With no guarantee of U.S. weapons, Ukraine races to make its own

""We're a Ukrainian company. We're building drones, all different kinds of drones," said Maksym Yakovlev, who works with FRDM Group, one of many firms making military drones. Many Ukrainian drones cost $1,000 or less and are only used once. They simply fly into a Russian target and explode. The one on display here is a high-end model, the R-34-T. It has six propellers, carries 30 pounds of weaponry, and can be reused. They are sold in pairs, with the equipment to support them, for a little under $70,000. "It's a heavy drone which flies in, carries grenades and explosives, drops them on the target, and comes back," said Yakovlev."

"When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine's arsenal consisted largely of aging hardware dating back decades to when Russia and Ukraine were both part of the Soviet Union. Ukraine burned through those stockpiles at a furious pace, and then became dependent on U.S. and European weapons. President Trump is sounding more supportive of Ukraine following a recent meeting with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the United Nations. But the U.S. president has not restored military assistance, which he halted after assuming office. Trump says NATO countries can buy U.S. weapons and give them to Ukraine. This is now happening on a limited scale, though not at the level the U.S. had been supplying weapons under former President Joe Biden."

An arms showcase in an underground Lviv parking garage displays Ukraine's growing drone industry operating under the threat of Russian airstrikes. Ukrainian firms produce cheap disposable drones costing about $1,000 that strike and are expended, alongside reusable high-end models like the R-34-T that carry 30 pounds of weaponry and return. The R-34-T is sold in pairs with support equipment for under $70,000. Russia's 2022 invasion exhausted Soviet-era arsenals and created dependence on Western weapons. U.S. military assistance was halted after the change in U.S. administration, prompting rapid domestic scaling led by tech entrepreneurs.

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