Since the beginning of 2026, units of Ukraine's Defence Forces have killed or wounded 302,000 Russian military personnel using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Every strike has been recorded on video in the DELTA battlefield management system and verified by the Brave1 defence innovation cluster.
Russian personnel losses in 2026
Over the first ten months of 2026, Russian military personnel losses inflicted by Ukrainian drones have been recorded as follows:
- January – 29,572;
- February – 26,204;
- March – 33,989;
- April – 33,961;
- May – 30,548;
- June – 27,072;
- July – 30,272;
- August – 29,554;
- September – 32,739;
- 1–25 October – 27,829.
March saw the highest recorded Russian personnel losses so far, with nearly 34,000 troops killed or wounded.
The role of drone strikes on the front line
Drone strikes against Russian troops help deplete Russia's manpower, reduce the combat effectiveness of its units and slow the pace of its offensive operations.
In addition, using UAVs to target Russian personnel helps protect the lives of Ukrainian soldiers by making it more difficult for Russian forces to approach Ukrainian positions.
