Explainers
The terms behind the news
What is a glide bomb, what does martial law mean for reporting, what is NATO's Article 4? Short, neutral explanations of terms that come up in our stories. In a story, click a term with a dotted line to see its explainer.
Weapons
- Ballistic missilealso: ballistic missiles
- A missile that is rocket-powered only at the start and then flies a high, arcing path to its target. It comes down at very high speed, which leaves little warning time and makes it hard to intercept; only some air-defence systems, such as Patriot, can do so.
- Cruise missilealso: cruise missiles
- A jet-powered missile that flies low and steers itself to its target, like a small unmanned aircraft. It is slower than a ballistic missile but can follow terrain and change course to avoid air defences.
- FPV dronealso: FPV drones, first-person-view drone
- A small, cheap drone flown by an operator through a camera feed, carrying an explosive charge. Used in large numbers near the front line.
- Glide bombalso: glide bombs, guided aerial bomb, guided aerial bombs
- A heavy aerial bomb fitted with wings and satellite guidance. Aircraft release it tens of kilometres from the target, out of reach of most air defences; it is widely used against frontline towns.
- Iskanderalso: Iskander-M, Iskander-K
- A Russian mobile missile system. Iskander-M fires short-range ballistic missiles; Iskander-K fires cruise missiles. It is launched from trucks on the ground.
- Jet-powered dronealso: jet-powered drones, jet drones, jet drone
- A one-way attack drone with a small jet engine instead of a propeller. It flies much faster than a Shahed, which gives air defences less time to react.
- Kalibralso: Kalibr missiles
- A Russian cruise missile fired from warships and submarines, mainly from the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea.
- Kh-101also: Kh-101s, X-101
- A Russian air-launched cruise missile carried by strategic bombers (Tu-95MS and Tu-160). It is launched far from Ukraine and is often used in large overnight attacks on cities and energy facilities.
- Kinzhalalso: Kh-47M2
- A Russian air-launched ballistic missile (Kh-47M2), fired from MiG-31K fighter jets. Russia calls it hypersonic; Ukraine has intercepted some with Patriot systems.
- Shahed dronealso: Shahed, Shaheds, Shahed drones
- An Iranian-designed long-range one-way attack drone that explodes on impact. Russia produces its own version, called Geran-2, and launches them in large numbers, often together with missiles to overwhelm air defences.
Air defence
- Air defencealso: air defences, air-defence
- Weapons and radars that detect and shoot down aircraft, missiles and drones: from long-range missile systems to mobile gun teams. Interceptors are expensive and limited in number.
- Air-raid alertalso: air-raid alerts, air raid alert, air-raid warning
- An official warning that missiles, drones or aircraft may strike an area. In Ukraine it sounds by siren and phone app per region; people are asked to go to a shelter until the all-clear.
- Interceptor dronealso: interceptor drones
- A fast drone built to fly into and destroy attacking drones, a cheaper alternative to air-defence missiles.
- IRIS-Talso: IRIS-T SLM
- A German-made medium-range air-defence system that Ukraine uses to protect cities against missiles and drones.
- Patriotalso: Patriot system, Patriot systems, Patriot missiles
- A US-made long-range air-defence system, one of few able to intercept ballistic missiles. Ukraine has received batteries from several Western countries.
- Scrambled jetsalso: scrambled fighter jets, scrambled fighter jets, scrambled its jets
- Fighter jets on standby (quick reaction alert) that take off within minutes when an unknown or hostile aircraft or missile approaches a country's airspace.
Ukraine
- Donbasalso: Donbass
- The eastern industrial region made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Much of it is occupied by Russia; Kramatorsk and Sloviansk are the largest cities in the part still held by Ukraine.
- DTEK
- Ukraine's largest private energy company, which operates power plants and distribution networks, including in Kyiv. It announces power-cut schedules when strikes damage the grid.
- Martial law
- A state of emergency that gives the army and authorities extra powers. Ukraine has been under martial law since 24 February 2022; among other things it restricts publishing the exact place of strikes while they are happening, which is why ECTV shows those places at town level at first.
- Military administrationalso: regional military administration, city military administration, military administrations
- Under martial law, Ukraine's regions and some cities are run by military administrations. Their heads are the officials who usually report strikes, damage and casualties.
- Oblastalso: oblasts
- A region of Ukraine, its main administrative level (for example the Chernihiv or Donetsk region). Each is led by a regional governor, now the head of the regional military administration.
