Chinese drone shot down in Ukraine

The Ukrainian military has shot down a Chinese drone that was launched by Russian military personnel, CNN reports. According to the publication, it was a commercial Mugin-5 drone modified for military operations.

The Ukrainian military learned in advance about the launch of the Chinese drone – they were informed by employees of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) in the occupied territory. The drone was flying towards Ukrainian military targets when it was shot down by soldiers of the 111th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of Ukraine. He was shot with small arms as he flew at low altitude, Ukrainian military personnel told CNN.

The drone was carrying bombs weighing about 20 kilograms. The Ukrainian military later blew it up safely.

Mugin drones are called “Alibaba drones” because they can be purchased at Chinese marketplaces such as Alibaba and Taobao up to $15,000.

Drone manufacturer Mugin Limited confirmed this in a publication in Ukraine, their UAV was shot down. The company called the incident “extremely unfortunate” and said it was “doing everything possible to stop it”.

A statement posted on the company’s website on March 2 said that Mugin Limited “condemns” the wartime use of its products and had stopped selling products to Russia or Ukraine at the start of the war.

The Ukrainian military also used the Chinese Mugin-5 drone. In January, the pro-Russian head of the occupied Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had attacked the village of Belovodsk with Mugin-5 drones. According to him, six of the seven drones were shot down.

Ukrainian officials did not comment on the incident. However, experts interviewed by CNN believe that both sides of the conflict are using Chinese Mugin-5 drones for military purposes.