Ukraine was the first to use balloons with reflectors to disorientate the Russian air defense system. Launches of such balloons were carried out a year ago, said an anonymous source in the Air Force of Ukraine. His words are quoted by the Strana.ua edition on February 15.
“Ukraine was the first to use these balloons a year ago. We launched balloons over their (Russian. – Ed) territory, they looked and started doing the same, ”the publication’s Telegram channel notes.
It also clarifies that to launch an ordinary helium balloon is wrapped in foil. After that, it flies at the speed of the wind and disorients air defenses. According to the source, the Ukrainian military launched just such a balloon on January 3 near Rostov-on-Don. This led to an incident with the operation of Russian air defense.
On January 3, an anti-aircraft defense (AD) system went off in the Rostov region. According to the governor of the region, Vasily Golubev, at an altitude of 2.5 km, a small object in the form of a ball was found, which flew freely in the wind. It was decided to liquidate it.
On February 15, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Ignat accused Russia of using balloons to distract Ukrainian air defenses. In addition, Ignat suggested that such balls could be used to hide unmanned aerial vehicles.
The day before, Ignat also said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) recorded the appearance of balloons with corner reflectors over the territory of the country.
The statements of the Ukrainian Air Force were made against the backdrop of resonant reports from the United States and Canada, over the territory of which several flying objects have been recorded in recent days.
In early February, a huge balloon was seen in the sky over the United States. The Pentagon then stated that this was a Chinese intelligence apparatus that did not pose a threat to the security and national interests of the state. Nevertheless, the ball was decided to bring down. After that, the defense department said that the device was used to collect intelligence.
On February 10, the US military spotted a balloon in the airspace over Alaska, after which they shot it down. The next day, an unidentified object was spotted in the skies over Canada. The device was shot down with the participation of US military personnel. The wreckage of the apparatus was seized for further study, and on February 12, the Pentagon spotted an unidentified object over the waters of Lake Huron, after which the military liquidated it.
