Ukrainian forces have downed 408,000 Russian drones this year
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence says its forces have destroyed 408,000 Russian drones since the start of 2026. The total rose by roughly 58,000 over the past month.
Ukraine's Ministry of Defence announced on 22 October that Ukrainian forces have destroyed 408,000 Russian drones since the start of 2026, during Russia's war against Ukraine. The figures show the scale at which unmanned aircraft are being used and shot down along the front.
Types of drones
The ministry says about 248,000 of the destroyed drones were fixed-wing unmanned aircraft. Roughly 125,000 were multirotor drones, and more than 35,000 were Shahed-type drones.
How the total has changed
For comparison, the ministry recalls that on 11 August it reported more than 260,000 Russian drones downed since the beginning of the year. By 22 September, the figure had risen to more than 350,000. That means the total grew by approximately 58,000 drones over the past month.
How hits are confirmed
The ministry stresses that every hit is recorded on video in the Delta battlefield situational awareness system and verified by Brave1, Ukraine's defence innovation cluster.
The source also notes that in August, Ukrainian forces destroyed the largest number of Russian multirotor drones since the e-points programme was launched.
