Ukraine capable of producing over several million drones a year – defence minister

Rustem Umierov. Stock photo: Getty Images

Ukraine is capable of producing more than several million drones per year, Defence Minister Rustem Umierov has said.

Source: Umierov in an interview broadcast during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Quote: “Even this year, we explained to the market that we would be purchasing more than a million drones. We didn’t say how many we can manufacture. But we can produce several million drones, some of which are paid for from the state budget, and some using funding from our partners. So our capacity is more than several million drones. And that’s what we can do.

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We won’t allow the enemy to outpace us next year. This year we will produce several times more.”

Details: Umierov also announced an expansion of Ukraine’s missile programme.

“We are working hard to ensure that our missile programme matches the scale of our drone programme,” he said.

Background:

• On 19 December 2023, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed that Ukraine would produce one million drones in 2024.
• On 20 March 2024, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s Digital Transformation Minister, stated that with additional financial support from Western governments, Ukraine could produce 2 million drones annually.
• On 6 August, Zelenskyy announced that contracts for the production of one million drones had already been signed with Ukrainian manufacturers in 2024 and that this number would grow.

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