Ukraine's "small" air defence downs over 2,100 Russian assets in one month
Ukraine's "small" air defence system, which includes interceptor drone units and helicopters, shot down more than 2,100 Russian assets in April 2026.
Source: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on Facebook
Details: The "small" air defence system already has established UAV interceptor units, as well as a structured interception echelon system. Syrskyi said the Unmanned Systems Forces shoot down and jam more than half of Russian drones. Over the course of one month, they shot down almost 950 assets, including 670 Shahed-type drones.
Quote: "I also paid particular attention to improving the effectiveness of Air Force air defence operations in the third echelon. The training of interceptor UAV crews must be strengthened, and we have both military and civilian training facilities for this purpose."
More details: Army aircraft are also part of the "small" air defence system. In April, Ukrainian helicopter crews destroyed more than 500 Russian drones and made a "very significant contribution" to countering Shahed-type drones, Syrskyi said.
"We are continuing to implement anti-drone protection projects for important administrative centres in the regions," Syrskyi said, referring to the development of the "small" air defence.
Background:
- It was reported earlier that Ukrainian interceptor drones P1-Sun, manufactured by Ukrainian defence tech company Skyfall, had destroyed more than 3,000 Russian Shahed-type drones in 2026.
- Since April, Ukraine is implementing a new level of "small" air defence – interceptor drones can now be controlled from thousands of kilometres away.
- Ukrainian P1-Sun interceptor drones developed by SkyFall are being launched from aircraft to destroy Russian Shahed-type strike UAVs.
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