Moscow’s increasing use of drones is stretching Ukrainian air defences and ‘terrorising civilians,’ a senior Ukrainian official said.
Russia targeted Kyiv with dozens of drones overnight on Wednesday in an attack that lasted eight hours, Ukrainian authorities reported, maintaining its relentless assault on the country nearly 1,000 days after its full-scale invasion.
Kyiv officials said the Russian military launched a combination of drones in both singular and swarm formations into Ukrainian airspace from various directions and at a variety of altitudes.
Although Ukrainian air defences reportedly “neutralised” three dozen drones, falling debris caused damage to a hospital, as well as residential and office buildings in the capital. A fire reportedly broke out on the 33rd floor of an apartment building as a result.
Two people were reportedly injured in the attacks.
During the day on Thursday, Russia launched five attacks with missiles and glide bombs on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, killing at least one person and wounding 10, including a year-old child, according to the regional military administration’s press service. The attacks also damaged residential buildings and a hospital.
Decreased accuracy, increased terror
Authorities in Moscow have been ramping up attacks on the Ukrainian capital recently, with strikes almost every day, while night-time explosions and the continuous buzzing sound of drones keep the city on edge.
Andriy Kovalenko, the director of the Ukrainian government’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, stated that Russia was increasingly using drones to “save missiles, which it is stockpiling at strategic aviation airfields”.
Writing on Telegram on Thursday, Kovalenko accused Russia of deploying drones because they are “a cheaper tool … for terrorising civilians,” suggesting that they only hit around 10% of their intended targets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russia has significantly expanded its drone operations in Ukraine, saying Moscow “is deploying about 10 times more Iranian-made Shahed drones than it was this time last year”.
The country’s forces are increasingly struggling to match the might of Russia’s larger and better-funded military, and Western support remains crucial for Ukraine to sustain itseld in what has become in some areas a war of attrition.
The EU says it has provided almost €125 billion in financial, military, humanitarian aid to Ukraine so far. Earlier this year, members pledged to donate a further €50 billion by 2027.
American uncertainty
However, the latest drone barrage comes just a day after Americans decisively voted to return Donald Trump to the White House. President-elect Trump and his vice-president-elect, JD Vance, have long been critics of US aid to Ukraine, which has been a source of concern for Kyiv, Brussels and other European capitals.
According to official figures, the US has so far been the largest single contributor to Ukraine’s efforts, having provided over €160 billion to the embattled country since Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Trump, who will take office in January 2025, has previously said he would end the war “in one day”, but has not elaborated on how he plans to achieve this.
He also shocked allies earlier this year when he claimed he would tell Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to NATO members whom he accuses of falling short on their dues to the alliance.
