Ukraine's air defense downs 92-96% of gasoline-powered Shaheds attacking its deep rear, Ukraine's Defense Minister adviser Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov said on 4 July. The interception rate is pushing Russia to reorient production toward serial jet-powered Shahed variants, while it continues about 200 gasoline Shahed strikes per day on Ukrainian border territories.
Border areas absorb 200 gasoline Shaheds daily
Earlier, Mykolaiv Oblast head Vitalii Kim said on 3 July that Russia designated a 150-kilometer targeting zone and is hitting gas stations, warehouses, and combustible civilian objects for the smoke images that can be broadcast on Russian television as evidence of damage to Ukrainian logistics.
Ukrainian military logistics is unaffected, Kim said, because Ukrainian forces use separate fuel channels.
Total Shahed volume launched at Ukraine decreased sharply in June 2026, but the reduced count masks a compensating pivot toward jet-powered variants that outrun Ukrainian interceptor drones and ballistic missiles that Ukraine intercepts at only 17%.
Beskrestnov sees no technical or economic pressure driving the volume drop, with only a deliberate Russian reorientation of production capacity toward the more expensive, more foreign-dependent jet models.
Proximity to the border allows Russia to use mesh-modem radio control at scale on these attacks. Ukrainian jamming of satellite navigation, effective against deep-rear penetration, is ineffective against border-region radio-controlled Shaheds.
Russia moves from mass strikes to selective targeting
Beyond the border, Beskrestnov observed a shift from mass strikes to selective targeting. Russia selects important targets, conducts multi-phase reconnaissance, studies Ukraine's electronic warfare systems, radar coverage, and air defense positioning, probes corridors around interceptor engagement zones, and builds routes at different altitudes and speeds.
Russia is deploying "Seeker" modification Shaheds with independent target-capture capability.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said on 1 July that Russian jet-powered Shahed variants exceed 300 km/h, making them "unreachable" for Ukrainian interceptor drones limited to that speed, per OBOZ.UA. Ukraine must engage jet Shaheds with more expensive surface-to-air missiles rather than the interceptor drone fleet.
