Russian soldiers, amidst the chaos of command and poor coordination, are increasingly shooting down their own drones, and then trying to present them as Ukrainian to claim rewards. These cases are even reported by pro-war channels, highlights the Mozhem Obyasnit project.
According to the “Drone Operator’s Chronicle” channel, the problem arises because neighboring units do not notify mobile fire groups about their own drone flights. In addition, these teams do not always manage to distinguish their own drones from the Ukrainian ones and open fire on any device in the air.
In pro-war communities, the situation is described as a “ticking bomb”, with fears that soon almost all Russian drones will be shot down. “They will shoot at everything that flies,” warns the “Battle Reserve” channel. According to it, some groups present shot-down drones to receive rewards, even though these are, in fact, Russian devices.
To convince their superiors, some commanders would apply Ukrainian symbols or other insignia on the remnants of drones, trying to present them as war trophies. The practice fits into the propagandistic narrative about the fight against the “fascist Ukrainians”, notes the source.
In the meantime, a real threat to these units is represented by the Ukrainian Hornet drones, also known as “Martian-2”. These are fast, use target identification systems based on artificial intelligence, can operate day and night at distances of up to 60 kilometers, and cannot be neutralized by current electronic warfare systems.
The pro-war channel “Osvedomitel” acknowledges that Russia lags behind in terms of countering drones and mentions that the use of FPV type anti-aircraft drones is still experimental. Also, coordination issues are linked to restrictions on mobile internet and the slowing down of Telegram, which would have significantly affected communications and operational control.