Ukraine has purchased 1,400 drones, mostly reconnaissance, and plans to develop its own combat models capable of attacking kamikaze drones that Russia has used to destroy civilian infrastructure, Mykhailo, the Ukrainian minister responsible for technology, said in an interview with the Associated Press. Fedorov.

Ukraine has acquired drones such as the Fly Eye, a small unmanned aerial vehicle used for reconnaissance, surveillance and battlefield reconnaissance, but Kyiv is researching and developing drones that can be sent on strike missions and capable of shooting down other drones, Mykhailo Fedorov said in AP interview.

“The next stage is strike drones”

• “The next stage, now that we are more or less equipped with reconnaissance drones, is strike drones.
• These are both explosive drones and drones that fly up to 10 km and hit targets.
• I can already say that the situation with drones will change dramatically in February-March,” Ukrainian Minister of Digitalization Mykhailo Fedorov said, News.ro reports.

Until now, Ukraine has avoided reporting whether the explosions reported inside the borders of the Russian Federation were caused by its military activities, especially drones.

But Mykhailo Fedorov noted that Russia’s war in Ukraine is the first major war of the Internet age, and said that drones and satellite Internet systems such as Elon Musk’s Starlink network have transformed the conflict.

He said that in the future there will be “more (Ukrainian – no) missions with attack drones”, but did not want to give details.

“We are talking about drones, UAVs, unmanned aerial vehicles that we are developing in Ukraine. Well, in any case, it will be the next step in the development of technology,” he said.

In recent weeks, Russian authorities have said that several Ukrainian drone attacks were aimed at military bases in Russia. Such an attack was also expected to take place on Monday, when Russian forces claimed to have shot down a drone approaching Engels Air Force Base, located more than 600 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. The Russian military said three air base personnel were killed by the wreckage of the downed drone, but no aircraft were damaged. The base houses Tu-95 and Tu-160 nuclear strategic bombers, which participated in strikes against Ukraine.

In addition to missile, cruise missile, and artillery strikes, Russia has used Iranian-made Shahed drones to bomb the territory of Ukraine in recent weeks.

Due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, power outages last up to 10 hours in many cities and towns. Mykhailo Fedorov reported that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, signed a decree according to which mobile communication companies are obliged to ensure the possibility of providing a signal without electricity for at least three days.

Another 10,000 Starlink stations in Ukraine

Meanwhile, with the support of its European Union partners, the Ukrainian ministry is working to add 10,000 more Starlink stations to Ukraine with mini-satellite Internet services available to the public through hundreds of “invincibility points” that offer drinks in warm rooms with heating , electricity and shelter for people who have been displaced by hostilities or left without electricity.

About 24,000 Starlink stations are already operating in Ukraine. Musk’s company SpaceX began supplying them in the first days of the war after Fedorov sent a request to the billionaire on Twitter.

“On my knees I prayed”

• “On my knees, I prayed, begged him to start working in Ukraine and promised him that we would achieve a world record,” the Ukrainian official testified.

Fedorov also noted that the Space X donation is so important that it can be compared to the salvo missile systems provided by the United States. “Thousands of lives were saved,” he said.

In addition to civilian applications, Starlink has helped operators of front-line reconnaissance drones deliver artillery strikes against Russian targets and positions.

Fedorov says his team now spends 70 percent of its time on military technology. The ministry was created only three years ago, and among its main tasks is equipping the military with drones. “We have to do more than what is expected of us, and progress is not waiting,” Fedorov said.

On the other hand, he questioned the capabilities of the Russians in the field of drones. “I don’t believe in their technological potential at all,” said Ukrainian Minister of Digitalization Mykhailo Fedorov. He is only 31 years old, he holds the position of deputy prime minister in the Kyiv government.

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