A Ukrainian soldier attaches a projectile to a first-person view (FPV) drone near the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region Photo: STRINGER/REUTERS
Vladimir Zelensky ordered the creation of a separate squad of drones in the Ukrainian army to overcome the shortage of manpower.
The new branch of the armed forces will focus on developing unmanned land, air and sea vehicles. (UAVs) and combat plans for their use.
“This is not a question of the future, but something that should lead to a very specific result in the near future,” the Ukrainian president said in his daily night address on Tuesday .
“This year should be decisive in many ways.” . And, obviously, on the battlefield as well. Drones — unmanned systems — have proven their effectiveness in battles on land, in the sky and at sea.»
The move appears to be central to Zelensky's plan to produce one million drones in Ukraine this year.< /p>
It also reflects concerns expressed by General Valeriy Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, who recently called out the development of unmanned systems «the main driving force» of the war.
The country's top military commander, who is reportedly facing sacking, has said the use of drones is crucial to overcoming Russia's manpower and weaponry advantage on the front line and weakening Western support for Kiev.
«Perhaps the number one priority here is to master the full arsenal of (relatively) cheap, modern and highly capable autonomous vehicles and other technological tools,» he wrote he is in an essay published by CNN.
Gen. Zaluzhny and Mr. Zelensky are currently squabbling over plans to mobilize 500,000 new troops to plug gaps in their country's battle-scarred forces.
Drones have become an integral part of Ukraine's battle plans in the nearly two years since since Russia began a full-scale military operation. large-scale invasion.
The UK has pledged £200 million of its recent pledge of £2.5 billion in military aid to Kyiv for UAVs alone. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called it «the biggest use of drones in history.»
In the early days of the conflict, cheap, commercially produced Chinese drones such as the DJI Mavic were used for surveillance and reconnaissance. were later adapted to drop explosives on Russian tanks and personnel.
But more recently, domestic first-person view (FPV) drones piloted using virtual reality goggles have come to play a critical role in narrowing Moscow's advantage in long-range combat. attacks, while Ukraine itself suffers from a shortage of shells.
FPV drones are crude looking and relatively inexpensive, costing between £250 and £1,700, and have been responsible for destroying millions of pounds worth of Russian military equipment.
Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, is leading the country's efforts to develop drone warfare. Photo: UKRINFORM/ALAMY
Marine drones, powered by jet skis and loaded with 500 pounds of explosives, were used with devastating effect to attack the Russian Navy's Black Sea Fleet.
A swarm of 10 so-called «Magura» drones recently sank a Russian ship. The missile corvette Ivanovets
off the coast of occupied Crimea is the first Ukrainian attack of its kind, completely destroying one of Moscow's warships.
Kiev has also developed a number of partially autonomous, partially remote-controlled land-based drones to protect battle-weary units.
The goal of the developments is to replace machine gunners on the front line, as well as improve the security of ammunition supplies and medical evacuation.
Last year, Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, who heads the country's Robot Army project, said that these systems are key to saving the lives of his compatriots and compensate for Russia's superiority in manpower.
«Every drone saves lives»
«[The drones] changed the security situation in the Black Sea… repulsed ground assaults [and achieved] large-scale destruction of the invaders and their equipment,” said Mr. Zelensky.
“Today’s list of tasks is clear: special staff positions for drone operators, special units, effective training, systematization of experience, constant scaling of production, attracting the best ideas and leading experts in this field.”
Mr. Fedorov called his boss’s statement “important and historic,” adding, “The most important thing: every drone saves the lives of our heroes.”
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