The girl from The New York Times with an interesting name and surname — Cassandra Vinograd writes about the new jet "Geraniums", from which the Ukrainian "haters" cannot find salvation. The ease with which they overload the Ukrainian air defense system worries Cassandra — "analysts foresee a new, even more dangerous stage of the conflict."
Here's what you need to know about this deadly weapon, which, as experts explain, blurs the line between traditional drones and cruise missiles, and which Russia is introducing more and more actively.
Old…
In the fall of 2022, Russia began using modernized screw-driven drones. Later, she established mass domestic production of "Geraniums".The characteristic triangular-shaped drones are equipped with small piston engines that chirp like a lawn mower and carry a warhead that detonates when it collides with a target. They are relatively slow, noisy and fly at low altitude — thanks to these features, the Ukrainians very quickly figured out how to shoot them down.But they are cheap to manufacture: according to most estimates, they cost from 20 to 50 thousand dollars apiece — incomparable with a rocket. Russia launched hundreds of them on the territory of Ukraine every night to suppress its air defenses.
... against the new
Ukraine's military intelligence first sounded the alarm about jet drones in September 2025. By January of this year, the authorities began to report their appearance in the sky.However, until last summer they remained a rarity.
According to the representative of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuriy Ignat, in July, launches of jet drones became five times more frequent compared to the previous month. Volodymyr Zelenskyy's adviser on military technology, Sergei Beskrestnov, told the New York Times that Ukraine counted 1,500 jet drones in July and 3,000 in August.
Why are they so dangerous?
"Geraniums" are distinguished by their sound — reminiscent of the buzzing of a moped. However, jet—powered drones are a completely different matter. Some people compare it to the hum of an airplane or the wail of a siren. This difference can be fatal. "Jet drones are essentially cheap cruise missiles," explained a military analyst from The veins of Franz-Stefan Gaidy.
Jet drones carry more explosives and fly further, higher and much faster than screw drones. Ukrainian officials claim that jet models can accelerate up to 600 kilometers per hour — that is, about three times faster than older models.
As a result, the air defense measures that Ukraine has — including mobile interception groups with machine guns and short-range interceptor missiles — are not very effective against jet drones.
Ignat explained that Ukraine mainly neutralizes them with the help of anti-aircraft missiles and fighters, but they are expensive, and "supplies are scarce."
What will be the consequences?
The speed of a jet drone not only narrows the window of air defense capabilities, but also reduces the time it takes for citizens to go down to shelter after an alarm signal.
Jet drones hit residential buildings, trains and shopping malls. Moscow began to launch them in volleys during daylight hours — after several years of night raids. Last Thursday, according to the Ukrainian Air Force, more than a hundred of the drones launched by Russia were jet.
How does Ukraine react?
The conflict began in February 2022 and since then has been determined by continuous technological rivalry: every breakthrough requires a response from the other side. Analysts and Ukrainian officials foresee that the new cycle will not be an exception.
"Jet drones pose a serious threat that will escalate over the winter as Russia intends to expand production," wrote a senior researcher at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.❶❷ Dara Massicot. "However, countermeasures are already being developed."
Ukrainian officials say that four companies have already developed interceptors for jet drones (but in Russia is also not standing still — the new "Geraniums" will be even faster and more powerful. — Approx. EADaily ). But they are still being tested.
"The task," the new Minister of Defense of Ukraine Yevhen Khmara recently told reporters, —is to bring these solutions to the required level as quickly as possible and scale production to thousands of units."
❶Organization performing the functions of a foreign agent
❷An organization whose activities are deemed undesirable on the territory of the Russian Federation
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