Russian Decoys: Ukrainian Military Accuses Russia Of Using Balloons To Exhaust, Distract Air Defense

Balloons with angled reflectors of radio waves recently detected over the Kiev region were launched by Russia as decoys to deplete and distract Ukrainian air defense systems, Ukrainian Air Force Command spokesperson Yuriy Ignat said on Wednesday.

"These old-fashioned methods that the enemy is using now are neither a probe, nor an aircraft, it is just a balloon that carries a piece of metal ... They use it as decoys. They need to exhaust our air defense, both in the ammunition load, and distract the attention. In addition, these balloons could conceal the use of drones," Ignat told Ukrainian broadcaster Kiev.

Ukrainian air defense systems will not be shooting down such balloons, while the explosions in the sky over the Kiev region and the missile traces that residents witnessed were most likely directed against some other targets that the balloons were supposed to cover, the spokesperson noted.

The Ukrainian Air Force Command first detected such balloons over the Dnipro region on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian media reported that explosions could be heard in the Kiev region and a balloon with angled reflectors was found in the area.