Russian air defense forces shot down nearly a thousand Ukrainian drones in a single day, a record, the independent Russian investigative outlet Agentstvo reported, according to calculations based on reports from Russia’s Defense Ministry.
According to the Defense Ministry, air defense forces intercepted 992 fixed-wing Ukrainian drones, four long-range cruise missiles, and ten guided aerial bombs over Russian regions and Russian-occupied territories in a single day.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reports only on intercepted munitions and drones; Ukraine may have launched even more drones, missiles, and aerial bombs.
The strike broke not only Ukraine’s previous single-day record for drone use but also surpassed the maximum number of drones Russia had ever launched in a single day, Agentstvo noted.
Russia’s largest single-day drone strike on Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war was recorded on March 24, 2026, when Russian forces launched 948 drones at Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine’s previous record came on June 6, when Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that air defense forces shot down 911 drones, 13 aerial bombs, and four HIMARS rounds.
Agentstvo wrote that the figures point to Ukraine’s “growing capabilities” — at the start of the war, Ukraine could not match Russia in the intensity of strikes on the enemy’s rear.
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