Strike on depot with Iranian missiles: CNN showed operation of Ukrainian Liutyi drones
Defence Intelligence fighters launch the Liutyi drone (Illustrative photo: cnn.com)
American journalists have shown footage of the work of a Ukrainian reconnaissance unit using the long-range drone An-196 Liutyi. These UAVs recently struck a depot in the Kotluban area of Russia, where Iranian missiles were stored, reports CNN.
CNN notes that exclusive access was granted to one of Ukraine’s long-range drone units, which is part of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
The unit members refer to themselves as a long-range UAV unit and spoke about using the Liutyi drones, which are about 4 meters long with a wingspan of 7 meters.
Journalists spoke with a Defence Intelligence commander with the callsign Serge and the unit commander Vector. This took place as the unit was preparing to launch over 100 drones towards Russia on the night of September 29.
According to Serge, he has personally overseen more than 500 long-range drone attacks on Russian territory since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Ukrainian Defence Intelligence officers stated that their target was an enemy ammunition depot, specifically train cars inside a depot loaded with recently delivered Iranian missiles.
This depot is located on the outskirts of the village of Kotluban in the Volgograd region of Russia.
A satellite image of the ammunition depot in Kotublan, Russia, taken on August 4, 2024 (photo: Maxar Technologies)
Launch of Liutyi drones targeting the facility
The Defence Intelligence officers, in their conversation with representatives of American media, noted that they managed to find gaps in Russia's air defense systems during drone attack operations.
Each drone is programmed with over 1,000 different waypoint routes to evade Russia's complex air defense systems.
As Vector explained, smaller drones play a crucial role in the success of any mission. Their objective is to penetrate the air defense and divert Russian fire away from the Liutyi drone, which often carries a payload of up to 250 kilograms.
To trick Russian radars, strips of metal foil are attached to the wings of the drones.
Vector also explained that their drone strike targets are exclusively military objects.
Meanwhile, in other regions of Ukraine, around 80 other Defence Intelligence personnel are preparing to launch 90 more drones, not all of which are Liutyi models.
Approximately 30% of all launched drones will carry out decoy missions, Serge told the journalists.
Strike on the depot in Kotluban and its aftermath
The drones were programmed to fly at distances ranging from about 725 meters to 885 meters, with the Liutyi drone as the primary one, designated to strike the ammunition depot in Kotluban.
Ukrainian intelligence officers reported that the success of the mission is monitored in three ways: through ground intelligence, messages in Russian Telegram groups, and later analysis using satellite technology. Only after evaluating all three methods can the mission be deemed successful or not.
Following the attack, initial satellite images of the ammunition depot in Kotluban show scorched fields resulting from burning grass. Initially, it appeared that there were no signs of significant explosions inside the depot.
Footage of the operation
However, the Defence Intelligence shared video footage from the area of the depot with CNN. It was noted that CNN journalists were able to independently review and verify aspects of the video without blurring to check its authenticity.
A source in defense intelligence informed CNN that their data confirmed that the explosions inside the depot in the Kotluban area were powerful.
The accelerated video from CNN showed 11 explosions occurring over 56 minutes between 2:22 and 3:18 AM - precisely during the period when Ukrainian drones were expected to strike the targets.
American journalists were also able to independently verify through sources that a direct strike occurred on the target.
Later, satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies showed less debris in the vicinity, which may indicate that the Russian military cleared the area, but the same building was heavily damaged.
The Ukrainian side emphasizes that the mission to destroy the missiles supplied by Iran was successful.
At the end of September, the Ukrainian Defense Forces reported attacking a weapons depot in Russia, including a stash of Iranian missiles. The strike targeted a depot near the town of Kotluban in the Volgograd region, approximately 600 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
On September 29, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed the nighttime attack on the depot near Kotluban. According to their information, a train carrying Iranian missiles had arrived at the arsenal the day before the strike.
