On the night of 26 November, Russian forces launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, firing 4 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and a record 188 Shahed drones and unidentified UAVs. The missiles were launched from Voronezh and Kursk Regions, while the drones originated from Orel, Bryansk, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk (Russia).
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that its radio engineering troops detected and tracked 192 aerial targets, including:
- 4 Iskander-M ballistic missiles
- 188 Russian UAVs
Aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare systems, and mobile fire groups from the Ukrainian Defence Forces were deployed to counter the assault.
As of 09:00, air defence systems had shot down 76 drones across Kyiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyy, Vinnytsya, Chernivtsi, Ternopil, Rivne, Zaporizhzhya, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and Mykolayiv Regions.
Additionally, 95 UAVs were reportedly neutralised by electronic warfare, while 5 drones flew toward Belarus.
Impact of the Attack
Despite the successful interceptions, critical infrastructure and residential buildings in several regions sustained damage due to the overwhelming volume of UAVs. Fortunately, no casualties or injuries were reported.