Russian Strikes Set Back Ukrainian Drone Production by Months, Expert Claims

MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/. Massive strikes by the Russian Armed Forces against drone and component manufacturing facilities in Ukraine have pushed the Ukrainian armed forces back several months in the production of the entire range of drones for strikes against Russia, unmanned aircraft systems expert, chief designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions Dmitry Kuzyakin told TASS.

"We must give credit to Russian military intelligence for the precise and timely target identification. Yesterday’s ‘feat’ with the simultaneous destruction of several dozen key facilities of the Ukrainian ‘Drone Army’ (a project aimed at producing UAVs and training operators - TASS) has delayed Ukrainian forces several months in the development of the entire range of drones, from FPV to long-range aircraft," said Kuzyakin.

The expert specified that the active process of transferring drone production from Ukraine to Europe is currently underway. "The European Union benefits from keeping the funds allocated for Ukrainian armaments in its territory to support and develop its economy. It’s a vicious circle: the Ukrainian armed forces strike at Russian territory, we destroy facilities in Ukraine, the EU allocates more money for Ukrainian armaments, EU enterprises produce more drones, the Ukrainian armed forces strike harder at Russian territory, and so on," he emphasized.

Kuzyakin noted that, at the same time, production capacity in Ukraine remains considerable. "There are two reasons for this. First, not everything can be produced in the EU. Drones assembled for the Ukrainian armed forces in Europe are not formally considered combat devices and are not regulated by EU military regulations. They are assembled as components without warheads. Once in Ukraine, the drones are finally assembled and loaded with explosives. This requires storing explosives, ammunition, and finished drones. This is why the warehouses in Vishnevoye in the Kiev Region were so dramatically destroyed. They were burning and exploding for almost a day. This is why the factories that carried out semi-knocked-down assembly were hit. This is why each of these factories literally blew up," the expert said.

He added that the second reason is that the process of developing new drones and improving existing products for the Ukrainian armed forces is carried out in Ukraine. "That’s why so many design bureaus and cooperatives were among the destroyed targets," Kuzyakin explained.

Furthermore, the expert reported that the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions continues to conduct special research on Ukrainian drones with the aim of tracking down their supply chains and production. "Every enemy drone that strikes Russian citizens carries information about where and by whom it was created. Every enemy drone shot down over our infrastructure is added to the database of Ukrainian and European production facilities. This work continues without interruption," Kuzyakin stated.