Russian military seeks new tactics for using Shaheds — Southern Defense Forces

She spoke about this on Espreso TV.

"Russia attacked the south of Ukraine with drones - unmanned aerial vehicles of the Shahed-131, Shahed-136 types. They were directed both from the Black Sea waters and from the temporarily occupied Crimea and the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov, employing complex maneuvers. Once again, the enemy resorted to tactical tricks, which we have observed before, essentially repeating their “successful success” in such attacks. They utilized low-altitude drone passages over water, making it extremely challenging for air defense systems to detect them, and approached from directions near residential areas, although they also maneuvered amid industrial zones," reported the military official.

Humeniuk emphasized that the advancement of Shaheds is currently happening in smaller groups. "The recent waves of attacks consist of 2-8 units. Tonight, there were up to 14 counted. However, the direction of Shaheds is quite diversified or, conversely, densely concentrated, as seen in the Odesa region, where they were tightly aligned, not allowing orientation. This represents a search for a new tactic; it's evident the enemy is attempting to gather intelligence on the readiness and effectiveness of air defense systems, their locations, in order to plan future powerful actions," explained Humeniuk.

The military official reminded about the downing of the A-50, which conducted reconnaissance, significantly shifting the focus in the Russian reconnaissance activities. "They have resorted to increasing the number of drones, attempting to compensate for these gaps in reconnaissance with tactical aviation. Consequently, they don't have a clear idea of where their future targets should be. Therefore, it's evident they are trying to use small groups to gain understanding," summarized Humeniuk.

What preceded

On the evening of Wednesday, January 24, Russian terrorists launched Shaheds.

In Odesa, there were hits on an industrial facility, damaging residential buildings and infrastructure. As a result, 4 people were injured, and they received assistance on the spot. Rescuers successfully freed one of the injured from the debris.

In the morning, the forces defending the south clarified the data on the overnight attack and reported that one of the shot-down drones hit a partially inhabited multi-story building in the Khadzybeyiskyi district of Odesa, causing a fire. Several apartments were damaged, and one person suffered burns and was hospitalized. Another shot-down drone penetrated the roof of a two-story residential building in the Prymorskyi district of the city. In the same residential quarter, another UAV fell, next to the damaged multi-story building from the previous attack. The explosive wave caused significant damage to surrounding buildings, a parked car was completely burned out, and several others were damaged.