On Thursday Ukrainian air force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat announced that Russia has launched more than 8,000 missiles and 4,630 drones at Ukrainian targets since the outbreak of the war.
In a televised statement, Ihnat declared that Ukrainian air defenses have shot down 3,605 of the drones since the beginning of the invasion in February 2022. During the latest drone attack on Thursday night, Ukraine was able to shoot down eight out of 10 Russian-launched drones. Ukraine is using small teams of drone mobile hunters who are tasked with bringing down the drones fired at Ukraine. So far, the mobile drone hunters have a high success rate including being able to successfully bring down Iranian-made Shahed missiles. The help from Western allies has enabled Ukraine’s defenses to become stronger with shipments of more advanced air defense capabilities. In his statements, Ihnat claimed that Russia has shifted its targeting priorities from previously focusing on the energy sector last winter, to now targeting ports and agriculture architecture, weapons production, and oil and gas sectors.
