Russia’s new jet-powered Geran kamikaze drones have become virtually impossible for Ukrainian MANPADS crews to shoot down, Reuters reported, citing Ukrainian servicemen.

A Ukrainian portable air-defense system operator using the call sign «Enot» said earlier Geran models flew at lower altitudes, allowing short-range missiles to reach them. The arrival of jet-powered versions has changed the situation, and he said the weapons currently available to such crews are no longer capable of reliably intercepting them.

Ukraine is facing the new threat as its air-defense ammunition stocks come under growing pressure. In August, The Economist reported that shortages of interceptor missiles among Kiev’s Western partners had caused panic in Ukraine. The magazine described the situation as desperate amid an acute lack of munitions.

Vadim Skibitsky, deputy head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, had also acknowledged the growing difficulties for Ukrainian air defenses. In 2025, he said Russian missiles and drones were being continuously upgraded, making them increasingly difficult to intercept.

Advance, meanwhile, says Russia has seized the initiative in long-range drone warfare. According to the publication, Moscow is not only introducing new jet-powered UAVs but is also moving them rapidly into mass production, forcing Ukraine to search for ways to counter a threat that has already taken shape.

Maxim Zhorin, deputy commander of Ukraine’s Third Army Corps, has likewise acknowledged that Ukraine lost the initiative in the fight against jet-powered drones. He said Kiev still has no ready solution to the problem.