Minister Umerov: Ukraine to supply over 4M drones to front by year end

The relevant statement was made by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov in a conversation with Ukrainian and international media outlets, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“This year, we will supply more than 4 million drones to the front. As of today, the front has received up to 1.5 million drones – these are purchases made by the Defense Procurement Agency, the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection, and directly by brigades. Last year, we had many requests from brigades to allocate funding for them directly. Together with the Cabinet of Ministers, we worked on this matter and provided separate funding for brigades. Now, we monthly allocate UAH 2.5 billion for brigades to make purchases directly,” Umerov told.

At the same time, in his words, for various reasons, not all brigades can spend these funds effectively. Thus, the Defense Procurement Agency is implementing the DOT-Chain Defense system to facilitate the purchase of drones for them significantly.

“It will work simply. Brigades will see a drone ‘marketplace’, and each brigade will order what it needs, and the Defense Procurement Agency will pay for it. This way we are significantly reducing bureaucracy, and brigades will receive what they need ten times faster,” Umerov explained.

A reminder that, on June 4, 2025, at a press conference in Brussels, Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov announced that Ukraine made targeted investments in drone production, therefore it is capable of producing up to 10 million drones per year, and is no longer dependent on external suppliers, including China.

Photo: Ukrainian Defense Ministry