Ukrainian civil society is teeming with activists carrying weapons, equipment, food, medicine to soldiers on the front. Reserve officer and expert in radio transmission, Serhiï Beskrestnik, 49, found a solitary and unique mission: preaching for electronic hygiene.
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Through his Telegram channel, which has 81,000 subscribers, “Flash” (his nom de guerre) tirelessly provides advice. How to escape Russian drone surveillance and subsequent strikes. How to protect sensitive communications and decrypt those of the adversary. Jam enemy drones without jamming your own. Raise awareness of the very rapid developments in electronic warfare, from high command to the soldier in the trenches, from the civilian close to the front to the industrialist working in the rear.
Hurry up. The Russian army is progressing very quickly, both in industrial production and in the tactical integration of electronic warfare systems. The Zala, Supercam and Orlan reconnaissance drones are constantly circling in the sky, darting their cameras over a strip 70 kilometers deep behind the Ukrainian front, day and night. “They are watching for all military vehicles. Once spotted, they are followed to their unit or parking position, where they are beaten.”explains this jovial, bearded engineer in military uniform, who worked for the French group Sagem (now Safran) in the early 2000s.
The time between detection and strike is sometimes very short, less than ten minutes. Hence this advice given by Mr. Beskrestnik: “Near the front, military equipment must be systematically camouflaged under greenery or buildings. Avoid busy service stations, which are subject to systematic surveillance. Avoid parking for more than ten minutes in an open area and always keep a distance of more than 50 meters between vehicles. »
The Russian Lancet kamikaze drone, which operates in tandem with the Zala reconnaissance drone, can strike moving targets, such as this BM-21 rocket launcher truck destroyed while driving on a road north of Kharkiv on May 15 .
On the lookout for new equipment
The real shock was the destruction of two launchers of the American Patriot anti-aircraft system in early March near Pokrovsk, in Donbass. This extremely expensive and crucial system for keeping Russian bombers at bay was spotted by a Supercam drone and subsequently destroyed by an Iskander ballistic missile strike while it was parked in the open on the side of a road. He had shot down several enemy bombers in the previous weeks, which is why Russian drones were tracking him with the utmost energy.
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