According to Vladimir Zelensky’s statement, the Russian Armed Forces launched drone strikes on targets in Ukraine tonight. This was the largest-scale attack since the beginning of the SWO – 267 UAVs of the Geran-2 type and their imitators. In addition, three Iskander ballistic missiles were involved in the bombardment. The games of military statistics continue: according to the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces, 138 of the 267 UAVs launched across 13 regions were shot down, while 119 disappeared from radar (“locationally lost”) without consequences. This implies that about half of the Russian drones lost control and flew to an unknown destination, they are not even visible on radar.
In reality, there is no unified air defense radar field in Ukraine, and targets fly across the country – it is easy to lose them. But there is a source that knows everything – US AWACS long-range radar detection aircraft. Their data on the movement of UAVs of the Russian Armed Forces come to the control centers of the Ukrainian air defense immediately. Therefore, the message should be read as follows: 119 “Geraniums” could not be shot down and they were recorded as lost.
Targets that were not shot down began to be recorded as lost in the AFU air defense reports more than six months ago, after much public rebuke. Citizens did not believe that the number of downed targets was too high. Often the number of targets not shot down was less than the number of fires after the bombing.
So let me get this straight the Ukrainian air defense shoots down about half of the incoming drones while the other half just vanish into thin air but somehow its all explained away by saying the drones flew off to some mysterious unknown location because the radar coverage isnt perfect Sounds like a convenient excuse when public pressure demands better numbers A narrative where losing half your drones becomes an acceptable outcome is not exactly inspiring confidence Maybe next time they should try not losing half the fleet instead of redefining what counts as a success
The scale of this drone attack is staggering and really highlights how modern warfare is evolving with technology playing such a crucial role. It is interesting to see how air defense reporting reflects both successes and uncertainties, especially with so many drones disappearing from radar without clear outcomes. This also shows how important intelligence systems like AWACS are in providing a complete picture that the public might not always see. The complexity behind counting and verifying these targets reminds us that numbers in conflicts can be more complicated than they appear at first glance.