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Ukraine Downs 350,000 Russian Drones Since Start of Year
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Ukrainian defense forces have neutralized more than 350,000 Russian drones since the start of the year, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defense.
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Every confirmed strike was recorded on video in the DELTA combat system and verified by the Brave1 defense innovation cluster, the ministry reported.
It described DELTA as the “digital core” of modern battlefield management, saying the platform allows forces to analyze each recorded shootdown and more quickly scale effective countermeasures.
The ministry provided a breakdown of the total tally:
around 220,000 fixed-wing drones destroyed by unmanned systems units of the Defense Forces;
roughly 100,000 copter-type drones downed by those same units;
31,000 Shahed-type drones were brought down by unmanned systems units, mobile fire groups, and army aviation.
Destroying fixed-wing drones denies Russia the ability to conduct reconnaissance in Ukraine's rear, strike targets, or adjust long-range fire against civilian sites and critical infrastructure, the ministry noted.
Downing copter-type drones, it added, prevent Russian forces from locating and hitting Ukrainian positions and equipment along the front.
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Each destroyed drone represents potentially saved lives for Ukrainian troops and civilians, the ministry noted.
The tally reflects an intensifying campaign by Ukraine's drone forces against Russian aerial and ground targets.
In a single 24-hour period in early September, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces struck or destroyed 2,379 Russian targets, including 379 drones across copter, fixed-wing, Shahed, and Gerbera types.
Between September 1 and 9, those units reported hitting 18,580 targets, including 3,726 Russian personnel.
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