Russia's military invasion of Ukraine continues.
Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to fight in various parts of Ukraine, and many civilians have fled the country. We will keep you updated on the developments surrounding the situation in Ukraine on the 5th (Japan time), including the situation of the battle and the diplomacy of the countries involved.
(There is a 7 hour time difference between Japan and Ukraine, and a 6 hour time difference with Moscow, Russia)
Ukrainian citizens are assembling drones and sending them to the military
On the 3rd, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that over the past week, it had carried out 37 attacks using drones and other equipment targeting military facilities and fuel bases in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian side has also continued drone attacks on Russian territory near the border, and on January 29, President Zelenskiy said, ``One of our challenges this year is to improve the quality of drone operations and stay ahead of the enemy.'' '', he emphasizes.
This year, Ukraine plans to manufacture 1 million unmanned aircraft with a feature called FPV, which allows you to check images from the sky in real time as if you were piloting the aircraft, and deploy them on the battlefield.
FPV is characterized by its small size and low cost, and citizens are increasingly supporting the military by assembling their own drones and sending them to the military.
Matvy Karpenko (23), who lives in the capital Kiv, works as a game developer while learning how to assemble and operate an unmanned aircraft about six months ago.
Mr. Karpenko said, ``I'm learning these skills because they will be useful when I serve in the military in the future.''
Ukraine also trains soldiers who can operate drones
In addition, efforts are underway to train soldiers who can operate unmanned aircraft.
In January, soldiers were being trained to operate unmanned aerial vehicles at an indoor facility in Kiv city.
The training was sponsored by an NGO, and the soldiers learned from civilian engineers how to operate the aircraft using monitors and other equipment.
The soldiers were checking whether they could actually fly the drone along the desired route even in open areas in Kiv Oblast.
A 25-year-old soldier said, ``If we can apply the knowledge we have learned in actual combat, we will be able to defeat the Russian army faster.''
Engineer and game developer Ivan Kovalyou, who served as a lecturer, said, ``The best contribution I can make is to pass on the knowledge I have as an engineer to soldiers.''