Ukrainian activist Serhii Sternenko said on Sunday that Ukrainian troops had shot down several Shahed jet-powered drones with Ukrainian-made Sting interceptor drones for the first time, during an overnight attack by Russia.
Writing on Telegram, Sternenko described this as a “historic achievement.”
“Tonight, for the first time, our soldiers shot down several Shahed jets with Ukrainian-made Sting interceptor drones,” he said.
Russia deployed more than 5,000 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine in November 2025, according to the US nonprofit Institute for Science and International Security – an average of 182 launches per day.
Ukraine has targeted Russian drone factories in response – for example, Ukraine’s military announced on Nov. 6 that a major Shahed base in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Donetsk region had been destroyed.
According to Ukrainian thinktank Militarnyi, Russia supplements its Iranian-made Shahed drones with the Geran-3 drone, made by Russia in the same style.
Exposed by Ukrainian intelligence in early 2025, the Shahed’s Russian analogue is “equipped with a small Tolou-10/13 turbofan engine similar to the one used in the Iranian model.”
At least 138 Geran-3 drones have been recorded by Armed Forces of Ukraine since then
Both the Geran-3 and the original Shahed deplete their fuel quickly when flying at maximum speed – theoretically making them vulnerable to Ukrainian interceptor drones.
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence warned earlier this month that Russia and Iran may be using Ukraine to battle-test Tehran’s Shahed drones against US and European weapons.