Russia plans to launch up to 1,000 drones a day at Ukraine this year

According to him, the Ukrainian side sees the enemy’s actions, and there are no signs whatsoever that the Russians are preparing for peace talks or initiatives on the battlefield.

“On the contrary, we see an increase in the intensity of hostilities, a buildup in the size of the enemy’s offensive groupings, and an increase in the volume of production of strike weapons, missiles, and drones. The enemy is currently producing 404 Shaheds of various types every day. And it plans to increase this,” the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

In response to a follow-up question about what exactly this increase entails and what Russia’s overall plans are, Syrskyi noted that the Russians plan to launch up to a thousand drones per day. Ukraine’s task is to do everything possible to prevent that and force Moscow to enter negotiations.

“The enemy plans to significantly increase production to use up to 1,000 drones per day. Therefore, of course, we must do everything to disrupt these plans and inflict such losses on the enemy that it abandons its active actions, and to create conditions for negotiations. Because no one negotiates with the weak,” he explained.

Drone production and launches against Ukraine

In September 2025, The New York Times wrote that at that point, Russia was capable of producing about 30,000 Shahed-type attack drones per year. The outlet also added that by 2026, Russia could double that figure.

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has made drone production a state priority.

That same month, ISW analysts wrote that Russia is ramping up production of fiber-optic (FPV) drones for combat operations in Ukraine. According to Alexey Chadayev, CEO of the Scientific and Production Center Ushkuynik, Russia produces more than 50,000 such drones.

On the night of January 13, Ukraine carried out a missile strike on an Atlant Aero plant in Taganrog, Rostov region of Russia, which produces drones.