Ukraine sends 5,000 new drones to front line defense units

Ukraine has demonstrated what appears to be the first fruits of its stated determination to increase domestic drone production, with the announcement it has sent over 2,000 nationally manufactured UAVs to its defense forces, along with 3,000 first-person view craft (FPV).

The first news item was revealed by Ukraine Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, who posted a statement on social media about the large shipment of newly minted drones to defense forces.

Though Fedorov said the craft were “aircraft-type UAVs,” photos he posted with the announcement contained primarily quadcopters Ukraine forces have been deploying for a variety of missions – including bombing strikes on enemy positions.

Then, just this morning, the Ukraine25 fundraising organization behind the nation’s “Army of Drones” initiative said 3,000 “purchased” FPV craft had been distributed among front line forces for assault missions.

The deployment of the total 5,000 drones comes less than a month after Ukraine officials said efforts were being made to increase volumes of domestic production of UAVs to tens of thousands per month.

While clearly short of that objective set for year’s end, the batch of new craft was an indication that manufacturing of relatively large numbers of the vehicles had indeed become a major priority as the defense forces prepare to shift from the summer counter-offensive to winter battle strategies.

Fedorov also took steps to stress the importance and effectiveness that drones have had in Ukraine’s defense activities. By way of example, he said that last week alone, Ukraine UAVs had succeeded in destroying or incapacitating 39 Russian tanks, 34 armored vehicles, 57 artillery batteries, and 307 strategic positions. 

Meanwhile, moves are also afoot to assist the battered country in decidedly less martial ways.

Earlier in the month, Ukraine’s supporters around the globe were encouraged to help finance the nation’s response to the ongoing attacks by contributing $24 dollars or more for a chance to win a specially created set of Lego.

In mid-November, United24 said it had co-founded the #LEGOwithUKRAINE  project, an initiative authorized by the Danish toy company. It offers people donating funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine a chance to win a one of three different sets, whose assembly respectively create national landmarks – including Kyiv’s Mother of Ukraine statue. 

Five of each of the three series will be distributed in a raffle following the drive’s November 28 closing date.