Ukrainian air defenses held against 1,500-strong saturation drone attack

Beskrestnov said Ukraine endured one of the heaviest recent attacks and that “there has never been anything like this in the world.” He said about 95% of the drones were shot down or otherwise neutralized; more than 30% were neutralized by interceptor UAVs, a share he said is substantial and still rising.

He added that the proportion of jet powered and guided variants of Shahed drones was small.

“Clearly, the enemy counted on the mass use of conventional Shaheds,” Beskrestnov said in a Facebook post.

Beskrestnov said missiles inflicted the greatest damage, hitting residential buildings and civilian infrastructure. He said repeated ballistic strikes on the same sites hours later were especially cynical and appeared aimed at killing rescuers working at the scene.

He said the attack targeted critical infrastructure, railways, and logistics.

Early on May 14, Russia launched one of the heaviest strikes on Kyiv, using dozens of Shahed drones as well as cruise and ballistic missiles. In the Darnytskyi district, an apartment building was partially collapsed by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missiles. At least 12 people were killed, with search-and-rescue operation still ongoing by end of day. Kyiv will observe a day of mourning on May 15.