17 November 2025

Drone warfare in Ukraine: Ukrainian Mavics and Russia’s Rubikon

Olena Kryzhanivska

While Ukrainian military units remain heavily dependent on the Chinese Mavic drones, supply limitations have led to persistent shortages of these systems. It is logical that Ukrainian manufacturers have begun producing Mavic analogues and have already fielded 1,000 domestic systems.

However, this is still far from meeting frontline needs — and it highlights an important difference between Ukrainian and Russian realities. While Russia has a massive inventory of all types of drone systems, Ukrainian solutions remain limited in number, forcing Ukrainian personnel to use these scarce resources with extra care.

In this edition:

Ukraine Starts Mass Production of Domestic Mavics

Ukraine is launching mass production of drones that will serve as an alternative to the popular Mavic models, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“In addition to the contracts we already have, which are funded and operational, we have been looking for alternatives. Those alternatives have been found,” he said.

During the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, the DJI Mavic has become one of the most common reconnaissance tools on the frontline. It is used for surveillance, artillery fire adjustment, and the delivery of improvised munitions.

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