Ukrainian officials say jet-powered Russian attack drones are much harder to stop than older propeller Shaheds, and the latest overnight wave on Kyiv again hit civilian sites even as most drones were intercepted. The industrial claim underneath the weekend damage is simple: Russia scaled a cheaper high-altitude strike tool faster than Ukraine could mass interceptor answers.

On the night of Sept. 25–26, Russia launched 173 attack and decoy drones toward Ukraine, including more than 50 jet-engine Shahed-type craft, Ukraine's Air Force said. Defenses shot down or suppressed 134; strikes or debris still hit 19 locations. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said five people were hurt. Fires damaged a five-story residence in Solomianskyi — 20 people rescued — and an Auchan supermarket at Lavina Mall in Sviatoshynskyi, with no mall injuries, The New Voice of Ukraine reported.

A Sept. 22 Reuters feature put the intercept gap in industrial terms. Air force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said Ukraine downs about 60% of jet-powered drones versus more than 90% of propeller models. Jet versions fly at 4–7 kilometers and leave mobile teams seconds, not minutes, to react. In the first three weeks of September alone, Prime Minister Denys Koretskyi said Russia launched 2,100 jet-powered attack drones and 136 missiles, killing 288 people.

Ukraine has shown combat kills with interceptor prototypes such as Wild Hornets' STING S, but mass deployment still needs money and months, officials say. Zelenskyy has flagged a large defense funding shortfall while asking partners for air defenses. Moscow denies targeting civilians; Ukrainian cities keep absorbing warehouse, retail, and housing hits as grain, rail, and logistics sites stay on the target list.

Watch Air Force overnight tallies, any NATO or bilateral interceptor-drone funding announcements, and whether Kyiv's claimed jet-drone kill rate climbs above the ~60% Reuters benchmark.