kyivindependent.com
Russia plans to spend $12 billion on jet-powered drones, loitering munitions next year, Zelensky says
Russia plans to spend $12 billion next year on the production of jet-powered drones and loitering munitions, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Sept. 26, citing Ukrainian military intelligence. Zelensky said Ukrainian intelligence had obtained Russian internal documents showing the volumes of weapons Russia is preparing to produce next year and the funding allocated for them. In recent months, Russia has increasingly relied on jet-powered drones in attacks on Ukrainian cities. In some attacks on Kyiv, jet-powered drones have accounted for around two-thirds of all drones launched. "Next year, just for the production of jet-powered drones and loitering munitions, Russia plans to spend $12 billion on this one category of weapons," Zelensky said. Zelensky said Ukraine is scaling up production of interceptor drones to counter Russia's increasingly widespread use of jet-powered drones. Several interceptor prototypes are already being tested in combat, he said, with some identified as potential primary means of defense against the weapons. "We are scaling up production and components. There will be a response," Zelensky said. The remarks come as Russia has intensified its attacks against Ukraine in recent days, despite renewed international efforts to secure a ceasefire. U.S. President Donald Trump called for...
