Russian drones attacking Ukraine are controlled via bots in Telegram – The Economist

Russian drones attacking Ukraine are being controlled through bots in Telegram.

This was reported by The Economist.

Ukrainian engineers told the publication that they recently found a note inside one of the dismantled drones, likely left by a Russian engineer sympathetic to Ukraine. The note described a new control algorithm for “Shahed” drones and other models.

It claimed that the drones were operated using Telegram bots, which transmit real-time flight data and video feeds to operators.

However, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, effectively denied The Economist’s report about the note in a “Shahed,” by which a Russian engineer allegedly shared valuable information with Ukrainians.

“The story about notes in ‘Shaheds’ and control through Telegram bots is certainly something. Regarding remote control — some ‘Shaheds’ have been controlled like this since last year; they had cameras installed and were operated remotely. No sensation — they’re just shot down,” Kovalenko wrote.

The publication also reports that Russia may soon begin launching up to a thousand drones per night against Ukraine. Russian forces now have the sixth modification of the “Shaheds” in service. They use machine learning to strike well-defended targets, such as Kyiv.