Latest news with #ShahedUAVs
Miami Herald
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Putin ramps up drone-making to unleash attacks on Ukrainian cities
Russia is stepping up drone production to increase massive daily attacks on Ukrainian cities as Moscow pressures Kyiv to concede to peace terms. The Kremlin unleashed deadly destruction in the capital Kyiv and the Black Sea city of Odesa overnight, firing 315 drones and seven missiles, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That followed a barrage of a record 479 drones the previous night, which itself surpassed the high set on June 1. Moscow has escalated drone attacks this year with the scale of the strikes surging from a daily record of 267 UAVs in February. After initially losing ground to Ukraine in the development of drones, Russia has steadily ramped up mass production of Iranian-designed Shahed UAVs and other types of unmanned aircraft, giving the Kremlin a ready weapon to step up pressure on Kyiv to accept its war demands. In April, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered defense producers to accelerate drone output from the 1.5 million units produced last year. 'These weapons are still in short supply,' he said at the time. In January, he called for Russia to 'emerge as one of the global technological leaders' in drone production by 2030, in light of what he said was 'the huge importance of this industry' for the country. Moscow's aim is to use a 'punishment strategy' with inexpensive Shahed drones to force Kyiv into submission, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a recent report. Although Ukraine manages to jam or shoot down most of them, the weapons 'saturate Ukrainian air defenses and erode civilian morale through persistent nightly attacks,' it said. Ukraine estimates Russia is preparing to produce between 300 to 350 long-range drones a day and wants to raise output to 500 a day, Zelenskyy said on May 27. Russian drone manufacturers succeeded in boosting production of long-range craft to more than 30,000 this year from 15,000 in 2024, while also producing as many as 2 million small tactical drones used against tanks and artillery, Politico reported June 5, citing Oleh Aleksandrov, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service. Ukraine's defense intelligence directorate estimates that half of the long-range drones produced each month are decoys, according to Forbes Ukraine. Kyiv has also accused Russia of using electronics largely sourced from China in violation of sanctions. Beijing has previously said it's not providing weapons to either side in the war. 'Drones turned out to be a low-cost alternative to precision weaponry,' said Denis Fedutinov, a Moscow-based expert on UAVs. 'This realization didn't come immediately. However, once it became clear that drones deliver tangible results, it provided the impetus to accelerate the integration of unmanned systems of various classes into military operations.' Growth across all categories of Russia's drone output has been exponential, compared to the figures before 2022, Fedutinov said. 'In some areas, such as loitering munitions and FPV drones, we're talking about increases by several orders of magnitude,' he said, referencing first-person view drones controlled by an operator via video feed. At talks in Istanbul last week, Russia laid out terms for a ceasefire that amounted to capitulation, including Kyiv handing over control of territory it still holds in four occupied regions and agreeing to neutrality and limits on its military capability and foreign weapon supplies. The European Union on Tuesday proposed export bans aimed at depriving Russia of critical technologies and industrial goods, including restricting dual-use items used in producing drones, missiles and other weapons. 'We want to make sure that Russia does not find ways to modernize its weapons with European technologies,' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in Brussels. The E.U. also proposed banning the Nord Stream pipelines and cutting the Group of Seven oil price cap to $45 as part of the new sanctions package. In addition to the Shahed drones, which Russia started to import from Iran in 2022 before starting its own production, Russia has developed a new drone using Chinese technology that can select targets using AI. Ukrainian military intelligence on June 9 published details of the design of the new Russian V2U strike drone, which it said is used by Moscow's forces in Ukraine's northeast Sumy region. Ukraine has led the way in using drones on the battlefield. It launched UAVs from within Russia to strike a series of strategic air bases on June 1, destroying bombers, in one of the most audacious aerial attacks of the war. It's also deployed drones to devastating effect on the frontlines to prevent major Russian advances and to hit vital infrastructure deep inside Russian territory - including transportation networks and oil refineries. 'Russia has caught up and is maximizing production and use of drones, but they're doing this in a conventional way,' said Ruslan Pukhov, head of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a defense think tank. 'The Ukrainians are managing not to lag behind in the drone war by responding asymmetrically.' With assistance from Daryna Krasnolutska. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Defence plants under large-scale UAV attack in Russia – photo, video
Explosions rang out in various oblasts of Russia on the night of 25-26 May. Local residents reported attacks on a drone factory in Tatarstan and a chemical plant in Ivanovo Oblast. Explosions were also heard in Tula Oblast, where a defence plant is located; as usual, the authorities reported that the attack had had no adverse effects, while the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that air defence had shot down almost a hundred UAVs. Source: Russian Telegram channels Astra, Baza and Shot; Russian regional authorities and the Russian Ministry of Defence on Telegram Details: Residents of Tula reported hearing explosions. Tula is home to NPO Splav, one of Russia's leading developers and manufacturers of multiple-launch rocket systems, which has already been attacked twice in May. There were also reports of explosions in Kineshma in Russia's Ivanovo Oblast. Local residents reported that drones had attacked the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant. Smoke after the explosion in Kineshma. Photo: Astra Telegram Channel The Ivanovo Oblast Operational