https://www.npr.org/2023/02/16/1157457205/ukraine-russia-balloons
When I used to speak about the balloon threat, people would often stare at me—wondering if I perhaps suffered from some sort of mental illness. Well, as you can see, I was absolutely right. Balloons are a cost effective and obnoxious means by which you can harass and surveil your enemy: And both Russia and China are using them to good effect. It is not easy to hit anything at 65,000 feet, and it usually costs a fair amount to do so as well.
The point of these forays is to get Ukraine to waste its SAM's, reveal its SAM sites, and—quite possibly—trick Ukraine to start ignoring balloons, which might allow them to act as inexpensive munitions platforms. Think of the bully who used to throw punches right in front of your face and then taunt you with "made you flinch" only to then punch you in the face later once you “stopped falling for his trick.”
If you could place an inexpensive munition on a balloon, you could use them to soften up the enemy line prior to a breakthrough: In fact, you could use a JDAM like munition, along with a computer that selects targets for a list of targets likely to lie along its path using its current GPS coordinates, to hit enemy targets well into the rear: Furthermore, you could use the balloon to do artillery spotting.
Ukraine ought to consider adopting the same tactics—as it is operating under even larger economic constraints, in some ways, than Russia is. US willingness to supply JDAMs might make this same tactic even more effective if Ukraine were to adopt it than it has been for Russia and China.