Russia aims to increase the size of its drone forces to about 101,000 personnel by 1 April as it accelerates the development of unmanned warfare units, according to the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi.
In a statement on Facebook, Syrskyi said Ukrainian intelligence reported that Moscow is rapidly building specialized drone formations in an attempt to influence the course of the war, particularly on southern fronts where Russian forces are losing initiative and territory.
“The war has entered a new stage,” Syrskyi said, noting that the growing capabilities of strike drones are expanding so-called “kill zones” on the battlefield.
Russia producing over 19,000 FPV drones a day
He said Russia is increasing production and deployment of unmanned systems as part of that effort. According to the Ukrainian commander, Russian industry has reached the capacity to manufacture more than 19,000 FPV drones per day.
Despite this expansion, Syrskyi said Ukraine still maintains an advantage in the use of multirotor FPV drones. Ukrainian forces are also developing new systems, including fiber-optic-controlled FPV drones designed to operate even in heavy electronic warfare environments.
Ukraine struck 105,000 Russian targets in February
Syrskyi said Ukrainian drones struck more than 105,000 Russian targets in February alone, with about a quarter of those hits carried out by units of Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces.
Ukrainian drones also targeted around 4,200 enemy drone operator positions during the month, he added.
To counter Russian UAV attacks, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are forming specialized interceptor drone platoons within frontline units. These teams are tasked with destroying enemy FPV drones, quadcopters, and other unmanned aircraft using tools such as anti-drone rifles, electronic warfare systems, and net launchers.
Ground robots carried out 2,300 missions last month
Syrskyi also highlighted the growing role of ground robotic systems. Over the past month, Ukrainian forces carried out more than 2,300 missions using these platforms, mostly for logistics but also for engineering and combat tasks.
The commander said expanding unmanned capabilities remains a top priority for Ukraine’s military as the war with Russia increasingly becomes a technological race in autonomous systems and battlefield robotics.
