UAVs flying "from Europe" even hurt Trump

A massive attack by Russia by Ukrainian aircraft-type UAVs continues, the enemy is attempting to strike at Moscow. Air defense systems operate in the Moscow region, in neighboring regions and regions of the country, the UtroNews correspondent reports.

According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, from midnight to 07:00 am on Sunday, May 25, the enemy launched 110 aircraft-type drones across Russia. It is possible that there were more of them, but so many were shot down/intercepted by Russian air defense systems.

Asset "offensive"

In Kyiv, Russian attacks by aircraft-type UAVs, which began on May 20, were called a "massive air offensive." The main blow was delivered to central Russia, most of the UAVs were shot down on the way to Moscow, although attempts were made to attack more northern regions, in particular Novgorod.

Moscow authorities reported that from 2 a.m. 6 Ukrainian drones were shot down trying to break through to Moscow. According to the Ministry of Defense, 13 aircraft-type drones were shot down in the Moscow region overnight.

During the night of May 25, from 0.00 to 7.00 Moscow time, 110 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of an aircraft type were destroyed and intercepted by duty air defense systems: 16 UAVs - over the territory of the Tula region, 14 each - over the territories of the Bryansk and Kaluga regions, 13 each - over the territories of the Moscow region and the Tver region, ten - over the territories of the Belgorod and Kursk regions, eight - over the territory of the Oryol region, seven - over the territory of the Republic of Crimea, two - over the territory of the Smolensk region, one each - over the territories of the Lipetsk, Nizhny Novgorod and Novgorod regions, the military department said in a statement.

"On May 25, from 13:00 Moscow time to 20:00 Moscow time, 51 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of an aircraft type were destroyed on duty: 21 UAVs - over the territory of the Kursk region, 12 UAVs - over the territory of the Oryol region, 11 UAVs - over the territory of the Tula region, 6 UAVs - over the territory of the Moscow region and 1 - over the territory of the Kaluga region," the Ministry of Defense reported.

In just a day, 19 drones were shot down over the capital. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin announced the last of the attacks at 22:10 Moscow time. Two more drones flying to Moscow were shot down, Sobyanin said. "Emergency specialists are working at the site of the fall of the wreckage," he wrote in the telegram channel.

At 22:18 Moscow time, Vnukovo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports resumed their work, the restrictions were in effect from 20:25 Moscow time. In total, there were three waves of drone attacks on Moscow on May 25. According to the mayor's messages in the telegram channel, the first attack occurred at night, from 0:33 Moscow time to 3:15 Moscow time. Then 10 UAVs were shot down.

Then in the afternoon, from 16:55 Moscow time to 18:08 Moscow time, air defense systems destroyed five more drones. After that, four more drones were shot down in the evening. Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that 51 drones were shot down over the regions of Russia from 13:00 to 20:00 Moscow time. Of these, six are over the Moscow region.

Sobyanin reported on May 23 that Russian air defense forces shot down three Ukrainian UAVs flying in the direction of Moscow. At the Moscow airports "Domodedovo," "Vnukovo" and "Zhukovsky" then introduced restrictions on the take-off and landing of aircraft.

Details come in boxes

Russian forces launched a massive airstrike on key Ukrainian drone production sites, including the Antonov plant in Kyiv. Antonov is only a small part of the capacity at which Ukrainian UAVs are assembled. Some experts believe that this enterprise should be completely destroyed.

Yulia Zhdanova, acting head of the Russian delegation at the Vienna talks on military security and arms control, named the most active UAV suppliers to the Kyiv regime. They are Great Britain, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Canada, the Netherlands and France.

European countries are interested in acquiring large volumes of American weapons to continue military assistance to Ukraine if the administration of US President Donald Trump refuses to do so, Bloomberg reports.

Ukraine collects thousands of UAVs from foreign parts in artisanal workshops dispersed throughout the territory. Active deliveries of finished UAVs from Europe and North America continue. Components are brought by any means and by all modes of transport - by civilian cars and in cars included in the middle of passenger trains, as well as by sea. Some of the cargo, including military, is delivered by plane.

