The US secret services have assisted the Ukrainian army in directing attack drones on optimal routes and thus avoid Russian anti-aircraft, in the campaign of attacks on Russia’s refineries and energy infrastructure, reports the Financial Times (FT), citing high-ranking officials from Kiev.
Since the beginning of the year 2026, Russian refineries have been hit at least 194 times by Ukrainian drones, 11 times more attacks compared to the same period of the previous year.
“Ukraine now holds the technological advantage, which allows it to produce more long-range drones and thus increase the mass production of these weapons,” stated Stefan Meister, head of the Eurasia program at the German Council on Foreign Relations.
In recent months, Ukraine has significantly increased the intensity of drone raids over Russia. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, 14,195 drones were shot down over the country’s territory in May and 17,832 in June. For comparison: in January and February, the monthly figures, officially published by the Russian army, did not exceed 6 thousand destroyed drones.
Overall, since the beginning of 2026, the Russian Ministry of Defense has announced the downing of at least 63,933 Ukrainian drones, in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories. At the same time, the Russians have been launching over 5,000 rockets and drones monthly at Ukraine since February.
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