Ukraine's Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov has announced that Ukrainian forces shot down a record 33,000 Russian drones of various types in March, the highest monthly total since the full-scale invasion began over four years ago. The milestone underscores the central role of drone warfare in the conflict.
Ukrainian forces have also developed advanced long-range attack drones, which struck a Russian oil refinery and terminal on the Black Sea for the third time in under two weeks, prompting precautionary evacuations. The Defence Ministry stated that the range of Ukraine's deep-strike operations has more than doubled from 630km to 1,750km since February 2022, allowing strikes on oil installations and manufacturing plants.
The latest strike on the Tuapse oil refinery was a coordinated operation involving multiple defence and security services, the Unmanned Systems Forces confirmed. Earlier strikes this month reportedly destroyed 24 oil storage tanks and damaged four others, although independent verification was not possible. Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev confirmed residents near Tuapse were being evacuated.
Russia's Defence Ministry reported that its air defences intercepted 186 Ukrainian drones overnight across Russian regions, annexed Crimea, and the Black and Azov seas. In the Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack killed three people and wounded three others. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian drone attacks killed three civilians and injured five, including two deaths in Chuhuiv and one in Kryvyi Rih.
A Russian attack on Konotop in the Sumy region caused power and water supply outages. Ukrainian officials also noted that interceptor drones developed by Kyiv are now attracting military interest from Middle Eastern and Gulf countries for protection amid the war in Iran.
