“Russia’s window of opportunity will not remain open”: Expert assesses the threat posed by jet-powered Shaheds

Political expert and Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman Oleksandr Musiienko said that Ukraine has already found ways to counter Shahed drones and will find solutions for jet-powered drones as well. The necessary measures are currently being developed, Politeka reports.

He said this in his blog.

“Looking at the situation with jet-powered Shaheds, I am reminded of the end of October 2022. That was when the enemy first used Shaheds — not jet-powered ones, but conventional drones — to strike energy facilities in the Ukrainian capital and later in other regions. At the time, this genuinely seemed like a new type of weapon that could give Putin some kind of advantage.

“But some time passed, and a solution was found in the form of mobile fire groups, which began protecting major cities and strategic facilities. Later, electronic warfare systems and interceptor drones were introduced as well. As a result, we are now shooting down more than 90% of the enemy’s drones,” Oleksandr Musiienko said.

Unfortunately, he noted, debris does fall and this also has consequences, potentially causing casualties and destruction. However, the situation is still nowhere near as serious as it would be if 50% of the drones were reaching their targets. In that case, he said, Ukraine would have lost the air campaign long ago.

“But because a solution was found, we did not allow the enemy to develop this advantage. So now we also need to find an appropriate solution very quickly,” the expert emphasized.

“In addition, the president has raised this issue, and work on developing interceptor drones and electronic warfare systems to suppress this threat is being accelerated. We understand how difficult it is to shoot down jet-powered Shaheds, but appropriate measures will be taken. In other words, Russia’s window of opportunity will not remain open indefinitely. Unfortunately, it has emerged now. Perhaps some decisions were made too late and were not timely enough, but concrete steps are being taken,” Oleksandr Musiienko stated.

Moreover, the expert added, Ukraine’s Defense Forces are working to carry out more effective strikes against the enemy’s drone launch and deployment network, followed by a massive strike on drone production facilities in Yelabuga, Tatarstan.