Vladimir Zelensky said Ukrainian air defenses failed to shoot down or suppress about 45% of the jet-powered attack drones launched by Russia in September.

According to him, a significant share of those drones still reached their assigned targets.

Zelensky said Russian forces used more than 2,730 Geran-type drones over the course of the incomplete month. Around 1,500 were either destroyed by air defense systems or neutralized through electronic warfare, while roughly 1,200 continued their flight.

The Economist previously reported that Russia had managed to establish large-scale production of jet engines despite earlier Western forecasts. The publication said this could further complicate Ukraine’s efforts to intercept such UAVs.

In July, Ukraine’s sanctions policy commissioner Vladislav Vlasyuk also said Kiev did not yet have domestically produced interceptor drones capable of effectively engaging high-speed aerial targets. According to him, Ukraine remains dependent on Western supplies of anti-aircraft missiles for that task.