Putin's wounded military is using suicide drones to spread 'terror and chaos' among Ukraine's civilians, experts and officials say

• Russia launched a fresh volley of missile and drone strikes across Ukraine on Monday.
• Ukrainian officials identified the drones as Iranian-made loitering munitions, commonly called "suicide" or "kamikaze" drones.

As Ukrainian troops hit Russian forces along the war's eastern and southern fronts, Russian President Vladimir Putin's wounded military is striking civilian areas far from the front lines, sowing what one expert described as "terror and chaos."

Russia launched a deadly barrage of missiles and conducted suicide drone strikes against cities across Ukraine on Monday, including Kyiv and Lviv — two cities that are hundreds of miles from the front lines. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, though there have been multiple reported fatalities and injuries.

Monday's attack came just days after Russian forces struck a city near Kyiv, a rare attack in an area that has not seen hostilities since the spring. In both cases, Ukrainian officials confirmed that Russia used Iranian-made loitering munitions, or suicide drones.

Putin is "trying to create terror and chaos amongst the civilian population and show the Ukrainian regime that yes, he can get them there, even if it's far away from the battlefield," Marina Miron, who is an honorary research fellow at King's College London's Centre for Military Ethics, told Insider on Monday.

Miron said in doing so, Putin is "trying to generate" a psychological impact on civilians who may have otherwise believed they were safe, something the Ukrainians have done in places like occupied Crimea.

"He's sending a message both with those drones and with the missiles saying that, 'We still have capabilities that we haven't used, and we can increase the frequency of their use. So don't think that our battlefield losses basically will win you the war,'" she said.

Iranian-made kamikaze drones

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy identified some of the drones used in Monday's attacks as "Iranian 'Shaheds'" and said Russia wants to cause "panic and chaos" by targeting Ukraine's energy facilities. Officials have previously confirmed Russia's usage of Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in Ukraine.

These drones are a type of loitering munition, which are small systems packed with explosives that can fly like regular unmanned aerial vehicles. They have a range of around 1,250 miles, and they are often referred to as suicide or kamikaze drones because once they identify a target the systems can fly into it and detonate.

Miron said the Iranian drones are cheap and "pretty primitive" in their technology. But, they fly at a relatively low altitudes, making them more difficult for Ukrainian radar systems to detect. She said the drones have also hit targets far from the battlefield like command centers and ammunition depots, in addition to civilian areas.

Citing intelligence, the Biden administration said back in July that it was aware Iran was prepping to deliver drones to Russia. The first batch arrived in August, only to be constrained by technical issues. US officials have described Russia's hunt for weaponry in countries like Iran as a clear sign that its forces are struggling in Ukraine.

It's unclear how many Iranian-made drones Russia has in its arsenal. Last week, a senior US military official confirmed to reporters that Russia was looking to purchase "hundreds" of drones. Russia does not currently have that many drones though, the official said.

In addition to the Shahed-136, Russia has also used Iran-made Shahed-129, Shahed-191, and Qods Mohajer-6 drones in Ukraine.

Miron stressed that drone usage in the war is disruptive but not necessarily decisive, because once one side learns how to adapt to the threat, the systems lose their strategic value. Already, Ukraine's Air Force has confirmed that the country is able to shoot down the Shahed-136 drones.

Monday's attack came after a key bridge connecting Crimea and Russia and serving as an important supply line was heavily damaged by an explosion Putin and his allies quickly blamed on Ukraine as they called for a retaliatory response. Ukrainian officials and Western heads of state took to social media and slammed Russia for the wave of attacks, especially the strikes on civilian centers.

"Putin's only tactic is terror on peaceful Ukrainian cities, but he will not break Ukraine down," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote. "This is also his response to all appeasers who want to talk with him about peace: Putin is a terrorist who talks with missiles."