Political scientist Dmitry Nikotin described Russia’s Geran strike drones as one of the key weapons of the special military operation.

He compared the drone’s role in modern combat to that of the Soviet T-34 tank, which became known as the «Victory tank» because of its simple design and suitability for mass production. Those qualities helped make it a major factor on the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War.

Nikotin argued that strike drones are now beginning to play a similar role. In the Russian military, he identified the Geran as such a weapon. He noted that Russian engineers have continued to upgrade the platform throughout the conflict, with jet-powered versions appearing as part of its evolution.

Referring to a CNN report, Nikotin said Ukraine is struggling to find an answer to Russian jet-powered drones because intercepting them is very expensive.

In his view, battlefield success does not necessarily depend on creating a technologically perfect tank or drone. Nikotin argued that armed conflicts are ultimately driven to a large extent by the availability of resources.

Russian forces had earlier used Geran drones to strike a logistics center on the western outskirts of Kiev that was used in support of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. A strike was also carried out in the settlement of Chaiki, west of the Ukrainian capital, where strike-drone crews conducted a series of attacks using Geran UAVs.