Ukraine gives the US a sweet deal with one dead Russian soldier for every $20,000 spent on drones, unit commander says

“We must contend with a reduction in military support from key allies, grappling with their own political tensions,” wrote Zaluzhnyi, who at the time was facing rumors of being fired. He was replaced several days later by Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Meanwhile, Kyiv has been trying to shore up the gap by accelerating its domestic defense manufacturing industry, producing its own missiles, artillery systems, and drones.

Quantity, not quality, has been the focus of its drone manufacturing, Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, told Business Insider’s Jake Epstein in July.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the country is now capable of producing 4 million drones per year.