Jet-powered Shaheds make up as much as two-thirds of some Russian drone attacks, Ukrainian official says

Russis is ramping up launches of its jet-powered attack drones.

Ministry of Defense of Ukraine/Screengrab via X Russian jet-powered drones now make up as much as two-thirds of the drones used in some attacks.

The latest Ukrainian assessment reflects a huge uptick in the number of jet-powered drones launched.

Jet-powered drones are more difficult for Ukraine to intercept compared to their predecessors.

Russia is increasingly using drones with jet engines in attacks against Ukraine, forcing its air defenders to grapple with the challenge of high-speed threats that are more difficult to intercept.

Col.

Yurii Ihnat, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force , revealed in remarks shared with Business Insider on Thursday that "jet-powered drones account for as much as two-thirds of all drones used" in some Russian attacks.

Ihnat's assessment appears to be the highest publicly disclosed estimate yet of the share of jet-powered drones in Russian bombardments.

Earlier estimates provided in recent months put that figure at up to 20%, already a sharp increase from last year, when jet-powered drones were reported only rarely.

In early June, Gen.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's former commander in chief, said that Russia planned to increase the proportion of jet-powered drones to 50%.

"This presents us with new challenges that require a timely response," he warned at the time.

Russia has routinely used a strike drone called the Geran-2 to attack Ukraine.

This propeller-driven aircraft, modeled after the Iranian Shahed-136 , is packed with explosives and can fly at roughly 115 mph.