WATCH Russian kamikaze drone destroy Ukrainian warplane
A Russian kamikaze drone has destroyed a Ukrainian warplane stationed behind the front lines of the ongoing conflict, according to a new video shared on social media.
On Thursday evening, several Russian Telegram channels covering the ongoing war shared a clip purporting to show a Lancet unmanned aerial drone hitting a Soviet-era Su-25 close air support jet at Dolgintsevo Air Base near Krivoy Rog in Ukraine's Dnepropetrovsk Region.
The video – which was shot both from the loitering munition itself and from another unidentified hovering aircraft – shows a military jet, with its wing edges painted in the colors of the Ukrainian flag, parked in the open on the runway. The Lancet rapidly zeroes in on the warplane and blows it up. It is unclear, however, whether the plane was operational. Several analysts and Ukrainian media outlets also suggested that the drone hit a decoy mock-up of a Su-25.
Russian forces have already conducted successful strikes on the Dolgintsevo Air Base in the past. In late September, the Defense Ministry said that troops had taken out a Ukrainian Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jet in the area.
The Lancet, which was first unveiled in 2019 and is produced by a subsidiary of the Kalashnikov defense concern can carry a payload of 1-3kg while traveling at a speed of 80 to 110 kph.
The effectiveness of the kamikaze drone has been recognized both by Ukrainian officials and the West. In July, Yury Sak, an adviser to the Ukrainian defense minister, described the Lancet as “not a bad bit of kit,” adding that it poses certain problems for Kiev.
The UK Defense Ministry said in early November that Lancets “have highly likely been of one the most effective new capabilities Russia has fielded in Ukraine over the last 12 months.”
In recent weeks, numerous videos have been circulating on the internet showing the drone striking Ukrainian artillery, Western-supplied armored vehicles, and tanks.
