Forty-one of the 112 attack and decoy drones launched by Russian forces overnight were shot down, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Telegram on May 19.
Another 35 drones were suppressed by electronic warfare.
The attack triggered air raid alerts across most regions of Ukraine and caused damage in Kharkiv, Sumy, Donetsk, Cherkasy, and Kirovohrad oblasts.
The Air Force adjusted its reporting format to highlight the new enemy’s tactics and peculiarities in countering the attacks with an increased number of drones and types.
On the night of May 17-18, Russian forces reportedly used the modernized, more powerful "Geran-3" drone, an analogue to the Iranian Shahed-238, in the largest single drone attack on Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale aggression.