Ukraine is testing domestically produced drones capable of automatically targeting “Shahed” UAVs, said Ukrainian military expert and former Security Service officer Ivan Stupak on Radio NV.
In recent months, Russia has intensified its drone attacks on Ukraine, utilizing various types of drones, including Iranian-made Shaheds, to strike critical infrastructure and urban areas. This strategy aims to disrupt Ukraine’s power grid and instill fear among the civilian population, resulting in casualties and damage across multiple regions.
Conversely, Ukraine has also ramped up its drone capabilities, launching long-range strikes deep into Russian territory. Notable attacks have targeted military installations and logistics hubs, demonstrating Ukraine’s growing proficiency in drone technology.
“Ukraine is testing its drones that have the capability to target ‘Shaheds,’ even if they fly at speeds exceeding 150 km/h, up to 200, using artificial intelligence.
We hope this will mean that the number of Russian UAVs, which reached 2,000 over Ukraine just in October, won’t increase significantly, and we will have greater capacity to shoot them down,” he said.
The expert also explained that due to the destruction of Russian ammunition depots and military equipment storage by Ukrainian defense forces, there have been no massive missile attacks recently.
“Due to the destruction of such depots by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Special Operations Forces, Security Service, and the Main Intelligence Directorate, large-scale Russian missile strikes have been delayed. It’s not that Russians don’t have missiles, but they have to move them from other depots and disperse them to prevent strikes from Ukraine,” Stupak explained.
According to him, missile strikes are possible to resume in November or December.
“The Russians might be waiting for colder weather to launch attacks. But it’s unlikely that they have abandoned such plans,” he added.
On 3 November, Russia launched a massive aerial assault on Ukraine, deploying 96 Shahed drones and one missile, with Ukrainian air defenses intercepting the majority of targets.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, the Russians launched guided aviation missile Kh-59/69 from Kursk Oblast’s airspace and 96 attack drones from Bryansk, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. By 09:00, air defenses had confirmed downing one missile and 66 enemy drones across Kyiv, Sumy, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kirovohrad, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts.
Related:
- None of Russia’s 48 Shahed drones reach target during nighttime attack on Ukraine
- Russian missile strike on Kharkiv police station kills one, injures 46 people
- WP: Russian drones targeting Kherson civilians in ongoing “human safari”
- Russian missiles and drones target Odesa and Kramatorsk in nighttime aerial assault
