War

Ukraine has 'successfully tested' new interceptor against Russian jet-powered drones, Zelensky says

2 min read
Ukraine has 'successfully tested' new interceptor against Russian jet-powered drones, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara at a briefing with Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi on Sept. 15, 2026. (Volodymyr Zelensky / Telegram)

Ukraine has "successfully" trialed another interceptor drone designed totarget Russian jet-powered Shahed drones, President Volodymyr Zelenskysaid Sept. 15 following a briefing by Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi.

As Russia expands its arsenal of Shahed-type jet-powered drones, including the Geran-3, Geran-4 and Geran-5, and the cruise missile-like Banderol loitering munition, Ukraine is facing mounting difficulties intercepting the weapons during prolonged attacks, with Kyiv and the surrounding region frequently targeted.

"A 'shahed' was hit successfully, but some aspects of controlling the interceptor still need to be refined. The work continues – it will take some more time," Zelensky wrote on X.

The jet-powered drones can reach speeds of up to 600 kilometers per hour (nearly 370 miles per hour), making them more difficult to intercept than earlier, piston-powered Shahed variants. Their use also increased sharply this summer, rising roughly fivefold in July compared with June, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said Aug. 31.

Russia launched nearly 800 jet-powered drones toward Ukraine over four days in late August, according to Zelensky.

Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara said Aug. 29 that Ukraine had field-tested four potential interceptors against Russian jet-powered Shahed drones, without specifying which companies were developing them or how far along the projects were.

​​Anatolii Hrapchynskyi, deputy director of an electronic warfare company and a reserve Air Force officer, told the Kyiv Independent that the use of jet-powered drones was to be expected as Russian forces had been seeking ways to overwhelm Ukraine's anti-aircraft defenses.

Hrapchynskyi said that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian troops had only expensive long-range weapons at their disposal, which could be launched from strategic aircraft, submarines, or the coast.

Russia most recently used jet-powered drones in a Sept. 15 attack on Kyiv that killed at least one person and injured 12 others. The daytime strikes damaged residential buildings, a data center, and two gas stations in the capital.

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Yuliia Taradiuk

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Yuliia Taradiuk is a Ukrainian reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She has been working with Lutsk-based misto.media, telling stories of Ukrainian fighters for the "All are gone to the front" project. She has experience as a freelance culture reporter, and a background in urbanism and activism, working for multiple Ukrainian NGOs. Yuliia holds B.A. degree in English language and literature from Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University, she studied in Germany and Lithuania.

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