Russian Drones Fly an Unusual Route Toward Kyiv

Hundreds of jet-powered Shahed drones attacking Kyiv have reportedly been taking a route that appears unnecessarily long: they fly close to the Belarusian border instead of heading directly across Chernihiv region.

The observation came from Serhiy Beskrestnov, an unofficial adviser to Ukraine’s president on defense technology development. Writing on his Telegram channel on Aug. 30, Beskrestnov said the drones often travel almost one behind another and remain near the border as long as possible before turning toward Kyiv.

His explanation is that LTE modems installed in the drones may connect them to Belarusian mobile phone towers. That connection could provide accurate coordinates, maintain contact with an operator and transmit flight data until the drones turn toward the Ukrainian capital. Beskrestnov stressed that this is only an assumption, not a confirmed fact.

Beskrestnov rejected an alternative theory involving signals from a separate network of ground retransmitters. He said the operating range of such retransmitters lies much farther from the border than the drones’ reported path. Followers offered another explanation in the comments: the drones may simply be using the shortest relatively safe corridor, because flying close to the border could reduce the chance of being targeted by Ukrainian air defenses.

ZN.UA, citing radio-electronic warfare and communications specialists, said an ordinary 4G or LTE tower can transmit 15 to 25 kilometers into neighboring territory, enough to cover a route running along the border. The report also contrasted the jet-powered Shahed-238, which can reach 450 to 600 kilometers per hour and remain airborne for only 1.5 to two hours, with the propeller-driven Shahed-136, which flies at about 180 kilometers per hour. The faster drone’s higher fuel consumption could make a stable communications corridor more useful than the shortest route.