It is one of the few times Ukraine has confirmed that Russia has succeeded in destroying a major US weapons system. The Russian military has been hunting the M777 howitzers and Himars missile systems for months as the deployment of these advanced and highly accurate weapons marked a turning point in the war.
In turn, Russia now hopes that Iranian drones, such as the Shahed-136, will pose a major threat to the Ukrainian military. This kamikazedrone has an explosive of about forty kilos and hits military equipment with great speed. “It wasn’t like the artillery that hit us before,” said Captain Volodymyr Danchenko of one of the Russian attacks. He is one of two Ukrainian officers in The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal recognize the effectiveness of Iranian drones.
Danchenko says he saw a Shahed-136 hit a Ukrainian howitzer that was completely destroyed. “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” said the artillery officer. The Russians have rushed to deploy Iranian drones in northeastern Ukraine where the Ukrainian military is engaged in a successful counter-offensive. The Russian army is now regrouping and trying with the small kamikazedrones to destroy as much important heavy equipment of the Ukrainian units as possible.
Photos downed drone
The US has been warning since July that Russia, plagued by a shortage of high-tech weapons and combat drones, was about to buy hundreds of drones from Iran. Iran has been developing weaponized drones for years, much to the concern of the US and Israel. However, both Moscow and Tehran were silent about the US accusation in all languages.
Late last month, US officials reported that the first Iranian drones had arrived in Russia. However, according to the US, some did not work properly. Confirmation that Iranian drones had arrived on the battlefield came last week when the Ukrainian military released the first photos of a downed Shahed. The drone was shot down near Kupiansk and bears Russian markings.
The photos showed that Moscow had renamed the drone Geran-2, possibly to refute reports that it had purchased Iranian drones. The British Ministry of Defense also confirmed at the time that the Russians had deployed the drones for the first time.
First test successful
According to the Ukrainian army, the Russians already managed to destroy the M777 howitzer in the first attack in late August. The US has delivered 126 of these howitzers to Ukraine. This attack was a test of their effectiveness, Colonel Rodion Kulahin, commander of artillery operations in the Kharkiv offensive. Another Shahed had a breakdown and crashed.
A handful of other attacks subsequently destroyed several howitzers and armored cars and killed four soldiers. Koelahin called on the West to provide similar kamikazedrones, as well as defense systems against the Iranian drones. “Give us something that looks like it,” the officer told the police New York Times.
However, the US has also supplied Ukraine with kamikazedrones, the Switchblade. So far, Kyiv has received more than 700 of these drones, the smallest of which fits in a backpack. The heavier version of this kamikazedrone, the Switchblade 600, is equipped with an explosive device to pierce and destroy heavy military equipment. This American drone can be sent by a soldier, with a tablet in hand, at Russian targets about 40 kilometers away.
Destruction Himars
Whether the Russian army will really be able to inflict heavy blows on Ukraine with the Shahed remains to be seen in the coming weeks. A big boost for Moscow would be if it succeeds in destroying some of the Himars missile systems. The Ukrainian army has used this weapon in recent months to burn more than 400 key Russian targets, such as command centers and ammunition and petrol depots.
These attacks far behind Russian lines, up to about 70 kilometers from the front, have dealt a heavy blow to Russian operations and supplies. According to the US, the Russian hunt for the Himars has so far failed completely. A senior Pentagon official recently reported that Ukraine still has all 16 Himars delivered launchers.
Because of the Shahed’s long range, Russia can also use the kamikazedrone to attack key targets deep in Ukraine, such as weapons depots, air bases and command centers. Iran claims the Shahed has a range of about 2,000 kilometers. According to the British intelligence services, the fact that the Russians do not use this proves how great the need is in the army for weapons for the battlefield. “Russia is trying to use the system to carry out tactical attacks,” the Ministry of Defense said last week. ‘Instead of against more strategic targets deeper in Ukraine’.
Cheers to Iran
The first reports about the effectiveness of the Shahed are a boost for Iran. Tehran has claimed for years that the weapons it produces, mainly missiles and drones, are of high quality. In the West and Israel, however, there are doubts as to whether the Iranian weapons are good and can compete with modern Western weapons. In recent years, however, the war in Yemen has shown that the Iranian drones deployed there pose a great danger.
These were heavier and much larger drones than the Shahed, such as the Samad, which had been supplied by Tehran to the Houthi rebels. The Houthis used Iranian weapons to attack oil refineries, airports and even the royal palace in the capital Riyadh as far as Saudi Arabia. Last year, the first reports surfaced that the Shahed-136 had also been used in Yemen by the Houthis, who are being fought by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia.