Nearly 1,000 "Shaheds" in 24 hours: air defense neutralized 541 drones during day – Air Force. INFOGRAPHICS
On Tuesday, March 24, Russia carried out one of its most massive attacks on Ukraine using attack drones. As of 7 p.m., air defense had neutralized 541 drones. In total, the enemy launched 948 Shaheds over the 24-hour period.
This was reported by the Air Force, according to Censor.NET.
Daytime attack surpassed nighttime
It is noted that more than 550 additional enemy attack UAVs entered Ukrainian airspace during the day. Thus, taking into account the nighttime attack from 6 p.m. on March 23 to 6 p.m. on March 24, 2026 (a notional 24-hour period), the enemy used nearly 1,000 Shahed-type attack drones, Gerbera drones, and UAVs of other types.
In particular, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on April 24, according to preliminary data, the enemy used 556 attack UAVs.
A large number of drones flew in from the north – from the Chernihiv and Sumy regions.
How the air defence system performed
The geography of the daytime strike was broader than at night: Poltava, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Vinnytsia regions, as well as western parts of the country, from Khmelnytskyi to Lviv. Unfortunately, 15 hits were recorded.
All available air defense assets were involved in repelling the air attack, including manned aircraft, interceptor drones, electronic warfare systems, and ground-based air defense.
According to preliminary data, as of 6 p.m., air defense had shot down or suppressed 541 enemy UAVs.
