 Russia claims that its forces destroy over 8,700 military drones in Ukraine war Russian forces have destroyed over 8,700 unmanned aerial vehicles of the Ukrainian army since the start of the military operation in Ukraine Russia's Defense Ministry reported in all the following targets have been destroyed since the start of the special military operation 527 war planes, 254 helicopters, 8,702 unmanned aerial vehicles, 441 surface-to-air missile systems, 13,244 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,182 multiple rocket launchers, 7,001 field artillery guns and mortars and 15,064 special military motor vehicles the ministry said in a statement the Ukrainian battle space features the most intensive use of drones in a military conflict in history marking a shift in warfare tactics and technology many possibly the majority of the drones used by Ukrainian forces were originally designed for commercial purposes or for hobbyists they are therefore available in large numbers and at low cost and are easy to use as they are not built for war these drones tend not to survive for a long time in the battle space but given their price and availability they are generally dispensable a Ukrainian designed kamikaze drone with a range of 1,000 kilometers has entered production and has already struck Russian targets according to officials