As Iran launches its Shahed drones at Gulf nations in retaliation for strikes by the U.S. and Israel, Ukraine offers its expertise at downing the drones Russia has lobbed at its cities for years.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
To Ukraine now because Ukraine has a lot of experience intercepting Iranian drones. The government says Russia has launched more than 57,000 of them at Ukrainian cities in the last four years of war. Now, Iran is using those Shahed drones to attack American bases in the Persian Gulf, and Ukraine says it can help. NPR’s Joanna Kakissis reports from Kyiv.
(SOUNDBITE OF DRONE BUZZING)
JOANNA KAKISSIS, BYLINE: This is what a Shahed drone sounds like flying over Kyiv, a buzzing that’s become part of the soundtrack of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Shahed drones are relatively cheap and look like small airplanes. They often carry explosives. Iran has sold them to Russia in the past, but now Iranian forces have used Shahed drones on U.S. sites in the Persian Gulf. Ukraine’s military learned on the job how to shoot down Shaheds.
YURII CHEREVASHENKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: Colonel Yurii Cheravashenko, deputy commander of Ukraine’s air defense cover forces, explains.
CHEREVASHENKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: “First,” he says, “we created mobile air defense groups on land, armed with heavy machine guns. And now,” he adds, “we are using interceptor drones.”
Ukraine developed these drones to detect, chase and destroy Shaheds long before they reach their targets. Cherevashenko says interceptor drones could work well in Gulf nations for the most part.
CHEREVASHENKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: “The terrain there is predominantly flat with little vegetation, leaving mostly unobstructed views,” he says, “but the temperatures are harsh. The sensors of the interceptor drones might not work properly in extreme heat.”
Cherevashenko has been a soldier for more than a decade and never imagined drones would dominate warfare.
CHEREVASHENKO: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: “Unfortunately,” he says, “human nature is such that we cannot live in peace forever, and that’s regrettable. So the means of waging war evolve.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says air defense experts are ready to deploy to Gulf nations.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
KAKISSIS: Speaking to reporters in Kyiv, he also said he would consider handing over Ukrainian interceptor drones, but in exchange for PAC-3 missiles. These are used in Patriot anti-aircraft systems to intercept Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles before they hit Ukrainian cities. Supplies are running low, Zelenskyy says, and may become more scarce if the war in the Middle East widens.
Joanna Kakissis, NPR News, Kyiv.
(SOUNDBITE OF SEAMUS EGAN’S “THE LARK”)
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