Fire at an oil refinery in Saratov after a Ukrainian drone strike on May 31. Photo: Exilenova+In May, Russian forces launched a record number of Shahed drones at Ukrainian cities. According to calculations by the Ukrainian open source intelligence (OSINT) project Oko Hora ✙ News and Analytics, at least 8,150 Shahed-type drones were involved in attacks against Ukraine over the past month. Nearly 7,500 were shot down, while about 8% reached their targets. The figures are based on daily reports from Ukraine’s armed forces.Analysts said the number of drones launched in May was an all-time high — 20% higher than in April, when the previous record of 6,500 drones was set. On average, Russian forces launched about 260 drones a day at Ukrainian cities.Ukraine, in turn, significantly increased the intensity of its strikes on targets inside Russia, OSINT analyst John Felix wrote on X, basing his assessment on available reports from the Russian Defense Ministry.In May, the number of drones intercepted by Russian forces approached 9,000, with Russia’s Defense Ministry saying it had intercepted 8,973 long-range Ukrainian drones. The previous high was recorded in March, when Russia reported intercepting just over 7,500 UAVs in its airspace.Ukraine’s May drone strikes reduced Russia’s oil refining capacity in western and central parts of the country, disrupting fuel supplies in some regions. The Ryazan and Moscow oil refineries temporarily halted operations, and gasoline rationing began May 31 in occupied Crimea and Sevastopol due to the resulting shortages.