Russia expands 10 drone military bases near borders to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses – The Telegraph
At least 20 of these launch rails have an extended design. Experts say such rails are intended to launch the latest high-speed jet-powered modifications of long-range drones.
Russia created some of the hubs by repurposing existing military bases and civilian airports. It built other sites from scratch in rural areas.
The increase in storage capacity also shows the scale of this infrastructure buildup. Experts say it points to Moscow's preparations for a prolonged and more intensive air campaign. At one base alone, analysts recorded storage space capable of holding more than 1,000 attack drones simultaneously. Construction of additional launch positions is still ongoing at several sites.
Russia delivers drones directly to launch sites from its military factories. In particular, this includes the production cluster in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in the Republic of Tatarstan.
According to leaked documents, new drone modifications called Geran-4 and Geran-5 have jet engines. They can carry an enhanced 90-kilogram warhead and fly at significantly higher speeds. Experts say this reduces the effectiveness of Ukraine's mobile fire groups.
In addition, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's Main Intelligence Directorate previously warned that Russia is equipping Geran drones with air-to-air missiles. Russia could use them to target Ukrainian aircraft involved in intercepting aerial targets over major cities.
Mike Monnik, CEO and founder of DroneSec, who analyzed the satellite images, said the Kremlin has "significantly expanded" its drone network to "attack Ukraine and keep NATO countries under the threat of similar attacks."
According to him, the expansion of launch sites shows both Russia's increased ability to launch more drones and its use of new technologies to make them harder to intercept.
Taken together, these two elements allow Russia to increase the overall number of unmanned aerial systems it can use in attacks on Ukraine and make it more difficult for Ukrainian forces to intercept the latest models of Russian drones," Monnik said.
Analysts also warn that Russia could use its latest jet-powered drones against European countries. According to their assessments, the location of some Russian bases allows drones launched from them to reach Warsaw.
Background
On the night of July 30, after a massive Russian air attack on Ukraine, the crash site of an unidentified aerial object was found in the Polish village of Tarnawa-Kolonia in the Lublin region. A crater about 10 meters wide and up to 5 meters deep formed at the site, while debris was scattered across roughly 200 meters.
Commenting on the fall of a Russian missile in the Lublin region, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk stressed the importance of further cooperation with Ukraine on air defense, emphasizing that it directly affects the security of both countries.
Earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also said that Russia is considering the territory of Belarus and Russia's Bryansk region as directions for possible additional attacks on Ukraine.
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