Chinese Drone Shot Down in Eastern Ukraine: CNN

Ukrainian armed forces have shot down a Mugin-5 civilian drone of Chinese manufacture in the eastern part of the country. This is reported by CNN, citing Ukrainian military officials and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).

The drone was launched from territory controlled by Russia on the night of March 10 to 11. When the flying object was spotted, the security service alerted military units near Sloviansk in the Donetsk region. Around 2 AM, Ukrainian territorial defense fighters noticed the drone in the sky and shot it down using an AK-47.

A member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, identified as Maksim, noted that the drone was flying at a low altitude, making it possible to shoot it down with light weapons. According to Ukrainian soldiers, the drone was equipped with a bomb weighing about 20 kilograms.

The Mugin-5 is a civilian drone produced by the Chinese company Mugin Limited, which is located in the port city of Xiamen. Tech bloggers refer to this drone as the “Alibaba drone” because it can be purchased for $15,000 in Chinese markets, including Alibaba and Taobao (Mugin Limited’s website lists the Mugin-5 Pro drone at $9,499).

The company confirmed in an interview with a television channel that a drone of their production has been shot down in eastern Ukraine and expressed regret over the incident.