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.”
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“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.
Russia Warns Citizens Against Travel to Moldova
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.
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