Russia has changed its air attack tactics against Ukraine, moving to the mass deployment of jet-powered drones 'Geran-4' and 'Geran-5', concentrating its main strikes on Kyiv and the Kyiv region. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine citing its own sources. According to the outlet, the change in the nature of the raids is systematic and has been recorded over the past few days.

Tactical Shift: From Gasoline-Powered 'Shaheds' to Jet-Powered Drones

A series of virtually uninterrupted raids by jet-powered drones in combination with traditional gasoline-powered 'Shaheds' has continued since August 27. According to RBC-Ukraine sources, on that day during a nighttime strike, about a third of the 258 attack UAVs were jet-powered drones. In a daytime wave of roughly 140 drones, more than 100 turned out to be jet-powered, with the majority of them directed toward the capital.

Chronology of the Growing Share of Jet-Powered Drones

In the following days, the trend persisted. On September 1, during the daytime, 72 of the 99 launched drones were jet-powered, and from September 2 to 4, the Air Force estimated their share at about half of all 'Shaheds' used. At the same time, the ratio is not stable: in some daytime waves, the share of jet-powered drones exceeded two-thirds. According to media reports, Russian 'Geran-4' drones are capable of breaking through Ukrainian air defense at speeds of up to 500 km/h.

Plans to Raise the Share to 80% by November

Russian occupiers intend to significantly expand the use of jet-powered drones. According to RBC-Ukraine sources, by November, through expanding production capacity, the enemy plans to bring the share of jet-powered drones in attacks to approximately 80%, while traditional gasoline-powered 'Shaheds' will account for only about 20% of total launches.

Contradictory Data

Assessments of air defense effectiveness against jet-powered drones vary. On the one hand, one expert stated that Russian jet-powered 'Geran-5' drones cannot be shot down by interceptor drones. On the other hand, Ukrainian air defense is showing high results in destroying these UAVs. Moreover, the share of jet-powered drones in raids ranges from a third to two-thirds depending on the wave, indicating the instability of the indicator and the difficulty of its precise accounting.

Goal of the Strikes — Paralyzing Kyiv

Head of Ukraine's Disinformation Counteraction Center Andriy Kovalenko stated that the aggressor state is launching small numbers of jet-powered drones at Kyiv in waves to paralyze the city. According to him, this approach is aimed at wearing down the capital's infrastructure and population.