WASHINGTON, October 4. /TASS/. Russian forces are winning the battle of drones in Ukrainian skies, a senior Ukrainian serviceman told The Washington Post.

"It’s like a chess game. They’re winning it," a deputy company commander of Ukraine’s 80th separate assault brigade told the newspaper. According to him, it is difficult to counter Russian drones. Russian troops use drones to hit minor targets or deploy two drones at once, which suggests "a deeper inventory," the Ukrainian officer said.

A Ukrainian drone unit produces and uses about 20 drones a day, but the quantity is not enough, The Washington Post said. "There are never enough drones," a drone team member told the newspaper.

The Ukrainian armed forces have been making unsuccessful attempts at a counteroffensive since June 4. Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 12 that, since then, Ukrainian troops had lost 71,500 troops, 543 tanks and almost 18,000 armored vehicles of various types.