Ukraine has gained battlefield experience in countering Iranian-made Shahed drones that could be useful to international partners facing similar threats, according to Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service (HUR).
According to Skibitsky, years of repeated drone attacks have allowed Ukrainian forces to study launch patterns, routes, and timing in detail, giving them practical knowledge of how Shahed drones are used in combat.
“We have the expertise to understand from which direction, when, and at what time they launch Shaheds, and along which route they fly. This is the practical interception experience of our military,” he said on Telegram.
He said Ukraine’s defense against drone attacks works through several systems acting together, including mobile fire units, air defense missile systems, and electronic warfare capabilities.
“Ukrainian air defense relies on multi-layer coordination – from mobile fire groups to surface-to-air missile systems and electronic warfare assets. All of this must work in complex incorporation, not as a separate type of weapon,” he said.
The intelligence official also pointed to the sharp increase in the number of drones used by Russia. While attacks once involved around 30 drones per month, the scale has since expanded to hundreds.
He noted that one of the highest recorded levels came in July last year, when Russia launched 802 drones in a single day.
He said Ukraine is not proposing direct operational involvement abroad but is offering the lessons learned during constant drone attacks.
“We are not saying that we are going to take part [in missions abroad] in practice. But we are offering shared experience, because this threat remains relevant for everyone,” Skibitsky said.
The United States and Israel on Saturday launched a massive air bombardment campaign against Iran, primarily targeting Iran’s national leadership and its offensive capacity.
Some of the strikes sought to kill top-level Iranian officials, while most others targeted major military targets, such as warships, weapons stores, and long-range missile launchers. The overall allied objective was to smash Iran’s capacity to resist militarily.
An immediate, shorter-term objective was to establish total air dominance over Iran so that it would be easier for more massed strikes to hit whatever survived in later attacks and cripple any future counteroffensive.