Ukraine plans to launch 1,000 drones at Russia per day: Zelenskyy sets target
Photo: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (facebook.com_zelenskyy.official)
Ukraine plans to ramp up production to 1,000 long-range drones per day to respond to Russian attacks, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Increased production and countering threats
During a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Ukraine's defense industry was tasked with significantly increasing the production of UAVs for long-range strikes against targets in Russia.
"The task is to produce 1,000 drones for 'long-range sanctions' against Russia per day. We currently average 300-plus of our long-range sanctions. There must be more. There is a very specific goal, and we will accomplish this task," Zelenskyy stressed.
According to him, Russia has intensified its terror campaign and is using jet-powered Shaheds on a massive scale. Regular attacks have been recorded in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Kyiv regions.
"It is important to significantly accelerate the production of interceptors specifically against these jet-powered Shaheds, so that our deep strikes give Russia a greater sense of responsibility for choosing to continue this war," the president added.
Impact of Ukraine's 'long-range sanctions'
The head of state stressed that systematic strikes by the Defense Forces against targets in Russia are already having a tangible economic and logistical impact.
Russia's gasoline reserves and exports have declined, while significant logistical problems have emerged. For the first time in its history, Russia has begun importing gasoline and is using budget funds to support oil companies.
He stressed that the enemy's losses will increase if Moscow continues to refuse meaningful negotiations to end the war.
Strikes on Russian oil refineries
Earlier, on the night of August 26, Ukraine's Defense Forces struck one of Russia's largest oil refineries, Lukoil-Nizhny Novgorodnefteorgsintez, in the city of Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod region.
Overall, Ukrainian forces struck 16 military and infrastructure targets in Russia that day, including an oil refinery, airfields and a missile unit.
Following the drone attack, Russia's fourth-largest oil refinery completely halted crude oil processing after several units were damaged.
The refinery is Russia's second-largest gasoline producer and has the capacity to process about 15 million metric tons of crude oil per year.
