Zelenskyy: Interception of over 90% of Russian drones needed this autumn

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed the country's defence forces to raise the interception rate of Russian drones above 90% this autumn. In an address, he said the Defence Ministry and military must do everything possible to gain the capability to shoot down every type of Russian drone.

Zelenskyy thanked the team working around the clock on this task and stressed that by autumn the interception rate needs to be brought well above 90%.

Jet-powered drones pose the biggest challenge

The president revealed that over the past four days alone, Russian forces had used nearly 1,500 drones of various types against Ukraine, roughly 800 of which were jet-powered. He said intercepting these jet-powered drones is the most difficult task, and that combat aircraft currently provide the main defence against them.

Zelenskyy added that work is underway to secure the necessary interceptor drones, with four companies having developed relevant interceptor technology and one company's solution proving the most successful so far. Earlier, Defence Minister Yevhenii Khmara reported that four potential interceptors capable of downing jet-powered Shahed drones had completed field testing.

Report expected on Kyiv Oblast explosions

Zelenskyy also said a report must be prepared by 31 August on the explosions that occurred on 28 August in the village of Myla in the Buchanskyi district of Kyiv Oblast. He expressed expectation that law enforcement agencies would provide the public with relevant information, and stressed that government and local authority decisions to assist affected residents must be implemented as quickly as possible.