**Ukraine Destroys Over 37,000 Russian Drones in 2024**
The Ukrainian Navy reported on January 1 that it destroyed over 37,000 Russian drones in the year 2024. This includes strike drones, operational and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), first-person-view (FPV) drones, and Shahed-type attack drones.
**Russian Forces Suffer Heavy Losses**
The Ukrainian Navy said that Russia’s UAV losses included 35,670 destroyed FPV drones and 1,140 strike drones. Ukrainian units also eliminated 192 operational and tactical drones and another 164 Shahed-136/131 drones. This is in addition to the destruction of five Russian ships and 458 watercraft.
**Increased Drone Attacks**
Russian drone attacks across Ukraine surged to record levels in the last months of 2024, with Moscow aiming to ramp up UAV production in the new year. The attacks targeted Ukrainian residential neighborhoods and critical energy infrastructure.
**Ukrainian Response**
In response, Ukrainian forces have targeted Russian military facilities and equipment, both within Russia and in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. A Ukrainian-made Magura V5 naval strike drone on December 31 destroyed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter for the first time.
**High Losses for Russian Forces**
According to Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russian forces suffered high losses in 2024. Around 427,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded last year.
**Loss of Lives and Infrastructure**
The Ukrainian Navy reported that a married couple, Ihor Zyma and Olesia Sokur, were killed in a Russian drone strike on January 1. The strike also damaged one of the National Bank of Ukraine’s buildings in Kyiv’s Pechersk District.
**International Response**
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said that Poland will lead efforts to result in peace. The International Criminal Court (ICC) spokesperson Fadi el-Abdallah said that Ukraine is now a full-fledged state party to the international treaty, giving it all rights and obligations assigned to state parties.
**Ukraine Stands with Allies**
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that no one will give peace to his country as a gift, but he believed the United States would stand together with Ukraine as it fights to stop Russia’s full-scale invasion. The U.S. Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence said that Iran and Russia have targeted the American people through disinformation campaigns.
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