#Shahed

A Russian company tied to sanctioned oligarch Oleg Deripaska secretly bought American-made jet engines to study and replicate them for Moscow’s next generation of Shahed-style attack drones—revealing a clear link between US technology and Russia’s evolving drone warfare program.

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine was expected to be overwhelmed by Moscow’s far larger army. Instead, Kyiv responded with ingenuity, turning to drones and other improvised technologies to offset its disadvantages. Three and a half years later, these innovations have not only reshaped the battlefield in Ukraine but are forcing Europe to confront how quickly the economics of war are changing.