Ukraine launches fundraiser to finance fleet of naval drones

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced the launch of a fundraising campaign to finance the world’s first fleet of naval drones for Ukraine. Donations will be collected via United24, a Ukrainian government fundraising platform.

When created, the fleet will help defend Ukraine from missiles launched by naval carriers. In his Facebook fundraiser announcement, Zelensky wrote:

We must defend the waters of our seas and peaceful cities from Russian missiles launched from ships. Naval drones will also help unblock the corridor for civilian ships transporting grain for the world.

I am sure that millions of people will support this important area of Ukraine’s defense. Everyone has already seen how it works. And this is only for our protection, we do not claim what’s not ours.

The fundraiser’s website explains that, since February 24,

Russian armed forces have launched over 4,500 missiles into Ukraine. Every fifth strike came from the sea.

Since the Ukrainian fleet lost 80 percent of its ships in the 2014 annexation of Crimea, Ukraine has no means of countering the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

The campaign’s initial goal is to finance the production of 100 Ukrainian-developed drones, which have already proven themselves in strikes on Russian ships in Sevastopol. The campaign website specifies that the cost of each drone is 10 million Ukrainian hryvnias (around $271K).

The drones will have an 800 kilometer (500 mile) range, with a maximal speed of 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour, and a maximal load of 200 kilograms (441 pounds).

• According the the Ukrainian General Staff, Russia has lost 16 ships in the war against Ukraine. Its most significant naval loss was the guided missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet. In mid-April, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that a fire aboard the ship led to an explosion. According to the ministry, the cruiser sank during a storm the next day.
• Kyiv has neither admitted nor denied its involvement in the destruction of the Russian flagship. The media have reported that Moskva might have been destroyed when hit by two Neptune missiles.
• The new Black Sea Fleet flagship is the Admiral Makarov fregate. It may have been damaged by Ukraine’s late-October aviation and naval drone strikes on Russian ships in Sevastopol.

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