Have 70% of casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war been caused by drones, as Rep. Tom Cole claimed?

Have 70% of casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war been caused by drones, as Rep. Tom Cole claimed?
June 9, 2026

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Have 70% of casualties in the Russia-Ukraine war been caused by drones, as Rep. Tom Cole claimed?

by Matthew Yim, Oklahoma Watch
June 9, 2026

Yes.

Multiple sources reported in the spring of 2025 that 70% of Russian and Ukrainian casualties were caused by drones, though this is according to statements from primarily Ukrainian officials rather than verified data. Reports from this year put the figure at 70% to 90%. 

Verified data available through the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported that short-range drones were responsible for 70% of Ukrainian civilian casualties in January 2025. 

Though this figure cannot be applied more broadly to all casualties, which are predominantly military and unverifiable, it supports the notion that drones are a dominant cause, as reported by the Atlantic Council. 

HRMMU reported that 43 percent of civilian casualties were caused by long-range missiles and drones, and an additional 34% were caused by short-range drones in April 2026. Most civilian casualties were far from the frontline and resulted from Russian attacks in Ukrainian territory

Oklahoma Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims.

Sources

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