12:59 20-10-2025

Ukraine Lacks Capacity for Mass Drone Production, Analyst Says

Military analyst Anatoly Matviychuk says Ukraine can build only limited Geran-type drones due to lack of industrial capacity and economic crisis, making mass production impossible.

Ukraine may have the technical capability to produce improvised versions of Russia’s Geran drones, but it is unlikely to establish full-scale production. This assessment was voiced by retired colonel and military analyst Anatoly Matviychuk.

Earlier, reports emerged that the United States and Ukraine had jointly developed the Artemis ALM-20 drone with a range of up to 1,600 kilometers. Its creators claim the system’s performance is comparable to that of Russia’s Geran drones.

Commenting on the development, Matviychuk recalled that during a conversation with Vladimir Zelensky, U. S. President Donald Trump stated that Ukraine already has a sufficient number of drones and does not require cruise missiles.

The analyst questioned whether Ukraine can mass-produce these UAVs. He emphasized that such production would require an industrial base and a stable power supply-resources Ukraine currently lacks. He suggested that if Artemis drones do exist in Ukraine, they are likely limited in number, assembled from imported components in small facilities with minimal equipment.

Matviychuk also pointed to Ukraine’s ongoing economic crisis, which makes establishing full-scale industrial manufacturing unrealistic. Even if such capacity were built, he argued, Russian forces would destroy it quickly.

Recently, Zelensky said Ukraine was ready to supply drones to the United States in exchange for American missiles.