Kamikaze drones in Ukraine | Between a new turn and an admission of weakness

The Russian drone attacks launched on Monday morning on Ukrainian cities, including the capital Kyiv, mark a new turning point in the war led by Russia, while being a sign of weakness of the invading country.

Andre Duchesne
The Press

“Yes, it’s new insofar as these drones are used to terrorize the population and to reach non-military targets,” said Dominique Arel, holder of the Chair in Ukrainian Studies at the University of Ottawa. We are witnessing indiscriminate attacks. And although the Ukrainians were able to intercept most of the drones, some of them exploded killing civilians. »

At around 6:30 a.m. Monday Kyiv time, the sirens of an ongoing attack sounded. A drone fell in the Shevchenkivskyi district and exploded. Several residential buildings were hit and four people, including a six-month pregnant woman, were killed.

Drones also fell in other districts of the capital as well as in the cities of Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk. Four people were killed in Sumy, bringing the civilian death toll to at least eight. Hundreds of localities were also deprived of electricity.

Joined in Paris, Jean-Christophe Noël, associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations, focuses precisely on the breakdowns caused by the explosion of missiles. Because he believes that it is necessary to analyze the strikes beyond the civilian losses, often put forward by the media and the Ukrainian leaders.

“A bit like with the V1 and V2 during the Second World War, missiles that strike populations, this will create insecurity,” he said. But that’s not what will turn the war upside down. The Russians are also looking to hit the energy sector. With the coming winter, such strikes could complicate the country’s energy supply. »

Deadly Mopeds

According to reports from the media on the spot, the vast majority of drones, of Iranian manufacture, were however intercepted and destroyed because of their low speed of movement.

In a video statement, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, expressed his conviction that the new Russian initiative will not be successful. “Enemies can attack, but they won’t be able to break us,” he said. “The Russians believe this will help them, but they only show their desperation,” added Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president.

Like other experts, Dominique Arel sees in this call from the Russians to have recourse to external armament as a sign of weakness.

Jean-Christophe Noël also mentions this “problem of production” among the Russians, which he attributes, among other things, to corruption. On the other hand, he is surprised to see that Vladimir Putin’s troops continue to shell Ukraine. “Some experts estimated at between 2,000 and 2,500 Russian missiles ready to be fired. But it continues. In small numbers, yes, but they have found a complementary means with Iranian drones. »

Called Shahed-136, the Iranian drones, worth $20,000 each, are small, fly low and make a terrible noise when approaching. Russian soldiers nicknamed them “mopeds” (mopeds) because of the hum of their engines.

On the other hand, they would have a range of up to 2400 kilometers, according to the manufacturer.

According to Dominique Arel, these machines do not have cameras, which distinguishes them from other types of drones, used both on the Russian side and on the Ukrainian side to gather information on enemy positions. “Experts tell us that this is the first time that drones have been used on non-military targets,” he adds.

Caution

On his Twitter page, expert Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, says Iran has in the past sold such suicide drones to Yemen-based Houthi rebels and launched them at Israel from Syria.

Following the first attacks, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, Dmytro Kouleba, demanded on Twitter that sanctions be imposed on Iran for having provided these devices of death.

The call seems to have been heard, because in Washington, a State Department spokesman, Vedant Patel, warned anyone, companies or states, working with Iran about designing suicide drones.

“Anyone carrying out activities with Iran in connection with the development of drones or ballistic missiles or [participant à] the flow of weapons from Iran to Russia should be vigilant, he said. The United States will not hesitate to use sanctions or take action against those most responsible. »

With Agence France-Presse, Foreign Policy and The Kyiv Independent