Ukraine's Defense Minister on drone production: We won't let Russia surpass us
Photo: Defense Minister Rustem Umerov (Vitalii Nosach/RBC-Ukraine).
Ukraine plans to produce several million drones by 2025 to prevent Russia from taking the lead in this area, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.
According to him, over a million drones have already been purchased this year, and domestic production capabilities are estimated at several million.
"We haven't specified how many drones we can produce. But it's several million... Some of this is funded by the state budget, and we find some money from our partners... For next year, we won’t let the enemy surpass us, so we will produce several times more," Umerov said.
Recall that earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that over 140,000 drones of various types were delivered to the Russian forces last year. He stated that this year the plan is to increase production supposedly tenfold.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy considers providing the Armed Forces with drones a strategic priority. At one of the recent meetings, the issue of export restrictions from countries producing drone components was raised. He noted that the Ukrainian side knows how to ensure these restrictions do not become critical.
