A Ukrainian minister told Reuters that the future of Ukraine’s battle against Russia holds “more drones, more attacks and fewer Russian ships.”
Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said Ukraine’s drone production has increased by more than 100 times since last year.
Fedorov also told the news agency that Ukraine is testing artificial intelligence systems that can detect targets kilometers away, as well as guide drones despite disruptions from electronic warfare measures.
Meanwhile, the British Defense Ministry, in its daily intelligence update on Ukraine, said there is a “realistic possibility” that Russia will resume using air-launched cruise missiles against Ukrainian infrastructure targets in the winter.
The ministry’s update said that Russia has likely created a “significant stockpile” of the missiles, since open-source reports indicate that Russia began reducing its use of the missiles in April.
“Russian leaders have highlighted efforts to increase the rate of cruise missile production,” the ministry said.
The report also said the missiles “were at the heart” of most strike missions that Russia launched against Ukraine’s national energy infrastructure between last October and March. They allowed Russia to release munitions “from deep within Russian territory.”
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock spoke Friday in Washington, and both reiterated their long-term support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Speaking to reporters following their talks, Blinken said Germany and the U.S., along with dozens of other nations around the world, are committed to providing military, economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. He said they also discussed Ukraine’s long-term ability not only to survive but to thrive following Russia’s invasion.
Baerbock echoed Blinken’s remarks, saying support for Ukraine goes beyond arms deliveries to include humanitarian issues and repairing infrastructure. She said she discussed with Blinken how the U.S. and Germany can coordinate their assistance to Ukraine even more closely.
The two top diplomats were asked about Ukraine’s ongoing requests for long-range missile systems that could reach deep into Russia and the West’s reluctance to provide them.
Baerbock said Germany and other NATO allies have told Ukraine from the beginning of Russia’s invasion that arms supplies would be limited to Ukraine’s self-defense and reclaiming territory within Ukraine.
The German foreign minister has been in the United States much of this week. She traveled to Texas on Tuesday and Wednesday, visiting an air base where German pilots are trained. She met Thursday with U.S. lawmakers to discuss their continued support for Ukraine.
Blinken said he and Baerbock also discussed the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Russia ended in July, and alternatives to getting grain out of Ukraine and to developing nations that need it.
Following a meeting on Friday in Bucharest with Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov, Romanian Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said the nation planned to double the monthly transit capacity for Ukrainian grain through its Constanta port to 4 million metric tons in the coming months.
Speaking at a joint news conference, Kubrakov said they hope to double the port’s capacity by the beginning of October, which could help Ukraine solve at least 50% of its export issues.
Ukraine's military said Friday it has recaptured the village of Andriivka, about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of the key front-line, Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut, following intense battles with Russian troops.
The latest victory in Ukraine’s protracted, multipronged counteroffensive comes just days ahead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s expected visit to Washington.
Also Friday, Britain’s Defense Ministry confirmed that a missile strike targeting the naval headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea fleet in Crimea earlier this week delivered a blow that may have crippled portions of the facility for weeks or possibly months to come.
The landing ship and the Kilo 636.3 class submarine were undergoing maintenance at the Sevmorzavod shipyard in the base’s dry docks when the missiles hit during a predawn strike Wednesday.
Open-source evidence, the ministry said, “indicates the has almost certainly been functionally destroyed, while the has likely suffered catastrophic damage.”
According to the ministry’s report, any effort to get the submarine up and running would likely take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.