Ukraine's military chief outlines how far Ukraine is ahead of Russia in FPV drone field
Ukraine's defence forces outnumber Russian forces in FPV drones by a ratio of 1.5 to 1, with the gap steadily widening over the past few months.
Source: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Quote: "The development of unmanned systems is key to securing an advantage over the Russian aggressor. We can now state that in this race of technologies, innovation and manufacturing capabilities, Ukraine is not inferior to the enemy and is ahead in certain fields."
Details: According to Syrskyi, Ukrainian units hit almost 180,000 verified Russian assets in May, a 12.7% increase compared with April.
Last month, around 4,000 Russian Shahed drones were intercepted or neutralised, 27% more than in the previous month. In addition, about 10,000 Russian drone operator positions were struck.
"Another indicative metric is that since the start of 2026, losses inflicted by Ukrainian drone operators have exceeded the Russian Federation's recruitment figures by 12,500 personnel," he said.
Syrskyi also stressed the growing importance of ground robotic systems in modern warfare. A substantial part of frontline logistics – from ammunition and supply delivery to medical evacuation and other support tasks – is performed using ground drones.
"In May, ground robotic systems completed 12,500 missions. The potential of these systems is significantly greater. Expansion of their use is feasible, but there have been issues with supply and provision since the beginning of the year," he added.
Syrskyi also reported that in May, Ukraine's defence forces carried out close to 2,000 strikes using mid-range systems, striking 414 headquarters, command posts, clusters of military personnel and other high-value Russian assets.
"Effective large-scale destruction of enemy rear assets at ranges of up to 200 km has been made possible, in particular, through the establishment of corps-level coordination centres. This has enhanced interaction between different units and components of the defence forces, improving overall coordination and resulting in measurable operational effects," he explained.
Background: In April, Brigadier General Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, reported that Ukrainian forces use 30% more strike drones than Russian troops.
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