Ukraine Uses F-16s Against Russian Jet-Powered Drones
Ukrainian F-16 fighter jets are intercepting up to 60% of Russia's jet-powered Shahed drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as Kyiv uses the aircraft against a faster aerial threat.
In the month before Oct. 19, Russia launched 3,500 jet-powered drones at Ukraine and Ukraine intercepted 1,900 of them, with F-16s shooting down a significant portion, The New York Times reported. Zelensky put the F-16 share at up to 60%, according to the Kyiv Post.
Jet-powered drones travel much faster than older propeller-driven models. Russia began firing them at Kyiv in large numbers in summer 2026, and Ukraine's Defence Ministry said Russia is scaling up strikes with jet-powered Shahed drones.
Strikes have continued in the capital. A Russian jet-powered drone struck one of Kyiv's bridges on Oct. 2, Reuters reported. On Oct. 7, a Russian missile and drone strike caused fire and smoke in the city.
Ukraine's Defence Ministry said F-16 aircraft help ensure high effectiveness in shooting down Russian drones and that munitions for the aircraft have proved highly effective. It said PAC-3 missiles and ammunition for F-16s delivered under PURL packages are already protecting Ukrainian skies, and that Kyiv is counting on Norway's support to strengthen air defence against jet-powered Shahed drones and ballistic missiles.
Belgium will transfer three F-16s to Ukraine in 2026, according to Zelensky. Ukraine had planned to deploy its first F-16s in summer 2024 to counter Russia's dominance in the air. Ukrainian Defence Minister Evgeniy Khmara held a phone conversation with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius about defence cooperation.
NATO members have also been drawn in. On Oct. 18, Romania's defence ministry said Romanian F-16s shot down two drones over Romania's territorial waters, Reuters reported. In September 2025, NATO scrambled fighter jets after Ukraine's Air Force reported as many as 415 drones launched in an attack, with at least eight detected crossing the border.
On Oct. 19, Ukraine launched more than 1,000 drones at Russia in an attack that hit energy sites in St. Petersburg and killed one person, Al Jazeera reported. Leningrad Governor Alexander Drozdenko said 145 drones were shot down over the Leningrad region. About 20,000 people were left without electricity.
