Zelenskyy targets Russian AI drone developers in latest sanctions
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (president.gov.ua)
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed decree No. 599/2025, which enacts the decision of the National Security and Defense Council of August 16 on the application of personal, special economic, and other restrictive measures.
This is reported with reference to decree No. 599/2025 of the head of state and to a statement to journalists by the president’s commissioner for sanctions policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk.
Russia is actively developing drone technologies, focusing on autonomy, accuracy, and resistance to electronic warfare measures.
This requires a modern electronic base and large computational resources. It is precisely the suppliers and developers of these technologies who have been included in the sanctions package.
This concerns another sanctions package aimed at companies and organizations directly involved in the development of Russian unmanned technologies using artificial intelligence.
The list includes:
- Russian companies Progmatik and Rozumni Ptakhy. The first produces the drone Microb 10 – a small FPV-kamikaze drone with an electronic autopilot and automatic target acquisition system. The second manufactures the UAV Soroka with a combat payload of up to 3.5 kg, equipped with an optical target-tracking system, capable of bypassing radio-suppression zones and electronic warfare interference.
- Chinese companies Dongguan Standard Trading Co., Zhejiang Lianxing Machinery Co., Guangzhou Benquan Import & Export, Shenzhen Sky Bow Navigation Technology, Harbin Bin-Au Technology Development, Topscom Precision Industry. They supply components for Shaheds and other drones: engines, cameras, microchips, transistors, resistors, resonators, navigation receivers, and routers.
- Russian Artificial Intelligence Technology Center Neurolab, which develops and trains AI models for drones. Their work enables drones to navigate independently, recognize and track targets, and process sensor data. Significant computational resources provided by participants of ANO CTSI Neurolab are involved in this process.
- Center for Unmanned Systems and Technologies (CUST) – a structure created in Russia to develop innovations in the field of unmanned systems.
"Sanctions against these companies and organizations have strategic significance, as they are aimed at restricting key chains in the development of Russian strike drones with AI elements capable of inflicting significant losses on the battlefield," Vlasiuk noted.
It is worth recalling that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed decrees introducing new personal and sectoral sanctions against 35 individuals and legal entities associated with the state corporation Rosatom and Russian energy companies.
