LONDON: Russia has begun including new, cheaply-made drones in its long-range attacks on Ukraine, to try to identify air defences, film any damage and act as decoys, a Ukrainian military spy official said.
The two new types of drone, which Russia has used in five drone attacks in the last two to three weeks including an overnight strike on Thursday, are produced from materials like foam plastic and plywood, the official told Reuters. One type carries a camera and a Ukrainian mobile phone SIM card to send images back to the Russian military. “They identify where our mobile groups are positioned, where the machine guns are that can destroy them. They’re trying ... to get a picture of where all our air defences are located,” said Andriy Cherniak, a military spy agency spokesperson.
The previously unreported details from Cherniak are further evidence of Russia seeking to adapt its tactics and try new technology to gain an edge during its daily missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Iranian-designed Shahed attack drones, which fly to their target and detonate on impact, have become a staple of Russian aerial attacks since they began being used in the first year of Russia’s full-scale invasion launched in February 2022.
Ukraine, which has been appealing to the West to provide more air defences to repel increased Russian airstrikes on its power facilities since March, tries hard to conceal the locations of its air defence systems. The new Russian drones with cameras do not carry explosives but closely resemble regular Shahed drones and fly with groups of them, Cherniak said.The second new type of drone contains no explosive charge or only a small one and is being used as a decoy, Cherniak added. Because it is virtually indistinguishable from a regular attack drone from the ground, it still needs to be shot down, revealing where Ukraine’s air defence systems are located. He said the new drones probably cost as little as $10,000 each despite their long range, making them far cheaper to produce than air defence missiles.
The drones can also fly at an altitude of 1,000 m (3,000 ft), putting them out of range of machine guns and automatic rifles, he said.
Russian troops occupy around 18% of Ukrainian territory and have been making incremental gains in the east in recent months, putting Kyiv on the back foot along a 1,000-km (600-mile) front line.
