Has Lukashenko Turned The Repeaters Back On?
- 30.08.2026, 18:25
Russian drones are flying toward Kyiv along an unusual route along the border with Belarus.
On August 30, Sergey Beskrestnov , a special advisor to the President of Ukraine on the development of defense technology , known by the call sign “Flash,” wrote in his Telegram channel that the hundreds of “Shahed” drones attacking Kyiv recently almost always fly the same route—along the border with Belarus—even though it would make more sense to take a shorter, more direct route.
According to Beskrestnov’s observations, the drones fly toward the Ukrainian capital literally one after another and stay near the Belarusian border for as long as possible—instead of taking the shortest route. According to him, the reason may lie in the LTE modems installed on the “Shaheds.” With the chosen route, they presumably “lock onto” Belarusian mobile communication base stations—this could provide the drones with precise coordinates and allow them to maintain telemetry with the operator right up until they turn toward Kyiv.
However, the expert himself emphasized that this is merely a hypothesis, not a confirmed fact.
Beskrestnov rejected an alternative theory—that the drones rely on a signal from a separate network of ground-based repeaters—saying: according to him, such communication nodes operate at a significantly greater distance from the border than the drones’ flight path.
The expert’s post garnered many comments offering alternative theories. Some subscribers suggested that the drones simply follow the shortest of the relatively safe corridors, since flying right next to the Belarusian border reduces the risk that the Ukrainians will engage them with air defense systems. Whereas when flying directly through the Chernihiv region, the likelihood that the drones will be shot down is much higher.
The publication ZN.UA, citing experts in electronic warfare and communications, clarifies: a standard 4G/LTE cell tower is capable of transmitting a signal 15–25 km into neighboring territory—which is sufficient to cover the flight path along the border. It is also noted that the jet-powered variant of the “Shahed-238” reaches speeds of 450–600 km/h—significantly faster than the propeller-driven “Shahed-136,” which flies at a speed of about 180 km/h. However, the jet-powered drone consumes fuel more rapidly and can remain airborne for only 1.5–2 hours; therefore, the operator presumably has to choose not the shortest corridor, but the one with the most consistently “covered” communication.