Zelenskyy says Ukraine faced 1,567 drones and 56 missiles in a massive, virtually continuous assault Wednesday to Thursday, as Russia shifts toward extended daytime Shahed-style waves—aimed at psychological pressure, economic terror, and probing air defenses.
When the explosions started and the hours kept stretching. Ukrainian cities had to choose between sheltering again or trying to resume ordinary life under a sky that would not clear.. In the latest phase of Russia’s drone campaign, the barrage did not just arrive at night.. It spilled into the day, forcing long stretches of waiting and renewed stress on air defenses.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country was struck by 1,567 drones and 56 missiles from Wednesday to Thursday, calling the assault “massive and virtually continuous.”
For Ukrainian observers tracking how the strikes are changing, the event fits a pattern emerging over recent months: Russia has begun using sustained windows of drone attacks that run well into daylight—an evolution from the Kremlin’s earlier reliance on night-time Shaheds, which are harder to spot.
“It’s another major episode in a new style of Russian drone warfare,” Igor Anokhin, a Ukrainian senior analyst who reviews data on Russia’s Shahed strikes for the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, said this week’s bombardment is a “prime example” of that shift.
Anokhin cautioned that it is not yet a fully established pattern. but he argued it is becoming “a new operational model.” He pointed to this year’s prolonged assaults as evidence: a late-March attack in which Russia launched nearly 1. 000 drones into Ukraine over 24 hours. and mid-April. when continuous drone and missile attacks lasted for 32 hours.
Those episodes stand out against the broader pace of drone use this year, which Anokhin said averages 143 to 219 drones per day depending on the month.
Russia’s “daytime waves” are not only about volume.. They also strain the logic of defense.. As Ukrainian forces counter repeated threats with a layered mix—mobile machine-gun crews. interceptor drones. electronic warfare. and high-end defensive missiles—the sheer number of incoming targets risks forcing Ukraine to spend scarce interceptors to deal with cheaper drones.
The risk is not theoretical. Anokhin said Russia used a tactic along those lines this week: after hours of drone attacks, missiles began pounding Kyiv on Wednesday evening.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian air defenses destroyed at least 93% of Russia’s drones during the assault, but only 73% of Russia’s missiles were downed. By Thursday evening, 24 people were confirmed dead, and another 48 were injured.
Each Shahed costs less than $50,000 to produce and carries up to 110 pounds of explosive, with a shrapnel-laden blast described as powerful enough to cripple buildings and kill civilians.
Anokhin framed the purpose more bluntly: “The main goal is psychological pressure and economic terror.” He said keeping cities on high alert for many hours disrupts civilian life and targets energy and critical infrastructure.
That infrastructure pressure matters because Russia often targets Ukraine’s electrical grid, aiming to push families through winter without heat in a campaign designed to reduce morale.
Why bring the drones into the day?. Researchers say the tactic may also serve a second function—turning daytime drone traffic into a reconnaissance problem for Ukraine to solve.. Federico Borsari. a researcher at the Center for European Policy Analysis who focuses on drone warfare. said decoy drones can carry electro-optical sensors.. They can scout the battlefield while drawing down Ukrainian air-defense munitions.
“The main targets are typically mobile fire groups, ground-based air defense launchers, and other high-value military targets,” Borsari added.
Anokhin’s analysis suggests that Russia is already mixing drones in a way that supports this approach. He said that in April, 66% of Russia’s one-way drones were Shaheds, while the rest were decoys or other types of strike drones.
All of it depends on whether Russia can keep feeding the waves. Both Anokhin and Borsari identified a key shift: Russia’s growing ability to deploy more drones faster.
“It would be ideal to destroy production in Alabuga. ” Anokhin said. referring to the Yelabuga Special Economic Zone in Russia’s Tatarstan region—home to the Kremlin’s main Shahed factory that has drawn intense global scrutiny as a vital part of the war effort.. Ukraine has also been sending its own long-range drones to attack the site.
On May 9, Radio Free Europe reported that satellite images showed new facilities and hangars at the campus, expanding it by 340 hectares while construction also began on another 450 hectares.
Production and deployment appear to be translating into changing battlefield numbers. Anokhin said Russia’s Shahed deployment has risen steadily since early 2025, accounting for a larger share of drone strikes: from 59% of total launches in the fall of last year to 64% this spring.
But Ukraine’s response is also adapting. Anokhin’s analysis suggests Ukraine’s air defenses are pushing back hard enough to make the earlier threat profile less effective. While nearly a third of Russia’s Shaheds were hitting targets in the fall, that proportion has fallen to around 14% in April.
Ukraine has leaned into cheaper countermeasures—especially interceptor drones. The Ukrainian air force estimated in February that about 30% of Russian drones were downed by inexpensive remote systems, though it said that proportion rose to 70% in some periods.
Both Anokhin and Borsari said they believe Russia’s extended daytime drone waves will likely become a more permanent feature of the war. Borsari added a crucial caveat: even if the operational tempo is changing, it is “unclear whether the Russian targeting strategy is bearing fruit.”
For residents caught in the middle, that uncertainty is measured in hours spent waiting—again and again—under a sky where drones are no longer confined to the cover of night.
Russia Ukraine Shahed drones drone warfare air defense Volodymyr Zelenskyy Igor Anokhin Alabuga Yelabuga Special Economic Zone Institute for Science and International Security Federico Borsari
Wow 1,567?? Like how do you even count that.
So it’s just like the drones aim at our emotions or whatever, but weren’t we already at war in the emotional sense? Also I saw a clip where they said it was during the day but idk.
Waiting for air defenses to work all day sounds like a strategy but like… can’t Ukraine just shut down the sky with one system? If Russia is probing defenses then why is it “testing” like it’s a video game. This article makes it seem nonstop so I’m just like, how are people supposed to live?
Every time I hear Shahed I’m like, wouldn’t radar just catch them easier in the daytime? Unless the whole point is they’re trying to exhaust the defenders. Also “economic terror” sounds like a headline phrase, but I guess explosions are expensive either way.