UKRAINE, KHARKIV, Apr 17, — The Russian army is more often using imitator drones, which don’t have an explosive part but are visually and radar similar to combat unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including Shaheds, said Dmytro Chubenko, the spokesperson of the Prosecutor’s Office in the Kharkiv region.

“Fake weapons have been used for a long time: fake fighter jets on the airfields, decoy artillery, air defense systems, radars. (Using them) is one of the tactics of warfare. It isn’t something new or unique, but Russians adapted it to a new reality of drone attacks,” said Chubenko.

According to the Prosecutor’s Office, the main types of decoy drones are “Parody” and “Gerbera.”

As Chubenko explained, “Parody” is a Russian airplane-type UAV with a size of about 2×2 meters, which simulates the speed and radar image of a Shahed drone. Because of that, it’s “perceieved by air defense soldiers as a real target.”

“Gerbera” is bigger, around 2×3 meters, and looks smaller than a Russian “Geran” combat drone, Chubenko said. 

Russians install Luneburg lenses in both decoys to make them more visible on radars. Luneburg lenses reflect radio waves, creating the effect of a big air target and making it look like Shahed.

When the Russian army uses decoy drones over Kharkiv, they can circle the city or its surroundings and return to Belgorod, where they are launched, Chubenko says. Such drones aren’t dangerous for civilians because Russia makes them from polymeric foam and wood without any explosive parts.

“They just fall down, and no facts of serious injuries or damage were recorded (in the aftermath) because they’re just pieces of foam. If the engine falls on a person, of course, nothing good will happen, but no such cases occurred,” said Chubenko.

Since the fall of 2024, Russia has changed the tactic of drone attacks. Instead of simultaneous attacks on different regions of Ukraine, the Russian army is launching waves of drones concentrated on one or more Ukrainian cities in a short period of time to complicate the work of air defence. Kharkiv region has been suffering from those for the last several months.

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