Military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko shared the information on Telegram.In a significant tactical change, the second week of September saw a more than 50% reduction in the use of Shahed-136 and similar long-range drones against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. After a record-setting first week with nearly 2,000 launches, the number of these attacks plummeted to under 1,000. The reason for this sharp decline remains unclear, as intelligence does not indicate successful strikes against key Russian drone production facilities. Analysts speculate the cause could range from supply chain disruptions to a more concerning possibility: that Russia is deliberately stockpiling these weapons for a massive, coordinated strike later this month.While long-range attacks have subsided, the war on the front lines has seen an unprecedented intensification of drone warfare. The use of FPV drones escalated to over 8,500 units this past week, bringing the total for the first half of September to over 16,000. If this pace continues, it could surpass the record of 30,000 FPV drones deployed in August.Furthermore, the deployment of the Molniya-2 'kamikaze' drone set a new weekly record with over 600 units used, demonstrating a significant scaling-up of this particular weapon system. Meanwhile, the use of the well-known Lancet loitering munition has remained stable, with approximately 100 deployed per week, serving as a consistent baseline in Russia's arsenal. This strategic pivot suggests a concentrated effort to overwhelm Ukrainian forces directly in the combat zone, even as the world watches and waits to see what the ominous lull in rear-area attacks truly signifies.