All about the Iranian Kamikaze drone 'Shahed-136' Kyiv accuses Russia of using | EXPLAINED

Russian Ministry of Defense on Sunday released foot depicting strikes on Nikolayev-Krivoy-Rog axis with Kamikaze or ‘suicide’ drones, accusing Ukrainian forces of intensifying counteroffensive in  region of Kherson.  kamikaze drones and surveillance UAVs have struck Ukrainian military positions, tanks, self-propelled artillery, and US-manufactured HMMWV armoured vehicles. 

US intelligence had publicly warned just a month into conflict that Tehran plans to send hundreds of bomb-carrying drones to Russia, while latter denied it. Ukraine's military n encountered an Iranian-supplied suicide drone used by Russia on battlefield. Ukrainian military’s Strategic Communications Directorate published ims of wreck of drone on its official social media channels kwn as Shahed-136, or “Witness” in Farsi, Kamikze implies that y are, apparently, disposable. se drones were widely used near Kupiansk as Kyiv intensified counteroffensive that pushed Russian troops behind  battle lines around Kharkiv on eastern front. 

“As a result of use of UAVs, several tanks, self-propelled artillery pieces and wheeled vehicles, including those supplied by NATO countries, were destroyed,” Russia's ministry of defense claimed in a statement published alongside visuals.

Ukraine claims that  loitering Kamikaze drones capable of carrying  warheads were being rampantly supplied by Iran to Moscow's forces. Kyiv's regime accused Russia of resorting to acts of desperation as it demanded more air defence systems and ammunition from West. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on social media that capital Kyiv was bombarded with Iranian kamikaze drones as air raid sirens resonated in Kyiv shortly before first explosion at around 6:35 am or 9:05 am Monday, Indian Standard Time (IST).

Kamikaze drones struck Ukraine's Vinnytsia, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia and or cities in recent weeks and have played a crucial role during Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine that it launched in late February. 

What are Iranian Kamikaze drones Ukraine accuses Russians of firing? 

Officially designated as 'Geranium 2' in Russian military service, Iranian Kamikaze drones with estimated 2.5 kg weight use real-time GPS coordinates for precise and accurate targeting and is launched from a variety of air, sea, and ground platform. A Kamikaze drone kwn as  next-generation loitering missile is relatively smaller in size and comes with a payload, launcher, and transport bag. It is launched from a tube and can be disengd or aborted depending on  operator's commands during mission, including at  last minute. 

When equipped with a missile, it can weigh around 55 kg, have a range of around 40 km and endurance of 40 minutes to destroy armoured targets including armoured tanks.

“Today Russian army used Iranian drones for its strikes. world will kw about every instance of collaboration with evil, and it will have corresponding consequences,” Zelenskyy said in a Facebook post. 

Kamikaze drones used by Russia,  Shahed-136 delta-wing drones, can be operational in less than 10 minutes and were first seen deployed during Russian-Ukrainian War on September 13. According to geopolitical analysts, Iranian Shahed-136 delta-wing drones were widely used by Russian military on targets in Ukrainian city of Odessa, and were used to destroy headquarters of a Ukrainian naval facility.

Iranian Shahed-136 delta-wing drones flaunt anti-radiation capabilities that can surpass  air defence systems and crush Ukraine’s older Soviet-built S-300 batteries in a show of Moscow's advanced firepower. A firepower analyst from Royal United Services Institute think tank warns that kamikaze drones are very difficult to "consistently intercept" and while y might be slower than cruise missiles, y will definitely cause large-scale military casualties. se drones, w widely used by Russians, are also cheaper than  cruise missiles and compensate for Moscow's lack of stealth aircraft such as Tu-22M bombers that have played a limited role during conflict. Ukraine's Zelenskyy claims that Russia has bought up to 2,400 Shahed-136 amid its depleting arsenal.