Ukraine's Plan to Starve the Russian War Machine

"In one section of a sprawling warehouse in central Ukraine, workers have stacked what appear to be small airplane wings in neat rows. In another section, a group of men is huddled around what looks like the body of an aircraft, adjusting an electronic panel. In makeshift locations elsewhere in Ukraine, workers are producing these electronic panels from scratch: This company wants to use as few imported parts as possible, avoiding anything American, anything Chinese."

"They are not alone in being new to the job. Everyone in this factory had a different profession three years ago, because this factory did not exist three years ago. Nor did the Ukrainian drone industry, of which it forms part. Whatever their job description before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, everyone at this production site is now part of a major shift in the politics and economics of the war, one that hasn't been fully understood by all of Ukraine's allies."

"Once almost entirely dependent on imports of weapons from abroad, the Ukrainians are now producing millions of drones, large and small, as well as other kinds of weapons, every year. They are using them most famously on the front line, where they have prevented the Russians from making large-scale gains this year, despite dire headlines, and where they have ensured that any territory occupied by the Russians comes at a terrible price, in equipment and lives."

A newly formed Ukrainian production ecosystem has converted diverse civilian skills into precision manufacturing for drones and electronic components while minimizing imported parts. Factories and makeshift workshops employ jewelers, manicurists and former professionals to produce aircraft bodies, wings and bespoke electronic panels. The Ukrainian drone industry now manufactures millions of drones and other weapons annually. These systems have been pivotal on front lines, blunting large-scale Russian advances and inflicting heavy costs on occupying forces. Sea drones have cleared parts of the Black Sea of Russian vessels, and drones now strike deep targets in Russia, including military sites, refineries and pipelines.

Read at The Atlantic