Ukraine will this year produce thousands of long-range drones capable of striking deep into Russian territory, with up to 10 companies already making drones capable of reaching Moscow and St. Petersburg, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and defense minister told Reuters. innovations and digital transformation Mihailo Fyodorov.
“The category of long-range kamikaze drones – 300, 500, 700 and 1000 kilometers – is growing. Two years ago, this category did not exist at all…” he said.
The 33-year-old minister is among the leading figures in Ukraine encouraging private military startups to innovate and upgrade the drone industry.
He said the recent spate of attacks on Russian oil facilities reflected the government’s progress in rapidly deregulating the drone market and increasing funding for the sector. Fedorov noted that the state acts as a risk investor.
Under the Brave 1 (BRAVE1) initiative, which Kyiv launched last year, startups in the field of military technology have received grants in the amount of about 2.5 million dollars. This year, the funds will be increased about ten times, the Ukrainian minister promised.
Only one in 10 companies that make drones capable of reaching Moscow or St. Petersburg is state-owned. At the same time, last year Ukrainian production of drones increased more than 120 times, Fyodorov noted.
In total, over 300,000 unmanned aerial vehicles of various types were contracted last year, and more than 100,000 were sent to the front. These figures do not include voluntary supplies, which Fedorov says make a “significant contribution”.
Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief threw his last reserves into Avdeevka’s defense
Appointed to replace Valery Zaluzhny, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of Ukraine, Alexander Sirsky, sent the last prepared reserves of the Ukrainian army to defend Avdeyevka.
According to Forbes, it is about the 3rd amphibious assault brigade of the ground troops, which has been in reserve in Kramatorsk since December. The military unit numbers 2 thousand people with armored vehicles.
“We are strengthening the defense line, creating additional firing positions and using fresh combat-capable forces,” confirmed the commander of the Tavriy Group of Troops in Avdeevka, Brigadier General Alexander Turnavski, on his Telegram channel.
Meanwhile, a critical moment has come in the defense of Avdeevka, a key fortified area of the Ukrainian army in the Donbass. Russian troops, who for four months besieged the city, whose population before the war was 30 thousand people, began to break through the defenses of the Ukrainian armed forces and stopped short of cutting off the main supply route of the Ukrainian group.
“The situation is tense. If a few weeks ago we said it was difficult but controllable, now it is very difficult and we can even say that the situation is critical in some places,” said the head of Avdeevka’s military administration Vitaly Barabash.
According to him, there are still no street fights in the city, but separate groups of Russians are trying to break through.
According to Forbes, the Ukrainian armed forces had two options: withdraw the remnants of the 110th brigade from the unprotected eastern part of the city and consolidate the defense line in the center of Avdeyevka or near the city, or send reinforcements towards it and try to push back the much larger Russian forces. The Ukrainian troops decided to stay and fight, which represents a “huge risk” for Kiev, the publication notes.
It may be a sign of a changing approach to the war: Last week, Ukrainian President Zelensky replaced the popular commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, who defended the army’s resources and opposed blind defense, with Alexander Sursky, whom the military nicknamed “The Butcher” for the “meat grinder” in Bakhmut.
“It is possible that by promoting Sirsky, Zelensky made it clear that he intends to fight for Avdeevka. Even at a high price,” noted Forbes.
At the same time, the approach of the Ukrainian armed forces to the defense of Avdeyevka so far has been to exhaust the Russian army and inflict unacceptable losses on it. However, after Russian troops were able to capture Ukrainian flanks and cut off supply routes, the number of casualties among the warring parties was almost equal, Ukrainian think tank Frontelligence Insight noted.
The situation can be rectified by the delivery of additional ammunition for the artillery, but since the autumn the US has been unable to negotiate a new package of financial aid. This condemns the Ukrainian army in Avdeyevka to a shortage of ammunition in the coming months, Forbes concludes.
Russia has built a 30-kilometer protective line of freight cars in the Donetsk region
Russian troops have “composed” a 30 km long train to be used as a barrier against possible offensive operations by Ukrainian forces in the occupied Donetsk region. This is evidenced by satellite images released by the DeepState OSINT project.
The continuous structure stretches along the line from the railway station in Elenovka to Volnovakha and has about 2,100 wagons of various types. Its construction began in July 2023. Ukrainian trains left in the occupied territories were probably used for this purpose.
Analysts believe that the train can be considered a separate line of defense, as it is extremely difficult to damage, move or detonate such a mass of metal. Heavy equipment will also not be able to overcome this obstacle.
The railway line between Elenovka and Volnovakha runs approximately six kilometers from the current front line, southeast of Novomihailovka, writes the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW). The organization noted that this area had previously been relatively calm, allowing Russian troops to begin construction of a large-scale structure made of wagons.
In turn, Ukrainian troops are building a three-level defense line by order of Ukrainian President Zelensky. In late November, he announced the need to accelerate the creation of fortifications on “all major” borders. After that, the construction of fortifications in the region of Liman and Avdeevka in the Donetsk region, near Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region and along the Ukrainian border with Russia and Belarus was activated.
The line is a three-tiered system of trenches, tank traps and strongpoints. At the same time, the Ukrainian armed forces intend to conduct “active defense”, combining defensive and offensive operations.
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