Ukraine will significantly scale up long-range strikes on Russian territory, with a new contract for tens of thousands of deep-strike drones already in preparation, Umerov said.

June 27, 2025

Ukraine has made a decision to significantly increase the number of long-range strikes on Russian territory, with a new contract for tens of thousands of drones for deep-strike operations already being prepared, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told Kyiv Post and other journalists on June 26, during a closed-door meeting.

“About two weeks ago, a decision was made to scale up these operations. We are already preparing a new large contract to increase the intensity of strikes,” Umerov said.

a systematic plan for long-range operations was formed last year: tens of thousands of deep-strike drones were contracted, which now regularly target critical objectives deep behind enemy lines. Deliveries are proceeding according to schedule, and combat missions are carried out daily under an approved plan, Umerov said.

At the same time, according to Umerov, Russia has recently intensified its use of combined attacks. During recent night raids, Russia has been using up to 500 Shahed drones simultaneously, combining them with ballistic and cruise missiles. The goal is to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses, analyze its layered protection, and apply psychological pressure. However, Ukrainian defense forces are finding solutions — both tactical and technological.

Umerov emphasized that the tools which worked well at the beginning of the full-scale war are now losing their effectiveness. For example, mobile fire groups (MFGs) were effective for a time, but now their efficiency is decreasing.

Ukraine is introducing new solutions, including interceptor drones and other tools that are deliberately not disclosed for security reasons. The entire drone countermeasure system, according to the minister, is a continuous cycle of innovation, testing, and improvement.

Ukraine is also continuing systematic work on effective countermeasures against kamikaze drones, Umerov said, indicating that for the past three years there has been ongoing work to develop an effective defense model against Shaheds.

It is a constant intellectual battle: Russia changes its tactics and strike plans, while Ukraine adapts its defenses. As of now, dozens of technological solutions have been found and are already being used in combat conditions.

“And the anti-Shahed solution already exists — one of these products showed very high effectiveness; we didn’t even expect it ourselves,” the minister added, without specifying further details.

Ukrainian manufacturers have reached a production level that allows for more than four million drones per year, and these capacities are already being widely used on the front line.

According to Umerov, by the end of the year, Ukrainian Armed Forces will have received over four million drones, of which about 1.5 million have already been delivered to the front.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/55301