Russia launched about 5,300 attack drones on Ukrainian targets in October — about 200 fewer than in September, likely due to worsening weather, British military officials said.
But weather-based lulls were often followed by increased attacks, with Moscow launching 400 to 650 attack drones in a single night, British officials posted Saturday on X.
“Russian [drones] present a significant challenge to Ukrainian air defenses, particularly when combined with the short-range ballistic missiles also launched in significant numbers,” British military officials said in their latest assessment of the battlefield in Ukraine.
The tempo of Moscow’s long-range bomber missions over Ukraine also slowed in October, again most likely due to the weather and resource competition with other military needs, including the culmination of Russia’s training and testing season, officials said.
British officials said it was “almost certain” that Moscow intends to saturate targets inside Ukraine, including military industry and airfields, to maximize damage and increase the survivability of premier missiles.
Although four Russian bombing missions were observed in October 2025, they were limited in their missile expenditure, using unreliable AS-24 Killjoy air-launched cruise missiles instead of the premier AS-23 Kodiak, officials said.
“Russia’s priority targets for [bombers] have been energy-critical national infrastructure, at least since the beginning of October 2025,” British officials said.
