According to authorities, the Ukrainian Air Force saw several balloons take off from Russia over the capital Kyiv and shot down most of them. Officials in Kiev said on Wednesday the balloons may have been fitted with reconnaissance equipment and launched to “detect and deplete our air defenses”.
According to the Kiev city council, the balloons had triggered an air raid alarm in the capital. Earlier, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Juryi Ignat said Russia used balloons that cost “practically nothing” to ensure Ukraine wastes its anti-aircraft missiles. “The Russians will use all available methods of warfare to achieve their goals,” Ignat told AFP. It’s not out of the question that the devices could “perform some kind of surveillance,” so it’s important to “understand them,” he added.
Debris is being investigated
According to the Air Force, these are ordinary gas balloons with a reflector and radar. Because it’s still an air target, the air defense systems have to respond, Ignat explains. The debris is now being examined.
Since the start of the Russian invasion last February, Ukrainian authorities have repeatedly spotted Russian balloons in their skies. The neighboring country of Moldova temporarily closed its airspace on Tuesday because of a flying object that resembles a weather balloon.
Recently, the launch of a surveillance balloon over the US state of South Carolina has further worsened relations between China and the US. According to Washington, it was a spy balloon. Beijing in turn rejects this and speaks of a civil balloon for meteorological purposes which is of course not correct.
Source: Krone
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