- No "Kinzhal" has reached Kyiv since May 2023, - Air Forces
- Russia has changed its tactics for using drones, - Air Forces
- Ukraine is preparing airfields for F-16 fighters - Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
As reported by RBK-Ukraine, this information was shared by the spokesperson of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Illia Yevlash, in an interview with the Center for Counteracting Disinformation. This was also reported by Kontrakty.UA.
"I personally saw it fly for over 24 hours. It circled above various reserves. It was hunted for a long time, but eventually, it was shot down. However, this process can take quite a long time, around 24 hours," - Yevlash explained.
According to him, "Shaheds" vary among themselves. Some have a smaller warhead but an increased fuel tank. This specifically affects the duration of their flights.
Yevlash noted that besides "Shaheds," the Russians have their analogs and "decoy" drones. Their goal is to exhaust the Ukrainian air defense.
He also clarified the term "locational loss" - this means that a drone could crash due to poor assembly or electronic warfare, or simply because it ran out of fuel.
Shelling in Ukraine
Recently, Russia has begun to implement a practice of daily drone attacks on Ukrainian territory.
Previously, we reported that throughout October, the Russian Federation used 2023 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) of the Shahed type and drones of unspecified types against Ukraine. This marked a record number for the current year.
In August, September, and October 2024, Russia launched 4,300 strike drones at Ukraine. These included both Shahed drones and UAVs of other types that mimic real "Shaheds".