Russia uses Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones to attack Ukraine to overwhelm air defenses and intimidate Ukrainians.

The occupiers do not even count on the drone hitting the target.

This was told by military expert

Oleksandr Musienko

 during the All-Ukrainian telethon, which is broadcast by TSN YouTube channels.

He noted that now the attacks have become more frequent.

"We see a trend that the

enemy began to use drones more actively

. They obviously have an established supply channel or they have agreed on their production - perhaps not only in Russia, as agreed with Iran, but also directly on the territory of Iran," Musienko believes.

At the same time, according to the expert, mass drone attacks

are not designed to make the Shahed fly to their target, but to force the Ukrainian air defense to use up its missile reserves

.

"

And secondly - to put psychological

pressure on. We are not afraid, people are already used to it, but all the same they attack psychology by not allowing people to sleep properly in the dark. This is the current tactic. It seems to me that they are not counting on some kind of hit if they hit 1-2, but they are counting on these two aspects," he says.

Musiyenko also explained why the Russian army mainly uses Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones during night strikes on Ukraine, and more often strikes with cruise missiles during the day.

"

First of all, the principles of aiming the Kh-101 missile suggest that it is better to do it during the day, in the light of day

. It should be noted that during the full-scale invasion, the Kh-101 was almost never used in the dark. 

And Shahed at night, therefore that they are visually harder to see

," Musienko explained.

We will remind you that the Russian army launched new strikes on Ukraine on New Year's holidays.

Instead of cruise missiles, the invaders mainly used Iranian attack drones Shahed-131 and Shahed-136.

In Kyiv, as a result of the night attack on January 2, energy infrastructure facilities and private houses were damaged.

Emergency power cuts have been introduced in the capital. 

Yuriy Ignat

, the spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces 

 , said that the military shot down 39 downed Iranian-made Shahed-131/136 UAVs. 

"Now 100% of UAVs have been destroyed in different regions of the country in general," the officer said.

The former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine, 

Mykola Malomuzh

 , believes that the Russian army is trying to wear out Ukrainian air defense with mass attacks.

Read also:

  • Ukraine news

  • War in Ukraine

  • News of Ukraine: video