Ukraine explains why it was only able to intercept 43% of Russian suicide UAVs

Ukraine giải thích lý do chỉ đánh chặn được 43% UAV tự sát của Nga - 1 — Ukrainian soldiers on duty to defend against Russian suicide UAVs (Photo: UP).

Russia launched 35 Shahed-136/131 attack drones into Ukraine on the night of January 29-30, of which 15 were shot down, the Ukrainian Air Force announced on January 30. The interception rate was 43%.

"Military equipment and soldiers destroyed 15 Russian drones in the Mykolaiv, Sumy, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkov, Kherson and Kiev regions."

Colonel Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said that most of the Russian UAVs were aimed at the frontline and at the border between the two countries and that was why Ukraine achieved a low interception rate.

"This statistic may sound strange to some people because they are often informed about 100% target interception rate. We need to explain. This is not because Russia has changed its tactics. Moscow attacks with a surprising number of UAVs on many fronts and from different directions," he said.

Previously, Mr. Ihnat admitted that it was quite difficult for Ukraine to destroy Shahed UAVs in areas near the border and near the front line.

That is why when Russia uses Shahed to attack military targets and Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the above areas, Kiev finds it difficult to shoot them down as when they go deep into Ukrainian territory.

In the attack yesterday and early this morning, Russia launched attack drones from three areas including Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russia), Kursk (Russia) and Cape Chauda (Crimea).

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced today that in the past 24 hours, Kiev destroyed 10 tanks and 31 artillery systems and shot down a Russian Su-34 aircraft.

In recent days, Russia has been testing new attack tactics using various missile and drone complexes — or sometimes just missiles — to penetrate Ukraine's air defenses.

In late November, Ukrainian officials said Russia had begun deploying upgraded versions of the Shahed to the Ukrainian battlefield. These versions are darker in color and made of carbon fiber, making them harder for Ukrainian air defenses to detect, especially at night.

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