UK intelligence on attacks by Shaheds & Russia's missile savings
Russia uses kamikaze drones for massive attacks on Ukrainian territory to weaken the air defense system. Missiles are being saved for possible attacks on infrastructure in winter.
This was reported by the UK Ministry of Defense on X (Twitter).
As noted in the report, between November 18 and 19, 2023, Russia launched about 50 Iranian-designed Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles, mainly in the direction of Kyiv. They were launched in waves in two directions - from Kursk to the east and from Krasnodar to the southeast.
According to British intelligence, one of Russia's goals was likely to weaken Ukraine's air defenses in order to create a battle space before any concerted winter campaign of strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure.
"Russia has now refrained from launching its premier air-launched cruise missiles from its heavy bomber fleet for nearly two months, likely allowing it to build up a substantial stock of these weapons. Russia is highly likely to use these missiles if it repeats last year’s effort to destroy Ukraine’s critical national infrastructure," the British Ministry of Defense emphasizes.
Author – Anastasiya Glotova, 21/11/2023
