Russia is deploying an additional four regiments, 24 battalions and 162 batteries to counter Ukrainian strike drones and is reinforcing the layered air defense of Moscow and Krasnodar Krai, according to Ukrainian military intelligence.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi reported the assessment on Telegram following his monthly meeting on the development of unmanned systems forces.
"In effect, the Russians are scaling up their unmanned systems forces by copying Ukrainian solutions — technical, tactical and organizational. The same applies to the use of electronic warfare assets in border oblasts," Syrskyi said.
Russian production targets
According to the intelligence briefing, Russia plans to produce 7.3 mn FPV drones and 7.8 mn warheads for various types of UAVs in 2026. The Russian army is also increasing the supply of strike drones with turbojet engines to its forces, Syrskyi said.
"We see this, analyze it and take it into account in our own planning," he said.
Background: drone strikes hit Yaroslavl, Moscow and Rostov
Explosions hit the Russian city of Yaroslavl on 8 May, setting fire to the Yaroslavnefteorgsintez oil refinery. Moscow and Rostov-on-Don came under attack the same night, with damage reported across four locations in Rostov Oblast and two airports temporarily closed in the Russian capital, according to monitoring channels Exilenova+ and ASTRA, Russian officials on Telegram, and Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Moscow: airport closures and downed drones. The first drones were detected on the evening of 7 May, monitoring channels report. Russia's aviation authority then announced restrictions on flights at Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, after which Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported the interception of drones. By morning, Sobyanin said 26 drones had been shot down on the approaches to the Russian capital overnight.
Yaroslavl: oil refinery fire. Monitoring channels also reported explosions in Yaroslavl, where, according to preliminary information, the Yaroslavnefteorgsintez refinery was struck and a fire broke out on its territory. Video circulated online shows smoke rising over the facility.
Rostov: plant struck, debris damages four locations. In Rostov-on-Don, the Agropromzapchast plant is reported to have come under a possible missile attack, with local residents describing a series of explosions followed by a large-scale fire. Rostov Oblast Governor Yuri Slyusar later wrote on Telegram that the region had "repelled an attack by UAVs and missiles."
Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that 264 UAVs in total had been shot down over Russian oblasts. As is standard practice, Russian authorities did not say how many drones were not intercepted.
Background: competing ceasefire declarations
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on 4 May that Ukraine would observe a "silence regime" beginning at 00:00 on 6 May. Russia did not respond and continued combat operations and shelling of Ukraine, after which Zelenskyy said Russia had derailed the silence regime and pledged to act in a mirrored manner.
Earlier, on 4 May, Russia's Defense Ministry unilaterally announced a "ceasefire" for 8–9 May, coinciding with the 9 May Victory Day parade in Moscow. Russia threatened to launch a massive missile strike on the center of Kyiv if the parade were "disrupted."
Speaking on 4 May at the 8th European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Zelenskyyalso said Russia's 9 May parade in Moscow would be held without military equipment for the first time in years and predicted that Ukrainian drones might appear over the city during the event.
"Russia has announced a parade on the ninth of May, but there will be no military equipment at this parade. This will be the first time, if this is indeed the case, in many, many years that they cannot afford the presence of weapons at the parade. And Ukrainian drones may also fly over this parade. This shows that they are already not as strong as before," Zelenskyy said.
