Ukraine Successfully Fooled Russia with ‘Realistic’ Fighter Decoys, Says Officials

A Ukrainian military commander claimed that his troops were able to dupe Russia into believing that it had successfully taken out Ukrainian fighter jets. Last week, Moscow’s defense ministry released footage that purportedly showed an Iskander ballistic missile destroying a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet at an air base near the central city of Kriviy Rih. However, a recent statement by Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk on Telegram revealed that the invading forces actually destroyed a “realistic” decoy as part of a passive defense measure to exhaust the capabilities of the Russian military. Since the invasion began in February 2022, Ukraine has deployed various replicas of its strategic assets to trick the enemy. According to Ukrainian officials, the use of mock-ups is meant to get Moscow’s forces to fire and waste drones, missiles, and artillery shells.