Ukraine trained 5,000 drone operators in 2025

According to Oleksandr Kozenko, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister for Aviation Development, several groups of Ukrainian pilots have already completed training abroad within the framework of the Air Force Coalition and mastered modern foreign-made aircraft. The training programs incorporated real combat experience and were aligned with NATO standards.

Training abroad was not limited to pilots. It also included:

• engineers and technicians responsible for maintaining new aircraft;

• ground personnel for airfield operations and logistics;

• operators of specialized reconnaissance and surveillance systems.

A key achievement in 2025 was the establishment in Ukraine of a nationwide network of certified training centers for drone operators. This became possible after the launch of a government pilot project to certify such schools.

Eight leading training organizations have already received certification, while a total of 34 institutions are now authorized to train aviation specialists, 19 of them focused on unmanned systems.

Thanks to state-run and private training schools, more than 5,000 operators of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems were trained during the year. At the same time, nearly 100 cadet pilots completed training in Ukraine and are expected to reinforce the modernized Ukrainian Air Force.

Following examinations and assessments, aviation specialists were awarded 437 state certificates, confirming their professional qualifications. Kozenko emphasized that systematic personnel training is the foundation of Ukraine’s air superiority, noting that the country is not only integrating Western equipment but also building an autonomous training ecosystem capable of rapidly supplying the фронт with qualified personnel—from fighter pilots to FPV-drone operators.

Successful operations by Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces

The Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine continue to conduct regular strikes against enemy military targets both in temporarily occupied territories and deep inside Russia.

On the night of December 18, drone operators struck several Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory, including air defense assets, a drone storage facility, and a Nebo radar system. A day earlier, on December 17, Ukraine’s Defense Forces targeted strategic military-industrial and oil-refining facilities in Russia, including an oil depot and a refinery in Krasnodar Krai.

Ukrainian drones have also previously hit the Alchevsk Iron and Steel Works and repeatedly attacked the Ryazan Oil Refinery. In addition, Ukraine reported a powerful strike by its Unmanned Systems Forces against a unit of Russia’s GRU in the temporarily occupied Donetsk Oblast.