Five killer charts: Russia’s drone barrage hits new highs

Good morning – here are your five chart for the day. Each one comes snap stat, quick take and why it matters. Skim, steal, forward (but always credit!!).

CHART 1 • Russia’s drone barrage hits new highs

Moscow has shifted to volume warfare, lofting ever larger swarms of Shahed drones and ballistic missiles at Ukraine. This chart from the Economist tracks monthly strikes, with April topping ≈2,100 launches – quadruple the average seen in 2023. May already promises to smash this total, once official numbers are out for the end of month – the chart only goes up to 16 May.

Separately, Ukraine achieved almost mythical success on Sunday, carrying out a large scale drone attack on four separate Russian airbases, destroying 41 aircraft. However, as the chart below shows, the situation for Ukraine remains tense.

Snap stat – ≈2,100 Russian drone or missile strikes recorded in April 2025

Quick take – Swarms now force Kyiv to ration precious Patriot interceptors

Why it matters – Air-defence overstretch raises the risk of industrial and civilian losses

Steal-this-caption – “Russia fired about 2,100 drones and missiles in April and May will probably top this number.” #FiveChartsDaily

Source: Economist

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