(KYIV) – The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has unveiled an ambitious military strategy for 2026, aiming to produce seven million drones as part of a technological overhaul of the front lines. Speaking at a recent briefing, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) now account for more than 80% of all strikes against enemy targets.
This shift marks a significant departure from traditional artillery-heavy warfare, which dominated the conflict’s first two years. Manufacturing capacity has doubled annually since 2023, with the 2026 target representing a seventyfold increase over current United States production levels.
Under the leadership of the recently appointed Defence Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, the military is implementing a “Mission Control” doctrine to oversee the entire drone lifecycle from procurement to combat deployment. Fedorov, who transitioned from the Ministry of Digital Transformation on 14 January 2026, has introduced a system known as “Army of Drones: Bonus”.
This programme gamifies battlefield success by awarding “e-points” to drone units based on verified results. High-performing crews, such as the renowned Birds of Magyar, gain priority access to cutting-edge equipment through the Brave1 market procurement platform. In 2025, drone units hit approximately 820,000 targets, including 29,000 pieces of heavy equipment.
The new strategy also addresses critical personnel shortages. By framing drone operations as a modern and high-tech career path, the Ministry of Defence hopes to incentivise younger men to respond to draft summons. Fedorov reported that while recruitment remains a challenge, the “e-points” system has already facilitated the procurement of weapons worth more than 8.5 billion hryvnias (£154 million or $212 million). The digitisation of the battlefield is intended to create “kill zones” in abandoned villages, where overlapping drone swarms intercept Russian advances without the need for permanent troop presence in vulnerable areas.
Despite this technological progress, the geopolitical landscape remains volatile. Reports suggest the Trump administration is pressuring Kyiv to cede the Donbas region to the Russian dictator in exchange for American security guarantees.
Analysts have expressed profound scepticism regarding such promises, citing Donald Trump’s history of contract breaches and his tendency to trust the Russian dictator’s denials over verified intelligence. Without the enshrinement of such guarantees in law by the US Congress, many fear any bilateral agreement would lack long-term viability and leave Ukraine exposed to future aggression.
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Ukraine is Gamifying the Elimination of Russians with Drones
