Air defence of Belarus shoots down a Russian "Shahed" (no, it's not a mistake)

The Belaruski Gayun Telegram channel reports on the downing of a Russian Shahed UAV over the territory of Belarus. On the night of 29 August 2024, during another Russian attack on Ukraine, one of the Shahed drones again flew into the territory of Belarus in the Yel district of the Gomel region. The fact of crossing the border of Belarus was confirmed by the telegram channel "Nikolayevsky Vanyok" at 3.30 am.

According to Gayun, after the drone entered the airspace of Belarus, a Belarusian Air Force fighter chased the offender for about 20 minutes, and at about 03:55, at least two explosions were heard in the Yel district of Gomel region and a bright flash in the sky was observed. Thus, this may be the first confirmation of a Russian UAV being shot down over the territory of Belarus.

Poland and the "chessmen"

Interestingly, Russian UAVs regularly violate Poland's air borders during the attack on Ukraine (the last time was during a massive attack on 26 August). On that day, the operational commander of the Armed Forces , General Maciej Klis , confirmed that at 6:43 a.m. an object crossed the Polish border near the Ukrainian city of Chervonogorod. "The object disappeared about 25 km into Poland. Due to the weather conditions, I was unable to give the command to engage it," the military said.

Shahed UAV

The Shahed UAV (officially known as the Shahed-136) is an Iranian unmanned aerial vehicle used as a barrage munition or kamikaze drone. Developed by Iran, the drone was first spotted in 2020 and has attracted attention for its ability to deliver precision strikes against ground targets. "The Shahed has a low profile and is difficult to detect by radar, making it effective in combat situations. The drone is equipped with a warhead and can destroy armoured vehicles, military bases and other strategic targets.

Since 2022, the Shahed-136 has been actively used by Russia in its war against Ukraine. These drones were used to attack Ukrainian infrastructure, including energy facilities, military depots and residential areas. Russia's use of Shaheds was part of its strategy to launch strikes over long distances and in low visibility, making them difficult to intercept by Ukrainian air defence systems.

Source: @Hajun_BY