A shield as a prelude to an army of Shaheds

That Shahed’s drones of Iranian origin have become a bomb of systematic terror In Ukraine it is out of any doubt. However, on the weekend Russia carried out the largest air attack of the war that is fought in Eastern Europe, and did so with a swarm of Shaheds and a novelty: the drones were accompanied by an enemy improved against kyiv. Your name: Lancet.

A night of fire. In what has already been described as the Greater air attack From the beginning of the large -scale invasion in 2022, Russia launched 537 air weapons against Ukraine in a single night, marking a dramatic intensification of its military campaign and advising a hard blow to the already diminished hopes of a negotiated solution. The bombardment included 477 Explosive drones and of distraction, as well as 60 missiles of diverse type, of which 211 drones and 38 missiles were intercepted by the Ukrainian defenses.

The magnitude of the attack seems to show a deliberate strategy of Moscow for Erosion systematically The Ukraine Air Defense Network, wearing its western arsenal and causing a logistic collapse in its response capacity. In Lviv, near the border with Poland, several critical facilities were impacted, while in kyiv, Jersón and Járkov they registered dead and residential damage.

An F-16 falls. With an increasing Your combat planes As part of its defensive shield, a limited and risky resource. In fact, the F-16 pilot Maksym Ustymenko died After demolishing seven aerial objectives, diverting its aircraft from populated areas before crashing. The Trump administration refusal to sell More patriot systems He has forced Kyiv to reiterate his willingness to acquire them on his own.

Zelenskyy, when claiming more western help, He stressed that “Moscow will not stop as long as it has the capacity to launch mass attacks” and demanded greater international pressure on the Kremlin. According to official figuresin just one week, Russia has launched more than 1,270 drones, 114 missiles and about 1,100 planning bombs, in an unpublished aerial offensive that seeks not only to exhaust resources, but also break the moral of the population.

Drones and evolution. We have coming counting These weeks. Ukrainian defense minister, Rustem Umerov, explained that Moscow has intensified the combined use of missiles and drones, most of them of the Shahed typeIranian design, which now fly higher, faster and with a greater explosive load, escaping within reach of Ukrainian anti -aircraft mobile units.

This qualitative leap in the ability of drones has forced a constant intellectual struggle to Adapt the defenses and find effective solutions. Ukraine has been working for years in electronic and neutralization tactics, but the Technological evolution Russia forces an increasingly sophisticated response.

Adaptation cycle. He Shahed-136also known as Geran-2 when used by Moscow, it has gone from being a simple low-cost Iranian drone to become A key piece in the technological war of Ukraine. Its low price, long -range and considerable explosive load have made it especially useful for both attacks and For tactical operations.

Despite its intensive use, Ukraine had initially achieved a high index of neutralizationusing a combination of electronic interference, MI-24 helicoptersfighters MIG-29 and machine guns mounted on vehicles to intercept these drones. However, in recent months, a significant evolution in design and tactics has allowed a Increasing number of Shaheds overcome Ukrainian defenses.

That, and something More, they have led to Greater air attack to date.

The Iranian redesign. The Ukrainian reports They point to several significant improvements in the most recent Shahed. The most obvious: the armor of the motor compartment, which now resists the machine gun shots, while fuel deposits have been relocated from the wings to the central fuselage, reducing vulnerability to lateral impacts. Thus, the most disruptive innovation is the Incorporation of submunitions.

These new versions are not only limited to impact, but they can disperse small loads Explosive during the flight, increasing its effectiveness against formations of troops or fortified positions. These artifacts can be released anywhere on the journey, expanding their operational flexibility. In fact, Ukrainian troops in the regions of Sumy and Járkov They have reported The most disconcerting encounters with these drones: no impact is heard, and twenty minutes later an unexpected explosion ensues.

Lancet In addition, and equally important, Shahed Russian waves are now not alone. Together with physical improvements, Russia has changed its way of deploying them. One of the new tactics consists in launching the drones in pairs: one at low altitude, the other at a higher height. The lower drone acts as a decoy, attracting Ukrainian radars, while the superior It goes unnoticed Until the first is destroyed, gaining time and increasing its chances of achieving the goal.

The other novel tactic has been the combination of Shaheds with the so -called Lancet drones. We talk about devices smallervery difficult to detect and lethal. Lancet are used to Attack specifically To the Ukrainian teams of antidrón defense, clearing the way for the Shaheds to arrive without opposition. In other words, the evolution of the Lancet has made them a kind of shield before the offensive of Shahed’s swarms. A strategy, the “attack on interceptors”, which has seriously complicated the effectiveness of Ukrainian land mobile defenses.

Russian advance on land. Simultaneously to massive air attack, Russian forces advance on the eastern front to the fastest rhythm Since November, supported by high -precision and non -interferible drones guided by optical fiber. Ukrainian commander, Oleksandr Syrsky, He warned On attempts to break the defensive lines in three directions, particularly around the key cities of Kostyantynykka and Pokrovsk, which could be fenced if the offensive rhythm continues.

In the north, the Russian troops advance from the Kursk region to Sumy’s, threatening to place themselves soon artillery of its regional capital. Ukrainian government sources They have anticipated that Russia’s terrestrial and aerial offensive will intensify throughout the summer.

Doctrinal change and antipersone mines. Plus: Before the worsening of the conflict, Zelenskyy signed A decree to withdraw Ukraine from the Ottawa Conventionthe same that prohibits the production and use of antipersone mines, a measure that, according to the parliamentarian Roman Kostenkoresponds to the moral and tactical asymmetry of the conflict.

In the background, Russia, which is not part of the treaty, and that has used (and much) these weapons against Ukrainian military and civilians. From that perspective, the permanence of Ukraine in the agreement was seen as A strategic disadvantage. Although parliamentary approval is still required, the step marks a new phase in Kyiv’s military doctrine, increasingly defined by the need to adapt to a war without rules imposed by the adversary.

War without truce. He massive air attack Russian has not only raised the destructive level of war, but also exacerbated wear of the Ukrainian defenses and the urgency of foreign support. The lack of anti -aircraft ammunition, combined with the growing sophistication of Russian offensive media, puts Ukraine before a counterreloj career to sustain their resistance capacity.

Putin’s strategy seems aimed at maintaining a constant pressure (both psychological and material) that weakens Ukraine’s capabilities before new international aids arrive with sufficient strength. The possibility of a peace agreement moves further away, while the war goes into a cycle of sustained intensificationwith unpredictable consequences for both regional balance and, what’s doubt, for European security.

Image | Heute, State Emergency Service of Ukraine, Nickel Nitride

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