Russia ramps up jet-powered drone attacks on Kyiv – Air Force

In July, Russian forces doubled their use of jet-powered attack drones compared to June, and this trend is expected to continue into August, according to Yurii Ihnat, the head of communications for Ukraine's Air Force Command. Ihnat noted that Ukraine's Defense Forces have achieved an impressive interception rate of around 90% against standard Shahed drones, but jet-powered variants are shot down at a lower rate.

Currently, approximately 800 out of over 1,500 drones recorded over the past four days have jet engines, with the enemy primarily targeting infrastructure in Kyiv. Ihnat explained that Russia recognized the limitations of Ukraine's air-defense systems against jet-powered drones, requiring more advanced ground-based surface-to-air missile systems, aviation complexes, and fighter jets equipped with air-to-air missiles.

These drones are being actively shot down, but some still manage to reach Kyiv. The Russian forces are attacking Kyiv and its surroundings from various directions, often taking advantage of weather conditions that hinder air defenses from intercepting the drones. In the past five days, Russia has launched an almost continuous assault on Kyiv, sounding air raid alerts eight times in Kyiv and causing damage to warehouse facilities in several districts, along with casualties.