Russia could soon attack Ukraine with 2,000 drones at once, warns German general

As Vladimir Putin has ramped up the war on Ukraine, a German general has warned that Russia could soon attack with up to 2,000 drones at once.

For weeks, Russia has been attacking Ukraine with hundreds of drones and missiles on a near-daily basis. It has ramped up attacks consistently and mounted the largest barrage with 741 drones and missiles on the night of July 8-9.

Russia is actively expanding its drone production capacity and could soon attack Ukraine with up to 2,000 drones at once, according to Major General Christian Freuding, the head of the Situation Center for Ukraine at Germany’s Ministry of Defense.

In an interview with the German military’s ‘Nachgefragt’ programme, Freuding said that such mass deployment of drones could present a major challenge for Ukraine’s air defence systems, which are not optimised for intercepting large volumes of low-cost drones simultaneously, according to a translation of his remarks.

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From a high of around 500 drones and missiles on Ukraine in overnight attacks, Russia went to raining more than 700 drones and missiles in a matter of mere weeks, suggesting it has huge stockpile, well-oiled production capacity, and smooth supply chains.

Russia is not alone in its war efforts. China has not just kept the Russian economy afloat by making up for the loss of trade after the invasion of Ukraine but has also provided Russia with drones, machinery to make weapons, and dual-use goods used to make weapons. Iran has provided Russia with several thousands of drones and has also transferred the production know-how.

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Freuding flagged that the cost of launching these attacks is much less for Russia than the cost of tackling these attacks for Ukraine and its partners.

While an Iranian-origin Shahed drone costs €30,000 and €50,000, one Patriot interceptor missiles costs more than €5 million, according to Freuding.

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The US-origin Patriot missile is the mainstay of Ukrainian air defence against Russian missiles and some high-end drones. Due to costs, Ukraine uses conventional anti-aircraft guns, interceptor drones, and electronic warfare to take down drones and reserves Patriot interceptors for largely taking down Russian missiles.

Freuding said that Ukraine needs cost-effective air-defence systems, ideally in the €2,000–€4,000 range per interception.

The development of such systems is essential to respond effectively to large-scale Russian drone attacks, said Freuding.

‘Russia is trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defence supplies’

With such continuous attacks, Russia is trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defence supplies, according to Michael Kofman, an analyst focussed on the Russian war on Ukraine, who serves as a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“They [Russians] target population centres because they’re trying to exhaust Ukrainian air defence, and they know Ukrainian air defence will prioritise defending the cities and critical infrastructure,” Kofman told The Telegraph earlier this month.

At the beginning of this month, Russia launched 537 drones and missiles over the weekend — the highest in the war until then. A few days later, Russia broke the record with 550 drones and missiles. Days later, Russia again broke the record with 741 drones and missiles.

Despite such attacks, US President Donald Trump has refused to take any punitive action against Putin, who has continued to refuse to make peace. Instead, he has given Putin a 50-day window to hit Ukraine with all that he has got.