Direct proof of use
The Shahed-107 entered the public record as a Russia-oriented Iranian explosive-reconnaissance UAV. In January 2024, Sky News reported that Iran had developed the drone for Russia's war in Ukraine, that a small number may have been offered to Moscow, and that Iranian personnel had trialed the Shahed-107 with Russians in Iran.
By November 2025, Ukrainian intelligence and Ukrainian reporting connected the type to active Russian use. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine's War & Sanctions portal published a Shahed-107 component dataset, while Ukrainska Pravda reported that Russia was using the Iranian-made UAV to strike Ukrainian frontline regions.
Sources: Sky News Shahed-107 Report, DIU War and Sanctions Shahed-107 UAV, Ukrainska Pravda Shahed-107 Components
Operational role
The sources describe two overlapping roles. The initial Sky report characterized the Shahed-107 as an explosive and reconnaissance UAV that could transmit video and help locate high-value Ukrainian battlefield targets for other weapons. Later Ukrainian reporting treated the examined battlefield sample as a one-way attack UAV with a 15 kg cumulative fragmentation-high-explosive warhead, anti-jam navigation equipment, a DLE 111 two-stroke petrol engine, and an assessed range of about 300 km.
The public record therefore supports Russian fielding of the Shahed-107 as an Iranian-supplied attack UAV in Ukraine, with reported reconnaissance and targeting-support potential but stronger component-level evidence for autonomous attack use. The available sources identify Russia as the user in the conflict and Ukraine as the recovering or intercepting side.
Sources: Sky News Shahed-107 Report, DIU War and Sanctions Shahed-107 UAV, Ukrainska Pravda Shahed-107 Components, UNITED24 Shahed-107 Technical Breakdown, UNITED24 Shahed-107 STING Interception
