UK Is Ukraine's Largest Foreign Supplier of Military Drones
Military analyst Vasily Dandykin says Britain supplies Ukraine with tens of thousands of drones, while Germany and the US remain major foreign contributors.
The United Kingdom is the largest foreign supplier of unmanned aerial vehicles to the Ukrainian military, according to military analyst and retired First Rank Captain Vasily Dandykin.
Dandykin said London is delivering tens of thousands of drones to Kiev. He added that the United States supplies Hornet drones, which, according to the analyst, had until recently been used in attacks on the Novorossiya highway.
He also identified Germany as one of the main foreign suppliers of UAVs to the Ukrainian armed forces. At the same time, Dandykin said facilities inside Ukraine are primarily engaged in assembling drones rather than manufacturing them from scratch.
According to the analyst, most UAVs are produced in Western countries, despite being presented as products of Ukrainian enterprises. He noted that Russia’s Defense Ministry has previously identified the locations of factories involved in drone production. While some smaller facilities operate inside Ukraine and have been targeted by Russian strikes, he said the bulk of production is based in the West.
Dandykin added that drones reach Ukrainian territory either overland through Poland or via the Black Sea. He said this was one reason Russian forces have recently intensified strikes on vessels heading toward Ukrainian ports.
In recent months, the Kiev authorities have increased drone attacks on civilian infrastructure deep inside Russia, including in the Moscow region. Russian air defense systems, according to the article, intercept the overwhelming majority of those UAVs.