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Ukraine's Navy says it destroyed over 37,000 Russian drones in 2024

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Ukraine's Navy says it destroyed over 37,000 Russian drones in 2024
Photo for illustrative purposes: A remnant of a destroyed Russian drone is displayed on Khreschatyk Street during an exhibition on Aug. 23, 2023 in Kyiv. (Dmytro Larin /Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Ukrainian naval units destroyed over 37,000 Russian drones in the year 2024, the Navy reported on Jan. 1.

This includes Russian strike drones, operational and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), first-person-view (FPV) drones, strike UAVs, and Shahed-type attack drones, the Navy said in a Facebook post.

Ukrainian naval forces also destroyed five Russian ships and 458 watercraft.

Russia's UAV losses included 35,670 destroyed FPV drones and 1,140 strike drones, the Navy said. Ukrainian units also eliminated 192 operational and tactical drones and another 164 Shahed-136/131 drones.

Russian drone attacks across Ukraine surged to record levels in the last months of 2024, with Moscow aiming to ramp up UAV production in the new year. Drone strikes have targeted Ukrainian residential neighborhoods and critical energy infrastructure.

Ukrainian forces in turn have targeted Russian military facilites and equipment, both within Russia and in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

A Ukrainian-made Magura V5 naval strike drone on Dec. 31 destroyed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter for the first time.

According to Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russian forces suffered high losses in 2024. Around 427,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded last year, he said.

Ukraine struck hundreds of targets deep inside Russia in 2024. What did they achieve?
As Russian troops continued to hold an advantage on the ground, Ukraine has been keen to level the power in the air. In 2024, Ukrainian forces bet on drones, hitting targets thousands of kilometers deep inside Russia. Ukrainian attacks have targeted dozens of oil refineries that aid Russia’s war e…
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Abbey Fenbert

Senior News Editor

Abbey Fenbert is a senior news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She is a freelance writer, editor, and playwright with an MFA from Boston University. Abbey served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine from 2008-2011.

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