Russia launches Shahed UAVs from the Bryansk region to possibly shorten the distance to Kyiv — British intelligence

The UK Ministry of Defense reported that on February 27, 2023, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine confirmed that it had shot down 11 Shahed one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA UAVs) out of 14 launched. Before this attack, there were no reports of OWA UAVs being used in Ukraine.

Due to the attack vector, these UAVs were most likely launched from the Bryansk region of Russia. Previously, the only observed launch point since mid-December 2022 was from the Krasnodar region across the Sea of Azov.

"A second launch site would give the Russians a different axis of attack, closer to Kyiv. This is likely to decrease time in the air over Ukraine and an attempt to further stretch Ukrainian air defenses," the report said.