Russia may be using balloons to preserve its decreasing stocks of reconnaissance drones, as a new report says Moscow has lost 50 percent of its tanks during the war.
Six Russian balloons were spotted over Kyiv and most were shot down after being engaged by air defences, the Ukrainian capital’s military administration said.
The balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment, but officials did not specify when they flew over the capital, although air alerts were issued in Kyiv on Wednesday.
“According to information that is now being clarified, these were balloons that move in the air under the propulsion of wind,” the military administration wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
“The purpose of launching the balloons was possibly to detect and exhaust our air defences.”
Shortly before the announcement, Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February of last year, could be using balloons in a new drive to preserve its stocks of reconnaissance drones.
“Reconnaissance drones like the Orlan-10 are now being used more sparingly [by Russia], and they thought, ‘Why don’t we use these balloons?’ So they are using them,” Ihnat told Ukrainian television.
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