- State Emergency Service of Ukrainealso: DSNS, Ukraine's state emergency service, Ukraine's emergency service
- Ukraine's civil protection service (DSNS): firefighters, rescuers and bomb disposal. It leads rescue work after strikes and gives official casualty figures from the site.
- Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plantalso: Zaporizhzhia NPP, Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
- Europe's largest nuclear power plant, in southern Ukraine, occupied by Russian forces since March 2022. Its reactors are shut down; the IAEA keeps inspectors on site.
NATO & EU
- Airspace violationalso: airspace violations, airspace incursion, violated its airspace
- When a military aircraft, drone or missile enters a country's airspace without permission. NATO members often respond by scrambling jets and summoning the ambassador.
- Eastern flankalso: NATO's eastern flank
- NATO members bordering Russia, Belarus or Ukraine, from Finland and the Baltic states to Poland and Romania, where the alliance has stationed extra troops since 2022.
- EU sanctions packagealso: sanctions package, sanctions packages
- A set of EU restrictive measures against Russia (trade bans, asset freezes, travel bans), adopted by unanimity of the member states. The EU has adopted many packages since 2022.
- NATO Article 4also: Article 4 of the NATO treaty, Article 4 consultations, invoked Article 4
- The clause of the NATO treaty under which any member can ask for consultations when it feels its territory, independence or security is threatened. It does not commit anyone to military action.
- NATO Article 5also: Article 5 of the NATO treaty, collective defence clause
- NATO's collective-defence clause: an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all, and each member helps as it deems necessary. It has been invoked once, after 11 September 2001.
Security
- GPS jammingalso: GPS interference, GNSS interference, spoofing
- Blocking (jamming) or faking (spoofing) satellite navigation signals. Widespread around the Baltic Sea and Black Sea, it affects aircraft and ships, which then rely on backup navigation.
- Hybrid attackalso: hybrid attacks, hybrid threat, hybrid threats
- Hostile actions below the level of open war: sabotage, cyberattacks, disinformation, using migrants as pressure, or drones over sensitive sites. They are hard to attribute, which is part of their purpose.
- Shadow fleetalso: shadow-fleet
- Ageing tankers with unclear ownership and insurance that carry Russian oil around Western sanctions and price caps. Officials link some of them to damaged undersea cables and see them as an environmental risk.
- Undersea cablealso: undersea cables, subsea cable, subsea cables
- Data and power cables on the seabed linking countries, for example across the Baltic Sea. Several were damaged in recent years, often by ships dragging anchors; investigations try to establish whether that was deliberate.
Emergencies
- Mandatory evacuationalso: compulsory evacuation, compulsory evacuations, mandatory evacuations
- An order from the authorities that everyone, or certain groups such as families with children, must leave an area. In Ukraine it is used for towns close to the front line.
- NOTAMalso: NOTAMs
- Notice to Airmen: an official notice about airspace closures, restrictions or hazards. Airports and airspace are closed through NOTAMs, for example during drone sightings or military activity.
- Red warningalso: red weather warning, red warnings, code red
- The highest level of a weather warning in Europe's colour system (green, yellow, orange, red): dangerous weather with a high risk to life. Authorities may close roads and schools and order evacuations.
Places
- Crimea
- A peninsula of Ukraine on the Black Sea, annexed by Russia in 2014. The annexation is not recognised by Ukraine, the EU or most countries; it hosts Russia's Black Sea Fleet.
- IAEAalso: International Atomic Energy Agency
- The UN's nuclear watchdog, based in Vienna. It monitors the safety of Ukraine's nuclear plants and keeps experts at each of them.
- Kaliningrad
- A Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea between Poland and Lithuania, home to Russia's Baltic Fleet and a large military presence.
- Suwałki Gapalso: Suwalki Gap, Suwałki corridor
- The roughly 65 km land border between Poland and Lithuania, between Kaliningrad and Belarus. It is the only land link between the Baltic states and the rest of NATO, so it is seen as a strategic weak point.
- Transnistria
- A breakaway region of Moldova along the border with Ukraine, controlled by a separatist administration with Russian troops stationed there since the early 1990s. No country recognises it as independent.
Method
- OSINTalso: open-source intelligence
- Open-source intelligence: information verified from public material such as satellite images, videos, flight and ship tracking data. ECTV marks OSINT accounts separately in its source ratings.
Written by the ECTV desk from public reference material. Spotted an error? Tell us.