The United Kingdom is significantly expanding its air defence support for Ukraine, providing thousands of new interceptor drones and hundreds of missiles to help Kyiv defend its cities and energy infrastructure. UK Defence Secretary John Healey highlighted new support, including a joint program for a new "Octopus" interceptor drone, during Defence Questions in Parliament. This assistance comes as Ukraine braces for intensified Russian aerial attacks during the winter.

This new package is strategically significant as it provides Ukraine with a high-volume, cost-effective counter to Russian drone swarms, aiming to protect critical infrastructure and preserve more advanced missile interceptors for complex threats.

A new generation of interceptor drones

The centerpiece of the new support is a "first-of-its-kind joint program" for the "Octopus" interceptor drone, as reported by the UK Defence Journal. Thousands of these drones, which will be produced in the UK, are scheduled to be supplied to Ukraine on a monthly basis.

During his announcement, Defence Secretary John Healey said the support is a direct response to Russia’s intensified strikes on civilian and energy infrastructure, stating, “Putin's aerial bombardment of Ukraine is cynical, illegal and targeted at civilians.”

Expanding the missile shield

Beyond the new drone program, the UK has accelerated the delivery of other critical air defence hardware. Healey confirmed that more than 200,000 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition and "hundreds of air-to-air missiles" have been delivered to Kyiv this autumn.

This builds on a steady flow of support throughout the year. A UK government factsheet published in September detailed provisions of additional counter-drone and air defence equipment. This includes a new system named "Gravehawk," jointly funded by the UK and Denmark, which has already been tested in Ukraine with more units to follow.

Earlier, in June, the UK committed 350 ASRAAM missiles, as reported by Euromaidan Press. Originally designed for air-to-air use, British engineers rapidly adapted the missiles to be ground-launched from the UK-developed RAVEN mobile air defence system. By June 2025, Ukraine had already operationally deployed eight Raven systems, with five more confirmed for future delivery. This £70 million package was notably financed using interest generated from frozen Russian financial assets.

A long-term strategic commitment

This latest aid is part of a sustained British commitment to Ukraine's defense. Total military financing from the UK now stands at £13.06 billion since February 2022, according to a House of Commons Library research briefing. The briefing notes that military financing for 2025 alone will be £4.5 billion.

This financial support is built upon a broader, long-term security framework. The UK was the first nation to finalize a ten-year security cooperation agreement with Ukraine on 12 January 2024, which was followed by an agreement for a 100-year partnership in January 2025, as noted in the parliamentary briefing.

Strategic implications for winter

The combination of new systems provides Ukraine with a layered air defence network. The high-volume, lower-cost "Octopus" drones, along with systems like "Gravehawk" and "Raven," are designed to intercept mass attacks by Russian Shahed-type drones.

This strategy is crucial for protecting the national energy grid ahead of winter. By using these systems to counter drones, Ukraine can preserve its more advanced and expensive missile systems, such as the US-provided Patriots, to defend against Russian ballistic and cruise missiles.

Related:

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UK to build pilot batch of Octopus interceptor drones under joint project with Ukraine

An 84-year-old woman was killed by a Russian drone in Kherson Oblast on 20 October while tending to her goats—just weeks after explaining to an American journalist why she refused to evacuate despite daily attacks on civilians.

Such drone attacks occur each day in Ukrainian regions within the range of the small FPV drones, with Russians intentionally targeting civilians. This September, the UN confirmed that this Russian systematic civilian killing campaign amounts to a crime against humanity.

Larysa Vakuliuk, known locally as Baba Lora or Grandma Lora, was walking with two goats in the Antonivka neighborhood of Kherson when a Russian FPV drone struck them. She died instantly. Both goats were also killed.

"Her legs were blown off, she was blown to pieces," said Zarina Zabrisky, the American journalist who interviewed Vakuliuk in September.

Kherson's Main Directorate of the National Police confirmed the death on 21 October.

"She was a tiny little lady that showed up near Antonivka, such a curious figure, dressed in a white, almost starched shirt, with bright eyes and a whimsical smile," Zabrisky, who is now in Kherson, told Euromaidan Press. She found out about the death of Lora from the local Telegram channel.

