Putin’s New Tools of Terror

Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin’s new strategy: bring the war to as much of Ukraine’s population as possible. Photo: Ilya Pitalev/SPUTNIK/AFP
Julia Ioffe
October 18, 2022

Over the summer, reports began to surface that Russia was purchasing drones from Iran. The Shaheds, as these U.A.V.’s are called, have primitive navigation systems and are more missiles than drones, crashing into their targets and exploding rather than delivering a payload and returning home, thus earning them the nickname of “kamikaze” or suicide drones. In June, Russian military officials were said to be touring Iranian facilities, inspecting the goods. In late August, Russia began receiving its first deliveries. Then, on Monday, October 17, dozens of Shaheds, looking like sinister paper planes, rained down on Kyiv, destroying buildings, terrorizing the city, and killing four people, including a young pregnant woman and her husband.