened British resolve; The Blitz did the same, as did the RAF and USAAF bombings of German cities to the resolve of the German people. In Vietnam, US targetting of the South Vietnamese civilian population to "root out" the VC just made more of the VC, and in Gaza right now, the most effective Hamas recruitment campaign is the actions of the IDF.
You can't bomb people into liking you.