Ukraine Shoots Down Nearly 90 Iranian-Made Drones in Two Days: Zelensky

Ukraine shot down 89 Iranian-made "kamikaze" drones, also known as Shahed-136, in two days, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Only two days have passed since the beginning of the year, and the number of Iranian drones shot down over Ukraine is already more than 80," Zelensky said in a presidential address Monday. "This number may increase in the near future. Because these weeks the nights can be quite restless."

Russia's use of Iranian-made drones, numbering in the hundreds, indicates that the country has been resorting to external assistance as it struggles to achieve progress in the war in Ukraine. Russia is reportedly planning to set up a new drone factory within its borders to manufacture the weapons using Iranian designs.

On Saturday, Ukrainian forces shot down 45 drones fired by Russia, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

"Instead of New Year's fireworks. Russia launched 45 Iranian-made kamikaze drones at Ukraine throughout New Year's Eve. All 45 of them were shot down. The kremlin terrorist cannot waver the determination of Ukrainians. 2023 is the year of new victories," the ministry tweeted on Sunday.

On Monday, the ministry released an update saying that another 44 drones were shot down by Ukrainian forces. In the update, the ministry also summed up Russia's losses since the war began on February 24. Those Russian losses include around 108,000 dead soldiers, over 2,000 pieces of artillery and 1,880 drones that Ukraine shot down.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said Monday that "up to 10 units of enemy military equipment of various types" were destroyed in the city of Makiivka in the eastern Donetsk region.

Ukraine deflected 27 airstrikes that Russia launched Monday, shooting down Shahed-136 drones that targeted civilian infrastructure, according to the Ukrainian military. "The threat of further air and missile strikes remains on the entire territory of Ukraine," the military added.

The Ukrainian military also said earlier that about 400 Russian soldiers were killed and 300 others injured in an attack launched at midnight Sunday on a vocational school in Makiivka that had Russian conscripts.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry on Monday said that 63 Russian servicemen died in the attack. Newsweek was unable to independently verify the numbers of killed Russian servicemen that were released by Ukraine and Russia.

Zelensky warned on Monday that Russia is planning a "prolonged attack with Shaheds [drones]."

"Its bet may be on exhaustion. On exhaustion of our people, our air defense, our energy sector," he said. "But we must ensure—and we will do everything for this—that this goal of terrorists fails like all the others."

He also urged Ukrainian forces to stay alert about air offensives launched by Russia.

"Now is the time when everyone involved in the protection of the sky should be especially attentive," the Ukrainian president said. "The Russian regime needs mobilizing emotions. Something that they want to demonstrate to their country in order to continue lying that everything is going 'according to the plan.'"

He continued: "And our task is to give Ukraine everyday successes, achievements, even small yet victories over terrorists and terror. Each shot down drone, each shot down missile, each day with electricity for our people and minimal schedules of blackouts are exactly such victories."

In his address, Zelensky also called for increasing "the price of new mobilization and war in general."

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.