President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 20 that Ukraine is rapidly developing interceptor drones to defend against increasingly frequent Russian drone attacks.

In his nightly address, Zelensky said the new drones would help strengthen Ukraine's defenses against Iranian-designed Shahed drones, which Russia has been deploying in growing numbers in recent weeks.

"We are... making separate efforts on interceptor drones, which must strengthen our defense against Shahed attacks," he said, adding that Ukraine's domestic drone production is "already delivering results."

Zelensky also noted that "production volumes of interceptors are already increasing."

Russian drone strikes across Ukraine have been breaking records in recent weeks, with nearly 500 drones and missiles launched overnight on June 9 – highlighting the urgent need for effective countermeasures.

To support Kyiv's defense industry, Zelensky said that Ukraine is working with international partners to secure additional funding and is preparing new agreements ahead of next week’s NATO summit.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has focused heavily on developing and deploying advanced unmanned systems. As of April 2025, more than 95% of drones used by Ukrainian forces on the front line are domestically produced.

Both Ukraine and Russia have increasingly relied on drone warfare, employing aerial, naval, and ground-based drones for reconnaissance and combat operations – making technological innovation a critical component of the war.

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Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) announced on June 20 the establishment of a new command group that will unite the branch with other top drone units in the country's military.

Drones have become one of the defining tools of the full-scale war, used extensively by both Ukraine and Russia for surveillance, long-range strikes, and tactical battlefield firepower.

The new formation will unite all military units of the USF with the Drone Line, a project launched by President Volodymyr Zelensky in February this year to coordinate and expand five of the country's strongest drone units.

The new command umbrella was created to "improve the efficiency of management, transform the Forces, and adapt to the requirements of modern warfare," according to the statement.

The units will operate within a single chain of command, with a defined structure and a common vision of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) tactics in order to harmonize approaches, establish joint work, and use unmanned systems more effectively in combat, the USF said.

The Unmanned Systems Forces were created as a separate branch of Ukraine's military in June 2024.

At that time, Ukraine's strongest existing drone units served in other branches of the defense forces, including the Ground Forces, National Guard, and the Security Service of Ukraine.

The newly-created group will be led by Major Robert Brovdi, better known by his callsign Magyar, whom Zelensky appointed as the commander of the USF in early June.

Brovdi had previously served as commander of the eponymous Magyar's Birds Unmanned Systems Brigade, a founding member of the Drone Line initiative and one of the most consistently high-performing drone units in the Ukrainian military.

A world-first phenomenon, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces works to improve the country's drone operations, creating drone-specific units, ramping up training, increasing drone production, and advancing innovation.

The USF has also carried out hundreds of operations deep within Russian territory.

Following in Ukraine's footsteps, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of his country's own individual drone branch on June 12.

Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, previously deputy commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, was named the first commander of the USF on June 10, 2024.

Brovdi replaced Sukharevskyi, who was dismissed on June 3.

According to military personnel who spoke anonymously to Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne, Sukharevskyi's relationship with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi was tense from the beginning of the USF's formation.

Sukharevskyi's appointment was a decision by president Zelensky, not Syrskyi, sources said.

People close to both Syrskyi and Sukharevskyi also claimed the two men avoided face-to-face interactions.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on June 20, imposing sanctions on 56 individuals and 55 Russian, Chinese, and Belarusian companies involved in the production of Russian drones and sanctions circumvention.

Ukraine introduced new restrictions as Russia has escalated drone attacks against Ukrainian cities over the past weeks, launching record 400-500 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) per night.

Individuals and legal entities subject to Ukrainian sanctions cannot do business and trade in Ukraine, cannot withdraw their capital from the country. In the meantime, their assets are blocked, as well as their access to public and defense procurement, and entry into the territory of Ukraine, among other restrictions.

The new package of sanctions targets individuals and entities involved in the development and production of Russian drones such as Geran, Orlan-10, SuperCam, and first-person-view (FPV) drones, according to a decree published on the Presidential Office's website.

The Belarusian Precision Electromechanics Plant and six Chinese enterprises located in Hong Kong and in the provinces of Shandong and Shenzhen are among the sanctioned entities.

The sanctions list includes equipment suppliers to Alabuga Machinery, a Russian manufacturer of machine tools and gears, and individuals who import components for the sanctioned Kronshtadt JSC, a drone producer that developed Banderol UAVs with jet engines.

Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian cities with waves of attack drones, often striking energy infrastructure and residential buildings overnight. Ukraine's defense forces use a mix of electronic warfare, air defense systems, and drone-on-drone interception to repel the assaults.

Drones have become one of the defining tools of the full-scale war, used extensively by both Ukraine and Russia for surveillance, long-range strikes, and tactical battlefield advantage.

Russian drone attacks against Ukraine might decrease due to Iranian Shahed production capabilities being targeted in Israeli strikes, Estonian military intelligence commander Ants Kiviselg said on June 20, according to the ERR broadcaster.

The comments come as Russian drone strikes across Ukraine have been breaking records in recent weeks, with nearly 500 drones and missiles launched overnight on June 9.

"While it can be assessed that Russia has been able to largely localize and transfer the production of Shahed and Geran-type drones to Russia, it can be assumed that some critical nodes for drone production continue to come from Iran," Kiviselg said.

Israel initiated a series of air strikes against Iranian military and nuclear facilities on June 13, with Tehran responding with waves of drone and missile attacks, further escalating tensions in the Middle East.

Iran has been a key ally to Moscow and provided the country with ballistic missiles and thousands of Shahed "kamikaze" drones for its war against Ukraine. Russia has also launched production of its own Shahed equivalents called Geran.

While Israeli strikes targeted and destroyed a Geran-type drone factory in Isfahan, Ukrainian forces have been attacking the Russian plant in Alabuga in Tatarstan, the Estonian intelligence chief noted.

"So there is a possibility that in the near future we may see a certain decline in the use of drones," Kiviselg said. Estonian intelligence is nevertheless convinced that Moscow is planning steps to not only maintain, but also "increase" its drone production.

Russia has been regularly deploying Shahed-type drones for nighttime attacks on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure, overwhelming Ukrainian air defenses with massive swarms.

Ukraine's intelligence has warned that the Russian defense industry seeks to ramp up the production of the strike drones, aiming to deliver 500 unmanned aircraft per month for Russia's war effort.

In turn, the Ukrainian side has also increasingly invested in its drone capabilities, and more than doubled its production of long-range drones in 2024 compared to the previous year.

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