Russia May Use Mesh Relays in Kyiv to Steer Drones, Adviser Says

Russian forces may be deploying ground-based Mesh-network repeaters inside Kyiv to establish real-time remote control over Shahed strike drones and adjust flight vectors during attacks, Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency on defense technology, stated on Saturday, Oct. 3. Writing on Facebook, Beskrestnov, a communications specialist known by the callsign “Flash,” explained that clandestine signal repeaters situated within the capital could create temporary communication links enabling Russian operators to actively pilot loitering munitions onto high-value targets.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. Beskrestnov estimated that between one and three such covert repeaters could currently be operating in the metropolitan area. “Such repeaters are difficult to find, but we must search for them,” Beskrestnov said. “As long as they exist, shielding the city with electronic warfare will not be effective.” Beskrestnov noted that while the deployment of ground repeaters represents an unconfirmed hypothesis, the technical anomaly demands rigorous investigation. He pointed out that technical specialists continue to examine the wreckage of downed Russian drones and have yet to discover onboard communication modules that would definitively confirm real-time manual piloting. Electronic warfare vulnerabilities Beskrestnov cited recent precision strikes against Kyiv’s transit bridges and air defense positions as operational indicators suggesting that Russian loitering munitions may possess real-time guidance capabilities beyond preset satellite coordinates. Other Topics of Interest Ukraine Strikes Russian Drone Site, Crossing, Belgorod Hubs Ukrainian forces have struck a Russian drone launch base, river crossing and command post. 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. “Informationally, it is impossible to hide a Gepard on a bridge from the adversary when tens of thousands of people cross it daily,” Beskrestnov explained. “Why do I mention this? As long as online control of Shaheds exists, not only bridges will be targeted, but also air defense assets themselves.” Beskrestnov stated that his technical analysis evaluated previous drone strikes against Dnipro River bridges alongside the mathematical feasibility of Russian forces maintaining long-range Mesh communication links directly from Russian border territory. 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. The Volodymyrska Street SBU headquarters strike As a primary operational case study supporting the ground-repeater hypothesis, Beskrestnov cited the Sept. 4 drone strike against the central headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in central Kyiv. According to technical tracking of that incident, no secondary Russian drones were airborne in the capital area during the strike that could have functioned as aerial signal retransmission nodes, suggesting that any manual flight adjustments would have required an alternative, ground-level signal conduit. The Sept. 4 attack directly targeted the central SBU administration building situated on Volodymyrska Street in Kyiv’s historic Shevchenkivskyi district, across from the UNESCO World Heritage site of St. Sophia Cathedral. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed at the time that the incoming loitering munition was directed specifically at the office of SBU Chief Oleksandr Poklad. The strike on the intelligence headquarters injured seven people, hospitalizing six, while causing localized structural fires and shattering masonry across adjacent commercial buildings, including the Zavertaylo restaurant near the Zoloti Vorota metro station. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.