Shmyhal says Ukraine increased drone production by 100 times

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said this at a government meeting on Tuesday, which took place in eastern Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

Shmyhal said Ukraine's goal is the growth of the Ukrainian defense industry based on innovation and technology. In his opinion, modern weapons that hit the enemy are the key to the country's future victory.

"First of all, we are talking about the development of the Defense Tech cluster, about the scaling of the production of drones of different categories, EW and other assets that are necessary for the front. The country has made a real revolution in regulating the creation of drones. Twenty laws and by-laws have been adopted, and thanks to this, production grew by a hundred times. The bureaucracy has been removed, and there is real competition among about 200 private companies in the field of UAVs," Shmyhal said.

He added that this year's state budget envisages UAH 40 billion for the purchase of drones.

"And this is not the limit," Shmyhal said.

He noted that the latest developments are already changing the course of the war.

"Sea drones have paralyzed the enemy fleet in the Black Sea and guaranteed the safety of the water logistics corridor. In just six year, strike drones hit more than 14,000 targets, including Russian equipment, air defense, EW and fortifications," he added.

In this context, Shmyhal recalled that on February 6, President Volodymyr Zelensk ordered the creation of the Unmanned Systems Forces as a separate branch of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"In this way, the potential of drones in interaction with other branches of the military will be used at the highest level," Shmyhal said.

As was reported earlier, Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Development of Education, Science and Technology and Minister of Digital Transformation, said that Ukraine this year would produce thousands of long-range drones capable of deep strikes into Russia.