Headquarters reported "the fall of UAV debris in the industrial zone" and "damage to an outbuilding for storing packaging". Kineshma is located more than a thousand kilometres from the Ukrainian border. It was also reported that drones were being shot down over Yelabuga (Tatarstan), a city that is home to a plant for assembling Shahed UAVs. It has been attacked before. Yelabuga is located 1,500 kilometres from the border with Ukraine. The Russian Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsiya reported that temporary restrictions on aircraft flights had been imposed at Kaluga and Nizhnekamsk airports and at Moscow's Domodedovo and Zhukovsky airports. The Russian Ministry of Defence announced that it had allegedly downed "96 Ukrainian UAVs" over 12 oblasts of Russia. In particular, 31 drones were allegedly shot down over Bryansk Oblast, 16 over Belgorod Oblast, 11 over Kursk Oblast, nine over Tula Oblast, eight over Oryol Oblast, six over Moscow Oblast, five over Kaluga Oblast, four over Ivanovo Oblast, two over Ryazan and Vladimir oblasts, and one over Yaroslavl Oblast and the Republic of Tatarstan. As per usual, the Russian Ministry of Defence has not disclosed anything about the total number of drones involved in the attack, and nothing about the consequences of the strikes or the downing of UAVs. Background: On 25 May, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported an attack by several drones flying towards the city, and three airports in the Russian capital and the Moscow region temporarily shut down. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
‘Most massive strike': Russia unleashes largest air onslaught on Ukraine killing at least 12
Representative image (Picture credit: AP) Russia unleashed its largest aerial attack since the war began, striking more than 30 cities and villages across Ukraine overnight into Sunday. At least 12 people were killed and dozens injured as 367 missiles and drones rained down in a second straight night of intense bombardment, reported the news agency AP . Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat confirmed that Russia deployed 69 missiles and 298 drones, including Iranian-made Shahed UAVs. 'It was the most massive strike in terms of the number of air attack weapons on the territory of Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022,' he was quoted as saying by AP. The airstrikes coincided with Kyiv Day, a national holiday, turning what is usually a celebratory occasion into one of mourning. Four people died and 16 were injured in Kyiv alone, with residential buildings and a dormitory damaged by drone debris. 'A difficult Sunday morning in Ukraine after a sleepless night,' said Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on X. In the Zhytomyr region, three children aged 8, 12, and 17 were among the dead, while four people were killed in Khmelnytskyi and one in Mykolaiv, emergency officials said. Fires broke out in multiple districts, and in the village of Markhalivka, several homes were levelled. 'The street looks like Bakhmut, like Mariupol,' said 76-year-old resident Liubov Fedorenko to AP. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of 'deliberate strikes on ordinary cities' and called for tougher sanctions. 'Without truly strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped,' he wrote on X. The strikes came just hours before Russia and Ukraine conducted a third major prisoner exchange, one of the few signs of cooperation in otherwise stalled efforts to reach a ceasefire. According to Russia's defence ministry, each side brought home 303 more soldiers on Sunday. That followed the release of 307 soldiers and civilians on Saturday, and 390 on Friday—making it the largest such swap in more than three years of war. 'This is the best day,' said Olena, who was reunited with her husband Yuriy after six months of Russian captivity, in a video shared by Ukraine's defence ministry. Despite these swaps, fighting has not eased. Battles continue across the 1,000-km front line. Ukraine said it intercepted 266 drones and 45 missiles, but at least 22 locations were still hit, reported the BBC. Meanwhile, Russia claimed it had intercepted over 100 Ukrainian drones overnight, including several near Moscow. Drone debris damaged buildings in Russia's Tula region, though no casualties were reported, according to Reuters. Diplomatic hopes remain faint. While the Istanbul meeting led to the prisoner exchange, Russia has not accepted ceasefire proposals. Zelenskyy warned, 'Russia is dragging out this war… The world may go on for a weekend, but the war continues.'
Arab News
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Ukraine says downed 6 missiles, 245 drones overnight
KYIV: Ukraine's air force said Saturday that it had downed six ballistic missiles and 245 drones from a massive Russian barrage overnight that was mainly targeted at the capital Kyiv. 'Air defense shot down 6 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles (Kyiv) and neutralized 245 enemy Shahed-type UAVs,' the air force said in a statement.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian air defences down 63 out of 76 drones launched by Russia overnight
Russian forces attacked Ukraine with 76 loitering munitions on the night of 20-21 May (from 00:30 on 21 May). Ukrainian air defence units have destroyed 22 of them, while a further 41 have disappeared from radar. Source: Ukrainian Air Force Command on Facebook Details: The Russians attacked Ukraine with 76 Shahed-type loitering munitions and decoy drones of various types from Kursk, Oryol and Bryansk oblasts of Russia. As of 09:00, Ukrainian air defence units have downed 63 Russian Shahed UAVs and other types of drones over Ukraine's eastern, northern and central oblasts. A total of 22 drones are reported to have been shot down by air defence fire, while 41 have disappeared from radar or been suppressed by electronic warfare (causing no adverse effects). Meanwhile, Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts have been affected by the Russian attack. The aerial attack has been repelled by aircraft, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare systems and mobile fire teams from the Ukrainian defence forces. Background: Earlier reports indicated that the Russians had carried out a missile strike on Sumy Oblast. Six Ukrainian servicemen were killed and over ten injured in a Russian missile strike on a firing range in Sumy Oblast on 20 May. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
