Russian forces used more than 1,400 drones in a single day to attack Ukraine.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia deployed Shahed attack drones, including jet-powered versions, as well as Gerbera and Italmas drones.
To overwhelm and exhaust Ukrainian air defenses, Russian forces also launched decoy drones known as Parodiya.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that between 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on May 13 alone, Russia launched 753 strike drones of various types against Ukraine.
After 6:00 p.m. and through the morning of May 14, Russian forces launched another 675 drones. This brought the total number of drones used by the invaders in a single day to 1,428.
Ukraine’s air defense and electronic warfare units neutralized 710 Russian drones of various types across the country as of 6:30 p.m. on May 13, 2026, according to the Ukrainian Air Force.
By 8:00 a.m. on May 14, Ukrainian forces had shot down or disabled another 652 drones of various types.
The data released by the military show that Ukrainian defenders neutralized the majority of the Russian drones using various means – a total of 1,362 UAVs. These results highlight Ukraine’s significant air defense capabilities in countering Russia’s large-scale drone attacks.
During the night and morning of May 14, the Russian military also attacked Ukraine with three Kh-47 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles, 18 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, and 35 Kh-101 cruise missiles. Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept 41 missiles.
Countering Shahed drones
A significant part of enemy strike drones attacking Ukrainian cities are being shot down using interceptor drones.
The Air Defense Unmanned Systems Command, which was created within the Air Force, coordinates the development of this capability. It is responsible for developing “short-range air defense,” introducing new tactics, and training personnel at both military and civilian training bases.
