Ukraine intercepts thousands of Russian drones, missiles in April

Ukraine’s air defence forces intercepted nearly 6,000 Russian drones and missiles during April 2026, according to the country’s Ministry of Defence.

In a statement, the ministry said Russia launched a total of 6,583 drones over the course of the month, of which 5,861 were either shot down or electronically suppressed, representing an interception rate of 89%.

Ukraine also reported that Russian forces launched 141 cruise and ballistic missiles in April. Of those, 89 were intercepted, resulting in a success rate of more than 63%.

According to the ministry, the overall effectiveness of Ukrainian air defence systems in April reached 88.5%, while on certain days interception rates ranged between 92% and 95%.

The largest drone attack was recorded on April 1, when Russia reportedly launched 700 unmanned aerial vehicles in a single assault. Major combined strikes involving between 600 and 700 drones and missiles were also carried out on April 3, 16 and 25.

The ministry added that on April 15, Russia launched 21 cruise missiles simultaneously, with Ukrainian air defences intercepting 20 of them.

Ukrainian officials stressed that ballistic missile attacks remain the most difficult threat to counter. According to the ministry, systems such as MIM-104 Patriot are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, but Ukraine continues to face a shortage of interceptor missiles for the Patriot systems.

By Vugar Khalilov