In 10 months, Russia launched more than 44,000 "Shaheds" — four times more than last year, - Sky News. INFOGRAPHICS
In the first ten months of 2025, Russia launched more than 44,000 Shahed-type drones and their modifications over Ukraine, four times more than in the whole of 2024.
This was reported by Sky News, citing data from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), according to Censor.NET.
According to analysts, the number of launches has increased by 303% compared to last year. Despite large-scale attacks, Ukraine manages to destroy a significant part of the devices: according to CSIS, this year about 64% of the launched "Shaheds" were intercepted (last year - 68%). Analysts warn that due to the record number of attacks, Ukraine's air defense capabilities are becoming increasingly overloaded.
Modification of "Shahids"
Experts also note the evolution of "Shahids": Russians are increasing the weight of warheads (up to 90 kg) and using fragmentation-high-explosive and thermobaric warheads, which increases the destructive effect on people and infrastructure. As EODynamics experts note, this is aimed at maximizing damage to personnel and structures.
Mass launches
CSIS analyst Yasser Atalan noted that "it is clear that Russia has been conducting mass launches of Shahed drones over the past few months... This means that there has been a significant increase in production and launch capabilities." In July, Russian media published footage from a factory in the Alabuga special economic zone (Tatarstan), where, according to reports, they plan to produce up to 25,000 drones per year.
According to analysts, the goal of these massive attacks is to wear down Ukraine's defense capabilities and civilian population. The cost of one Shahed is estimated at $20-50 thousand, while an air defense missile costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, so Ukrainian forces are increasingly using cheaper interceptor drones to minimize the imbalance in costs.
