Russia has increased the number of jet-powered drones used in attacks on Ukraine, deploying five times more of them in July than in June, Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on Monday in an interview broadcast during the national telethon, UNN reports.
Let us recall when, apparently, such an intensification of the attacks began—when the enemy changed its tactics of use, or rather, not the tactics but the means, significantly increasing the number of jet-powered drones specifically. This happened in July. In July, five times more jet-powered UAVs were used than in June. So this was the month when the buildup of these UAVs became substantial, as well as of the "Banderols."
He explained that "the ‘Banderol’—it is called different things—is a munition, a missile-drone. Well, its flight parameters are already close to those of a cruise missile, so to speak. This weapon flies at approximately 600 km/h."
"Thus, understanding that Ukraine’s Defense Forces currently have fairly high rates of shooting down and suppressing Shahed-type drones, the 136 or 131 models and so on—that is, those with conventional gasoline engines—the enemy, of course, did not begin using these jet-powered UAVs just yesterday, but has now increased their use, realizing that they can no longer be shot down by the classic methods we already use against conventional ones. We must now take a different approach, using ground-based air defense against them—short-range surface-to-air missile systems. And also aviation systems and platforms, aircraft—such as fighter jets equipped with air-to-air missiles—to successfully intercept these drones," Ihnat said.
Asked whether even more jet-powered drones had been launched in August than in July, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine spokesperson said: "I think so; the enemy is increasing their use."
"You can see that attacks have continued for four days in a row, both at night and during the day. And the high proportion of jet-powered UAVs is particularly noticeable. As for whether they are being shot down—they are being actively shot down. I understand that society has many questions about why some of them reach Kyiv. Well, far from all of them reach Kyiv," Ihnat emphasized.
"If, say, 10 out of 100 reach the city, it is loud here. Accordingly, air defense systems are being deployed, and aviation is operating. (...) And, unfortunately, unfortunately, it is impossible to shoot everything down. The enemy is attacking with a large number, I emphasize once again, from different directions, even taking weather conditions into account. Clearly, when the weather is clear, it is much easier to shoot them down. Weather conditions are generally a decisive factor in conducting combat operations, especially against jet-powered UAVs, because we have different means and different guidance systems," Ihnat said.
"Therefore, weather conditions also limit the capabilities of our Defense Forces. That is why countermeasures are being conducted with consideration for the assets available at a particular location of the enemy’s attack, the directions of movement, as well as the weather conditions and the forces and means that can help at a given time under the conditions and circumstances I have listed," Ihnat remarked.
Why Kyiv has become the main target of Russia’s attacks with jet-powered "Shaheds"
Asked why Kyiv in particular had become a place that is constantly terrorized by these jet-powered "Shaheds," and how long this could continue, Ihnat remarked that "it is difficult to predict or forecast anything at this point, because that is a thankless task." "We understand that the enemy’s goal is not merely to frighten Kyiv residents and demoralize them—although that is also one of its aims—but that the enemy directs every ‘Shahed,’ every jet-powered or conventional one, at a specific target. It may be some logistics center. You can see that shopping centers are also being hit, unfortunately, where ordinary people are present and there is no military production whatsoever; postal terminals are also being hit, and you can see that many of them are being destroyed as well. Accordingly, the enemy is also interested in other strategic facilities, including critical infrastructure facilities. (...) Therefore, every ‘Shahed’ or missile is aimed at its own target, and they want to achieve something; they have some strategic objective," Ihnat said.
"Our task is, well, to withstand this onslaught, because we see that the Shaheds they launch, judging by the debris we find, come directly from the factory. In other words, this Shahed actually came off the assembly line two weeks ago, and we are already finding fragments of it among the debris, marked as being from two weeks ago," said the spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
"This indicates that they are being released from the assembly line. (...) If it goes straight from the factory to the launch sites, it still has to go through some logistical route, be positioned there, and launched. Well, this suggests that the enemy is doing all of this very quickly, and therefore such conclusions can be drawn," Ihnat said.
CCD NSDC explained Russia’s tactics of using jet-powered drones in waves28.08.26, 08:32