MELITOPOL, February 12. /TASS/. The Russian armed forces in the Zaporozhye Region are fully ready to confront Kiev's drone troops, regional governor Yevgeny Balitsky said.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree ordering the creation of a separate branch of the armed forces dealing with drones.
"The enemy makes another statement that it will introduce a whole branch of [drone] troops. In principle, the idea is understandable. We are not lagging behind: we are building excellent strongholds, supplying our battalions, our army is equipped with unmanned vehicles that are necessary for modern combat. And the technical support provided to the army is not inferior to that of NATO. <...> On the basis of Zaporozhye enterprises, a number of production lines have been set up to manufacture unmanned vehicles. We are increasing these capacities, a year ago we started this process, now our armed forces, our battalions will receive the most modern equipment for unmanned combat," Balitsky said.
According to him, the so-called Ukrainian counteroffensive showed that Western weapons and equipment are no better, "and in many cases even worse". "And their tactics are weaker," the governor added.