The Kyiv Independent contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent four days following an air defense unit guarding the skies over a region in eastern Ukraine, seeing how they live, work, and save civilians from the dozens of Russian drones flying toward Ukrainian cities each night.
According to its designers, the drone has already been deployed in combat and has successfully destroyed more than 20 Shahed-type drones over the past two months.
Significant modifications have been observed in the Shahed-136 drones that Russia mass produces, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) reported on Feb. 18.
"Confirmed hit and explosions in the target area," the General Staff reported.
Key developments on Jan. 25-26: * Ukraine strikes drone storage facility in Russia's Oryol Oblast and destroys 200 Shaheds, General Staff reports * Rubio halts most foreign aid, including Ukraine assistance, Politico reports * Russia launched over 1,250 bombs, 750 drones at Ukraine during Trump's first week in office * Ukrainian troops avoid
Ukrainian Air Force units and Defense Forces struck drone storage facilities in Russia's western Oryol Oblast on Jan. 26, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on Facebook on Jan. 26.
For Moscow, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's visit to Russia on Jan. 17 is a diplomatic victory. The trip's centerpiece will be the finalization of a long-heralded partnership deal between Russia and Iran, signed by Pezeshkian and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin. The agreement is the latest chapter in
Ukraine's General Staff said this combat operation "significantly reduced the enemy's ability to carry out airstrikes using kamikaze drones against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure."
Key developments on Dec. 27: * Russia's new Oreshnik missile relies on Western manufacturing technology, FT reports * 3 senior Russian officers killed in HIMARS, drone attack, Ukraine's military intelligence says * Ukraine working to extend basic training to 2 months, Syrskyi says * Russia ramps up production of Shahed drones, decoys at Tatarstan
In 2023, the factory produced 2,738 Shahed-136 drones, with output more than doubling to 5,760 units in the first nine months of 2024.
A large-scale fire broke out at a Shahed drone warehouse at the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia's Tatarstan, destroying drone parts worth $16 million, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) said on Dec. 23.
The Air Force added that it lost track of 44 decoy drones that Russia launched alongside the real attack drones.
Russian distributors allegedly integrated Texas Instruments' online store into their trading platforms, enabling customers in Russia to access semiconductor inventories and prices, and place orders.
The drones targeted multiple oblasts, with debris from downed drones causing damage to residential buildings.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Russia launched 53 Shahed-type drones from Orel overnight on Dec. 6.
For the third month in a row, the number of Shahed-type kamikaze drones launched by Russia at Ukraine surged to record levels. According to figures from Ukraine's Air Force, Moscow deployed a total of 2,576 drones during November, up from 2,023 the month before. And the Kremlin clearly
Key developments on Nov. 26: * Russia launches record 188 drones against Ukraine overnight, Air Force says * Russian Defense Ministry admits that Ukraine hit airbase in Kursk Oblast with ATACMS * Russia's advance in Ukraine fastest since early 2022, analysts claim * Russian soldiers suspected of executing 5 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk * UK
A record 38 Russian Shahed-type attack drones entered Belarusian territory overnight on Nov. 24-25, with at least one of the drones reportedly shot down by the Belarusian Air Force, the monitoring group Belarusian Hajun reported.
"This is pure genocide," Regional Governor Volodymyr Artiukh said.
Russia struck a residential area in the city of Sumy overnight on Nov. 22 with Shahed drones, killing two people and injuring 12, local authorities reported.
"What we've expected for so long has started. But I want to say that God Himself is giving a chance, not only to Ukraine but to the whole world, to have time to draw the correct conclusions now," Zaluzhnyi said.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the Israeli investigative outlet Shomrim. The Kyiv Independent is republishing it with permission. After Israeli officials earlier ignored Ukrainian warnings and offers to help counter the threat of Iranian drones, the tides appear to be turning as Israel faces increased drone
The expanded sanctions focus on vessels and ports involved in transporting Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), missiles, and related technologies and components.
The European Union is preparing to implement additional sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities involved in propping up Russia's war machine, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Nov. 15, citing a top EU official.
Marharyta Koldanova was standing at a bus stop in a residential area in Kyiv when a sudden loud noise went off, prompting her to take out a tourniquet from her bag and prepare to quickly apply it in case she got injured by an aerial attack. "I was overwhelmed with
As Russia launched another swarm of killer drones to attack Kyiv on one day in early November, one of them came dangerously close to Petro, a 55-year-old resident of a high-rise apartment building in downtown Kyiv. “I saw this motherf*cker just maybe 200 meters above my head, very low.
Russia launched at least 4,300 Shahed-type attack drones and similar UAVs imitating Shaheds against Ukraine between August and October 2024 — a sharp increase compared to earlier months — according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Russia launched more than 2,000 strike drones against Ukraine in October, breaking the previous record set in September by nearly 700, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
Key developments on Nov.2-3: * Ukraine facing one of Russia's 'most powerful' offensives since start of all-out war, Syrskyi says * North Korean soldiers sent to Ukrainian border equipped with standard infantry weapons, military intelligence says * Locations of Ukrainian weapons systems revealed on Google Maps, official says * Russia launched around 900
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on Nov. 3 that the U.S. State Department has funded 800 mobile fire teams in Ukraine, which have shot down over 200 Russian drones since January 2024.
Russia launched more than 2,000 strike drones against Ukraine during October, the General Staff reported on Nov. 1, breaking the previous record set in September by nearly 700.
According to the drone's developers, the Wild Hornets group, "Sting" will be able to fly at altitudes approaching 10,000 feet, with a speed of over 100 miles per hour. It is the first drone specifically developed to target Russia's arsenal of Shaheds.
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