Ukrainian forces have not yet figured out the meaning of the balloons that have appeared in the sky over Kyiv in recent days, but there seems to be some consensus that they are decoys from the Russian army, intended to attract the attention of the Ukrainian military. and to divert munitions from more important targets.
Alarm bells went off on Wednesday when the military administration of the city of Kyiv announced that “around six enemy air targets” had been detected over the Ukrainian capital. According to the statement, these were wind-propelled balloons that “could carry corner reflectors and certain intelligence equipment.” The military administration claimed that most of the balloons had been shot down, despite the fact that there is no confirmation from the Russian government about their origin.
Ihor Zhovkva, an adviser in the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said Thursday that Russia is using suspected spy balloons as part of a multi-pronged air assault. According to the Ukrainian defense analyst quoted in The New York Times, Ivan Kyrychevskyi, one of the reasons Russia has increased the use of balloons now is that Ukraine has figured out how to counter the Iranian-made drones used by the Russian military.
Images circulating on the web show an unsophisticated design, with what appears to be corner reflectors, devices that reflect radio waves directly back towards the emitting source, making it a valuable tool for calibrating broadcast systems. Radar.
Moldova also had to briefly close its airspace on Tuesday to investigate reports that a balloon-like object was detected the day after accusing Russia of plotting to overthrow its government.
The use of balloons as a military strategy goes back a long way, since it was one of the first instruments used for reconnaissance purposes and for intelligence gathering from the air. During the Cold War, both the USSR and the United States’ allies used them regularly as a spy tool.
