Soldiers from the 422nd operate a Baba Yaga drone. Zelenskyy signed a decree on June 11 commemorating the Unmanned Systems Forces, but also praised all of the country's drone units.
Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy established on Wednesday an annual "special day" for his country to commemorate the role of the battle drone against Russia's invasion.Dubbed the "Unmanned Systems Forces Day," the occasion commemorates Ukraine's dedicated military branch for drone warfare, which was announced in February 2024.The day of remembrance, however, will be on June 11 every year, Zelensky said."A day of our respect, our gratitude to the UAS," Zelenskyy said, referring to uncrewed aerial systems.The Ukrainian leader said that the Unmanned Systems Forces had inflicted $40 billion worth of damage to Russia against "targets of various levels" in one year of operations.Zelenskyy highlighted the branch's recent growing use of mid-range strike drones, typically fixed-wing systems that fly 30 to 300 km to attack Russian assets in the rear."Russian military logistics throughout the entire depth of the temporarily occupied territories are now within reach of Ukrainian drones," he said. "Russia's border regions are also feeling our impact."
