Russia is using hidden repeaters to attack bridges in Kyiv, according to Flash

Russian troops may be using hidden radio repeaters in Kyiv to guide Shahed attack drones immediately before they strike their targets. 

He speculates that there may be between one and three MESH network repeaters operated by Russian forces in the capital. 

As Beskrestnov notes, such devices can be activated only for a short time and create a control channel for the drones, allowing their flight path to be adjusted directly during an attack.

“Such repeaters are hard to find, but we must look for them. As long as they exist, sealing off the city with electronic warfare measures will not be effective,” the presidential adviser emphasized.

Beskrestnov cited the targeted strike on the SBU building as one of the arguments supporting his theory. He pointed out that during this attack, there were no other Shahed drones in the sky that could have served as repeaters.

The expert also analyzed the strikes on Kyiv’s bridges and the possibility of establishing a long-range MESH channel from Russian territory at that moment.

According to Beskrestnov, without stable online control directly up to the moment of the attack, it is practically impossible to hit a bridge pier or cable with precision.

Separately, the presidential adviser drew attention to the air defense systems installed on Kyiv’s bridges.

Beskrestnov noted that Russian media outlets are already actively discussing photographs of Ukrainian air defense systems. According to him, it is difficult to conceal the locations of such systems from the enemy.

“It is impossible to conceal the ‘Cheetah’ system on a bridge—which tens of thousands of people cross every day—from the enemy,” he explained.

In Beskrestnov’s view, the ability to remotely control Russian drones online poses a threat not only to the bridges themselves but also to the air defense systems deployed there.

“Let me be wrong in my assessment of the repeaters…,” the presidential adviser concluded.

Beskrestnov also reported that experts are conducting a detailed examination of the wreckage of Russian drones in an effort to identify possible communication channels.

At the same time, he said, no other alleged “secret” communication technologies were discovered during the investigations.

“We have not found any other ‘secret’ communication methods (LTE, ‘Rasvet,’ or an alien quantum modem),” Beskrestnov wrote.

Russian troops have repeatedly struck bridges in Kyiv over the past few days.

In particular, on October 1, two Russian drones struck near a support structure of the South Bridge. That same evening, another strike hit the road surface.

As a result of the attack, a bridge pier, a guardrail, the roadway, and the metro’s protective concrete barrier were damaged.

This account was provided by Serhiy (Flash) Beskrestnov, an advisor to the President of Ukraine on technology.

On the morning of October 3, Russian troops struck the Northern Bridge in Kyiv. Prior to this, a series of explosions rang out in the capital amid an air raid alert and the threat of an attack by strike drones.

In Kyiv, the routes of trolleybuses Nos. 29, 30, 31, and 47 were temporarily rerouted due to damage to the overhead wire system on the North Bridge.