In the May 28 early-hours air attack, Russians tried to mislead Ukrainian air defenses as their Iranian-made Shahed drones divided into groups midair, used the terrain to disappear from radars, and could circle for some time before attempted strikes. Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said it on Espresso TV on 28 May, according to Liga.
Overnight into 28 May, more than 40 drones were shot down over Kyiv City alone, according to local authorities. The Air Force Command said that the country’s air defenses downed a total of 52 enemy kamikaze drones out of 54 across Ukraine.
Mr. Ihnat said that the Shahed drones attacked Ukraine from both north and south again:
“Then they fly in groups, flying in batches in different directions. Each drone has its own route, each drone has GPS navigation, is controlled via satellite, and thus can even fly around Kyiv and strike at a certain time,” he said, adding that in this way, Russians are trying to confuse and mislead Ukrainian air defenses.
On the national telethon, Operational Command Spokesperson Nataliia Humeniuk noted that Russians used “unusual” routes for their kamikaze drones last night.
“They tried to bypass the southern air defenses as much as possible, so they went around the temporarily occupied territories and then dispersed across Ukraine. They are searching for new tactics trying to bypass the south. They gravitate towards [using] the riverbeds to hide the directions of the Shahed movements,” Ms. Humeniuk said, adding that despite their effors, one of the Shaheds was shot down in Mykolaiv Oblast.
Ihnat says that despite Russia’s attempts to overcome the defenses, the Ukrainian anti-air defense is “getting stronger” day by day:
“We would like to have more means to have a 100% result. Perhaps the F-16, which we have been waiting for in the Ukrainian sky for so long, can do this better,” the Air Force spokesman said.
He added that Ukraine is currently building up mobile air defense groups to spare more air-guided missiles by destroying the Shaheds with less expensive means.
The Ukrainian Navy also noted that one of the Shaheds was shot down over the Kyiv Reservoir by an artillery boat of the river flotilla of the Naval Forces.
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