Russia has significantly improved its Shahed strike drones, while Ukraine has not yet created a comprehensive concept for countering these weapons. This was stated by aviation expert and analyst Konstantin Kryvolap on Radio NV, emphasizing that the effectiveness of shooting down drones has sharply decreased over the past year.
According to Kryvolap, at the beginning of the large-scale use of "Shaheeds", the Ukrainian air defense system demonstrated an effectiveness of about 85%. Despite individual casualties, the attacks at that time did not lead to critical destruction of energy or civilian infrastructure. The expert explains this by the fact that the first modifications of the drones were much simpler.
However, the situation has changed dramatically after Russia significantly modernized its drones. In the summer, according to the expert, the hit rate sometimes dropped to 30–50%, and during recent massive strikes, the enemy has been increasingly successful in hitting its targets.
Kryvolap notes that this is already having a direct impact on Ukraine's energy system. According to him, attacks are increasingly targeting critical facilities, and the results speak for themselves.
" The occupiers are hitting where they need to. Experts are already saying that there will be a few more such serious strikes, and it is unclear what we will do with the energy sector ," the expert emphasized.
He attributes the situation not only to Russia's technological progress, but also to the lack of a state policy to combat the "Shaheds." According to him, Ukraine still does not have a comprehensive plan that would determine how to protect electricity, heat, and other critical resources from drone attacks.
