Smartphone malfunctions during alarms: The Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff has revealed the cause.

Ukrainian smartphones, as warned by Informator, indeed may display incorrect time during air raid alerts, specifically while repelling air attacks from Russian invaders. Geolocation can also be disrupted. This occurs due to the transmission of a false GPS signal intended to mislead the navigation systems of Russian drones and missiles, as acknowledged by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on November 5.

The military explained that this method of combating enemy aerial targets is known as "spoofing." This involves using methods to alter GPS satellite navigation coordinates to enhance the effectiveness of countering the enemy. The electronic warfare system modifies coordinates to divert Russian Shahed drones and missiles. A side effect of this interference is the disruption of the precise time system utilized by mobile phones in automatic time correction mode.

"Given the above, it is advisable to disable the automatic time correction mode on your phone and to consider that during air raid alerts, the accuracy of satellite navigation systems may be compromised," the electronic warfare specialists at the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine explained.

Tested firsthand: Informator journalist found himself "in Russia" due to electronic warfare

The issue, which was officially explained by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was reported by Informator just a few hours earlier. The iPhone and the car's clock of the publication's journalist displayed the wrong time during the evening of November 4 and the morning of November 5 while repelling drone attacks from the Russian Federation by Ukrainian air defense.

Additionally, according to the journalist, when the electronic warfare is active, the phone indicates that it is located in either the Kursk or Bryansk region of Russia, and the time changes. This situation has been observed multiple times.

Just a week ago, a soldier from the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhiy, from an air defense unit, explained to journalists that the malfunctions in smartphones are a consequence of the powerful electronic warfare system (EWS). He stated that the EWS alters coordinates to divert enemy missiles and drones. Phones inadvertently react to this system. This has now been officially confirmed by the General Staff.

Nearly a quarter of Russian drones "lose their location"

According to the Air Forces, in August, September, and October 2024, Russia launched 4,300 strike drones of the Shahed type and other types of drones that mimic real Shaheds against Ukraine. Ukraine managed to shoot down 3,063 enemy drones (71%). Additionally, daily reports from the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine introduced the designation "locationally lost" - meaning they disappeared from radar, likely due to active EWS countermeasures or other reasons. From August to October 2024, there were 1,052 such drones, accounting for 24%.

Thus, direct hits on enemy drones account for 5%. Additionally, destruction or damage may occur as a result of downed drones falling due to air defense.

It is worth noting that October set a record for the launch of enemy strike drones. The monthly distribution is as follows:

• August: 818 – launched, 701 – shot down, 91 – locationally lost;
• September: 1,410 – launched, 1,156 – shot down, 201 – locationally lost;
• October: 2,072 – launched, 1,206 – shot down, 766 – locationally lost.

For the same period: May, June, and July 2024 saw the launch of 1,133 strike drones in Ukraine, with air defense shooting down 1,055, and 10 locationally lost. The shot-down percentage for the May–July 2024 period was approximately 94%.

Thus, the percentage of direct hits on enemy strike drones of the Shahed type and other types that mimic real Shaheds in May–July and August–October 2024 is 6% and 5% respectively. This proves that the percentage of neutralized Shaheds has not only not decreased, as claimed by MP Maryana Bezuhla, but has, in fact, recently increased, as demonstrated by Air Force representative Yuriy Ihnat.

Ukraine fights against Shaheds

Russian occupiers attack Ukraine nightly with strike drones, as well as missile and KAB strikes. On August 20, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that since the beginning of the full-scale war, the occupiers have launched nearly 14,000 strike UAVs and 9,600 missiles at Ukraine, with air defense destroying approximately 9,300 drones and over 2,400 missiles.

In October 2024, Russian occupiers targeted civilian and military facilities in Ukraine with 2,023 strike drones of the Shahed type and unmanned aerial vehicles of undetermined type. Of these, 1,185 were destroyed/suppressed by Ukrainian defenders, 738 units were locationally lost, and another 29 drones exited the controlled airspace of our state, as stated by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Overall, since the beginning of 2024, the enemy has launched 6,987 strike drones across the territory of Ukraine. Predominantly, enemy drones targeted the civilian and critical infrastructure of Ukraine.