Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for a major increase in Ukraine's long-range drone campaign against Russia, setting a target of launching up to 1,000 drones a day as Russian air attacks on Ukrainian cities intensify.
Speaking in his evening address on Aug. 28 following a meeting of the Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces currently launch more than 300 long-range drones per day on average. He said the country's defense industry must significantly increase production to allow the military to reach the new target.
“The task is a thousand drones for long-range strikes against Russia every day. Right now, the average is over 300 of our long-range strikes, there must be more. We have a very specific goal, and we will achieve it,” Zelensky said.
He linked the planned increase to what he described as an intensification of Russian aerial attacks against Ukrainian cities and the growing use of jet-powered Shahed drones. Zelensky said Ukraine must both expand its own deep-strike campaign and accelerate production of interceptor drones capable of stopping the faster Russian weapons.
“The Russians have chosen a tactic of intensifying terror: constant air-raid alerts, one after another in Kyiv, and unfortunately, it is specifically jet-powered Shaheds that are getting through,” he said.
