Ukraine has built an interceptor that catches Russian drones instead of ramming them. The company WINFLY has unveiled the WINFLY Spider, an interceptor equipped with a net-launcher to neutralize targets with a net and return to its launch point, the defense outlet Militarnyi reported.
The Spider is the newest entry in Ukraine's fast-growing interceptor-drone industry. Ukraine has fielded a widening range of cheap interceptors to counter Russia's massed drone attacks, and the Spider's distinction is reusability.
The netgun makes it reusable
Most interceptors are one-shot weapons that ram or explode against their target. The Spider instead carries the Karakurt net-launcher, made of high-strength aluminum and rated to work from −20°C to +50°C, which snares an enemy drone in a net while the interceptor itself stays intact and ready for repeat flights.
The economics are the point. The developers say each net shot about $27, while the drone remains undamaged. That turns the cost equation of drone defense, where an interceptor is often spent to down a single target, into one where the same aircraft can make many intercepts, paying only for a cheap net each time.
The platform and what it hunts
The Spider is built on an existing WINFLY interceptor. It uses the WINFLY 10 Hunter as its base platform, which operates at up to 5,000 meters, reaches 160 kilometers per hour, and has a range of over 18 kilometers.
It is designed for a range of Russian drones. The system targets fixed-wing UAVs, Mavic quadcopters, FPV drones, and fiber-optic drones, with flight times up to 25 minutes, deployment times of up to 3 minutes, and target detection ranges of up to 500 meters. The maker offers day and night versions.
One tool in a scaling defense
Ukraine is downing tens of thousands of Russian drones a month, per the Defense Ministry, and fielding interceptors from at least 29 licensed makers, with new designs like the high-altitude Tsyklop climbing above enemy drones and others ramming them.
Ukraine is shooting down drones at a fast-rising rate. Ukraine's Defense Forces destroyed 40,438 Russian fixed-wing drones, or "wings", in July 2026, Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported on 11 August.
The July figures mark a defense scaling up as fast as the threat it counters. Since the start of the year, Ukraine's Defense Forces have destroyed 195,000 Russian "wings" and 66,000 copters. A counter-drone effort is growing month by month against a Russian drone campaign that has itself expanded relentlessly.
The numbers climbed across drone types
Both categories of drone kills rose sharply. Fixed-wing "wings," the category that includes long-range attack drones like Shaheds, climbed from 27,711 in May to 40,438 in July, according to the ministry.
Copter kills rose even faster in proportion. The number of destroyed copters grew 42% in a single month, from 14,071 in June to 19,945 in July. The parallel rise in both types reflects a Russian drone offensive attacking on multiple fronts at once, from deep-strike Shaheds to short-range quadcopters over the trenches, and a Ukrainian defense expanding to meet each.
DELTA confirms every kill
Every strike has been confirmed by the DELTA system, and video recording of the shootdowns helps identify the most effective counter-drone tools for development and scaling, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.
That verification matters for a claimed tally. Rather than a bare count, the numbers are tied to Ukraine's battle-management system, which logs and video-confirms each kill, the same DELTA platform whose combat data now trains Ukraine's target-detection AI.
The count is one side of the drone war
The figures capture only Ukraine's defensive half of a war fought increasingly by drones. Russia has expanded its drone production and nightly launches throughout 2026, aiming to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses with mass, and the rising Ukrainian kill counts are the answer to that escalation, not a sign it has eased.
South Korea is keeping lethal aid to Ukraine off the table while continuing humanitarian and reconstruction support, Yonhap reported on 10 August. The outlet cited a senior South Korean Foreign Ministry official.
South Korea’s response maintains its established policy of providing humanitarian and nonlethal support to Ukraine, but not direct weapons. Seoul previously helped move artillery shells to Ukraine through the United States. While South Korea arms NATO members with K2 tanks and K9 howitzers to free up older kit for the Ukrainian front, it still draws the line at any direct transfer to Kyiv. Seoul rejects Ukraine’s purchase requests as North Korea sends Russia ammunition and troops in exchange for money and military technology.
South Korean law bars direct exports of lethal weapons to countries in active conflict, a rule rooted in constitutional principles and Seoul's wariness of antagonizing Moscow and Beijing while managing the threat from the North.
Ukraine is seeking South Korean interceptor missiles for its air defenses. The official neither addressed the request specifically nor formally rejected it:
“South Korea’s supply of defense materials to any country has always been carried out in accordance with domestic law,” the official said. Seoul will continue to support Ukraine’s recovery through assistance in energy, infrastructure, healthcare, and education.
The official also declined to confirm whether Seoul and Kyiv were discussing military support. However, he said Moscow-Pyongyang military cooperation “is directly related to our security and violates the United Nations resolutions” and should stop immediately.
Seoul’s indirect aid stopped short of direct arms transfers
In 2023, Seoul transferred hundreds of thousands of 155 mm shells to the United States under a confidential arrangement. Washington then arranged for them to reach Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported.
South Korean exports have also helped NATO members replace weapons sent to Kyiv. Poland bought South Korean K2 tanks and K9 howitzers while transferring older tanks and Polish-built Krab artillery systems to Ukraine.
Yet Seoul rejected Ukraine’s request to buy air-defense systems, radars, and artillery propellant in November 2024. In February 2026, it still limited support to humanitarian and nonlethal aid while considering NATO’s request to help purchase US weapons for Ukraine.
North Korean deployments bring the war closer to Seoul
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a decision had been made to deploy 30,000–50,000 more North Koreans to Russia. He warned that they would gain modern combat experience and Russian technology that could later threaten Asian countries. Kyiv wants South Korean air defenses and has offered cooperation on drones.
The South Korean official cited by Yonhap declined to confirm either the reported deployment or Zelenskyy’s statement that Ukrainian and South Korean diplomats were discussing possible cooperation.
North Korea is already believed to have sent approximately 20,000 combat troops and military engineers to Russia’s Kursk region, according to Yonhap. Pyongyang has earned as much as $22 billion from arming Russia, helping it finance conventional and nuclear forces.
The Japanese outlet Kyodo News reported in November 2025 that North Korea had transferred about 6.5 million rocket and artillery munitions in exchange for Russian air-defense, space, and nuclear technologies. Moscow and Pyongyang’s 2024 mutual defense pact formalized the expanding military relationship.
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