Press
The war in Ukraine has now become primarily a battle of materials. There are also numerous shots fired into the void – and that is intentional.
Kiev – How can the reserves of the Russian army be decimated without incurring major losses? They let them fire their expensive missiles at dummies. What the Americans managed to do in World War II with their “Ghost Army” has now paid off for the Ukrainians in their defensive battle against Russia. But instead of dummy tanks, Ukraine is relying on fake air defenses and aircraft.
Aircraft and air defense dummies in the Ukraine war against Putin’s precious missiles
Unlike the US, the Ukrainian army troops have not used inflatable tanks. As President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated several times, air defense systems are one of the most important technologies for repelling Russian attacks – and Russia knows this too.
For example, MP Oleksij Honcharenko stated at the Parliamentary Assembly of the EU Council in April that an attack on one of Ukraine’s largest thermal power plants could have been prevented with more air defense. “This power plant cost millions and was destroyed because four missiles were missing,” he said in Brussels.
In order to protect the valuable systems from Russian attacks, they are now relying on replicas of the air defense systems and equally important fighter aircraft, which are intended to attract the attention of the Russian missiles. These “passive defense measures”, as the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, calls them, have been set up at military airfields, for example.
Video shows Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian dummies – “Enemy has fewer Iskanders”
To show how effective the deception maneuvers are, Oleshchuk published a video on Telegram that is said to show several Russian attacks on the replicas. The video, which is said to have been filmed by Russian reconnaissance drones, shows Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops firing expensive Iskander-M ballistic missiles at dummies. Perhaps Ukraine is also using this method to protect the third Patriot system it recently received from Germany. However, the authenticity of the video cannot be independently verified.
“The Air Force members successfully carried out passive defense measures,” Oleshchuk writes in his Telegram post. “The enemy has fewer Iskanders, and more models will be delivered.” He thanked all those who participated in the production of “high-quality models of aircraft and air defense systems.”
Two Iskander-M missiles miss – significant losses for Russia in the Ukraine war
The Iskander-M is as destructive as it is expensive in Russia’s illegal attack on Ukraine. During the war, Putin managed to land serious blows against Selensky’s troops with the missile. Russia uses the ballistic projectiles primarily to attack Western tanks and air defense systems. Austrian officer Colonel Markus Reisner reported this to n-tvthat Russia was able to achieve “significant success” thanks to the Iskander. Two Patriot systems have already fallen victim to the missiles.
However, the destructive power of the missiles has its price. According to Ukrainian Pravda The Iskander-M can cost up to three million dollars each. No small sum for the Russian economy, which has been battered by war and sanctions. If they then miss their intended target and fall for Ukrainian dummies, Putin will be twice as annoyed.
Dummies in the Ukraine war – Kiev already tricked Russia with Leopard dummy
However, Ukraine’s use of war dummies is not a new approach. A Ukrainian company had already produced a dummy of the German Leopard 2 battle tank in September 2023. The “first autonomous active mannequin,” as CEO Eduard Trotsenko described the replica to Defense Express called, could even be controlled by remote control.
Ukraine is probably trying to make up for the imbalance in military equipment with the dummies. Russia has converted its economy almost entirely to the production of military equipment during the Ukraine war and was able to put pressure on its attacked neighbouring country with sheer quantity. (nhi)
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