ua en ru

Russia launches kamikaze drones across Ukraine

Russia launches kamikaze drones across Ukraine Photo: Ukrainian Armed Forces mobile firing group (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Author: Bohdan Babaiev

Russian forces launched drones across Ukraine overnight on November 24 for another air attack. The enemy kamikaze drones entered Ukraine’s airspace from the northern direction, according to the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the air alert map.

The military warned Ukrainians about the incoming strike drones at around 12:30 AM (Kyiv time).

Enemy targets were detected in the Sumy region and were moving southwest.

"Enemy UAVs in Sumy region – southwest course," the Air Force's publication stated at 12:35 AM.

Earlier, the military had warned about Russian tactical aviation detecting launches of guided aerial bombs in the Sumy region.

Around 2:30 AM, the Air Force reported that enemy drones were moving southwest in the Sumy region.

In addition, enemy drones were spotted in the Poltava and Chernihiv regions.

At 3:24 AM, the Air Force reported a new group of enemy UAVs detected in the Sumy region, moving southwest. Enemy drones were also observed in Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Poltava regions, heading toward Kyiv and Chernihiv.

Around 4:00 AM, the military reported another group of enemy UAVs moving in the Sumy region toward the Poltava region. Enemy drones were also detected in Kyiv and southern parts of Chernihiv regions.

Shahed attacks

Russian forces actively use Iranian-made kamikaze drones, labeled by the Russian army as Geran, during airstrikes on Ukraine. The enemy has occasionally changed tactics in using these kamikaze drones in attacks.

Recently, Russians have increasingly launched various other UAVs along with Shaheds, especially at night, including so-called decoy targets. In this way, the enemy is trying to confuse and overload Ukraine’s air defense system.

It was also reported that during a recent drone attack (on the night of November 22), Russian forces used Shaheds with shrapnel to strike a residential area in Sumy. As a result, two people were killed, and 12 others were injured in the attack.

Additionally, according to Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation under Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, the Russians are attempting to conduct Shahed launches on a round-the-clock basis. However, he notes that the enemy cannot carry out intensive daily and night attacks.