Ukrainian Air Force claimed to have shot down four Iranian suicide drones in the Mykolaiv region of southern Ukraine. Suicide drones, also known as loitering munitions, allow operators to view a battlefield from the drone before manually or automatically flying onto a target and detonating the drone.
The weapons have been used by both sides throughout the conflict to attack enemy soldiers, vehicles and infrastructure. The Iranian drones are thought to usually operate in pairs – one drone targets the nearby radar, while the other clicks and blasts the target before detonating.
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram: “[On] On September 22 at about 8 p.m., in the Mykolaiv region, four Iranian-made Shahed-136 Russian kamikaze drones were shot down by two medium-range anti-aircraft guided missiles of the South Air Command’s Odessa Brigade. Glory to Ukraine! Together to victory!”
The strikes show that the Iranian-made drones are unlikely to be a game changer on the frontline of the conflict, something the Kremlin is desperately seeking after the collapse of its defenses in the face of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Author and conflict expert Chuck Pfarrer said in a tweet: “Blown out of the air: At 8pm local on Sept. 22, Ukrainian Air Defense reports that four Iranian-made Shaheed 136 UCAVs were shot down on the Mykolaiv Axis.
“Russia had high hopes for Tehran’s ‘suicide drones’. This is the first time four such UCAVs have been shot down in a single battle.”
The news comes after reports that Ukraine has suffered some losses at the hands of the drones. Ukrainian officials have claimed that several artillery units and armored vehicles have been hit before.
Russia reportedly used the drones in the Kharkov region, where it no longer has an artillery advantage against advancing Ukrainian forces. They were less commonly seen in the south of the country, where these drones were shot down.
Iran and Russia are allies with a close relationship, both armies have operated together in the Syrian civil war, where Russia has deployed ground forces as well as the brutal Wagner mercenary group to fight on behalf of dictator Bashir Al-Assad.
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Flights to visa-free destinations for Russians are already sold out and huge queues have formed at Russia’s borders as men try to escape conscription.
While the mobilization could help Russia find the men to fight in Ukraine, the tide of the war is unlikely to turn, according to the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
It is unlikely that Russia will be able to train the conscripts and send to the front inexperienced men with little or outdated training who do not want to fight.
IWS said in a tweet: “The Kremlin’s heavy-handed approach to partial mobilization may successfully meet Russia’s internal quota of mobilized personnel, but is unlikely to generate effective soldiers. It will cause significant domestic backlash for little gain.”