The number of drones launched by Russian forces against Ukraine increased in September.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said this during a television broadcast.
“We have already seen more drones this month than in the whole of the previous month. Today is the 29th, and Russian forces continue to attack. In August, there were 2,850 jet-powered UAVs, while this month there have already been 3,177. So we can see that Russian forces have significantly increased the number of jet-powered UAVs,” Ihnat said.
According to him, Russian forces are attacking in waves. Kyiv and the Kyiv region are currently the main focus of Russian drone attacks. Other cities, including Kharkiv, Odessa, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kherson and Dnipro, are also regularly targeted. At times, Russia directs aerial weapons towards western Ukraine, with jet-powered drones sometimes reaching remote parts of the country.
Ihnat said Ukraine needs more missiles for Patriot systems and other ground-based air defence systems to counter jet-powered UAVs and Russian ballistic missiles.
At the same time, he said the Defence Forces are also expecting Ukrainian manufacturers to develop solutions to counter Russian attacks as quickly as possible and make them suitable for large-scale deployment.
“Given the scale of the attacks, we obviously need new systems that can be effective and deliver the results we expect. The Air Force and all the Defence Forces expect our manufacturers and defence industry to provide solutions as quickly as possible so that they can be rapidly scaled up for the personnel who defend our skies every day.”
According to Ihnat, tactical aviation, including F-16 fighter jets, is currently used extensively to repel Russian attacks, while ground-based air defence systems are also deployed “if missiles are available.”
“There is already information that countries are providing certain packages for some systems,” the spokesperson said, adding that these supplies would be sufficient “for some time, but the process of supporting Ukraine must not stop.”
Ihnat also noted that man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) have proved effective against jet-powered UAVs when the drones enter their engagement range.
