Ukraine to boost drone production by 140 times, leading to increase in strikes on Russian ships – Deputy PM Fedorov

Illustrative photo

Alvina Kaminska

By the end of this year, Ukraine's drone production will grow to around 140 times more, resulting in higher numbers of strikes on Russian ships.

Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov stated this, Reuters reports.

"There will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships. That's for sure," Fedorov said.

As the Minister of Digital Transformation emphasized, compared to last year, by the end of 2023, the production of drones in Ukraine will increase approximately 120-140 times.

Fedorov emphasized that artificial intelligence systems are being tested today, which will help to find targets several kilometers away and guide UAVs to them, even when using radio-electronic warfare.

"It's all in the testing stage, but some of the drones we're buying use artificial intelligence for target recognition. In the forest, it can detect a target and recognize whether it's a person, a tank, or a certain vehicle. These technologies are being actively used," Fedorov noted.

It should be noted that the Ukrainian government proposes, starting from the fourth quarter of 2023, to direct the resources from personal income tax taxation of payments to the military, which until now has been accumulated in local budgets, to the production of drones, weapons, and ammunition.

For reference:

On the night of September 13, powerful explosions rang out in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol: the occupying "authorities" of the city confirmed a fire at a ship repair plant in the Kilen-balka area.

"As a result of the enemy's cruise missiles hitting, two ships under repair were damaged," the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported.

In addition, according to British intelligence, the submarine "Rostov-on-Don" and the amphibious assault ship "Minsk" were critically damaged as a result of the strike by Ukraine.

In turn, Ukrainian intelligence stated that Russia is unlikely to be able to restore the damaged submarine and ship.

Also, on September 14, the Security Service of Ukraine's sea drone attacked the Samum missile ship near the entrance to Sevastopol Bay.

In addition, on September 3, defenders of Ukraine's armed forces destroyed the Russian boat Tunets in the Black Sea. During the operation, six occupiers were eliminated.

In turn, Ukraine's Security Service employees reported conducting a special operation in Novorossiysk Bay, damaging the large amphibious assault ship "Olenegorsky Gornyak."

On the night of August 5, representatives of the Ukrainian Security Service conducted an operation to blow up a large Russian oil tanker SIG, which was transporting fuel for the Russian invaders.

Since the beginning of the war, Ukrainian forces have destroyed 18 Russian ships and boats, including the flagship cruiser "Moskva."