Ukraine’s military and political leadership has reported a sharp increase in Russian attacks using jet-powered drones. According to The Sunday Times, their use has risen by more than 700% since June 2026.

Ukrainian Air Force data cited by the newspaper and reportedly confirmed by British intelligence sources shows that Russian forces deployed around 2,800 jet-powered drones in August. In June, the figure stood at approximately 350.

Ukrainian Air Force representative Yury Ignat said Russian forces launched about 800 drones in just four days at the end of August. He added that newly produced aircraft are being sent into combat almost immediately after leaving production.

Ignat also acknowledged that Ukraine’s interception rate has fallen significantly. Ukrainian air defenses had previously been able to destroy older Geran models with an effectiveness of up to 95%, but the figure has dropped to around 60% against the newer jet-powered versions.

Speed remains one of the main advantages of the Russian jet drones. Ukrainian military expert Anatoly Khrapchinsky explained that a mobile fire team has roughly 60 seconds to detect and engage a conventional Geran drone. With the jet-powered version, that window falls to about six seconds.

Khrapchinsky said the drones effectively perform the role of low-cost cruise missiles that can be produced on a large scale.

The Sunday Times reported that some of Russia’s latest drones can reach speeds of up to 600 km/h and carry more than 100 kilograms of explosives.

Ukraine is increasingly forced to use F-16s, Mirage fighters, MiG-29s and more expensive ground-based air defense systems to destroy them.