More than 33,000 occupiers were neutralised by Armed Forces’ USF units in month, according to Syrskyi. PHOTOS
In December 2025, unmanned systems units of Ukraine’s Defense Forces neutralized more than 33,000 servicemen of Russia’s occupation army, which roughly corresponds to Russia’s monthly mobilization intake.
He wrote about this on social media, according to Censor.NET.
Unmanned systems units neutralized 33,000 occupiers in December.
"Last December was the first month when unmanned systems units of Ukraine’s Defense Forces neutralized roughly as many servicemen of the occupation army as Russia conscripted in a month. The enemy lost more than 33,000 personnel. This figure includes only video-confirmed cases, but the occupiers’ actual losses are higher," the Commander-in-Chief wrote.
I am grateful to the warriors of our unmanned systems units (USF) for their effectiveness in destroying the enemy and the steady growth of their combat performance.
2025 — a leap forward for unmanned systems.
The past year truly became a year of a major leap in this area. The unmanned component in the Armed Forces of Ukraine has grown significantly. We are not stopping.
2026 — building up capabilities.
For 2026, we have planned a further build-up of the capabilities of USF units.
These were the tasks discussed with commanders of the leading USF units of the Defense Forces.
Russia’s plans for unmanned systems.
Thanks to our military intelligence, we know that the enemy has no less ambitious plans. The Russians have followed our path and created separate unmanned systems troops, which already number 80,000 servicemen. At the second stage, in 2026, they plan to double it — to 165.5 thousand. And by 2030 — to nearly 210 thousand.
We also know that the state defense order for the production of long-range drones in Russia was fulfilled at 106% over the year, and the military-industrial complex of the aggressor country produces more than 400 such UAVs per day.
"We clearly understand what we will have to face in the near future and what exactly needs to be done to neutralize the enemy on the unmanned systems battlefield," Syrskyi stressed.
In modern warfare, this is the primary goal. To this end, among other things, he tasked the formation of specialized units designed to effectively detect and destroy the enemy’s high-tech drone units, command posts, and crews of the occupiers’ unmanned aerial systems.
Whoever has the advantage in the quantity and quality of USF preserves more of their own troops and destroys the enemy more effectively. And we continue to maintain an advantage in the number of FPV drone uses," Syrskyi noted.
Unmanned systems units’ work in December.
In December, our unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) units carried out about 339,000 tasks, and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) carried out almost 2,100.
The total number of targets hit/destroyed by Defense Forces drones increased by 31%, while the number of enemy personnel hit rose by more than a quarter.
What was discussed at the meeting
The most important part of this joint work were the presentations by commanders of the leading BpS units of the Defense Forces, who shared with colleagues their experience in the effective use of unmanned aerial vehicles and uncrewed ground vehicles, as well as their advanced technical developments. The enemy has already felt their explosive power. We are developing and scaling up.
"In addition, the Armed Forces have launched a technical support system for UAVs and an information support system for manufacturers. We are working productively in these important areas," Syrskyi concluded.
