Western intelligence officials have acknowledged Ukraine’s armed forces have access to drones capable of hitting targets more than 600 miles away.
Tweaks and innovations have made both commercially produced and homemade UAVs lethal weapons in the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Ukraine’s defence ministry believes its fleet of naval drones have inflicted losses on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet “at a ratio one to 10 in the context of price”.
Ukrainian forces have become increasingly reliant on the devices to compensate for shortages of more conventional weapons fuelled by the United States’ delayed $60 billion aid package.
Western officials have warned the shortages of weapons and ammunition have forced Ukraine to cede ground to advancing Russian troops.
Because of the urgency, half of the funds raised by the international coalition are being used to purchase readily available UAVs from Ukrainian producers.
“We understand the joint ventures are quite a long way [away] and it’s not a fast way but we want to move in this direction to have joint ventures, to prove we’re fast and can produce technological weapons,” Ms Chernohorenko said.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “We are leading the way in providing lethal aid to Ukraine, including over 10,000 drones, which can attack targets at sea, provide surveillance and are first-person view.
“The UK is also a joint leader of the drone capability coalition, which is supplying thousands of drones to Ukraine which have proven highly effective on the battlefield.”
