Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin
[ColonelCassad] Since the beginning of 2026, Russian Air Defense Forces have shot down over 106,000 UAVs.
The Russian Ministry of Defense publishes daily reports on the operation of its air defense alert systems. Since the beginning of 2026, over 106,000 Ukrainian UAVs have been "intercepted and destroyed" over 54 regions, as well as the Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas.
The highest number of drones was shot down in October (19,000). The previous record was set in August (18,200), and in September, the figure was 14,700. According to Kommersant's calculations, based on defense ministry reports, on average, air defense alert forces shoot down 355 UAVs per day.
At the beginning of the year, they averaged 118 UAVs intercepted per day;
by October, this figure had increased fivefold, to 614 UAVs.
The most massive attacks typically occur at night. These include the raids on the night of September 20 (1,110 UAVs were shot down over 20 regions), on the night of October 29 (1,214 UAVs, 19 regions) and on the night of October 30 (1,043 UAVs, 19 regions).