81  Ukraine’s resilience

Abstract

Want to see a resilient country? We can learn a lot from Ukraine. How to defend freedom.

Myth
  • Ukraine passes on all the costs of war to the West
  • Ukraine is weak and has no chance of winning the war

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Truth
  • Ukrainian society is fully engaged to defend against the russian war of annihilation.
  • Ukraine pays the highest price possible: many Urainian lives.
  • Ukraine defends itself effectively and builds up a strong arms industry

81.1 Ukraine defends itself resiliently

Since the onset of Russia’s unjustified aggression, Ukraine has effectively halted the invaders’ progress, reversed their advances, and reclaimed significant swathes of land from temporary Russian military control. Ukrainian forces have also substantially weakened Russian military capabilities1.

Nearly a million Ukrainians are defending their country on the battlefield and risk their lives. None of the countries assisting Ukraine with arms, logistics, or training has declared willingness to provide soldiers for combat operations in Ukraine – Ukraine is fighting for every inch of land independently.

In the face of fighting against a superior force, Ukraine lacks sufficient resources to wage a war of attrition on its own, but it cannot be said that it has shifted all the costs onto its allies. Ukraine’s defense capabilities are shaped by two factors: domestic expenditures from the national budget and material support from partners.

In 2024, every hryvnia of Ukrainian taxpayers will go towards the military.2 Simultaneously, the state encourages domestic production, particularly for the expansion of the drone industry.3 Minister for Strategic Industries Oleksandr Kamyshin stated that in 2024, Ukraine’s capabilities to produce drones, including long-range drones, are on par with Russia, and Ukraine’s capabilities for 2024 are six times higher than they were last year.4 The country’s defense industry also produced three times more weapons and equipment in 2023 than it did in 2022.5 Ukrainian drone manufacturers are already capable of producing up to 150,000 units per month.6

81.1.1 Ukraine develops a strong military-industrial complex

Even though Ukraine strongly relies on the support of its Western partners, it also invests in strengthening its defense capabilities.7 According to Oleksandr Zavitnevych, Chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence in the Ukrainian parliament, the Ukrainian defense industry now has significantly more capacity than funded orders.8 Drones have significantly changed the rules of warfare because, for a fairly cheap price (one drone costs nearly €450), one can destroy costly artillery pieces. They have become one of the main weapons for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The “Army of Drones” project has significantly bolstered this defense effort,9 marking its first anniversary with remarkable achievements: a budget of 40 billion UAH (nearly a million euros) from Ukraine’s defense fund has been allocated for drones,10 which allowed hundreds of thousands of UAVs to be contracted and sent to the frontline; contracts for thousands of drones, the training of 10,000 operators,11 and the establishment of specialized military units for drone operations. There are nearly 200 enterprises that locally produce UAV models12. The aim for 2024 is to produce locally a million UAVs, which is about twice as many as the total number of artillery shells provided by the entire European Union in the previous year.13

In addition, Ukraine became the first country in the world to create a fleet of maritime drones. These drones, such as Magura V5, have proven to be highly effective in combat operations, including sinking five Russian ships, such as the large patrol vessel “Sergey Kotov” and the missile corvette “Ivanovets”, etc. These stealthy and maneuverable drones radically changed the balance of power, forcing Russia to significantly reduce its presence in the Black and Azov Seas.

Ukraine defense numbers from Transatlantic Dialogue CenterSources: Deutsche Welle, Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda, Euromaidan Press

  1. Ukraine-Russian War 2022: Military Losses Official Statistics | UAwar. (n.d.). https://uawar.net/stats↩︎

  2. Harmash, O. (2023, November 9). Ukraine approves 2024 wartime budget, aims to strengthen the army. Reuters. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-approves-2024-wartime-budget-aims-strengthen-army-2023-11-09/↩︎

  3. Arhirova, H. (2024, March 27). Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine ramps up spending on homemade weapons | AP News. AP News. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://apnews.com/article/ukraine-weapons-russia-drones-90b03d92f72f878c8c2ac04b0d12f804↩︎

  4. Khalilova, D. (2024, February 26). Minister: Ukraine to catch up with Russia in production of Shahed-type drone in 2024. The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://kyivindependent.com/minister-ukraine-catches-up-with-russia-in-production-of-shahed-drone-analog/↩︎

  5. Khalilova, D. (2024, February 26). Minister: Ukraine to catch up with Russia in production of Shahed-type drone in 2024. The Kyiv Independent. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://kyivindependent.com/minister-ukraine-catches-up-with-russia-in-production-of-shahed-drone-analog/↩︎

  6. Ukraine Poised to Produce 2 Million Drones in 2024. (2024, March 6). Kyiv Post. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.kyivpost.com/post/29064↩︎

  7. Stern, D. L. (2024, March 20). Ukraine races to build weapons at home. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/03/20/ukraine-weapons-industry-domestic-production↩︎

  8. Institute for the Study of War. (n.d.-b). Institute for the Study of War. https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukraine%E2%80%99s-long-term-path-success-jumpstarting-self-sufficient-defense-industrial-base↩︎

  9. Army of drones - Ukrainian World Congress. (n.d.). https://www.ukrainianworldcongress.org/united24/↩︎

  10. Opening up the UAV market, the world’s first strike units and maritime drones: results of the Army of Drones in 2023. (2024, February 8). Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from [https://www.kmu.gov.ua/en/news/vidkryttia-rynku-bpla-pershi-u-sviti-udarni-roty-ta-morski-drony-rezultaty-armii-droniv-za-2023-rik#:](https://www.kmu.gov.ua/en/news/vidkryttia-rynku-bpla-pershi-u-sviti-udarni-roty-ta-morski-drony-rezultaty-armii-droniv-za-2023-rik#:)~:text=In%20addition%2C%20in%202023%2C%20the,within%20the%20Army%20of%20Drones↩︎

  11. 10,000 UAV operators trained under the “Army of Drones” project in Ukraine. (2023, May 5). Militarnyi. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://mil.in.ua/en/news/10-000-uav-operators-trained-under-the-army-of-drones-project-in-ukraine/↩︎

  12. Дія [Diia]. (2024, February 11). Російські кораблі тонуть, а нафтобази вибухають: Михайло Федоров про результати Армії дронів: [Russian ships are sinking, and oil tanks are exploding: Mykhailo Fedorov on the results of the drone army], [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4ErCdfrj8I↩︎

  13. Molina, M. Z., Hunder, M., Rao, A., & Kiyada, S. (2024, March 26).How drone combat in Ukraine is changing warfare. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/graphics/UKRAINE-CRISIS/DRONES/dwpkeyjwkpm/↩︎