Ukraine to upgrade drone capabilities, attract new recruits as fight against Russia continues

LVIV, Ukraine: Ukraine is hoping to bolster its drone capabilities and also recruit more people to fight as the battle against Russia drags on.

The country is believed to be running short of troops and ammunition two years into Russia's invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb 24, 2022.

OPENING UP NEW FRONTIER IN DRONE WARFARE

Earlier this month, Ukraine announced the addition of a new branch to its armed forces dedicated to unmanned systems. 

Drones play an important role on the battlefield, from surveillance to directing and conducting strikes, said observers. 

Meanwhile, some Ukrainians have volunteered to help with the manufacturing and testing of small drones.

An information technology specialist, who gave his name as Serhii, for instance, comes home from work to assemble drones for the Ukrainian military at night and in his free time.

Working tirelessly in his storage room, he wires up components bought using donations and his savings. Over the past five months, he has put together about 15 drones.

“After assembling, I send them to a social drone initiative group of people who are testing them with the military, on the field where it is allowed to fly,” he said. 

“And after this, they return the drones to me and I send them to my military friends.”

He said his friends in the military have many needs that he tries to help out with, including collecting donations and gathering medical supplies. 

“Now, they have a new need in FPV (first-person view) drones. I decided that I could do this and help them. So I started to assemble them in my home,” he added.  

“We have a lot of companies that are producing drones (and) developing drones in Ukraine. But it's not enough for our army, because the enemy has many more drones and our needs are significantly much more than we have now.”

When CNA visited a testing site, members of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army were seen putting a do-it-yourself (DIY) drone through its paces.

A member of the Ukrainian Volunteer Army’s Caligula Tactical Group, who goes by the military callsign Sambist, said: “We test new drones - if they flew (and) if everything was okay. Some of them are just from the workshop. We test their flight distance and their condition.”

But crudely assembled drones can be a hit and miss, especially their video feed, and this can affect Ukraine's ability to attack Russian positions on the frontline. 

“The hit rate is about 70 per cent,” he said, adding that the drones can fail in various conditions, including the jamming of electronic warfare. 

For now, Ukraine wants to open up a new frontier in drone warfare, and is prepared to spend more than US$1 billion this year to upgrade its drone capabilities. 

FEWER NEW RECRUITS

Two years of war have depleted Ukraine's ranks, and it is unclear how many more will follow as the war grinds on, experts noted. 

When Russia invaded Ukraine, recruitment centres across Ukraine were flooded with volunteers who wanted to fight for their country. Now, the halls of these recruitment centres are emptier. 

There is no official data on the number of Ukrainians who have volunteered to fight in the war. 

At a recruitment centre in the western city of Lviv, 19-year-old student Andrii Kryvonis is among those who have signed up to defend his country against Russia's invasion. 

He said: “At first, my parents reacted very negatively, but later they said, 'It's your destiny, so decide for yourself.'"

He will now undergo training before joining the Da Vinci Wolves Battalion, a legendary unit in the Ukrainian army. 

Any Ukrainian man between the ages of 27 and 60 can be drafted into the military and has to serve until the end of the war, and most men are encouraged to volunteer.

Ukraine has proposed lowering the age of those who can be mobilised for combat duty from 27 to 25 years old.

“Every day, we receive questionnaires that people fill out online and in person at the office,” said recruitment officer Mykola Iliichuk, who is based in Lviv. 

“Interviews take place every day. I can't reveal the number (of people who sign up). But people come, and they are quite motivated (and) interesting individuals.”