Russia has launched a total of 6,130 Shahed-type drones since the start of 2024, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Oct. 20.
Russia has launched thousands of cheap but effective Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones against Ukraine since the fall of 2022.
In recent weeks, Russia has stepped up its drone attacks — for the first time since the full-scale invasion, they targeted cities and towns across Ukraine on a daily basis since the start of September.
On Aug. 26, Russia launched its largest attack on Ukraine so far with 127 missiles and 109 drones, while Ukraine downed 102 missiles and 99 drones, according to the Air Force. Russian strikes hit several civilian, energy, and fuel facilities, including a dam in Kyiv, part of the Kyiv Hydroelectric Power Plant.
Recently, Russia appears to have switched tactics to use more drones in its attacks, with the country utilizing 129 Shahed-type drones in its attack earlier this week on Oct. 18, Zelensky said.
In his evening address, Zelensky criticized "the free world's indecision" in delaying the provision of additional defense systems.
"There needs to be more pressure on Russia's ability to already produce these weapons. We need the capability to destroy not only the storage bases for the 'Shaheds' but also the entire infrastructure for their production and logistics."
On Oct. 9, Ukraine's military struck a base storing 400 Iranian Shahed-type drones near the village of Oktyabrsky in Russia's Kranodar Krai.
While initially sourcing Shahed-type drones from Iran, in an August 2023 report, the U.K. Defense Ministry said Russia had begun domestic production.
Dmytro Basmat
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