Ukraine says it shot down 33,000 Russian drones in March, a monthly
record
[April 29, 2026]
By HANNA ARHIROVA
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine used interceptor systems to shoot down more
than 33,000 Russian drones of various types in March, a record monthly
figure since Moscow launched its all-out invasion more than four years
ago, Ukraine’s defense minister claimed.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s domestically developed long-range attack drones
struck a Russian oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the
third time in less than two weeks, prompting the evacuation of local
people and a Russian warning of possible “environmental consequences.”
Ukraine has developed cutting-edge and battle-tested drone technology
that has proved essential in holding back Russia’s bigger army and has
drawn military interest from around the world.
Interceptor drones as part of a comprehensive air defense system are now
being sought by Middle East and Gulf countries amid the Iran war,
according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine is scaling up supplies of interceptor drones to thwart Russian
aerial attacks, and its military has introduced a new command within the
air force to boost the country’s capabilities, Defense Minister Mykhailo
Fedorov said in a post on Telegram late Monday.
Ukraine says its deep-strike range is growing
Ukraine’s offensive capabilities have also improved, with the Defense
Ministry saying Tuesday that the country’s forces have more than doubled
the range of their deep-strike capabilities since Russia’s February 2022
invasion.
At that time, Ukrainian forces were able to hit military targets about
630 kilometers (400 miles) away, it said. They are now striking targets
as far as roughly 1,750 kilometers (1,100 miles) behind enemy lines, the
ministry said in a statement.
That improvement has allowed Ukraine to hit Russian oil installations
that provide crucial revenue for Moscow’s war effort. It has also
targeted manufacturing plants that supply Russia’s armed forces.
A Russian refinery is struck
Ukraine struck a Russian oil refinery at the Black Sea port of Tuapse
for the third time this month in a coordinated operation involving
multiple branches of the country’s defense and security services, its
Unmanned Systems Forces said Tuesday.
The two strikes earlier this month destroyed 24 oil storage tanks and
damaged four others, it said. Independent verification of the claims was
not possible.
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Police officers inspect fragments of a Russian drone after an air
attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem
Lukatsky)
Video from Tuapse released Tuesday by Krasnodar regional Gov.
Veniamin Kondratyev showed a massive plume of black smoke rising
from the refinery and black, steaming puddles on an adjacent street.
An emergency official reported to the governor that boiling oil
products had spilled onto the street from one of the oil tanks,
damaging several cars.
People who live near the Tuapse refinery were being evacuated,
Kondratyev said. He didn’t provide details about how many were
evacuated or for how long.
Speaking about the strikes on Tuapse, Russian President Vladimir
Putin said they could “cause serious environmental consequences,”
Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Putin also said Kondratyev had reported there were no serious
threats in Tuapse and people were "dealing with the challenges they
face on the ground.”
Both sides carry out drone attacks
The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday its air defenses overnight
intercepted 186 Ukrainian drones over Russian regions, the annexed
Crimea and the Black and the Azov seas.
In the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, three people were
killed and three more were wounded in a drone attack, Gov.
Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Russian drone attacks on Ukraine, meanwhile, killed three civilians
and wounded five others, Ukrainian authorities said.
Two people were killed in the city of Chuhuiv in the northeastern
Kharkiv region, according to the head of the regional military
administration, Oleh Syniehubov.
A 40-year-old man died and five other men sustained injuries in
Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
A rare daytime drone attack on Kyiv on Tuesday wounded two people,
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Another Russian attack on Konotop, in Ukraine’s northern Sumy
region, knocked out the city’s power and water supply.
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