russia used a jet-powered UAV to attack western Ukraine for the first time on the evening of August 18, when such a drone was detected flying past Ternopil region toward Dubno in Rivne region.
Ukraine’s Air Force reported the threat and its direction of travel but did not identify the exact type of russian jet-powered drone involved.
Read more: Geran-5 Cruise Missile Revealed in russia for the First Time: What Is Known About Weapon Already Used Against Ukraine
The drone was eventually shot down in southern Rivne region, according to Oleksandr Koval, head of the Rivne Regional Military Administration.
The incident appears to have caught some observers by surprise, judging by the number of reports and comments about the ability of russian jet-powered UAVs to reach western Ukraine. However, the potential range of these systems had been publicly reported before.
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR) regularly publishes technical information on russia’s long-range strike systems. According to HUR data, the Geran-4 has a stated range of 770 km and can cover that distance at a cruising speed of approximately 320 km/h, giving it a flight endurance of around 2.2 hours.
The Geran-5 is a considerably different system. It is closer to a cruise missile than to a conventional Shahed-type loitering munition and is reportedly a russian adaptation of Iran’s Karrar. HUR estimates its range at 950 km, with a cruising speed of approximately 450–600 km/h.
That means a Geran-5 could theoretically reach Rivne region. From a launch site in occupied Crimea, the drone would have to cover roughly 900 km, depending on the exact launch location and flight route.
The potential reach is even greater if the Geran-5 is launched from the Asovitsa site in russia’s Bryansk region, located only about 35 km from the Ukrainian border. On a straight-line trajectory, a drone launched from there could theoretically reach almost any part of Ukraine.
In practice, however, such a flight path would make the drone a relatively easy target for Ukrainian air defenses. A drone flying in a straight line and at a relatively high altitude would be much easier to detect and intercept.
This is why the published range of the Geran-4 and Geran-5 should be viewed as a maximum theoretical figure rather than their practical strike depth. The actual reach can be significantly lower, potentially by 30–50%, when the drones have to follow complex routes designed to exploit terrain, avoid known air-defense positions and approach their targets from less predictable directions.
Nevertheless, the key point is that western Ukraine cannot be considered outside the reach of russia’s jet-powered UAVs.
And the Geran-4 and Geran-5 may not be the only systems of concern. russia could potentially deploy other jet-powered drones with comparable or greater ranges, creating an additional challenge for Ukraine’s air-defense network and extending the geographic area that must be covered against this type of threat.
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