Ukraine Has Another Threat to Deal With – Politico
By Staff
The recent deployment of Iranian drones is prompting renewed Ukrainian calls for the US to send more advanced weaponry.
It was a little over a week ago that Russian-purchased Iranian drones first began appearing in the skies over Ukraine.
Andriana Arekhta, a junior sergeant with the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said the drones flew from Crimea to attack her special forces unit fighting near the southern city of Kherson. The drones evaded the soldiers’ defenses and dropped bombs on their position, destroying two tanks with their crews inside.
“It’s very difficult to see these drones on radars,” said Arekhta, who traveled to Washington, D.C., last week as part of a delegation of female Ukrainian soldiers. “It’s a huge problem.”
Over the past week, Russia has deployed Shahed and Mohajer combat drones after purchasing them from Iran in greater numbers across Ukraine, with devastating results. Some hit combat positions, smashing tanks and armored vehicles.
In interviews, a Ukrainian activist and three soldiers said the Iranian drones pose a major threat. Their arrival on the battlefield makes the need for the West to send additional modern weaponry even more urgent, as Kiev tries to seize on recent gains to retake as much territory as possible before winter sets in, they said.
The Iranian drones appear to be a potential game-changer for the Russians. They are relatively small and fly at low altitude, evading Ukrainian radars. Arekhta said she could shoot them down with Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, but only during the day because the US-provided weapons do not come with a night-vision system.
Ukraine needs modern air defenses, such as the Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar systems the US used in Afghanistan, and 360-degree radar to counter the new threat, the visiting group said.
“I need to be in position against Russian helicopters on one side and Iranian drones came from another side,” Arekhta said. “It’s very hard to close the huge area with Stingers, with other weapons that can hit these drones.”
Arekhta uses the Switchblade 300 drones provided by Washington, but they are essentially commercial systems that are not powerful enough to work against armored vehicles and artillery, she said. Ukraine needs the upgraded Switchblade 600 drones, a loitering munition she described as “a flying Javelin.”
Washington has contracted with manufacturer AeroVironment to send the 600 version, but they likely won’t arrive for many months.
Additionally, the old Soviet-era tanks Kiev operates have a myriad of problems, Arekhta said. The soldiers frequently get error messages when using the aiming system and there is no fire protection system, forcing them to use a small fire extinguisher on the outside of the tank if they are hit. The tanks don’t connect to the soldiers’ Western-provided radios, so Arekhta has to use her cell phone to communicate. In the winter, “Soviet tank doesn’t work at all,” she said.
Kiev needs modern tanks, Bradley Fighting Vehicles and Humvees to help Ukraine’s forces advance in the face of heavy Russian artillery, the soldiers said.
Ukraine is waiting the winter season, which it could use to train its forces on more advanced weapons that the West has not yet greenlighted — for instance, modern battle tanks and fighter jets, Kaleniuk said. The Ukrainian Armed Forces two weeks ago submitted an official letter of request asking for either used or new fighter jets, and its air force has identified a few dozen pilots who speak English and are prepared to begin training immediately, she said.
But modern tanks and jets may be little more than a pipe dream, at least for now. Although Pentagon officials have left the door open to sending Kiev the US-made F-16 fighter jet, top generals said the planes wouldn’t arrive for years after any political decision was made to donate them.
