Russia rapidly expands jet drone use

In August, Russia significantly increased its use of jet-powered drones against Ukraine compared to the previous month, according to Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat. Ihnat stated that the number of jet UAV launches in July was five times greater than in June. He attributed this shift in emphasis to Moscow's focus on employing Oniks and Zircon hypersonic missiles over Kinzhal and Kh-101 missiles.

Ihnat observed this change by analyzing strike data without relying on restricted intelligence sources. Regarding the North Korean KN-23 ballistic missile, Ihnat revealed its confirmed use in a strike on Kryvyi Rih, which resulted in the death of an entire family. Following initial speculation that the missile was launched by an Iskander-M, S-400, or KN-23, experts later identified the missile as a KN-23 by analyzing unique fragments.

Ihnat noted that the KN-23 is a less potent copy of the Russian Iskander missile but is the only known use of this missile in the past six months. When queried about the feasibility of Ukrainian forces destroying Russian launchers to decrease the frequency of strikes, Ihnat acknowledged the possibility but emphasized the extreme difficulty of the task.

He explained that an Iskander launcher is a mobile system that can quickly deploy and move to a location before the missiles reach the stratosphere, making it challenging to target and destroy.