CNN shows work of DIU unit that conducts long-range drones strikes against Russia. PHOTO
CNN received exclusive access to one of Ukraine's long-range drone units, which is part of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to CNN.
CNN spent two days travelling the country with a drone unit as it prepared to launch more than 100 drones on the night of 29 September on a mission in Russia. The target of the attack was an ammunition depot, specifically train cars inside the depot loaded with recently delivered Iranian missiles. The depot is located on the outskirts of the village of Kotluban in the Volgograd region of southwestern Russia.
In September, the unit's drones hit a Russian ammunition depot between Moscow and St Petersburg in the Tver region. The attack on Toropets, according to the Ukrainians, destroyed the depot, which stored Iskander tactical missiles, as well as aircraft cruise missiles and artillery ammunition. The strike caused powerful explosions that were visible for miles.
And in July, Ukrainians say they struck an oil refinery on Russia's Black Sea coast, causing a large fire.
More than 7,000 Ukrainian strikes have reached their targets in Russia this year. The furthest strike reached more than 1,700 km into Russia from the Ukrainian border. The long-range drones have targeted military installations, such as ammunition depots, as well as infrastructure, such as oil refineries.
Each drone is programmed with more than 1,000 different waypoints to avoid Russia's complex air defence systems. About 30% of all drones launched are decoy missions.
They monitor the movement of drones using trackers.
The success of the mission is monitored in three ways: through human intelligence on the ground, messages in Russian Telegram groups, and, later, analysis using satellite technology. Only after evaluating all three can a mission be considered successful or not.
