Ukraine has caught up with Russia in the production of domestically-made kamikaze drones similar to Iranian-designed Shahed-131/136, Herman Smetanin, the head of the state-owned Ukrainian Defense Industry company, said in an interview with ArmyInform published on May 8.
Key developments on May 7: * SBU says it foiled Russia's plot to assassinate Zelensky, 2 Ukrainian colonels detained * Government backs proposal on unmanned systems armed forces branch * Military intelligence: Ukraine constantly inventing new ways to sink Russian ships * Russian strikes on Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast injure at least six * Zelensky:
At least six people, including a six-year-old girl and a 91-year-old woman, have been injured during an intense day of Russian strikes in Nikopol, in the south-east of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, authorities reported on May 7.
The government supported on May 7 a draft decree by President Volodymyr Zelensky on the creation of a separate Armed Forces branch dedicated to unmanned systems, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said.
Andriy Yusov said Russia has been taking steps to counter the attacks including trying to hide ships and build protective barriers, but said HUR was "finding new ways to show that HUR and Magura work extremely efficiently."
Editor’s note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. CHASIV YAR, DONETSK OBLAST – As he creeps between rubble-strewn garages near the central square of Chasiv Yar, the eyes and ears of the reconnaissance
Editor’s note: Due to the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified solely by first names and call signs. SUMY OBLAST – Soldiers from one of Ukraine’s 117th Territorial Defense Brigade mobile air defense squads call themselves fowlers. The unit’s task is
As evidence, the agency published intercepted camera footage of a Russian drone over the plant.
Nikolay Grigorev, a 36-year-old Brooklyn resident, pleaded guilty to shipping components to companies affiliated with the Russian military. Co-defendants Nikita Arkhipov and Artem Oloviannikov remain at large, the statement read.
Ukraine has just received the second Skynex air defense system from Germany as part of the latest package of military aid, the German government announced on April 29. It's the latest addition to Ukraine's struggling air defenses, running low on ammunition due to delays in U.S. aid but bolstered
Ukraine has allocated a further Hr 15.5 billion ($391 million) to purchasing drones for the country's armed forces, enough to buy 300,000, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 30.
Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on April 29, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. While most Ukrainians take shelter during Russian attacks, Ukrainian soldier Kostiantyn Chernyshov heads
Ukraine and Latvia are working to increase joint drone production, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on April 26 during a press conference with Latvian counterpart Baiba Braze in Kyiv.
According to senior U.S. military officials, Russian surveillance drones and hunter-killer drones have changed the situation on the ground substantially, increasing the vehicles' risk of detection.
Key developments on April 25: * Denmark announces additional $633 million in military support to Ukraine * NYT: US secretly sent Ukraine over 100 ATACMS last week * Reuters: Satellite imagery shows ship likely used to transfer North Korean arms to Russia docked in Chinese port * Reuters: Next round of EU sanctions on
The sources in the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces told the outlet that Ukrainian efforts to counter drones by electronic means were becoming less effective as Moscow's forces adapted to changes in technology.
A drone coalition co-led by the U.K. and Latvia has collected over 500 million euros ($535 million) to purchase drones for Ukraine, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds wrote on X on April 24.
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine presented the first opportunity to test how the system would work in a conventional ground war between two armies.
Ukrainian drones reportedly hit an oil refinery in Voronezh Oblast and an "industrial zone" in Lipetsk Oblast overnight on April 24, according to Russian Telegram news channels.
Quantum Systems, a German drone manufacturer, opened a drone factory and development hub in Ukraine on April 18, the company announced.
The drones were intercepted by Ukrainian anti-aircraft units and mobile fire groups in Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Khmelnytskyi, Ternopil, and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts, according to the Air Force.
Editor's note: This story initially said that Shahed-136 drones are said to weigh 10-15 kilograms. It was corrected since that is the weight of the warhead, and the drones weigh about 200 kilograms. Iran's massive aerial assault on Israel over the weekend felt close to home for Ukraine. In a
The Latvian government will deliver its first batch of drones as part of the Latvian-led drone coalition, Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina told reporters on April 16.
Drone combat in Russia’s war against Ukraine is changing warfare. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are being used at an unprecedented scale for which neither the Ukrainian nor the Russian armies were quite prepared. Both militaries have made significant progress with respect to drones, sometimes modernizing them in the midst
Key developments on April 15: * Deploying jets to protect Ukraine would lead to escalation, UK foreign secretary says * Source: Ukrainian forces hit command post in Russian-occupied Crimea * Netherlands, Germany, Canada to send drones to Ukraine * SBU: Ukraine's modernized sea drones can carry 1 ton of explosives over 1,000 kilometers
Canada will send 450 SkyRanger multi-mission drones, while the Netherlands, in collaboration with Denmark and Germany, will supply Ukraine with Heidrun RQ-35 reconnaissance drones worth 200 million euros ($213 million).
Ukrainian soldiers already use domestically-produced attack drones similar to Russian Lancet drones at the front, Ukrainska Pravda and Militarnyi, Ukrainian news outlets, reported on April 15.
Russian troops hit the village of Odradokamyanka in Kherson Oblast with an FPV drone on April 14, local authorities reported.
The drones were recorded at 7 a.m. local time in the region, according to the Defense Ministry.
The strike destroyed a house in the village of Vesele, killing a man and a woman. Their bodies were pulled out from the rubble.
Drone deliveries to the front lines in Ukraine since the start of 2024 are already three times higher than for all of last year, according to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Vadym Sukharevskyi.
Drone company executives, Ukrainian officials, and former U.S. defense officials said that U.S.-made unmanned aircraft are often expensive, glitchy, and difficult to repair.
