Ukraine's 'Army of Drones' Hit Record Number of Russian Artillery: Kyiv

Ukraine's "Army of Drones" struck a record number of Russian artillery pieces last week, an official said on Monday.

"Last week was a real catastrophe for Russian artillery," the country's digital transformation minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The Army of Drones did its best to make it happen. The total number of damaged equipment = 220 pieces. Drone pilots continue to rock & setting new records."

Fedorov, who is Ukraine's vice prime minister for innovation in education, science and technology, and the digital transformation minister, has helmed Ukraine's drone program since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The "Army of Drones" program is a Ukrainian government initiative and fundraising campaign to purchase drones for Ukraine's defense forces, according to news outlet Ukrainska Pravda.

Fedorov published on X a graphic that shows that between September 25 and October 2, Kyiv's drones destroyed 33 tanks; 69 howitzers or cannons; 142 support points; 10 mortars or anti-tank guided missiles or machine-guns; 37 armored combat vehicles; 41 trucks or special vehicles; 17 ammunition or fuel storages; three multiple launch rocket systems; 17 self-propelled artillery systems; 10 radios and technical equipment; and 52 personnel.

In a separate post on Telegram, Fedorov said: "More damaged artillery means fewer shells at our military positions and front-line cities."

Newsweek, which was unable to independently verify the figures, has contacted Russia's defense ministry via email for comment.

Fedorov told Newsweek in August that Ukraine is "on its way to become a world leader in drones production. The experience we are getting right now is unique, in terms of its usage, constant improvement of technologies, the research and development process, and scaling the production.

"After the war ends, Ukraine will have a unique experience and every chance to become a major exporter of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] in the world," he added. "After all, each of these drones has not just been tested at a training ground somewhere, it has been tested in a real war. I am sure the Ukrainian experience of drone usage in this war will be studied by other countries in the future."

Fedorov also said Ukraine's "Army of Drones" program has transformed into "a large state program for developing national UAV production.

"We have removed the majority of industry blockers to ease the running of a business. We help Ukrainian UAV manufacturers to receive all kinds of required approvals, we contract their developments and supply them directly to the frontline.

"In a year, Ukraine's drone's industry produces different types of drones: FPV [first person view], strike, bombers, large-radius drones. Prior to the full-scale invasion, Ukraine's industry has been focused mostly on air reconnaissance. It's a major shift."

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