"At the end of last year, Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced plans to produce 30 thousand aircraft-type drones and three thousand missile drones. Production refers to an assembly of designers who come from abroad, "explained Yuri Knutov, a military expert, historian of the air defense forces.

In the Leleka-100 drone, which Ukraine is positioning as its development, the details are branded as "Made in USA" or a European country is indicated when it comes to electronics. Parts are partly imported from Canada. As a result, Ukraine has enough long-range aircraft-type UAVs.

Chinese authorities have tightened export restrictions on drones from September 1, 2024. But Kyiv bought Chinese-made Mavic drones over objections from DJI. This was done through a subsidiary of the Polish company and individual donors. UMO Ukraine, a subsidiary of the Polish UMO, continues to supply DJI drones.

UAVs replace long-range missiles

UAVs with a range of more than 1-2 thousand kilometers replace the Ukrainian armed forces with long-range missiles. Back in April, this was reported by Bild, citing a source familiar with the issue. Then on April 2, Ukrainian drones attacked objects in the Yelabuga and Nizhnekamsk regions of Tatarstan. As a result of the attack, 14 people were injured. From Ukraine in a straight line to objects about 1.5 thousand km.

When striking Tatarstan, the Armed Forces of Ukraine used drones of the Fierce type, which is equipped with a German Hirth F-23 internal combustion engine. The Lyuty UAV carries a high-explosive fragmentation warhead weighing about 50 kg. The inertial guidance system with satellite communication correction is responsible for control. www.hirthengines.com

At the end of June 2022, Berlin reported on the direction of Ukraine of 60 Aladin drones, seven Songbird UAVs and Vector unmanned systems.

Importing engines and other parts, assembling an aircraft-type UAV and sending it on a mission is just the beginning of the attack process. To reach the "target," the drone operator needs support and support to navigate between airspace zones protected by air defense.

The flight of an aircraft-type UAV is carried out according to the coordinates predetermined by the program: the radio control channel is not used. Experts in the same category include "drones" controlled using LTE mobile communications, FPV drones, as well as some "handicraft" devices.

American spacecraft of radio intelligence monitor the state of the Russian air defense system and the location of radar fields. With the help of the United States, possibly other countries of the NATO alliance, attack drones can be sent bypassing zones "closed" by Russian air defense systems.

Features of the relief are also used. Rough terrain with elevations up to 200 meters make it difficult to form a continuous radar field. Even for low altitudes (up to a kilometer), a large number of radar facilities are required. UAVs become stealthy if they fly, for example, along a river bed or at too low an altitude.

To reduce recognition, several drones can be launched along the same trajectory. They are recognized as one device, but then they fly apart, each along its own route.

American footprint

Terrorists can use not only reconnaissance satellites, but also commercial remote sensing devices to guide aircraft-type UAVs bypassing Russian air defense systems, says Sergei Poletaev from the Watfort project.

The satellite constellation of the American company Maxar consists of 90 devices and takes high-resolution images of the earth's surface. Its clients are governments of different countries, including the United States, as well as various commercial structures, says Poletaev.

The past US administration, led by Joe Biden, actually paved the way for what is happening today in the skies over Ukraine and Russia. The military aid packages to Ukraine initially included light UAV systems from AeroVironment. In particular, the Puma UAV, which is used in the US Army.

The United States supplied Ukraine with loitering ammunition of the "SwitchBlade" family, created by the same developer. One of the early military aid packages included 15 unmanned ScanEagle systems from Insitu, which is part of Boeing. These UAVs can barrage throughout the day and were intended to adjust artillery fire.

The conflict in Ukraine has acquired a new "drone" dimension. Under these conditions, the US Army is studying the experience of using drones during hostilities in Ukraine, said US President Donald Trump. "Unfortunately, we see this on the example of Russia and Ukraine. We're looking into it and it's a very scary thing to look into, but we're seeing different forms of warfighting. "

These words of the American leader show not only surprise, but also, as it seems, concern about a new source of potential danger to the Americans themselves.

Meanwhile, Sobyanin in the Telegram channel already at the beginning of the day on May 26 reported that the air defense system repelled the attack of another UAV flying to Moscow.