In FPV drone operations, Ukraine’s Defense Forces currently outmatch Russian forces by a ratio of 1.5 to 1, and this advantage has continued to grow in recent months in Ukraine’s favor, according to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi.
“In May, unmanned systems units of Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck nearly 180,000 verified enemy targets — 12.7% more than in April. Around 4,000 Russian Shahed-type drones were neutralized, 27% more than the previous month. We also struck approximately 10,000 positions of enemy drone operators,” Syrskyi wrote on Telegram.
He added that since the beginning of 2026, Ukrainian drone operators have eliminated 12,500 more Russian servicemembers than Russia has recruited into its armed forces over the same period.
During a monthly meeting on the development of unmanned systems, Syrskyi also reviewed progress in the use of “Middle Strike” capabilities to target Russian forces at operational and tactical depth.
“There is positive momentum in this area. In May alone, the Defense Forces carried out nearly 2,000 strikes using Middle Strike systems. In particular, 414 enemy headquarters, command posts, assembly areas, and other key targets were hit. Effective and large-scale strikes on enemy rear positions at distances of up to 200 kilometers have become possible thanks, among other factors, to the establishment of dedicated coordination centers within army corps. This has improved cooperation between units and branches of the Defense Forces, ensured better coordination of efforts, and ultimately produced tangible results,” Syrskyi said.
At the same time, he stressed that positive trends and strong results should not lead to complacency.
“It is necessary to continue expanding the capabilities of unmanned systems, increasing the scale of their use, and improving the training of specialists. The enemy is also actively developing this field, copying our successful organizational and technological solutions while seeking its own improvements. This is evident both from battlefield data and from military intelligence reports. At the same time, the Russian Federation is facing serious challenges in staffing its unmanned systems units. Since the beginning of the year, only 14,500 personnel have joined such units under contract, which represents about 21% of the annual target. Attempts to recruit university students on a large scale for this work have also fallen short of expectations,” the Commander-in-Chief explained.
