06/18/2026

Russian troops are facing serious problems in using drones on the frontline. A significant number of drones fail before they can even complete combat missions.

The reasons are technical malfunctions, operational errors, and even fire at own targets, said Vladislav Voloshyn, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces.

According to Voloshyn, Ukrainian intelligence records significant losses of enemy drones even at the stage of their use. In particular, Russian troops lose almost every fourth drone due to technical problems or factory defects.

Another approximately one in five drones fails due to a fiber optic connection failure or battery drain during a mission, indicating problems with both manufacturing quality and the organization of the use of such systems on the battlefield.

In addition, according to intercepts, the Russian military destroys some of the drones themselves. This is about one in six drones that fall victim to so-called “friendly fire.”

“In interceptions, the enemy says that they lose almost every fourth drone due to technical problems and factory defects, every fifth drone is due to a broken fiber optic cable or a discharged battery. And every sixth drone is shot down by the Russians themselves,” Voloshin said.

Such losses significantly reduce the effectiveness of the enemy’s use of drones and affect its ability to conduct reconnaissance and strike.

As a reminder, the Ukrainian military continues to deliver precise strikes on the positions of the Russian occupiers in the east of the country. In the Konstantinivka direction, Defense Forces pilots destroyed a building housing enemy assault groups.

As OBOZ.UA reported, the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces attacked a training ground in Zaporizhia, where the occupiers are training. Details were revealed by the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Brovdy.

https://war.obozrevatel.com/ukr/v-okupantiv-vinikli-veliki-problemi-z-dronami-voloshin-rozpoviv-podrobitsi.htm