At the beginning of 2023, the Kyiv authorities set a course to increase the number of unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) employed during clashes with the Russian Armed Forces.
To this end, in February 2023, the Government of Ukraine expanded the list of military and dual-use goods including UAVs that can be imported into the country without obtaining permission from the State Export Control Service.
And already at the end of March, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov stated that the government was working with more than 80 Ukrainian UCAV manufacturers.
“UCAVs are potentially changing the rules of the game on the battlefield in the same way as high-precision Western MLRS did last year,” Reznikov said, referring to multiple launch rocket systems.
Already in June 2023, head of the State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, Yuriy Shchyhol, claimed that the Ukrainian authorities poised to purchase up to 200 thousand drones of various modifications for the country’s armed forces this year.
“We need both cheap and expensive drones. And drones with different types of communication. The more models we have, the more communication channels we have, the more effective our work will be,” he said.
According to Shchyhol, approximately 30 companies are engaged in serial production of drones in Ukraine. “So far, we have signed contracts for the purchase of two thousand drones, and this is only for a few weeks. This process is expanding every week,” he added.
In July 2023, it became known that the Ukrainian government allocated 40 billion hryvnias (roughly USD 1.1 billion) for investment in the production of drones.
Furthermore, according to Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmyhal, “the production of drones has increased tenfold.”
As a result of all these activities, since the end of October 2023, a sharp increase in the number of UCAV attacks on non-military targets began to be observed. Thus, whereas in October only four such cases were recorded in the territory of the DPR, in November there were already 33, in December – 55, and in January 2024 – already 60.
The number of civilians affected by such attacks has also increased significantly. From two injured in October 2023 to eight dead and 26 injured in January 2024.
Ambulance crews, fire fighters, and DMS workers were often attacked. Thus, such cases affected not only the lives of the attacked civilians, but also put at risk the lives and health of the people who were supposed to be helped.
Thus, there is a tendency for the Ukrainian side to systematically violate the norms of international humanitarian law through attacks using UCAVs against non-military targets. In these circumstances, it is important to note that the operators of Ukrainian drones cannot help but realize that they are attacking peaceful targets, because they observe these targets through UCAV video cameras. Therefore, there is not only a criminal act, but also malicious intent.
It can be assumed that such actions are carried out for the purposeful destruction and terror of the population, to force civilians to leave the disputed territories.