Михаил Федоров. Фото: facebook.com/mykhailofedorov.com.ua
Ukraine has dismantled a communications network used to control Russian Shahed kamikaze drones flying into the north of the country from the direction of Belarus. This was reported by Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov at a meeting with journalists, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
“We managed to eliminate the mesh network that Shaheds were using in the north, which had a positive impact on the defence capability of Kyiv and central Ukraine,” he said, without specifying how the system was destroyed or how exactly it had been organised.
Adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister Serhii Beskrestnov explained to the outlet that a mesh network is structured so that all its participants simultaneously act as signal repeaters for each other. According to him, a network in which many Shahed drones operate at the same time must be connected to control points and Russian operators.
“And such control points exist on the territory of Russia and did exist on the territory of Belarus. What does it look like? It is an ordinary mobile operator tower or some other tower, 70–80 metres high, with powerful antennas installed on it and directed towards Ukraine. These are nodal points through which information from Shaheds is transmitted to the control centre,” he said.
It should be recalled that on February 18 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against Alyaksandr Lukashenka. The sanctions were introduced, among other reasons, for the deployment in Belarus of a system of relay stations used to control strike drones and include the deprivation of Ukrainian state awards, asset freezes, restrictions on trade operations, transit limitations, a ban on participation in privatisation and other measures.
The Ukrainian leader publicly stated in late December last year that equipment used to guide drones towards targets in Ukraine is deployed, among other places, on the territory of Belarus.
“According to our intelligence, the equipment used to strike Ukraine is being deployed in populated areas of Belarus near the border, including on residential buildings. In effect, antennas and other equipment that help guide Shaheds towards targets in our western regions are installed on the roofs of ordinary five-storey apartment blocks,” Zelenskyy said.