Ukraine will be able to conduct more attacks of drones on Russian warships, a Ukrainian minister who has played a significant role in making the nation’s drone industry told Reuters on Friday after a current string of sea attacks.
While answering a question about the latest raids near Crimea, Mykhailo Fedorov, Digital Transformation minister, said in an interview that there will be more drones, more attacks, and fewer Russian ships and that’s for sure.
This week, Ukraine has made few attacks operating sea drones and missiles on the Russian Black Sea naval fleet in and around the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed from Kyiv by Moscow in 2014.
In an indication of growing confidence, Ukraine has recently claimed accountability for raids on Crimea, having previously not instantly confirmed involvement in explosions at military targets there.
Russia has recognized a Ukrainian missile attack that damaged a warship and a submarine this week but states it has repelled all sea drone raids.
Fedorov posted a grainy video on Thursday on social media that seemed to be filmed from a ship heading towards a much bigger warship, followed by a burst.
He said at the moment that the attack was the work of Ukrainian systems paid for by funds from a government-run crowdfunding platform that raises money for equipment including drones.
Fedorov also said Kyiv’s aerial drone production had boosted by over 100 times in 2023 from the previous year.
“I guess it’ll be an expansion of around 120 to 140 times by the end of this year if you compare it to the last one.”
Ukraine is experimenting with AI systems that can detect targets some kilometers away and operate drones towards them even if exterior communications are disrupted by electronic warfare measures, according to the minister.
