Ukraine’s Air Force Reports 445,000 Russian Aerial Targets Destroyed Since 2022

Ukraine’s air defense forces have destroyed more than 445,000 Russian missiles, attack drones, reconnaissance aircraft, and other aerial targets since the start of the full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, according to figures released by the Ukrainian Air Force on August 2.

The total includes thousands of cruise and ballistic missiles, more than 65,000 Shahed-type attack drones, over 20,000 reconnaissance UAVs, and hundreds of thousands of other unmanned aircraft.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, air defense units have intercepted:

• 91 Kh-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles;

• 794 Kalibr cruise missiles;

• 2,809 Kh-101, Kh-555, and Kh-55 cruise missiles;

• 346 Iskander-M and North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles;

• 294 Iskander-K cruise missiles;

• 13 Kh-22 and Kh-32 missiles;

• 12 Oniks anti-ship missiles;

• 12 Tsirkon hypersonic missiles;

• 622 guided air-launched missiles;

• more than 70 missiles of other types.

Drones accounted for the majority of the recorded targets. The Air Force said Ukrainian defenses had destroyed:

• 65,618 Shahed-type attack UAVs;

• 20,286 reconnaissance drones;

• 10,604 Lancet loitering munitions;

• 342,585 drones of other types.

The figures were published as Ukraine marked Air Force Day, highlighting the work of fighter pilots, air defense crews, radar units, drone operators, engineers, communications specialists, and support personnel.

Ukraine’s acting defense minister, Yevhen Khmara, said Russia had sought to use Ukrainian airspace freely to strike cities and civilians from the first days of the invasion.

“It did not work, because our aviation and air defense did not allow the enemy to do so. The Air Force shielded the sky,” Khmara said in a statement published by Ukraine’s Defense Ministry. Ukraine’s Air Force aviation conducted 38,367 sorties between 2022 and 2026, including:

• 12,280 strike and direct aviation-support missions;

• 21,524 fighter-air-cover missions.

The Air Force said Ukrainian military aviation had destroyed more than 12,000 aerial targets during the full-scale war. Its aircraft have also struck Russian command posts, logistics facilities, troop concentrations, and military equipment.

“These are not just numbers. These are protected cities. Saved lives. Destroyed threats,” Khmara said.

He added that Ukrainian personnel were continuing to operate and integrate a range of Western and Soviet-designed systems, including Raven air defense equipment, Patriot systems, MiG-29 fighter jets, and F-16 aircraft.

Ukraine entered the full-scale war with an air defense network largely built around Soviet-designed systems. Since then, it has integrated Western platforms including Patriot, NASAMS, and IRIS-T, while also expanding mobile fire teams, electronic warfare capabilities, and interceptor-drone units to counter Russia’s growing use of mass drone attacks.

In a separate development on August 2, Ukrainian border guards reported setting a new world record for a drone-on-drone interception after a STING FPV interceptor destroyed a Russian ZALA Z-20 reconnaissance UAV at an altitude of 6,858 meters over the Chernihiv region.

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