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Ukraine Adviser Warns of Russian Mesh Relays in Kyiv
Confirmed
In Short: Beskrestnov stated that he believes Russian Mesh radio relays are periodically activated in Kyiv, potentially providing a short-term control channel for Shahed drones during strikes.
Serhiy Beskrestnov, a Ukrainian presidential adviser on defense technology, warned that Russian forces may have deployed covert Mesh repeaters inside Kyiv to establish real-time control over Shahed strike drones.
According to Beskrestnov, these Mesh repeaters could provide a temporary control channel for Russian drones, allowing them to adjust their flight vectors during attacks.
The adviser noted that such repeaters are difficult to find but must be searched for, as they pose a significant threat to air defense assets deployed along Kyiv's bridges.
In a broader context, Beskrestnov's warning underscores the evolving tactics of the Russian military, which now includes the use of Mesh relays to enhance drone operations.
The adviser noted that such relays are difficult to find, but their presence could undermine efforts to seal the city with electronic warfare jammers.
He added that as long as these relays operate, sealing the city with jammers will not work, leaving air defense assets vulnerable.
What this adds
The report adds details about the potential use of Mesh relays to control Shahed drones, a tactic not previously widely reported.
Sources have not established the exact number or locations of the Mesh relays, but Beskrestnov estimates there may be one to three.
Background
Kyiv's offensive on Russian oil facilities, especially refineries, is a direct response to Moscow's persistent attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, including Black Sea ports, ships, and civilian targets.
What's confirmed
- Following repeated strikes on its supports and roadway, transit across the bridge connecting the capital's two banks is fully halted. pic.twitter.com/ypE9YFwbT8 “Right now, I insist that enemy Mesh radio relays are being switched on in Kyiv, providing a temporary short-term control channel for Shaheds to adjust strikes. Not many. Perhaps one to three. Such relays are difficult to find, but they must be searched for,” Beskrestnov said.
What's still developing
- Moscow again urged foreign citizens, including diplomats, to leave Kyiv.
- The adviser noted that if localized ground repeaters bypass electronic warfare jamming shields, mobile air defense gun crews face acute counter-battery risks from loitering munitions capable of terminal course correction.
- Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
- The technology adviser highlighted that Russian military channels have extensively circulated photographs and visual intelligence of Ukrainian air defense assets deployed along capital bridges, including German -supplied Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns.
- Beskrestnov said on October 3 that he believes Russian Mesh radio relays are periodically activated in the Ukrainian capital, potentially providing a short-term control channel for incoming drones. 🚨 BREAKING: Russian drones have hit Kyiv’s Pivdennyi Bridge again.
- “At the moment of the strike, there were no other Shahed relay drones in the sky. I also analyzed other strikes on Kyiv bridges and the possibility of organizing long-range Mesh channels from Russia at those moments,” he said.
- “Let me be wrong in my opinion about the relays,” Beskrestnov said.
- On September 29, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said Belarus periodically activates relay systems that can strengthen communications for Russian drones during attacks on Ukraine.
- In June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko to dismantle relay equipment that Kyiv said was being used to support Russian drone operations.
- He calls the devices MESH repeaters, compact modems that relay a short control signal to a Geran at the moment of attack, a channel Ukraine has been testing electronic warfare against for months.
- A Russian agent, he said then, likely switched on a MESH relay within five kilometers of the target for the length of the attack.
- Presidential adviser Serhii Beskrestnov, known as Flash, says one to three concealed enemy repeaters may be operating in the capital, giving Russia a brief online channel to guide jet-powered Gerans onto precise targets.