How Russia Has Changed Its Tactics to Make Shahed Drones Targeting Civilians Even More Deadly

For the past six months, Ukrainian military personnel have been pointing out a constant change in the tactics used by the Russian army with Shahed drones. The goal is to increase the number of UAVs that successfully reach their targets. Since these drones are primarily directed at peaceful Ukrainian cities, this results in casualties among the civilian population. The evolution of the Shaheds and the change in their usage tactics are aimed solely at creating more deadly weapons.

Tactics of use

Previously, Shaheds operated under a simple pattern: a target was selected and drones were sent toward it one after another, with only a few minutes in between. These isolated targets allowed Ukrainian air defense to better prepare and more effectively shoot down the drones. Often, the drones were used to exhaust air defense systems before a missile attack followed.

Over time, Shaheds became a regular method of terrorizing Ukraine, so the Russian army introduced another method to wear down Ukrainian air defenses: Geran decoy drones. These are cheap copies of the Shahed, made from very inexpensive materials and without a warhead. Their goal is to confuse Ukrainian defense systems, since a drone is a target regardless, and it’s unclear whether it carries explosives or not. With such decoys, Russia is able to launch more drones overall and distract Ukraine's air defense systems.

Toward the end of 2024 and now regularly in 2025, Russia has again changed tactics: the decoy drones are sent first to one area, while real Shaheds with explosive warheads are directed to another. Ukraine uses mobile air defense units, which often respond to the location of the first detection, where the decoys are. This increases the pressure on Ukrainian defenders. These waves can include three or more attacks, constantly mixing fake targets with real explosive drones.

Finally, in recent months, Russia has completely changed its deployment tactic: individual drones are no longer used. When a target is chosen, drones gather into groups at a high altitude—several kilometers up—and then all head toward the target as a swarm. This kind of mass attack, with 10 to 20 Shaheds flying together, is much harder to intercept. The large number of debris fragments causes greater destruction of residential buildings, fires, and more civilian casualties.

Deadlier Weapons

In addition to tactical changes, Russia is also upgrading the drones themselves. As previously reported, the Shahed has received a version with nearly double the explosive payload: the warhead has increased from the usual 50 kg to 90 kg, and the explosive material has increased from 28 kg to 62 kg. This results in significantly more destruction.

But that's not all. According to various sources, in recent months, the Kremlin has aimed to increase civilian casualties, equipping Shaheds with cluster munitions. These can cause additional harm to people even after the drones are destroyed. Sappers and military personnel from different regions have reported discovering such munitions near Shahed crash sites. They primarily pose a threat to civilians in the immediate area and to rescuers who may become victims of secondary explosions.

There’s also a theory—not yet confirmed—that Shahed UAVs may be equipped with systems to scatter landmines along their route. This has not been officially commented on, but military experts believe it is entirely plausible given that the Russians are continuously upgrading their weapons both to exert psychological pressure and to increase civilian casualties.

It’s important to note that Shaheds are not being used to strike military targets. Russia primarily uses them to attack cities, with reports of strikes on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Odesa, Dnipro, or Zaporizhzhia appearing almost daily. In this way, all of these weapons are designed and deployed solely to kill civilians.