Iranian-made Shahed "kamikaze" drones largely used by Russia to attack Ukraine are still difficult for the Ukrainian forces to shoot down, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.
"Iranian drones are a headache. They are still difficult to shoot down," Ihnat said.
According to him, it's difficult to take the drones down when Russia launches many of them from different directions, usually in the nighttime, and they fly low.
He said that Russia launches drones during the nighttime to "exhaust" and detect Ukrainian air defense to further fire missiles at it from its aircraft or missile carriers.
Russia has been using Iranian-made kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine since September, launching attacks against civilians and destroying energy facilities across the country.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Feb. 5 that Moscow and Tehran were planning to build a factory in Russia that could produce more than 6,000 Iranian-designed combat drones.
Ihnat also said that Ukraine still uses mainly Soviet-made air defense systems and does not have enough modern ones its Western allies had provided.
Also, during the interview, Ihnat noted that Russia is not entirely protected by its air defense, considering that drones have recently hit Moscow and the Kremlin residence of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
Russia accused Kyiv of being behind the attack, but Ukraine’s officials denied responsibility.
