Why «Shahed» drones penetrate all the way to Zakarpattia: Ihnat explains

Following another wave of massive Russian air strikes, Ukrainians began actively discussing on social media how enemy drones could travel across the entire country to reach western regions, including Zakarpattia, despite active air defense operations.

Yuriy Ihnat, Head of the Communications Department of the Ukrainian Air Force, shed light on the situation in a commentary for Novyny.LIVE.

According to him, striking Ukraine’s most remote and least-damaged region likely serves a political purpose, aimed squarely at the new Hungarian government.
«Strangely enough, many people are discussing the situation in the Zakarpattia region. But as soon as the political leadership changed there [in Hungary], drones hit the area immediately. It’s a demonstration. Zakarpattia was truly one of the regions least affected by Russian attacks,» Ihnat noted.

He emphasized that intercepting enemy drones is becoming increasingly difficult with each passing wave, even with the deployment of helicopters or F-16 fighter jets.

«It happens. Drones repeatedly manage to evade air defenses. You can chase a single drone for a long time. Then it dives into a cloud and vanishes. It emerges again, you lock onto it, and it dives back into the clouds, ” Ihnat explained. It is now proven that „Shaheds“ can maneuver when detecting a threat; they are equipped with sensors that allow them to take evasive action. This is especially true when facing interceptor drones,» the Air Force representative explained.