The Biden administration has declassified one last piece of information about how it helped Ukraine: an account of its once secret support for the country’s military drone industry.
U.S. officials said Thursday they have made major investments to help Ukraine start and expand drone production as it battles Russia’s larger and better-equipped military.
Much of the US aid to Ukraine’s military, including billions of dollars in missiles, air defense systems, tanks, artillery and training, has been made public. But other support continued largely in the shadows.
According to US officials, this includes helping Ukraine develop a new generation of drones and change the way wars are fought.
The Innovations in the drone industry of Ukraine was hailed as transformative, but US support was less understood. In addition to technical support, the U.S. has spent significant money, including $1.5 billion sent last September, to boost Ukraine’s drone production, officials said.
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the support had a “real strategic impact” on the war.
“We’ve seen UAVs become increasingly central to the battle in Ukraine and will be central to all future battles,” Mr. Sullivan said Thursday, referring to the drones.
The U.S. effort includes money to support drone manufacturers and buy parts. The United States has also sent intelligence officials to Ukraine to help build its program, according to people familiar with the effort.
In an interview this week, CIA Director William J. Burns indirectly referred to his agency’s support for Ukraine’s drone program.
“I think our intelligence support helped the Ukrainians defend themselves,” Mr. Burns said. “Not only in the exchange of intelligence, but also in support of some of the systems that are so effective.”
The White House released information about Russia’s plans to attack Ukraine before the invasion. During the war, officials regularly declassified information about Iranian and North Korean arms shipments to Russia.
Mr. Sullivan said the drone effort began after the limits of Ukraine’s conventional capabilities became clear after the first counterattack by the Ukrainians in the fall of 2022.
According to Mr. Sullivan, efforts have been accelerated in preparation for a second Ukrainian counteroffensive. This push, in 2023, was ultimately less successful. Ukraine did not gain as many seats as it wanted partly due to Russia’s use of drones.
US officials said the 2023 counterattack was a hard lesson. Russian drones have attacked US and European-supplied tanks and armored vehicles as they try to move through mined areas.
After the counterattack, US officials said they were rapidly increasing support for Ukrainian drone manufacturers, citing Kiev’s efforts to develop its own industry. In addition to financial aid, the Biden administration has worked to build relationships between American technology companies and Ukrainian drone manufacturers.
Last fall, the Pentagon left 800 million dollars for Ukraine’s drone productionused to purchase drone components and finance drone manufacturers. When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the White House in September, President Biden said that another 1.5 billion dollars would be directed to Ukraine’s drone industry.
American officials said Thursday that the investments have made Ukraine’s drones more effective and more lethal. They noted that Ukraine has naval drones Destroyed a quarter of Russia’s Black Sea fleetand frontline drones have helped slow Russia’s advance in eastern Ukraine.
Mr. Sullivan said Ukraine’s initiative to build a drone industry had provided “invaluable lessons” that the Biden administration had begun to integrate into America’s own defense industry.