"I've seen a lot of deaths in my three-and-a-half years of reporting on the war, but this one really got to me. I was so angry, I was banging my fists off the wall."

The most cynical part is that the Russians see the civilians and deliberately target them, Zabrisky said: "They kill them while seeing them. They see that it's a little old lady."

Sadism is part of it, but the civilians and animals also become training targets for the Russians. Military sources told Zabrisky that the Russians have a pilot school in Rostov-on-Don, the graduates of which are sent to occupied Ukraine near Kherson to practice.

That's why the Russian drone pilots hit goats, dogs—and old ladies.

However, the FPV drones are only one small part of the deadly arsenal with which Russia strikes Kherson: Zabrisky says that they hit the city each hour, destroying a block a day with aerial bombs, artillery, mortars, and even Shahed drones—usually reserved for long-range attacks.

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"All are scared, but each has hope"

In her September interview with Zabrisky, Vakuliuk explained why she stayed in Antonivka despite the constant threat. She had over 20 goats and felt responsible for them. Russian shelling had already destroyed her house, as well as nine apartments nearby.

"I'm ancient. What should I be afraid of? Everyone is afraid. All are scared, but each has hope," Vakulyuk told Zabrisky.

I can’t. The monsters killed her.

I spoke to her a few weeks ago. For f^^* sake. God damn, god damn them, god damn Russians.

Burn in hell https://t.co/yfChLvcGPb

— Zarina Zabrisky (@ZarinaZabrisky) October 20, 2025

She also shared a grim observation, sharing that all the cattle herders who herded cows in the village have already been killed by Russian attacks.

Most people who remain in Kherson live in basements due to the heavy Russian shelling, Larysa Vakuliuk told Zabrisky in September. They have nothing but their chickens, yet they stay, "because it's their own."

"You should help us, from America," Vakuliuk implored.

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Kherson's "human safari"

Vakuliuk's death is part of what the UN Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has documented as deliberate, systematic attacks on civilians with short-range drones—strikes that constitute crimes against humanity of murder and war crimes of attacking civilians.

In findings released on 22 September 2025, the Commission concluded that Russian forces operating from the left bank of the Dnipro use drones with real-time tracking to pursue individuals, drop explosives directly on them, and attack civilian vehicles.

"The circumstances of the attacks show the perpetrators' intention to kill, harm and destroy," said Erik Møse, chair of the inquiry.

The Commission documented drone assaults across Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv oblasts, spanning more than 300 kilometers of front-line territory. Russian forces killed 133 civilians and injured 1,350 between July and October 2024 alone in what locals call "human safaris."

By spring 2025, Kherson residents reported up to 100 drone attacks daily. Civilian casualties from explosive weapons in Ukraine rose by 40 percent in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the previous year, with drone strikes representing a growing share.

"Drones chase us, we hide from them," one Kherson resident told UN investigators. "Drones sit on rooftops, and if they see something, there will be consequences."

The Commission also reported that ambulances, fire engines, and other emergency responders bearing visible markings were struck, preventing life-saving work in the aftermath of attacks.

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The UN confirmed what I saw in Kherson: Russia is hunting civilians for sport

Documenting the hunt

Zabrisky has been documenting Russia's systematic targeting of Kherson civilians since July 2024, when she first reported on the "human safari" in international media.

Her documentary film "Kherson: Human Safari," released this year, captures life in Kherson Oblast during Russia's full-scale invasion. The film was shot between September 2023 and June 2025 and is available for free viewing at khersonhumansafari.com.

The documentary features testimony from Kherson residents, including artist Alyona Maliarenko and composer Borys Hoina, alongside footage of drone attacks on civilians.

"When civilization is in decline, and your city is in ruins—what do you do to survive... and remain human?" Zabrisky asks in the film.

Russia has occupied the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast since retreating from the city of Kherson in November 2022. The city remains under constant artillery, missile, and drone attacks from Russian forces across the river.

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I can’t. The monsters killed her.

I spoke to her a few weeks ago. For f^^* sake. God damn, god damn them, god damn Russians.

Burn in hell https://t.co/yfChLvcGPb

— Zarina Zabrisky (@ZarinaZabrisky) October 20, 2025