Ukraine may have surpassed Russia in number of drones, commander says
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Ukraine is increasing the supply of drones to the army and may have gotten ahead of Russia in terms of their number, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Vadym Sukharevskyi told Army TV.
Kyiv is working to scale up domestic production of unmanned aerial vehicles, aiming to produce at least 1 million drones in 2024.
In the first half of 2024, Ukrainian soldiers received six times more drones than last year, Sukharevskyi said in an interview published on July 18.
"And this is a joint victory of both the General Staff and the Defense Ministry," he added.
According to Sukharevskyi, Ukraine has more than 165 drones of various types that are being tested and used on the battlefield now.
“In terms of the number of drones, we are clearly not losing, and we may have even surpassed (Russia). But, for example, the ties between Russia and China give (Russia) a greater advantage in terms of replacing components,” the colonel said.
Throughout Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine and Russia have heavily invested in drone technology, revolutionizing warfare. For outnumbered Ukrainian forces, drones have been one of the key weapons to strike Russian warships, naval bases, oil refineries, and airfields inside occupied territories and deep behind enemy lines.
Kyiv officially presented its Unmanned Systems Forces on June 11, four months after President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a decree ordering the creation of a separate branch of the armed forces tasked with improving drone operations.
