Dronefall project: Ukrainians have intercepted several dozen Russian Shahed drones

Ukrainian military personnel have shot down several dozen Russian Shahed kamikaze drones using special equipment purchased by the Come Back Alive Foundation as part of the Dronefall project.

Source: Come Back Alive, a Ukrainian public organisation and charitable foundation supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces

Quote: "This spring, the Come Back Alive Foundation invested in countering Shahed drones by purchasing specialised equipment under the Dronefall initiative. Now the first results are evident: the military reported the downing of 17 Shahed-type UAVs and 30 Gerbera-type UAVs – a cheaper analogue to the Shahed."

Details: The foundation told Ukrainska Pravda that these are figures for May-June 2025.

In total, Ukrainian soldiers have shot down more than 2,000 Russian drones as part of the Dronefall project since August 2024.

The goal of the Dronefall project is to shoot down 3,000 Russian reconnaissance and attack drones, as stated by the Come Back Alive Foundation.

Quote from Taras Chmut, Director of the Come Back Alive Foundation: "As a Foundation, we invest not only in equipment but also in training and performance analysis for each project. This allows us to be confident that the number of intercepted Shaheds will continue to grow. When we launched Dronefall, it began with just a few drones taken down – now, less than a year later, we’re counting in the thousands. The project is scaling up, along with the number of lives saved and the financial damage inflicted on the enemy."

Details: Chmut noted that 88 brigades have joined the project.

The foundation pointed out that the use of modernised first-person view drones against Russian UAVs significantly saves state resources, as in this case, expensive air defence missiles are not used.

Learn more about how Dronefall works on the project page.

Background: 

• Colonel Yurii Ihnat, head of communications for the Ukrainian Air Force, told Ukrainska Pravda how the Air Force is developing drone air defence and recruiting UAV interceptor operators.
• Ihnat said that drone air defence will help make the most rational use of Ukraine’s resources, as the defence forces cannot constantly deploy scarce assets like air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles or aircraft to hunt down Russian drones. With Russia launching more and more Shaheds, Ukraine is looking into various ways to counter them.

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