{
  "id": 11106132,
  "title": "Ukraine-Krieg: Nachts auf dem Hügel: Warum ist Kiew so schwer zu schützen?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/01/ukraine-krieg-nachts-auf-dem-hugel-warum-ist-kiew-so-schwer-zu",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-01T03:55:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/ukraine-krieg-nachts-auf-dem-huegel-warum-ist-kiew-so-schwer-zu-schuetzen/100258854.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "A bright moonlit night on a hill outside Kiev. Four men open the tarpaulin covering an American pickup truck, revealing a trailer with a large twin machine gun. The lights of the million-city flicker on the horizon. The mobile unit belongs to Ukraine's air defense. They were there to help protect the capital from Russian airstrikes that night. Threat from Russia's new jet drones In recent weeks, it has become almost impossible to fulfill this mission. The Russian army not only fires ballistic missiles at night at Kiev. They have equipped their Shahed drones, originally of Iranian origin, with jet engines. Earlier models like Geran-3 had a propeller, were slow and flew low, making a noise like a mopeds. \"When the Russians realized we were usually shooting down their Shahed, they developed new ones that fly faster and higher,\" says the platoon chief. The latest Geran-5 model flies at an astonishing 450 to 600 kilometers per hour and a maximum altitude of 6,000 meters. Geran-4 is slightly smaller and slower, and can be heard all day and night in Kiev. There are deaths and injuries. \"Life for the civilian population has become very difficult.\" The four volunteers are not soldiers, but volunteers with military experience. They dedicate their free time to this duty, sacrificing their leisure. \"My projects consume a lot of time. That's why I do it on my free days,\" said an entrepreneur. One works as a system administrator, another as a civil servant. The fourth was already a documentary filmmaker, soldier, and tea importer. Their motivation: \"It's important to protect our women and children,\" says the platoon chief. Uniforms, equipment, and even the car were self-acquired. The army provides the anti-aircraft gun with ammunition. How long can they endure? \"Until our victory!\" The heavy machine guns of the Wladimirow type with 14.5 mm caliber are still from the Soviet era. \"Probably built in the 1970s,\" says the platoon chief. Against the old Shahed, their hit rate was good, say the men on the gun. Even low-flying Russian cruise missiles can be hit by luck. What can old machine guns aim at? But against the new generation of Russian drones, the old MGs are not high enough. \"We can hit them if they're below 1,500 meters,\" says the platoon chief. For the new Russian drones to fly over the target before the double run. The mobile units are not alone, there is defense over Kiev. There are old German anti-aircraft tanks Gepard, there are electronic defense systems. Even they have had trouble with the fast new drones. The German air defense systems Iris-T could shoot down the Geran-5, but their intercept missiles are expensive. Currently, Ukrainian fighter jets are the most successful against drones. Sometimes they use their onboard cannon, even if they must fly close to the drone. Finally, Patriot and Nasams systems protect the capital, but they are designed to counter ballistic missiles. On the night of Tuesday, ballistic missiles were shot down, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced, thanking the US and Norway for Nasams ammunition. The main tool for the volunteers is a tablet computer. It shows on a map how the hostile drones approach. \"One comes over Wyschhorod, 4,700 meters high,\" says the man on the tablet. \"It turns around after Browary.\" That's a suburb where logistics centers are repeatedly attacked. Waiting, waiting - that's what the watch on the hill looks like. Two men gossip about their motorcycles. Then suddenly: A drone approaches the possible gun range of the MGs at low altitude. The man in the turret turns the shelter, spins the tubes up. \"No, that's heading for Schuljawka.\" This time they don't fire. They still don't consider their task pointless: Someday something will come at them. \"Moreover, we observe, collect information and pass it on,\" says one. Fervent work on new defense measures The great city of Kiev cannot daily endure several heavy hits with deaths and injuries, fires, destroyed infrastructure, uninhabitable houses, and broken businesses. The escalation of recent days prompted government action. Own countermeasures have already been tested in battle, said Zelensky. Their hit rate is still too low. \"But every week the hit rate should increase.\" Currently, it is around 60 percent according to various reports. The new Minister of Defense, Yevheniy Chmara, announced a new tactic. The jet drones should not even approach the capital. All parts of the defense should adapt to the new reality. As a relief, Ukraine will receive three more US F-16 fighter jets by the end of the year.",
  "summary": "Russlands schnelle Jet-Drohnen bringen Tod und Zerstörung über die ukrainische Hauptstadt. Freiwillige helfen bei der Luftverteidigung. Was wirkt wirklich gegen die neue Gefahr?",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}