Russia maintains upper hand in electronic warfare with Ukraine

Ukraine and Russia are both deploying sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) capabilities, but Moscow enjoys an upper hand as it heavily invested in these systems prior to the war, an FT analysis published Jan. 7 reveals.

Russia’s relentless barrage of airstrikes on Ukraine over the holiday period has underscored Ukraine's challenges in deploying EW capabilities to jam drones and missiles to protect critical infrastructure.

“The Russians have been producing so many lately that it’s becoming a huge threat. What’s happening here, the massive use of drones, is new , so EW becomes increasingly important," Colonel Ivan Pavlenko, Kyiv's EW chief, told the FT.

“Delivery to Ukraine of a sufficient number of powerful GNSS jammers or at least signal amplifiers could also help counteract enemy air attacks," he said.

Drones have significantly changed the battlefield and experts say is one of the primary reasons Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive this year failed to make any notable gains. Armored vehicles can no longer achieve an element of surprise.

One Ukrainian solder told the FT Russian UAVs were “hitting us like mosquitoes” saying his colleagues were "falling like flies."

General Valeriy Zaluzhny called EW capabilities “the key to victory in the drone war" in November.

Guardian: Ukrainian report calls for disruption of supplies for Russia’s electronic warfare

A Ukrainian report circulated to the major countries which have sanctioned Russia identifies key firms involved in development of Russia’s electronic military equipment, the Guardian reported on Nov. 26.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk