Russia launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine to date on Monday, according to Ukrainian officials, intensifying a deadly aerial campaign that analysts believe lacks significant military purpose and seems aimed at undermining the morale of civilians.
Over the course of three successive nights, extensive Russian drone strikes have battered Ukrainian cities, while Ukrainian drones have targeted military and infrastructural sites deep within Russia.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia deployed “355 Shahed-type drones,” including decoys, as well as nine cruise missiles between Sunday night and early Monday—marking the largest drone offensive since the invasion began.
A separate attack on Sunday resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians, including three children from the same family, in the central Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr.
In response to the aggressions, President Volodymyr Zelensky urged for heightened pressure on Moscow.
“Russian strikes have grown more audacious and extensive each night,” Zelensky said in his daily address, adding that about 900 drones and missiles had been fired at Ukraine over the past three days.
Military expert Alexei Alshansky noted that despite the increasing scale and frequency of Russian drone assaults, their strategic effectiveness is questionable.
“There is no military rationale behind intensifying drone strikes on Ukrainian cities—these assaults provide no tactical benefits to the Russian military,” Alshansky stated. “The drones aren’t aimed at military targets and are completely indiscriminate.”
“This initiative is focused on instilling fear and psychological pressure on civilians—to compel Ukraine to make concessions during a so-called peace negotiation process,” he added, mentioning that the recent attacks did not seem coordinated with any precision missile strikes, indicating a lack of tactical gain.
Military analyst Yury Fedorov echoed similar concerns.
“It’s a consistent tactic by Russia aimed at shaping public perception—not striking military or even economic targets, but rather influencing sentiment among the public in Ukraine,” Fedorov told The Moscow Times.
“In contrast, Ukrainian strikes primarily focus on military and industrial targets, which is justifiable. There’s no policy of retalitation,” Fedorov remarked.
Russia’s apprehension about its exposure to drone warfare seems to be on the rise.
On Tuesday, Moscow accused Kyiv of escalating aerial attacks to disrupt peace negotiations, claiming that its significant assaults on Ukraine were a “response” to drone strikes from Kyiv.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday that it had intercepted 99 Ukrainian drones overnight, with the highest number—56 drones—shot down over the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine.
Drone attacks were also reported in the republic of Tatarstan on Monday, according to Russian Telegram channels. Air defenses were operative in Yelabuga, where combat drones used in the war against Ukraine are assembled.
That same day, Ivanovo regional authorities disclosed that four drones were eliminated in the area, with Telegram channels Mash and Astra reporting that the drones targeted the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant in Kineshma, which allegedly manufactures components for Russian military equipment.
Several Russian regions, including Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Ivanovo, Oryol, Lipetsk, Tula, and Voronezh, also experienced temporary mobile internet outages following this month’s drone assaults.
Moscow experienced mobile internet disruptions during the Victory Day celebrations on May 9, and airport flight cancellations due to drone strikes have become a frequent nuisance throughout the nation.
As drone attacks have intensified, Ukraine has warned that it is becoming increasingly challenging for its air defense systems to cope with the volume of drones being fired by Moscow.
“We require more efficient and cost-effective methods to deal with them,” Yuriy Ignat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, stated.
A military source from Ukraine informed AFP that Kyiv is “somehow managing” with its current air defense resources and that there is “no need to panic,” but emphasized that Kyiv “needs Western weaponry” to continue withstanding the assaults.
In addition to attempting to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses with a high volume of drones, Moscow’s drone strategies appear to be evolving, according to military expert Ivan Stupak, a former officer in Ukraine’s security services.
“Drones are increasingly becoming sophisticated instruments for both lethal strikes and exhausting air defense systems,” he explained.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Ignat pointed out that Moscow is continuously altering drone routes and launching them at higher altitudes to complicate interception efforts.
One new tactic involves targeting a specific objective—such as a town or facility—with multiple drones, or utilizing unarmed drones to distract and overwhelm air defense systems.
An article in The Economist published on Sunday suggested, citing Ukrainian engineers, that Russia’s latest drone models are “impervious” to Ukraine’s electronic warfare, as they no longer depend on jammable GPS and are guided by artificial intelligence. The report mentioned that these drones are directed using Telegram bots that provide real-time flight data and video feeds.
However, military analysts have raised doubts about these claims.
Ukrainian electronic warfare expert Serhii Beskrestnov, who uses the pseudonym Serhii Flash, dismissed the article as misleading.
“Russian Shaheds are not controlled in flight via Telegram and don’t transmit video feeds through Ukrainian mobile networks,” he asserted, adding that “Shaheds do not possess AI” and “still operate based on satellite navigation signals, which can be disrupted.”
Analyst Alshansky also expressed skepticism, stating, “Incorporating AI into drones would be costly, and if such systems were implemented, we would likely see clear evidence in the aftermath—sophisticated onboard devices, for example.”
However, he explained that some basic automation may be feasible, noting that the diminished effectiveness of Ukrainian electronic warfare systems against certain drones could indicate the use of advanced defense technologies that are more resistant to jamming.
“Instead of merely flying to GPS coordinates, a drone could, in theory, compare its visual input with satellite images of its intended target. That would constitute a type of automated navigation—almost a prototype form of AI,” Alshansky noted.
Reporting by AFP also contributed to this article.
