The figure that matters is 356,000. That is how many Russian targets Ukraine’s long-range drones have struck over the last year alone, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on June 10.
Two sets of drone news have surfaced since. One is a new Ukrainian drone called Sichen. The other is an NPR report from a farm field in eastern Ukraine, where a secretive strike unit launches drones into Russia most nights.
Sichen: the specifications
Sichen was presented on April 13 at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs defense exhibition in Kyiv. According to the specifications on display, as cited by Ukrainian media and Army Recognition, it has a range of up to 1,400 km and a 40 kg warhead. The listed accuracy is up to 20 meters, top speed 200 km/h, ceiling 1,500 meters and maximum takeoff weight 140 kg. It is meant to be ready to launch in no more than 15 minutes and to work day and night under active electronic warfare.
That 40 kg warhead is roughly 29 percent of takeoff weight. The placard calls it a warhead “of various types,” and Ukraine has not said what they are or how the drone is guided.
Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said at the exhibition that Ukraine now conducts up to 95 percent of its long-range strikes with its own weapons. One day later, Berlin and Kyiv announced a defense package including €300 million in investment for Ukrainian deep-strike capabilities.
A night with the launch team
NPR watched the First Separate Center of Unmanned Systems work as the sun set over a field. Soldiers unloaded what looked like a miniature jet from a truck. “Our beautiful drone,” one said. It was made by Fire Point, a Ukrainian company, and can travel between 800 and 1,200 miles.
The unit’s commander, who goes by Charlie, has run it for three years. “Our defense forces lack cruise and ballistic missiles but our drones have really influenced the course of combat operations,” he said. Setting up launches used to take half a day. “I compare it to a pit stop in a Formula 1 race,” he said now.
The drones take off from pads, powered by a motorcycle engine with a cable running to the launcher. “We need to create a high takeoff speed for the drone to fly,” said a soldier called Uki. At least ten drones went up in about two hours. Then the team left. “The Russians, of course, are looking for us,” Uki said. “We are targets.”
What the strikes have hit
Ukraine’s drones have repeatedly hit oil refineries and depots in Russia, including near Moscow and in Siberia. On June 18 Ukraine launched its largest drone offensive on Moscow yet and hit a refinery. Residents reported “oil rain.” Charlie confirmed his team worked on strikes on a refinery near Moscow last month.
Russia intercepts most of the drones, NPR reported, but some get through to industrial and military plants and supply lines. The Kremlin denies economic repercussions. Refinery output has fallen, though, and Russian media describe fuel rationing in Moscow and parts of northern Russia.
Crimea is also under pressure. Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said it “is being isolated by drones.” George Barros of the Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine can launch hundreds of long-range vehicles into Russia on a near-daily basis.
Sources
- Ukraine Unveils New 1,400 km Sichen Drone for Precision Strikes Under Electronic Warfare
- Inside a secretive Ukrainian team launching deep drone strikes at Russia
