Editor’s note: This article was originally published in the Israeli investigative outlet Shomrim. The Kyiv Independent is republishing it with permission. After Israeli officials earlier ignored Ukrainian warnings and offers to help counter the threat of Iranian drones, the tides appear to be turning as Israel faces increased drone
Marharyta Koldanova was standing at a bus stop in a residential area in Kyiv when a sudden loud noise went off, prompting her to take out a tourniquet from her bag and prepare to quickly apply it in case she got injured by an aerial attack. "I was overwhelmed with
As Russia launched another swarm of killer drones to attack Kyiv on one day in early November, one of them came dangerously close to Petro, a 55-year-old resident of a high-rise apartment building in downtown Kyiv. “I saw this motherf*cker just maybe 200 meters above my head, very low.
Russia launched at least 4,300 Shahed-type attack drones and similar UAVs imitating Shaheds against Ukraine between August and October 2024 — a sharp increase compared to earlier months — according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
Russia launched more than 2,000 strike drones against Ukraine in October, breaking the previous record set in September by nearly 700, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
Key developments on Nov.2-3: * Ukraine facing one of Russia's 'most powerful' offensives since start of all-out war, Syrskyi says * North Korean soldiers sent to Ukrainian border equipped with standard infantry weapons, military intelligence says * Locations of Ukrainian weapons systems revealed on Google Maps, official says * Russia launched around 900
U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on Nov. 3 that the U.S. State Department has funded 800 mobile fire teams in Ukraine, which have shot down over 200 Russian drones since January 2024.
Russia launched more than 2,000 strike drones against Ukraine during October, the General Staff reported on Nov. 1, breaking the previous record set in September by nearly 700.
According to the drone's developers, the Wild Hornets group, "Sting" will be able to fly at altitudes approaching 10,000 feet, with a speed of over 100 miles per hour. It is the first drone specifically developed to target Russia's arsenal of Shaheds.
Sixty drones were "lost" due to electronic warfare in a number of regions, while 20 more drones were flying over Ukraine at the time of publication, according to the statement. Two more drones flew back toward Russia.
The EU's sanctions list newly includes individuals and entities responsible for the development and transfer of drones and missiles to Russia.
The lull came after Russia attacked Ukraine with more than 1,300 Shahed kamikaze drones in September, targeting settlements across the country on a daily basis for an entire month. This daily trend has continued for the first days of October.
"The destruction of the Shahed drones storage base will significantly reduce the ability of the Russian occupiers to terrorize civilians in Ukrainian cities and villages," Ukraine's General Staff said.
Russia has stepped up drone attacks in recent weeks — for the first time since the full-scale invasion, they targeted cities and towns across Ukraine on a daily basis for an entire month in September.
For the first time since the full-scale invasion, Russia launched drone attacks on cities and towns across Ukraine on a daily basis for an entire month. According to Ukraine's Air Force, 1,339 Shahed-type kamikaze drones targeted the country in September, 1,107 of which were shot down, with some
Three Shahed drones flew into Belarusian airspace on Oct. 3 as Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko was traveling by helicopter over the country, according to the monitoring group Belaruski Hajun.
Fifteen of the 22 Shahed drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack against Ukraine were downed by air defense, Ukraine's Air Force reported on Sept. 29. The drones were shot down over Sumy, Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, and Odesa oblasts. Electronic warfare countermeasures caused an additional five Shahed drones to go
Aleksey Kolomeitsev, a Russian colonel who trained specialists in the use of attack drones, was killed in the city of Kolomna in Moscow Oblast, Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) reported on Sept. 28. Kolomeitsev, 51, led Russia's 924th State Center of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), a military unit responsible for training
Editor's note: Kyiv authorities initially reported a child was injured and hospitalized during the overnight Russian attack, but later retracted this information. Debris from intercepted Russian drones damaged a gas pipe in a residential building in Kyiv during an overnight attack on Sept. 26, city authorities reported. The air raid
Russia has launched nearly 30 missiles, around 400 drones, and more than 900 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine over the past week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 22, as he called for Ukraine to be given long-range strike capabilities.
The Shahed-136B is reportedly an upgraded version of the Shahed-136, a type of drone used by Russia in near-daily attacks against Ukraine. The newer drone has an operational range of 4,000 kilometers (2,500 miles).
Zelensky's statement comes after a recent Russian attack against nine oblasts and Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, with 56 Shahed-type drones.
The charge d'affaires "was requested to provide a comprehensive explanation of the incident, in which an unmanned aerial vehicle illegally violated Latvia's airspace while also carrying explosives," the Latvian Foreign Ministry said.
A Russian Shahed-type drone equipped with an explosive crashed in Latvia on Sept. 7, Latvia's Defense Ministry confirmed during a press conference on Sept. 9.
Debris from a Russian Shahed-type kamikaze drone downed overnight was discovered outside the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, on the morning of Sept. 7.
Most Poles believe the Polish military should shoot down Russian drones that enter Polish airspace during aerial attacks on Ukraine, according to a survey published on Sept. 1 by the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.
A Belarusian fighter jet attempted to down a Russian Shahed-type drone that flew into Belarus' airspace during an overnight attack against Ukraine on Aug. 29, the Belarusian Hajun monitoring group said.
Russia is likely testing Poland's air defense system, Polish Brigadier General Tomasz Drewniak told Radio RMF24 on Aug. 27, after a likely Russian drone flew into Polish airspace on Aug. 26 amid a mass attack on Ukraine.
At least six Russian Shahed-type kamikaze drones flew off course and entered Belarus during Russia's mass attack on Ukraine on Aug. 26, the Belarusian Hajun monitoring group reported on Aug. 27.
Ukrainian air defense shot down 53 of the 57 Shahed-type attack drones launched by Russia overnight on Aug. 11, Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said. Moscow's troops also launched four North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles.
At least nine Russian Shahed-type kamikaze drones flew off course and entered Belarus during Russia's attacks on Ukraine in July, the Belarusian Hajun monitoring group reported on Aug. 8.
At least five Russian Shahed-type kamikaze drones flew off course and entered into Russia-ally Belarus during an overnight mass attack on Ukraine on July 31, the Belarusian Hajun monitoring group reported.
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