Russian Forces Deploy Massive Drone and Missile Attack Against Ukraine: A New Tactic in the Ongoing Conflict
On the night of August 15, Ukrainian defenders faced a significant combined missile and drone assault launched by Russian forces.
According to the Ukrainian Air Forces, the enemy executed a large-scale offensive, firing two Iskander-M ballistic missiles from regions of Voronezh and Bryansk.
Nearly a hundred UAVs — 97 Shahed attack drones and various decoy unmanned aircraft — were also launched from multiple directions: Kursk, Orel, Bryansk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, and Shatalovo.
This multi-directional strike reflects a carefully planned, layered tactic aimed at overwhelming Ukrainian defenses.
The primary targets included frontline areas in Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk, and Chernihiv regions, where drones caused infrastructure damage and posed serious threats to local populations.
Simultaneously, rockets hit objects in Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions, resulting in extensive destruction.
Ukrainian armed forces, including aviation, electronic warfare units, and unmanned platforms, mounted a strong defense, managing to shoot down over 63 drones- kamikaze and various decoy UAVs.
By the morning of August 15, Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems recorded and neutralized 34 of the 97 airborne targets in the northern and eastern parts of the country.
Despite these efforts, the strikes resulted in 34 hits across 13 locations, causing substantial damage and casualties.
These events underscore the ongoing complexity of Ukraine’s defense efforts and highlight Russia’s persistent use of diverse weapon systems to destabilize the situation further.