Drone strikes: Ukraine reports more than 1,000 Russian military boats destroyed or disabled

Since the start of the year, Ukrainian drone units have destroyed or disabled 1,039 Russian military boats – this is the tally of drone strikes presented by the Ministry of Defence in Kyiv. According to the ministry, most of the losses occurred in July, when 236 boats were hit.

The figures cover the period from 1 January to 25 October 2026. Each hit was reportedly recorded on video, registered in the digital battle management system Delta and checked by Brave1, Ukraine’s defence innovation cluster.

The ministry breaks down the boats hit by month as follows:

• January: 51
• February: 35
• March: 155
• April: 92
• May: 76
• June: 103
• July: 236 – the highest figure of the year so far
• August: 118
• September: 106
• 1 to 25 October: a further 67

Drone strikes against supplies and personnel

Above all, Ukraine aims to curtail Russian control over waterways while disrupting the movement of troops and materiel and the supply of Russian units.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are also increasingly using drones against personnel. The Ministry of Defence puts the number of Russian soldiers killed or wounded by drone strikes since the start of the year at more than 300,000. In March alone, almost 34,000 such losses were reportedly registered in the Delta system.

All figures come from the Ukrainian side; independent verification is not possible. Moreover, the boat statistics do not distinguish between units that were completely destroyed and those that were only damaged or disabled.