Research shows that places such as markets, cafes or humanitarian aid centers are preferential targets
The Ukraine war became the war that brought widespread use of drones in a military context. But that doesn’t mean armies know how to operate these machines 100%. That’s why they have to train. And Russia’s training has been done in a specific location.
According to an investigation by , Russia has been using the Kherson region, one of the four it unilaterally annexed after a referendum, to practice the use of drones during battles.
But Russian training is being carried out, guarantees those who live on the Ukrainian side, among civilians, who flee every day to try to escape these unmanned aircraft.
Maybe that’s why, as the British newspaper report says, there is relief whenever there are clouds, rain or some wind. In these conditions, drones have less ability to fly, as they are more unstable and pilots have less visibility.
“They are hunting us”, guarantees Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the administrative military region of Kherson, a region that was divided in half after a Russian retreat caused by the Ukrainian counteroffensive – to the north of the Dnieper River they send the Ukrainians, to the south they send the Russians.
“Imagine what this does to a person, the psychological impact”, continues the military officer from a region where, since July this year, there have been more than 9,500 attacks with small drones. The results are at least 37 deaths and hundreds of injuries, according to local authorities.
Russia deployed some of its “best drone units” to Kherson, guarantees Prokudin, speaking of refined techniques and the deployment of new aircraft operators. Especially at a time when Ukraine expects an intensification of the invasion.
The Ukrainians’ suspicions appear to be well-founded. According to the Center for Information and Resilience (CIR), a non-profit organization that aims to expose human rights crimes and war crimes, “the vast majority” of drone attacks in Kherson are against stationary vehicles or in motion.
The organization, which analyzed the launch of 90 drones, notes that these are targets “difficult to replicate in a test environment”, which is why it is suspected that the Kherson region ends up being ideal for training. Prokudin has no doubts: the region he heads is being used as “target practice” by Russia.
The most varied attacks carried out by Moscow’s army – there are Chinese drones or Russian drones – include targets such as service stations, markets, cafes, post offices or humanitarian aid centers.
Ukraine can only hope that the weather helps to know whether the day will be calmer or not.
