Kamikaze Drone Attack

Since autumn 2022, Russia has added a drone component to its missile terror. It is based on kamikaze drones from Iran,  the Shahed-136 and similar ones. For secrecy, the Russians came up with the name "Geran-2" for them, but Ukrainians gave them their own – "moped" because of  the specific and very unpleasant loud sound of the engine. Since then, "Shaheds" have become regular uninvited guests in the Ukrainian night sky. Russia uses kamikaze drone attacks to exhaust Ukrainian air defence, and together with the enemy's cruise  missiles they have caused considerable damage and taken hundreds of lives.

"Shaheds" are quite difficult to shoot down – they fly low and are able to circle widely. At the same time, their striking power of more than 50 kilograms of explosives can demolish several floors of a residential building. In fact, this is Russia's plan. Ukraine has no option of not shooting down a primitive UAV whose price hardly exceeds 100  thousand dollars. That is why "Shaheds" have become a big problem. As a result, to fight them, Ukraine has created a layered network of mobile "Shahed" hunters and has achieved considerable success.

Russia responded by localising the production of Iranian drones  (the best-known plant is Alabuga in Tatarstan, where teenagers from Africa and the Middle East, lured to Russia for what is effectively slave labour under the guise of training, are employed). 

The Russians have also upgraded the kamikaze drones, adding variants with thermobaric warheads, and have made drones that navigate using "machine vision", that is, a variation on artificial intelligence. Now the Russians are also actively launching decoy drones, whose purpose is to exhaust air defence and expose the Ukrainian air defence network; it is these UAVs that usually appear in General Staff reports as "lost from radar".

Although the Armed Forces of Ukraine have achieved significant success over several years of hunting "Shaheds", unfortunately, periodic attacks by Russian kamikaze drones lead to new casualties and destruction in cities and villages all over Ukraine.