Zelensky sets goal to bring long-range strikes to 1,000 drones per day

President Volodymyr Zelensky has set a goal to increase the number of Ukrainian drones used for long-range strikes on Russia to one thousand per day. The current average is more than 300 drones per day.

The head of state announced this on August 28 following a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

“The task is a thousand drones for long-range sanctions against Russia per day. Now on average there are 300 plus of our long-range sanctions, it should be more. We have a quite concrete goal, and we will fulfill this task”, — Zelensky said.

Thus, to achieve the set goal, Ukraine will need to increase the current average scale of use of long-range drones by approximately threefold.

Strengthening long-range strikes discussed at the Staff meeting

According to the president, the key topic of the meeting was increasing the number of Ukrainian weapons to defend the country from Russian attacks. Special attention was paid to countering reactive (jet-powered) strike drones and further building up Ukrainian deep-strike capabilities.

Zelensky regularly uses the expression “long-range sanctions” to refer to Ukrainian strikes on facilities in Russia that are used to wage war. In previous statements, he listed the oil refining industry, military logistics, and enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex as priority targets.

In recent months, Ukraine has consistently increased the range and intensity of such operations. The president has previously said that the plan of “long-range sanctions” is expanding, and Ukrainian drones are capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than two thousand kilometers.

Ukraine strengthens response to Russian aerial attacks

The new goal was announced amid intensification of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities. Zelensky noted that Russia is increasing the intensity of aerial attacks and more frequently using jet-powered strike drones.

According to him, constant air raid alerts and attacks are recorded in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Chernihiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions. In Kyiv region, civilian enterprises were also damaged as a result of Russian strikes.

The president did not specify by what exact date Ukraine should reach the target of one thousand long-range drones per day. It is also not reported whether this refers to a constant daily level of use or to the production and operational capability to use such a number of drones when necessary.

Based on materials from: Office of the President of Ukraine