Russian MoD claims it shot down nearly 40,000 Ukrainian long-range drones over Russia and Crimea

By Russia’s own count, Russian air defenses claimed to have shot down more than 39,000 Ukrainian long-range drones over Russian territory and occupied Crimea since the start of 2026, the Russian newspaper Kommersant reported, drawing on Russian Defense Ministry data. The figure averages about 6,000 a month and points to a drone war reaching deep into Russia. Russia’s tallies are unverified, and the ministry never says how many drones Ukraine actually launched.

What Moscow’s numbers claim

The Russian Defense Ministry publishes daily reports on its air defenses. By those reports, Russia claimed to have “intercepted and destroyed” more than 39,000 Ukrainian drones over 51 regions this year, Kommersant said. In an incomplete June, it claimed 9,700.

The figures come with heavy caveats. Russia’s MoD claims are unreliable: in some cases, footage of strikes shows no air-defense response at all, yet the ministry still reports shoot-downs in that region. The tally only covers the claimed successful interceptions instead of the total numbers of the drones involved.

By Kommersant’s math, Russian air defenses claimed to down an average of 223 drones a day. The heaviest reported nights came on 17 May, with 556 drones claimed over 15 regions; 18 June, with 555 over 18 regions; and 25 March, with 389 over 14 regions.

The regions Moscow named most often were Belgorod, Kursk, and Bryansk oblasts and occupied Crimea, which Russia treats as its own. Krasnodar Krai, the Moscow region, and Tula and Voronezh oblasts also ranked in the top 10. The ministry also reported downing drones over the Black and Azov seas more than 380 times.