Russia is launching more Shaheds and decoy drones in Ukraine: ISW explains what it means and names the aggressor's target

The Russian occupation army has begun attacking Ukraine with more attack UAVs and decoy drones. In this way, the enemy is trying to break through the umbrella of Ukraine's air defense.

Currently, Russians are launching 150 to 200 drones per night. This is stated in the analysis of the Institute for War Studies.

The occupiers launch attack and simulation drones from several different directions in the amount of up to 200 drones during one series of strikes. Previously, this number ranged from 20 to 30 UAVs.

Ukrainian intelligence explained the day before that the Russian occupiers were taking turns launching missiles and drones to overload Ukrainian air defense systems. The invaders start launching drones in the evening, so the UAVs reach Ukraine around 23:00, and the strikes continue until the morning.

The ISW observed that Russian forces began launching 80 to 100 or more Shahed drones and decoy drones as part of their larger attacks in October and November 2024, and launched 100 to 200 (or more) Shahed drones and decoy drones in February. According to analysts, the Russians are using a large number of drones to detect and suppress Ukrainian air defense and mobile fire groups.

Also, the increase in the number of drones in Russian nighttime attacks indicates that Russia is likely not currently facing domestic restrictions on the production of Shahed or spoof drones or restrictions on components supplied by Iran for drone production. However, it remains unclear whether Russia will be able to produce or purchase enough components to avoid restrictions on drone production in the long term.

As a reminder, on the evening of March 3, the aggressor country, the Russian Federation, attacked Odesa with Shaheds. As a result of the aggressor's actions, four people were injured and critical infrastructure and residential buildings were damaged.

Earlier it was reported that on March 2, Russia attacked Kryvyi Rih with drones. The attack injured a woman and damaged one of the city's enterprises.

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