MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia on Friday paraded combat drones that its forces use in the war in Ukraine on Moscow’s Red Square in what state TV said was a first.
President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and more than two dozen other foreign leaders looked on as various truck-mounted Russian-made drones were driven across the vast square on their launchers, along with other military hardware.
The state TV commentator describing the parade in real time said the drones had been widely and effectively used in what he called Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine.
The Lancet, Geran-2, Orlan-10 and Orlan-30 drones were among those shown off in the parade to mark the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Soviet Union and its allies over Nazi Germany.
The Orlan drones are widely used for reconnaissance and target-selection missions. The ZALA Lancet is a loitering munition used for both strike and reconnaissance missions which has been reported to have attacked and destroyed numerous pieces of Ukrainian military hardware, including tanks and a military jet.
The Geran-2 is a Russian-made suicide or kamikaze drone whose design originated in Iran, where an earlier version was made. They have been used to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure and Kyiv has accused Moscow of using them to hit residential buildings too.
Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians and says it only targets military or military-related objects.
Ukraine has also developed its own advanced drones and made highly effective use of them against Russian troops on the battlefield and targets inside Russia such as oil depots and refineries.
(Reporting by Dmitry AntonovWriting by Andrew OsbornEditing by Mark Trevelyan)