Defense Minister advisor: Russia launches 40 Lancet missiles without warheads for its air defense system
Russia launched 40 drones with their warheads removed and additional batteries for the Lancet on Kyiv information project, according to advisor to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Serhiy Beskrestnov (call sign Flash).
"Our air defense has been operating very effectively lately, and Russian officials desperately need to provide Putin and the Russian public with at least some significant news, and so the ‘Lancet on Kyiv’ information project is born. To achieve this, they are preparing a whole operation with Shaheds and Lancets. The goal is to demonstrate, at any cost, to the Russian public and top brass the remnants of a Lancet in Kyiv… To this end, they are launching… 40 Lancets on Kyiv… They are adding Shaheds with Lancet fragments to the Lancets, and in the morning, this entire flock flies out to Kyiv," he wrote on Facebook.
The advisor noted that since the Lancet UAV is a short-range, frontline strike system with a range of 30 to 80 km, the Russians removed the UAV’s warhead and replaced it with an additional battery using new technology to implement the project. The launch was carried out from the closest point to Kyiv, with favorable wind conditions, toward the capital.
"It’s possible to control Lancets over such distances via radio at an altitude of 1.5 kilometers, but not to attack them from the ground. But that’s not necessary; the task is different. This entire procession, in flight, stretched out at altitudes practically from Chernihiv to Kyiv. Our agencies did a good job, and miraculously, a few units from the flock made it to Kyiv. They, of course, didn’t cause any damage, but they did send debris to Maidan," Flash noted.
Beskrestnov sarcastically thanked the enemy.
"We are grateful to the Russian Federation for this operation because: 1. These 40 Lancets could have caused trouble by attacking our equipment and personnel at the front lines or substations. 2. We once again practiced tactics for detecting and countering small air targets. 3. We have the opportunity to examine the electronics of the downed Lancets," the Defense Ministry adviser concluded.
As reported on Monday, Beskrestnov stated that not a single Russian Lancet-type attack UAV is physically capable of reaching Kyiv.
As reported on Monday, Defense Express, citing its own sources, reported that the drone that crashed this morning on Kyiv’s Independence Square was a new type of Lancet UAV, equipped with artificial intelligence, which poses a "significant threat" as it is designed for group attacks and target recognition. The publication published live photos from the crash site and suggested that the drones could have been launched from Belarus or Russia.
