Russian drone assault on Ukraine sparks nighttime chaos
The Russians attacked Ukraine at night using Shahed drones. A total of 136 unmanned aerial vehicles were deployed in the attack. Of these, 51 were successfully shot down, while communication with 60 drones was lost.
6:21 AM EDT, October 16, 2024
"The enemy attacked the Donetsk region with an S-300/400 guided anti-aircraft missile from the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region, as well as the Chernihiv region in the north of the country with a Kh-59 guided missile launched from the airspace over the Kursk region. Additionally, 136 combat unmanned aerial vehicles were employed," reads the statement posted on Telegram.
"In the regions of Sumy, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Ternopil, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zhytomyr, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv, Kyiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, and Chernivtsi, 51 hostile drones were shot down in aerial battles. Due to active electronic warfare efforts in various parts of Ukraine, communication with 60 Russian drones was disrupted," the statement noted.
Drones also hit their targets
However, not all drones were neutralized. The attack resulted in a fire at an industrial facility in the Ternopil region.
The Institute for the Study of War reported in its latest findings that Russia has upgraded the Shahed-136 drones, enabling them to achieve higher altitudes and speeds now.
The American think tank bases its analysis on the account of a Ukrainian officer who operates in a mobile air defense unit. According to him, the Shaheds were initially very slow, had low maneuverability, and could only fly at low altitudes.
