Ukraine destroys guidance network for Shahed drones from Belarus: Why it matters
Illustrative photo: Russia used Belarusian territory to guide Shahed drones (Getty Images)
Ukraine has managed to eliminate Shahed repeaters that had been installed on Belarusian territory. In particular, they enabled the enemy to conduct reconnaissance over Kyiv, according to a statement by Ukraine’s Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov and the advisor to the head of the Defense Ministry, Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, on Facebook.
What Fedorov said
"We could eliminate the Mesh network used by the Shaheds in the north, which had a positive impact on the defense capability of Kyiv and central Ukraine," the defense minister said.
'Flash’s explanation
"Flash" said he had been asked to comment on the statement about the destruction of the guidance network for the Shaheds operating from Belarus.
According to him, the Mesh network on the Shaheds consists of radio modems that not only receive and transmit signals, but also act as repeaters and signal amplifiers for one another.
"With such a scheme, all Shaheds in the air are connected to each other by radio. As a result, several Shaheds can be shot down and the communication will not be interrupted — it will simply pass through other Shaheds," he added.
Despite this, a necessary condition is the presence of "initial points" from which the control channel, via the internet, reaches Russian drone operators. Such points are usually placed on high towers (70–90 meters) near the Ukrainian border, with powerful antennas directed toward our territory.
Photo: tower with repeaters (facebook.com/Serhii.Flash)
Beskrestnov noted that the radio signal from the towers is detected by Ukrainian radio intelligence, which can accurately determine their location.
"The fact that such points were operating from the territory of Russia and the occupied territories did not surprise anyone, but the operation of such points from Belarus came as a surprise. Several such points were identified in Belarus, and they serviced Shaheds in different parts of our country," he said.
According to "Flash," one of the points reached as far as Kyiv, allowing Russian reconnaissance drones to fly over the capital and transmit data to operators. Another point facilitated Shahed attacks on western Ukraine, including on the Kyiv-Kovel railway.
"Of course, we did not silently observe this process of controlling Shaheds from the territory of Belarus," emphasized the defense ministry advisor.
Ukraine’s operations in Belarus
A few days ago, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukraine had "done everything" to ensure that there were "no three or four repeaters" for Russian Shaheds on Belarusian territory.
The head of state did not provide further details.
