5 min readNew DelhiOct 17, 2022 04:37 PM IST
First published on: Oct 15, 2022 at 09:57 AM IST
Ukraine’s capital region was struck by Iranian-made kamikaze drones early Thursday (October 14), Ukrainian officials said. The Deputy head of the presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko said “critical infrastructure facilities” in the area were hit, The Associated Press reported. The extent of damage was not elaborated on by officials.
Three drones struck the small town of Makariv, situated west of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. These kamikaze drones are not new, and have also been supplied by the US to Ukraine in its ongoing war with Russia.
What are Kamikaze drones?
These are small unmanned aircraft packed with explosives that can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes. The name comes from the World War 2 era’s feared Japanese kamikaze pilots, who conducted suicide attacks by intentionally crashing their explosive filled aircraft into enemy targets.
The modern drone versions have the capability of surpassing traditional defences to strike their targets and are also cheaper than their larger counterparts. The small lethal drones are difficult to detect on radar, and through the use of facial recognition, can be programmed to hit targets without human intervention.
What is Ukraine alleging?
In late September, Ukraine said it would downgrade diplomatic ties with Iran and strip the ambassador of his accreditation over Tehran’s “unfriendly” decision to supply Russian forces with drones, Reuters reported.
“Supplying Russia with weapons to wage war against Ukraine is an unfriendly act that deals a serious blow to relations between Ukraine and Iran,” said a statement on the foreign ministry’s website.
“In response to such an unfriendly act the Ukrainian side has decided to deprive the ambassador of Iran of his accreditation and also to significantly reduce the number of diplomatic staff of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv,” it added. Military authorities also said they shot down Shahed-136 unmanned aerial vehicles.
On October 7, The Guardian reported that Russia hit Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia, which holds Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, with explosive-packed kamikaze drones. The regional governor, Oleksandr Starukh, said Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones damaged two infrastructure facilities in the city.
According to the report, Ukrainian military officials believed such drones were cheaper and less sophisticated than missiles, but “proved effective at causing damage to targets on the ground.” The Shahed-136 drones are able to remain airborne for several hours, before they are directed into enemy targets and explode on impact. However, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani denied supplying the drones to Russia and called the claims “baseless”.
Poeple demonstrate outside the Europe Council shortly before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s video address to the assembly, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP/PTI Photo)
Which countries have such drones?
Some countries have admitted to using such armed drones, while others have been accused of utilising them to carry out covert attacks. According to the US military, Iranian-backed militias have used small drones in 10 attacks on US bases in Iraq this year.
Azerbaijan had used small Turkish-made drones against the Armenian military in the last few years, shifting the prolonged stalemate over a disputed enclave decisively in Azerbaijan’s favour.
There have been also multiple occasions where Russia has used such suicide drones to launch attacks in Ukraine following their invasion. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels also used them to blow up Saudi oil facilities in 2019.
Although the US Kamikaze might be the most advanced in this class of drones, Russia, China, Israel, Iran and Turkey all have some versions of it.
The US kamikaze drones are cheaper than most other drones made in the country, and come in two sizes, according to AeroVironment, the manufacturer. The Switchblade 300 suicide drone weighs about five pounds (2.26 kilograms), can fly for up to 15 minutes at a time, and is designed to be carried in a backpack. The Switchblade 600, by comparison, weighs about 50 pounds, can fly for up to 40 minutes, and is known as a “loitering missile” that can hover around an area for some time and target armoured vehicles.
Kamikaze drones can be flown directly at a tank or a group of troops that are destroyed when it hits the target and explodes. (Credit: @aerovironment) 
Poeple demonstrate outside the Europe Council shortly before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s video address to the assembly, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022 in Strasbourg, eastern France. (AP/PTI Photo)
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