Russia using decoy surveillance balloons as Ukraine war tactic, British intelligence warns

Feb. 19 (UPI) -- Russian troops may be using decoy surveillance balloons as a war tactic in Ukraine, the British Defense Ministry warned Sunday.

British military intelligence officials said in a statement that Ukrainian troops spotted several balloons with radar reflectors suspended beneath them flying over Kyiv on Wednesday.

Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for Ukraine's Air Force, said Wednesday that six such balloons had been shot down and that each had metal triangles suspended beneath them to make them appear like an incoming missile.

Ukraine's Air Force also reported sighting balloons over eastern Dnipropetrovsk last Sunday.

"It is likely that the balloons were Russian," the British Defense Ministry said.

"They likely represent a new tactic by Russia to gain information about Ukrainian air defense systems and compel the Ukrainians to expend valuable stocks of surface-to-air missiles and ammunition."

The British Defense Ministry noted that a "balloon-shaped" object was also seen flying over the country of Moldova, prompting Ukraine's neighbor to close its airspace for several hours.

"There is a realistic possibility that this was a Russian balloon that had drifted from Ukrainian airspace," the British Defense Ministry said.

The latest intelligence came after the United States recently shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon over the Atlantic coast after it had flown across the country.

After that, the United States shot down three more unknown objects that had flown over North America - off the coast of Alaska, over Canada and over Lake Huron near the Canadian border.

The administration of President Joe Biden has said that those three objects were likely not Chinese spy balloons and belonged to private companies and research institutions.