Budanov: Wars are not won without people, drones can not fight for us

Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov believes that drones will not win the war with Russia for Ukrainians.

He stated this in a joint interview with Ukrinform and Novyny.Live.

"I'm not a proponent of the idea that drones will fight this war for us. Wars are not won without people. Without people, wars are lost—that does happen. But winning a war without people—that simply does not happen," he said, responding to a question about whether more drones are needed to increase the number of Russian forces eliminated to 50,000 per month.

Earlier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that the average daily losses of Russian occupying forces at the beginning of 2026 consistently exceed 1,000–1,200 personnel. This confirms a monthly elimination rate of about 30,000–35,000 enemy troops, one of the highest figures since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Photo: Zakarpattia Regional Military Administration