Ukraine outshoots Russia in cross-border drone war for 1st time, March data suggests
Ukraine outshoots Russia in cross-border drone war for 1st time, March data suggests
DAVID BRENNANMon, April 6, 2026 at 9:30 AM UTC
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Ukraine launched more cross-border attack drones than Russia in a one-month period for the first time since the start of the ongoing war in 2022, according to daily data published by the Ukrainian Air Force and Russian Ministry of Defense, which was analyzed by ABC News.
Russia's defense ministry reported downing 7,347 Ukrainian drones during March, the highest monthly total ever reported by Moscow and an average of 237 craft each day. The defense ministry only publishes figures of Ukrainian drones it claims were shot down.
Ukraine's air force, meanwhile, said its forces faced 6,462 Russian drones and 138 missiles of various types across the course of the month, of which 5,833 drones and 102 missiles -- around 90% of drones and just under 74% of missiles -- were intercepted or suppressed.
Ukraine, therefore, faced a daily average of just over 208 drones and four missiles during March, according to the data published by Kyiv.
Vantor/via Reuters - PHOTO: A satellite near-infrared image shows smoke rising from oil storage tanks at Russia's Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, which was struck multiple times in Ukrainian attacks, in Ust-Luga, Russia, on March 29, 2026.
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ABC News cannot independently verify the data released by either Russia or Ukraine. It is possible that both sides may seek to exaggerate the effectiveness of their air defenses, or to amplify the attacks against them as proof that their enemies are not interested in pursuing a peace deal, experts have suggested.
The combined tally of 6,600 Russian drones and missiles reported by Ukraine's air force across the month marks a new record high for a single month of Russian long-range attacks.
Ukraine's air force publishes what it says is a daily tally of Russian drone and missile strikes, including information as to how many munitions were intercepted and how many hit targets.
Russia launched the month's largest overall attack in a 24-hour period by either side. Ukraine's air force said Moscow launched 948 drones and 34 missiles into the country on March 24.
Nikoletta Stoyanova/Getty Images - PHOTO: A soldier of the Unmanned Systems Forces prepares a 'Salut' drone on March 31, 2026 in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
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Long-range drone and missile strikes have been a key element of the conflict as both Kyiv and Moscow seek to degrade the other's economy and undermine their ability to prosecute and fund the ongoing war. The strikes have continued despite the resumptions of U.S.-brokered peace talks.
Russia has thus far been able to launch more drones and missiles into Ukraine, with Ukrainian leaders citing Moscow's nightly barrages as a severe threat to the country's strategic position. But March's data suggests the balance may be shifting more in Ukraine's favor, as Kyiv's long-term efforts to expand its drone and missile capabilities bear fruit.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been clear on Kyiv's plans to expand Ukraine's long-range strike capabilities.
"Our production potential for drones and missiles alone will reach $35 billion next year," Zelenskyy said in October. "Despite all the difficulties, Ukrainians are creating their national defense product that, in certain parameters, already surpasses many others in the world."
Stringer/Reuters - PHOTO: A Russian drone is pictured over Lviv, Ukraine, on March 24, 2026.
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Yuriy Dyachyshyn/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: People look at smoke rising from a burning building following a Russian drone attack in Lviv, Ukraine, on March 24, 2026.
"Never before in history has Ukrainian defense been so long-range and so felt by Russia," Zelenskyy added. "We must make the cost of war absolutely unacceptable for the aggressor -- and we will."
To date, the majority of Ukrainian strikes are believed to have been conducted using relatively cheap, Ukrainian-made drones. Increasingly, Ukraine is also using interceptor drones designed and built by Ukrainian companies to intercept incoming Russian strike drones.
Ukraine is now producing its own cruise missiles -- most notably the Flamingo, which Kyiv says has a range of more than 1,800 miles -- but its drone arsenal still accounts for the vast majority of projectiles reported shot down by the Russian defense ministry, according to daily data published by Moscow.
Over the past year, Ukraine has put a special focus on attacking Russian oil refining and transport facilities, hoping -- according to Ukrainian leaders -- to cut into a key funding stream for Moscow and its military.
Vantor/via Reuters - PHOTO: A satellite combination image shows Russia's Baltic port of Ust-Luga, in Ust-Luga, Leningrad Oblast, on March 21, 2026, and March 27, 2026.
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Ukraine's most high-profile attacks of March came at Russia's Baltic Sea ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk -- key oil export hubs. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced the strikes as "terrorist attacks."
Zelenskyy in February said Russia's energy sector is "a legitimate target" for attacks by Ukraine, because Russia uses revenue from sales of oil to procure weapons used to attack Ukraine.
"We do not have to choose whether we strike a military target or energy," Zelenskyy said while addressing students at the National Aviation University in Kyiv. "He sells oil, takes the money, invests it in weapons. And with those weapons, he kills Ukrainians," Zelenskyy said of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian officials have broadly sought to downplay the Ukrainian attacks, with most reports of damage or casualties attributed to falling debris from intercepted drones, rather than craft that found their mark. When Russian officials do acknowledge damage, they often describe the strikes as “terrorist attacks.”
-/2026 Planet Labs PBC/AFP via Get - PHOTO: This handout satellite image taken on March 23, 2026 by Planet Labs PBC shows smoke rising from the Russian oil terminal at Primorsk, Russia.
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But plenty of publicly available information -- including video footage and photographs of the attacks -- indicate that a significant number of Ukrainian drones do penetrate Russian air defenses and impact at sensitive military and industrial sites.
Meanwhile, drone incursions into neighboring countries -- among them NATO allies -- have raised concerns of the war spilling over into non-combatant nations.
NATO aircraft are regularly scrambled in NATO nations like Poland and Romania in response to Russian drone attacks along Ukraine's western borders.
Allied officials have reported Russian drone violations in Romania, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Russian drones have also overflown Moldova, which is not a NATO member. Russian officials have denied responsibility for such incursions.
Stray Ukrainian drones have been reported falling in Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
ABC News’ Fidel Pavlenko contributed to this report.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
