Ukraine uses British-made drones to strike deep into Russia for first time
Attacks on oil refineries and military sites killed six people and caused £35 billion in economic damage
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
A fire following a Russian missiles attack is seen in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, Aug. 16, 2026. Picture: Alamy
Photograph: LBC (embedded from source)
What this story says
- British-made drones have been used by Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia for the first time, including oil refineries and military sites.
- At least six people were killed in Russia during the attacks, with five deaths in Rostov region and one in Moscow region.
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported destroying 822 drones overnight, while Ukraine claimed the strikes caused £35 billion in economic damage.
- No left-rated outlet covered the story, according to the reports below.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 4 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 8 of the 12 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
78/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
15/100
12 sources · methodology
Ukraine has used British-made drones to strike targets deep inside Russia for the first time, according to reports from Ukrainian and British sources. The attacks, which took place in the early hours of 16 August 2026, targeted oil refineries near Moscow, Yaroslavl and Volgograd, as well as military and industrial sites.
At least six people were killed in Russia during the drone strikes. Five deaths occurred in the southwestern Rostov region, where three towns came under attack, as reported by local governor Yury Slyusar. An 83-year-old man died in the Moscow region after a drone hit a private home. Russia’s Ministry of Defence said it destroyed 822 drones overnight.
The economic damage from the attacks was estimated at around £35 billion, according to reports. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that at least three people died in Ukraine during overnight Russian strikes, which he said targeted civilian infrastructure across 13 regions.
What the reports agree on
All reports confirm that British-made drones were used in the attacks, supplied by two UK companies. The drones were deployed to strike industrial and military targets inside Russia, including oil refineries. The attacks resulted in at least six deaths in Russia and caused significant economic damage.
What the coverage left out
None of the right-rated reports mentioned the six-month timeline for the use of British drones, which was reported by the centre-rated outlets. No left-rated outlet covered the story at all.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 16 Aug 2026, 12:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Visitors view a demonstration of the BAE Systems Nyan Maritime One Way Effector (OWE) strike drone during the Farnborough International Air Show 2026 at Farnborough International Exhibition Centre on July 21, 2026, in Farnborough, England. (John Keeble/Getty Images)
The Kyiv Independent — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
2 rated outlets
- The three centre-rated reports led on the use of British drones in deep strikes inside Russia. The Kyiv Independent and The Times both reported that the drones had been used over the past six months, citing sources in Ukraine’s Armed Forces. The Kyiv Independent named the BAE Systems Nyan jet-powered drone as one of the weapons used, while The Times did not specify the second drone manufacturer for security reasons.
- The Kyiv Independent quoted a senior Ukrainian military source saying the British drones had been effective in striking targets, including oil refineries near Moscow, Yaroslavl and Volgograd. It also reported that Russia might increase hybrid warfare against the UK in response, including cyberattacks and espionage, citing unnamed sources. BBC News included the story in its digest of Sunday newspaper headlines but did not add further detail.
Right
2 rated outlets
- The two right-rated digests led on the scale of the drone attacks and the confirmation of British involvement. LBC reported that over 800 drones were fired towards Russia, citing Russia’s Ministry of Defence, and noted that the attacks caused an estimated £35 billion in economic damage. It quoted Moscow region Governor Andrei Vorobyov saying several people were injured in Podolsk, where a warehouse belonging to Russia’s largest online retailer, Wildberries, was struck.
- LBC also reported that Ukraine had targeted Wildberries in recent weeks, accusing the company of handling military goods. Yonhap News Agency’s digest described the drones as long-range attack drones manufactured by a British company, used to strike military and industrial facilities deep in mainland Russia.
Read it at the source
13 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
3- UK drones used for ‘deep strikes’ in mainland Russia for first time (opens The Times in a new tab)
- Ukraine begins using British drones to strike targets deep within Russia, Times reports (opens The Kyiv Independent in a new tab)
The Kyiv Independent — is The Kyiv Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Newspaper headlines: UK-made drones 'strike Russia' and 'Phone theft Britain' (opens BBC News in a new tab)
Right
2- UK drones used for ‘deep strikes’ in mainland Russia, as Ukraine launches huge aerial attack (opens LBC in a new tab)
- First Confirmation of Ukraine Striking Deep Into Russia with British-Made Long-Range Drone (opens 연합뉴스-Yonhap News Agency in a new tab)
연합뉴스-Yonhap News Agency — is 연합뉴스-Yonhap News Agency biased? Our profile of this outlet
Not rated
8- Ukraine Has Started Using British Drones for Deep Attacks in Russia. What Are the Risks to the United Kingdom? (opens Adevarul in a new tab)
- Ukraine Has Begun to Use British Drones to Attack Deep Into Russia. (opens RTVI in a new tab)
- Ukraine Has Been Using British Drones for Long-Range Strikes Against the Russian Federation for Six Months (opens ZN.UA Зеркало недели in a new tab)
ZN.UA Зеркало недели — is ZN.UA Зеркало недели biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The Sunday Times Reported on the Use of British Drones to Attack Russian Territory. (opens tvrain.tv in a new tab)
- Ukraine Uses British Drones to Attack Targets Deep Inside Russia – The Times (opens Forbes Georgia in a new tab)
Forbes Georgia — is Forbes Georgia biased? Our profile of this outlet
- The Times: Ukraine Has Also Started Using British Drones for Deep Strikes on Russia (opens pmo.ee in a new tab)
- Ukraine uses UK-made drones in conflict with Russia (opens Cryptocurrency News in a new tab)
Cryptocurrency News — is Cryptocurrency News biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Ukraine uses UK-made drones in conflict with Russia (opens Crypto Briefing in a new tab)
Crypto Briefing — is Crypto Briefing biased? Our profile of this outlet
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover Ukraine uses British-made drones to strike deep into Russia for first…?
- Of the 4 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 60% are rated centre, 40% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 12. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is Ukraine uses British-made drones to strike deep into Russia for first… left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 4 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of Ukraine uses British-made drones to strike deep into Russia for first… biased?
- Ukraine uses British-made drones to strike deep into Russia for first time is one event reported by 12 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which outlets covered Ukraine uses British-made drones to strike deep into Russia for first…?
- 12 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How many drones did Russia claim to destroy?
- Russia’s Ministry of Defence reported destroying 822 drones overnight during the Ukrainian attacks on 16 August 2026. This figure was cited by LBC and corroborated across multiple reports.
- Which British drones were used in the attacks?
- The Kyiv Independent reported that the BAE Systems Nyan jet-powered drone was used, along with another unspecified drone from a second UK manufacturer. The second drone’s details were withheld for security reasons.
- What was the estimated economic damage from the attacks?
- The economic damage from the drone strikes was estimated at around £35 billion, according to reports carried by LBC. This included fuel shortages and rolling blackouts in some Russian regions.
- Did any left-rated outlets cover the story?
- No left-rated outlet covered the story, according to the reports provided. The coverage was limited to centre and right-rated outlets.
How did this read?
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