Russia upgrades Shahed strikes with live guidance from inside its own territory

Commenting on the attack on the home of Defense Ministry adviser Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, Ihnat said “this is not the first time even public figures have suffered from a Russian attack.”

He said most missiles and drones are programmed in advance with a fixed route, speed and flight altitude, but Russian forces are continuously refining those systems.

Russia may be using mesh networks, Ihnat said — a system in which drones relay signals to one another, allowing operators inside Russia to control them in real time.

He said such technology already makes it possible to carry out pinpoint strikes on moving targets.

“There have already been repeated cases when both a Shahed and a Gerbera were directly guided by an operator in real time and directed at a car or a mobile fire group,” Ihnat said, adding that one of the newer threats is attacks on moving trains.

He said Ukrainian forces are working on countermeasures, including electronic warfare capabilities and other technologies.

Ihnat also said Russian forces are seeking alternative ways to control drones, including through mobile networks.

“Both the Security Service and we, the Air Force, have repeatedly warned that the enemy is recruiting people to register Starlink. This is one way, yes, to register certain businesses or that same Starlink in the name of a Ukrainian citizen so that Russia can later use that location,” he said.

He added that modems with SIM cards have already been found and that Russian forces have repeatedly tried to use such communication channels.

Overnight into April 20, a Russian jet-powered Shahed struck Beskrestnov’s home. He later said Russian forces launched four jet-powered Shaheds at his house.

Beskrestnov posted a photo from the hospital and said he had been wounded. He added that he “was morally prepared for such a turn of events.”

The Defense Ministry adviser said the drone that struck his home had been guided online from inside Russia and, in his words, was part of a targeted operation to kill him.