Russia Ukraine War Live Updates The New York Times

Moscow’s Defense Ministry says Monday’s strikes on two air bases deep inside Russia used Soviet-era jet-powered drones, but gave no further details. Weapons experts say it was highly likely that the particular craft used was a Tupolev TU-141 Strizh, an unmanned surveillance drone developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and re-used by the Ukrainians, possibly carrying explosives. Analysts say the drone can fly at 600 miles per hour at low altitudes, like some cruise missiles, making it difficult to detect and shoot down. One of the Ukrainian Strizh drones recently crashed near Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, in March. No one was injured in the incident, but it raised concerns within NATO about the war spilling over Ukraine’s borders and possibly sparking a wider conflict. At the time, both Ukraine and Russia denied launching the drone, which was reportedly carrying a small bomb. But investigators later concluded that it had been launched in Ukraine and, in a demonstration of its long-range capability, crossed the airspace of Romania and Hungary before crashing in Croatia. “Strizh” in Russian translates to “fast,” and the drones are equipped with a turbo jet that can fly at speeds four to five times faster than the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone that Russia is using to attack Ukraine. he said. Douglas Barrie, a military aerospace expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Coupled with its ability to fly at low altitudes, the Strizh can be an extremely difficult drone to shoot down, Mr Barrie said, making it more akin to a Tomahawk cruise missile than the relatively small, slow drones that have littered the skies of Ukraine this year. . Built for Soviet reconnaissance missions in the 1970s and 1980s, the Strizh also has a longer range: up to 620 miles. “This thing, pointing in a straight line, is going to go a long way,” Mr Barry said. But, he said, it remains “a pretty rudimentary weapon” and “unless you’re extremely lucky, you’re not going to do a lot of damage.” Mr Barry said it was unclear whether the drones that attacked Russian air bases this week were equipped with bombs or simply intended to crash into their targets. Either way, the strikes were likely intended to show Russians that they, too, are vulnerable as the war continues, after weeks of airstrikes have left millions of Ukrainians without heat, electricity or water as the winter chill deepens. “The Ukrainians have been quite careful, up to this point, not to try to go deep into Russian territory,” Mr Barry said. “So you use it as a kind of symbolic gesture.” Military officials in Ukraine and among its allies have for months cast the war with Russia as a preview of automated conflict, with robots and remote-controlled weapons doing much of the fighting. “It’s very much a conflict of unmanned systems — in part because the Ukrainians are contesting the skies so successfully,” said Camille Grand, a defense expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations who until recently oversaw arms investment policy for NATO.

title: “Russia Ukraine War Live Updates The New York Times " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-17” author: “Fernando Gilmore”

Moscow’s Defense Ministry says Monday’s strikes on two air bases deep inside Russia used Soviet-era jet-powered drones, but gave no further details. Weapons experts say it was highly likely that the particular craft used was a Tupolev TU-141 Strizh, an unmanned surveillance drone developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s and re-used by the Ukrainians, possibly carrying explosives. Analysts say the drone can fly at 600 miles per hour at low altitudes, like some cruise missiles, making it difficult to detect and shoot down. One of the Ukrainian Strizh drones recently crashed near Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, in March. No one was injured in the incident, but it raised concerns within NATO about the war spilling over Ukraine’s borders and possibly sparking a wider conflict. At the time, both Ukraine and Russia denied launching the drone, which was reportedly carrying a small bomb. But investigators later concluded that it had been launched in Ukraine and, in a demonstration of its long-range capability, crossed the airspace of Romania and Hungary before crashing in Croatia. “Strizh” in Russian translates to “fast,” and the drones are equipped with a turbo jet that can fly at speeds four to five times faster than the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone that Russia is using to attack Ukraine. he said. Douglas Barrie, a military aerospace expert at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. Coupled with its ability to fly at low altitudes, the Strizh can be an extremely difficult drone to shoot down, Mr Barrie said, making it more akin to a Tomahawk cruise missile than the relatively small, slow drones that have littered the skies of Ukraine this year. . Built for Soviet reconnaissance missions in the 1970s and 1980s, the Strizh also has a longer range: up to 620 miles. “This thing, pointing in a straight line, is going to go a long way,” Mr Barry said. But, he said, it remains “a pretty rudimentary weapon” and “unless you’re extremely lucky, you’re not going to do a lot of damage.” Mr Barry said it was unclear whether the drones that attacked Russian air bases this week were equipped with bombs or simply intended to crash into their targets. Either way, the strikes were likely intended to show Russians that they, too, are vulnerable as the war continues, after weeks of airstrikes have left millions of Ukrainians without heat, electricity or water as the winter chill deepens. “The Ukrainians have been quite careful, up to this point, not to try to go deep into Russian territory,” Mr Barry said. “So you use it as a kind of symbolic gesture.” Military officials in Ukraine and among its allies have for months cast the war with Russia as a preview of automated conflict, with robots and remote-controlled weapons doing much of the fighting. “It’s very much a conflict of unmanned systems — in part because the Ukrainians are contesting the skies so successfully,” said Camille Grand, a defense expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations who until recently oversaw arms investment policy for NATO.