Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is working to build capacity for producing 300-350 drones per day. He made the statement during a meeting with journalists.
This announcment comes after Ukraine experienced Russian attack with 439 Shahed-type drones on 26 May, an all-time record. In response, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered separate funding to be allocated to Ukraine’s ballistic missile program to accelerate the production of ultra-fast missiles.
On 27 May, Zelenskyy met with journalists, revealing that Russia is preparing for production of 300–350 drones per day.
“This is their real situation. They received a task to have 500 per day. I don’t think they have this,“ the president said, according to Suspilne.
Zelenskyy did not rule out that Russia could accumulate stocks and launch up to 1,000 drones against Ukraine on certain days.
“I don’t accept the figure of 1,000, although we must understand that they can accumulate for several days, and then there will be such a day. You can’t say this won’t happen,” he explained.
The president described a recent successful Ukrainian operation using large numbers of drones. Ukraine struck simultaneously with 400 small drones and destroyed more than 40 pieces of equipment at once, according to Zelenskyy.
“We took such a step. It was used exclusively by the military on the battlefield. And we will demonstrate to them many times more than this operation,” he said.
Ukrainian forces are using Mirage and F-16 aircraft to shoot down Russian drones, Zelenskyy said. Ukraine is also developing drone interceptors that can fight unmanned aerial vehicles at high altitude.
Ukraine has the technology but needs funding to scale up production, according to Zelenskyy. He cited Germany as a potential source of financing for interceptor production.
“I say that I have a range of questions for Germany. And one of them is financing interceptors, financing domestic production. We spend more than we planned. Because everyone is developing, the ‘Russians’ are developing, and our new technologies are appearing,” he said.
The German government has explicitly stated earlier that it will not provide fighter jets to Ukraine, citing a lack of available F-16s and the complexity of training and logistical support required for different aircraft types. The Mirage 2000 jets have been supplied to Ukraine by France, as part of a military aid package announced by French President Emmanuel Macron in June 2024, with the first jets arriving in Ukraine in February 2025.
Zelesnkyy also said during the meeting that Ukraine can already launch up to 100 long-range drones daily. With partner support, Ukraine could match Russia’s drone production levels.
“I think Ukraine also needs to have a thousand drones. By the way, long-range drones, which are complex – we can use 100 per day. And we will have the same as the ‘Russians’, 300–500 per day. We are very close to this. The question is not about production capabilities. The question is financial,” Zelenskyy emphasized.