Ukrainian drones hit nearly 180,000 Russian targets in May. Ukrainian advantage is growing — Syrskyi

According to him, Ukraine’s Armed Forces outnumber the Russian army by a ratio of 1.5 to 1 when it comes to the drone sector. In May, the Ukrainian military destroyed 12.7% more verified Russian targets than in April. This advantage, according to Syrskyi, has only grown over the past few months.

“Around 4,000 Russian Shahed-type drones have been neutralised, which is 27% more than the previous month. Around 10,000 positions of enemy drone operators have also been hit," he said.

The Commander-in-Chief also says that since the start of 2026, Ukrainian drone operators have neutralised 12,500 more Russian occupiers than the Russian Federation has recruited new soldiers during this time.

“Today, a significant part of frontline logistics — the delivery of ammunition, provisions, the evacuation of the wounded and other support tasks — is carried out with the help of unmanned ground vehicles. In May, UGVs had already carried out 12,500 missions. And their potential is much greater. We could significantly scale up the use of UGVs, but since the start of the year, we have faced problems with the supply of these systems," he adds.

According to Syrskyi, Russia is currently struggling to man its unmanned systems units. Since the start of the year, only 14,500 people have been recruited to such units under contract, which amounts to around 21% of the annual target, he says. He also adds that Russia's attempt to recruit students en masse to work with drones has also “failed to meet expectations”.

Earlier, President Zelensky signed the decree establishing June 11 as Unmanned Systems Forces Day in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Back in 2024, on the same day, the Unmanned Systems Forces were established as a separate branch of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The current commander of the Forces is Robert Brovdi (Madyar).