Ukraine's armed forces have shared a video it says shows the smoldering remains of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that Iran had supplied Russia.
On its Facebook page, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces posted a 37-second clip of the smoking ruins of an object on the ground it said had been shot down on Saturday morning in the Mykolaiv region.
The post said that soldiers from the Kherson anti-aircraft missile brigade "shot down the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone with a large-caliber machine gun."
As of Saturday afternoon, the video had been viewed 16,000 times and received more than 1,300 likes. "Hold on, our dear defenders and defenders! You are going to win!" commented one Facebook user. "Let it burn," wrote another. Newsweek has contacted Russia's defense ministry about the unverified footage.
The Iranian-made drones pose a growing threat to Ukrainian civilians with footage on social media showing attacks with them are now apparently being launched by Russia every day.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said Thursday that its forces had destroyed 24 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones between September 30 and October 6, more than half than had been sent into Ukrainian territory.
The weapons have been dubbed "suicide" drones as they are designed to be flown directly into enemy targets, posing a new challenge to Ukrainian defenses. They can remain airborne for hours and circle over potential targets before being flown into enemy troops, armor or buildings and exploding on impact.
Iran is reported to have sold hundreds of them to Russia, although Tehran has denied this. Ukrainian commanders told The Wall Street Journal that Russia has inflicted serious damage on Ukrainian forces with the drones to make up for a lack of artillery firepower.
The regional governor of Zaporizhzhia, Oleksandr Starukh, said on Friday that the drones damaged two infrastructure facilities in the city. He said other missiles also struck the city again, injuring one person.
Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday that the drones were used to target the town of Bila Tserkva, 50 miles south of Kyiv, injuring one person and destroying several buildings.
The U.S. believes Iran has also supplied Russia with Mohajer-6 drones which can carry four precision-guided missiles.
Last month, Marina Miron, a research fellow from the Defense Studies Department at King's College London (KCL) told Newsweek that the drones should help Russia to conduct strikes without putting its troops at risk.
British defense officials have said that Russia faced a drone shortage because sanctions had restricted Moscow's access to key technology.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
