Ukraine’s Drone Defense Is Burning Millions—Here’s the Fix

Ukraine’s top war charity warns that shooting down cheap Russian jet-powered drones is draining millions of dollars per interception. The Serhii Sternenko Foundation says Moscow’s jet drones now fly like small cruise missiles, forcing Ukraine to fire costly air-defense missiles at low-cost targets. Each downed drone can cost between $25,000 and $4 million—a price gap Russia exploits with every launch. The foundation argues the only sustainable answer is to stop chasing these drones with expensive interceptors and instead deploy cheaper, scalable countermeasures. Without that shift, Ukraine’s air defenses risk running dry while Russia keeps the pressure on.