By Rostyslav Averchuk
Lviv (EFE).- In an attempt to make its air attacks on Ukraine more damaging, Russia is increasing the use of jet-propulsion drones and the Banderol, a hybrid of missile and drone, while continuing strikes around the clock.
The use of slower Shahed-136 drones and Kh-101 cruise missiles is becoming rarer as Russia bets on cheaper and faster modifications both to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses and to conserve resources amid the economic strain of the war.
Ever more of the long-range suicide drones launched by Russia now employ jet propulsion and are capable of travelling faster than 500 kilometers per hour (310 miles per hour), according to Ukrainian military analysts and the Air Force. In addition to night attacks, during which they accompany ballistic missiles, such drones are also launched continuously during the day.
Faster and cheaper weapons
Ukraine’s first interceptor designed for such drones, the Alexa Spatium, has officially joined the country’s arsenal after successful tests confirming its ability to fly at 600 kilometers per hour (372 miles per hour) and be launched from land within minutes, the Ministry of Defense said on Friday.
Such attacks remain challenging, however. While Ukraine is now intercepting about 90% of slower Russian drones, it is lagging in scaling up production of faster interceptors, wrote Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military analyst with the Information Resistance Group.
Kovalenko told EFE that Russia’s tactics deliberately aim to sow panic among civilians, forming part of a broader strategy to offset limited progress on the front line.
He also highlighted the extensive use of the Banderol, a drone-missile hybrid that Russia has employed to damage port infrastructure and disrupt exports from Odesa.
Modelled on the expensive Kh-101 missiles (which cost over 2 million dollars and use purpose-built engines), the Banderol relies on imported Chinese electronics and civilian components smuggled from Europe and the United States, despite sanctions. As a result, each costs around 100,000 dollars and can be produced in dozens per month.
Banderols fly at 600 kilometers per hour (372 miles per hour), are roughly twice as potent as Shaheds, and carry shrapnel to increase damage, according to the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.
According to Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, Banderols were employed in 80% of attacks against Odesa’s ports in July and August.
Other regions have also been attacked. A strike on a police station in Zhytomyr on Wednesday killed three people and injured 53. On Tuesday, a Banderol strike near the bus station in Pechenihy, located in the Kharkiv region, killed 10 people.
With a range of about 500 kilometers (310 miles), the weapon can reach Kyiv.
Aerial terror
By relying on cheaper and faster drones and their hybrids, Russia can instead stockpile more powerful missiles it needs to destroy better-fortified targets.
Ukraine’s Military Intelligence estimates Russia currently holds over 1,300 missiles of various types, including around 600 Oniks, 130 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 450 Kalibr cruise missiles and 120 Zircons.
The constant strikes and the prospect of another difficult winter keep Ukrainians under sustained pressure. Several people in Kyiv told EFE they are considering temporary or permanent moves to western regions such as Lviv, Uzhhorod and Ivano-Frankivsk, where rental and apartment prices continue to rise.
No part of Ukraine is fully safe, analysts note, though, as Russia has steadily extended the reach and scale of its attacks to blur the margin between the frontline and cities in the rear.
To counter the threat, Kovalenko said, Ukraine must continue developing a multi-layered air-defense network combining domestic and foreign systems, interceptors and aviation.
At the same time, Ukraine is pursuing asymmetric strikes against weaker links in the Russian economy, primarily with long-range drones, while investing in the development and production of more potent ballistic and other missiles that could inflict greater damage on Russian military production facilities. EFE
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