Russia is racing to expand its unmanned aerial systems troops to 101,000 personnel by April 1, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on the evening of 12 March, following a command conference on drone warfare development.
"The war has entered a new stage," Syrskyi said. "The expansion of kill zones is a consequence of the growing capabilities of strike UAVs."
According to Syrskyi, Ukrainian intelligence reported that Russia is accelerating the formation of drone units this year, with a particular focus on southern directions — where, he noted, the enemy "is losing initiative and territory."
The scale of Ukraine's own drone operations in February offers context for the race: Ukrainian UAVs struck more than 105,200 Russian targets during the month. A quarter of those hits were attributed to Ukraine's dedicated Unmanned Systems Forces grouping. Among the targets were approximately 4,200 positions of enemy drone pilots — an implicit measure of how central counter-drone warfare has become on both sides.
On the threat side, Syrskyi noted that Russia has already reached the capacity to produce more than 19,000 FPV drones per day. Despite that output, he said Ukraine's forces retain an advantage in the use of multirotor FPV drones.
"The Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to hold the advantage in the use of multirotor-type FPV drones, although the Russians have already acquired the capability to produce more than 19,000 FPV drones per day," Syrskyi said.
To counter the incoming drone threat, Ukrainian units are standing up dedicated interceptor UAV platoons. Their task, according to the commander, is the destruction of enemy FPV drones, quadcopters, and strike UAVs, as well as improving logistics for Ukrainian troops. The platoons are equipped with anti-drone rifles, electronic warfare systems, and net launchers.
Ground robotics also featured in the briefing. Syrskyi said that over the past month, ground robotic systems completed more than 2,300 tasks — primarily logistical, but also engineering and combat.
"I want to separately emphasize the importance of developing the direction of ground robotic systems," he said.
The conference also covered electronic warfare development, training of UAV operators, and interceptor drone crews. Syrskyi said he issued new directives on the structure of unmanned systems forces and tasked commanders with resolving outstanding supply and training center issues.
"Everything that makes the infantryman's life easier must be introduced into the troops, and in this context, the buildup of unmanned systems is our number one task," Syrskyi said.
ArmiyaInform, which carried the report, noted that Syrskyi had been working with Defense Forces units in Donetsk region ahead of the briefing.
