Zelensky criticizes air defense after massive Russian drone barrage

Friday 06 February 2026 - 16:00

By: Dakir Madiha

Zelensky criticizes air defense after massive Russian drone barrage

Russia unleashed 328 attack drones and seven missiles against Ukraine overnight on February 6, marking one of the largest aerial assaults in recent weeks and prompting President Volodymyr Zelensky to publicly criticize his own air force's performance. The barrage killed at least two civilians, a married couple in Zaporizhzhia region and inflicted substantial damage on power infrastructure and residential buildings across multiple areas.

The attack came just one day after US-mediated peace talks between Ukraine and Russia concluded in Abu Dhabi. Ukrainian air forces reported Russia launched drones from sites including Kursk, Orel, Bryansk, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia, plus occupied Donetsk. About 200 were Iranian-designed Shahed drones, with others including Gerbera, Italmas, and additional types.

Russian forces also fired two Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles and five Kh-59/69 guided air-to-surface missiles. Ukraine's air defenses destroyed 297 drones through coordinated efforts involving aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare groups, and mobile firing teams. Active countermeasures prevented missiles from reaching targets, though 22 attack drones struck 14 sites nationwide, with debris affecting two more.

Kirovohrad region suffered particularly heavy impact, with power lines and private homes damaged in Oleksandriia district and a warehouse hit in Kropyvnytskyi district. In Zaporizhzhia's Vilniansk, a Russian drone obliterated a home, killing a 49-year-old man and 48-year-old woman; a separate strike wounded a 14-year-old boy at a regional center, leaving about 12,000 residents without electricity.

Zelensky held a daily briefing expressing dissatisfaction with regional air defense operations. "I consider the work of the Air Forces in certain regions of Ukraine unsatisfactory," he stated, adding he discussed with the Air Force commander and Defense Minister "decisions that must be implemented immediately to intercept Shahed drones more effectively." This marks the second time in weeks Zelensky has criticized air defenses, following similar remarks mid-January after drone strikes on Kyiv region energy facilities despite available mobile firing groups, interceptor drones, and F-16 fighters.

The timing underscores ongoing combat parallel to diplomacy, as Russia maintains pressure on Ukraine's energy grid approaching the fourth anniversary of its full-scale invasion on February 24. Zelensky called recent Abu Dhabi talks "complicated" and urged faster progress toward resolution, following the first prisoner exchange in four months.