Ukraine's defence forces report shortage of FPV drones
Ukrainian troops have reported a critical shortage of FPV drones, severely affecting their ability to hold off Russian offensive operations.
Source: BBC Ukraine, as reported by Mezha Media, a technology and IT news platform within Ukrainska Pravda's holding company)
Details: BBC recalled that Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade (currently being restructured into a corps), revealed the unit had not received a single FPV drone in three months. The outcry prompted a delivery of drones to the brigade, but the deeper, systemic issue remains unresolved.
FPV drones are considered the primary strike tool for Ukraine's defence forces, accounting for nearly 80% of confirmed target destruction. Despite government claims of scaling up domestic drone production to 10 million pieces, many brigades are still forced to procure equipment themselves or rely on volunteer aid.
Currently, almost 500 UAV pieces operate within Ukrainian forces under a mixed supply model. Captain Yurii "Achilles" Fedorenko, commander of the 429th Separate UAV Regiment, said that about one third of drones come directly from the state, another third are procured using unit-held funds, and the remaining third are donated with the help of Ukrainian civilians.
This spring, the greatest setback came from the third meant to be supplied centrally by the state.
Serhii Varakin, commander of the unmanned systems battalion of the 58th Independent Motorised Infantry Brigade, said that a year ago his unit could launch up to 100 FPV drones per day. Today, they receive only 200-300 per month, far below operational needs.
Mariia Berlinska, a volunteer and the head of the Aerointelligence Support Centre, attributed the issue to a change in leadership at the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA). However, the DPA denies any delay in drone procurement this year, stating that by May 2025, it had signed state contracts for over 2.3 million FPV drones, several times higher than in previous years.
The BBC also highlighted that the selective distribution of drones between brigades adds to the crisis.
In addition to the shortfall, troops are reporting a decline in quality. Soldiers often have to modify FPV drones themselves, and fibre-optic drones are proving unreliable, jeopardising operations on the frontline.
Meanwhile, Russia has significantly scaled up its FPV drone production and is integrating new technologies, including artificial intelligence. Ukrainian commanders acknowledge the challenge and pledge to resolve the issue swiftly.
The DPA recently announced that by May 2025 it had signed state contracts covering 81% of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' projected drone needs.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Russia ready to help Iran: Kremlin spokesman
Russia stands ready to help Iran in the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, but Tehran first needs to articulate its requests, a Kremlin spokesperson said on Monday. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters at a briefing that the assistance 'all depends on what Iran needs,' according to TASS, Russia's state-run news agency. 'We have offered our mediation efforts. This is concrete. We have stated our position, which is also a very important form of support for the Iranian side,' Peskov continued. 'Going forward, everything will depend on what Iran needs at this moment.' Peskov noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday, and the two plan to discuss options for assistance. 'Just today, the Iranian Foreign Minister [Abbas Araghchi] will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where they will be able to exchange views in the wake of this traumatic escalation,' Peskov said. 'And, in fact, the Iranian side will be able to inform us about its proposals and its vision of the current situation,' he added. The remarks come after President Trump announced Saturday evening that U.S. forces bombed three Iranian nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, the last of which is located inside a mountain. Six bunker buster bombs were reportedly dropped on Fordow, while more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles were launched at the other two sites. The bombings put the U.S. directly in Iran's crosshairs for retaliation and made it an active participant in the Middle Eastern war, which Israel launched with airstrikes against Iran on June 13.
UPI
2 hours ago
- UPI
13 killed, 57 hurt in Russian aerial assault against Kyiv, provinces
Emergency personnel at work Monday morning at the scene of a Russian missile strike on a five-story residential building close to the center of Kyiv, where at least six people were killed. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE June 23 (UPI) -- At least 13 people were killed and 57 injured in Ukraine, half of them in Kyiv, after Russian forces attacked the capital and other targets in the eastern half of the country with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles, officials said Monday. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a social media update that six people were killed when a missile struck and badly damaged a building in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, but that the rescue operation was still underway and there might be more casualties buried under the rubble. "A terrible picture in the Shevchenko district. Extensive damage to a five-story building. Rescuers, medics, and municipal services are working at the scene. The blast wave also damaged the apartments of the 25-story residential building opposite. Ten people were rescued from it. Among them, a child and a pregnant woman," said Klitschko. Another 22 people were injured, 12 of them hospitalized, in attacks on residential and non-residential buildings in five other districts of the capital, he added. The governor of the region, Mykola Kalashnyk, said one person was killed in Bilotserkivka district, southwest of Kyiv, and four were injured, two of whom were admitted to the hospital. Residential targets were hit in Boryspil and Bila Tserkva, where a medical facility and a hotel were also destroyed. The town of Bucha, just northwest of Kyiv, one of the first Ukrainian settlements overrun by Russian forces and scene of the U.N.-documented execution of at least 73 civilians and other suspected war crimes after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, also came under attack, damaging several houses and vehicles. In neighboring Chernihiv province to the northeast, which borders both Russia and Belarus, at least three people were killed and 11 injured, including four teenagers, in missile and drone strikes on Chernihiv, the regional capital, and four other districts, according to Chernihiv Gov. Viacheslav Chaus. In Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian provinces partly or fully controlled by Russian forces, Gov. Vadym Filashkin reported on Telegram that two people had been killed in Siversk, 18 miles east of the city of Slovyansk, and in Myrne, east of Pokrovsk, with five more injured. In part-Russian-occupied Kherson, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported via social media that one person had been killed and six injured in Russian drone, artillery and airstrikes on Kherson city and several other communities, damaging seven apartment buildings, 14 houses, a gas pipeline and other civilian targets. The Ukrainian Air Force said on its official account on Telegram that of 368 incoming attack drones, ballistic and cruise missiles, mostly targeting Kyiv, air defenses managed to down all but 14.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Russia warns US strikes on Iran opened ‘Pandora's box,' suggests world could be on verge of nuclear disaster
Russia ominously suggested that the US opened a 'Pandora's box' by bombing three nuclear facilities in Iran — warning that 'the entire world might end up on the verge of a nuclear disaster.' 'Through their actions, the U.S. has opened a Pandora's box,' Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said at an emergency meeting on Sunday. 3 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attend a meeting in Moscow, Russia on June 23, 2025. via REUTERS 'No one knows what new catastrophes and suffering it will bring,' Nebenzia said as Russia offered to mediate a solution to the conflict. 'Unless we stop the escalation,' Nebenzia warned, 'the Middle East will find itself on the verge of a large-scale conflict with unpredictable consequences for the entire international security system, plus the entire world might end up on the verge of a nuclear disaster.' President Trump announced Saturday the military had carried out historic airstrikes against Iran days after Israel initiated extensive attacks on Iran's nuclear infrastructure and military — marking the first-ever US strike on Iranian territory. 3 President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation alongside Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 21, 2025 REUTERS 3 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Russia on June 23, 2025. via REUTERS The US attacked Iran's key nuclear enrichment facilities in Fordow, Natanz and Esfahan facilities with 30 Tomahawk missiles launched by US submarines.
