Russia has deployed a new long-range attack drone, the Geran-5, for the first time in its war against Ukraine, according to a report by Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate (HUR).

The drone is an updated version of the Geran-2 drone, an Iranian-designed Shahed-136 loitering munition, that is now being mass produced in Russian factories in the Alabuga Special Economic Zone in Siberian region of Tatarstan.

The HUR said the new drone is larger and more capable than its predecessors and is part of the drone arms race between Russia and Ukraine that has been swinging back and forth for the duration of the war in Ukraine.

The Geran-5 measures 6 metres in length with a wingspan of 5.5 metres and can carry a warhead weighing approximately 90 kg. Its operational range is reported to be up to 1,000 km, putting almost all of Ukraine’s territory in range.

“This is a significant development,” a Ukrainian military source told local media, “and it is clear that Russia is attempting to offset battlefield disadvantages through increased use of drone warfare.”

The Geran-5 is equipped with a 12-channel satellite navigation system, likely enabling greater resistance to electronic warfare and more precise targeting. Ukrainian intelligence believes the drone may eventually be adapted for air-launched operations or even outfitted with R-73 short-range air-to-air missiles, raising concerns about its potential use in targeting Ukrainian aircraft.

Though the HUR has not confirmed the specific location or outcome of the Geran-5’s first deployment, Russian military bloggers have circulated unverified footage allegedly showing the drone in flight over eastern Ukraine. Open-source analysts have yet to confirm the footage's authenticity.

The new model appears to be a significant evolution from earlier drones in the Geran family, such as the Geran, which has been used extensively to target Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

A missile and drone attack on Kyiv over the weekend blackout half the homes in the capital. Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko advised all residents of Kyiv that have alternative accommodation, such as a dacha, to leave the capital as temperatures in residential buildings plunge and repairs are expected to take several days or more.

As bne IntelliNews reported, so far Russian President Vladimir Putin has been pulling his punches when it comes to targeting power and heating, but thanks to the vulnerability of Ukraine’s ultra-high voltage 750kV substations he has the ability to turn the lights out in the majority of Ukraine’s cities.

Western defence officials have expressed concern that Russia’s increasing reliance on domestically assembled drones, including systems adapted from Iranian designs, could allow Moscow to sustain its aerial campaign despite international sanctions and export restrictions.

Analysts say the use of the new Geran-5 drones reflects Russia’s growing emphasis on asymmetric warfare tools as conventional ground advances stall.

“The integration of larger and longer-range drones like the Geran-5 into Russia’s arsenal shows the direction of its military-industrial strategy,” said a defence researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

Ukrainian forces continue to rely heavily on Western-supplied air defences and electronic warfare systems to counter Russia’s drone incursions, but it is running low on ammo which has opened Ukraine’s cities to increased attack. Since the summer, Russia has changed tactics and launched a missile war that is proving to be increasingly effective.

As of early January, neither the Russian defence ministry nor state media have publicly acknowledged the deployment of the Geran-5.