Shahed drones

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Russia slams Kyiv with mass drone attack

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions and urged residents to take shelter as Russia launched groups of drones at the capital late in the evening of May 2.

A bright orange fire burns behind dark smoke, the silhouette of a tree, and a house.

Why Ukraine needs Russia's terminal defeat – not just deterrence

Five years into the full-scale conflict, it has become clear that the model of strategic deterrence – the "steel porcupine" that Ursula von der Leyen often invokes when speaking about Ukraine –  offers no guarantee of resilience and long-term peace. The "steel porcupine" model assumes that, given Russia's significant resource advantage, Ukraine's only realistic strategy is to build a defense so strong that continued aggression becomes prohibitively costly for Russia. However, as of 2026, this

Ukrainian servicemen firing toward Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, on March 21, 2023.

About Shahed drones

Shahed drones are Iranian-designed unmanned combat aerial vehicles and loitering munitions developed by Shahed Aviation Industries. Manufactured both in Iran and at Russian production facilities, the drones have become one of Russia’s primary weapons in its full-scale war against Ukraine. Russia first deployed Shahed drones against Ukraine in the fall of 2022, and their use has since escalated, with Moscow launching more than 54,500 Shahed-type UAVs against Ukrainian targets in 2025 alone.

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