In the near future, temporarily occupied Crimea will "turn into an island" due to the fact that Ukrainian drones are making logistics increasingly difficult for the Russians, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced.
"A great deal of attention, a great deal of everything is flying there. In essence, the isolation of Crimea by drones is taking place. And in the near future, it looks like Crimea will turn into an island. This could lead to very unexpected consequences for the Russians," Fedorov said in an interview with the PRESSING YouTube channel, produced jointly with Armia Media.
The minister added that he could not disclose any more details, but noted in this context that the state had correctly planned its procurement for this year back in February. Thus, as Fedorov emphasized, during the first four months of 2026, Ukraine purchased more drones than in the entirety of last year.
According to him, a special emphasis has been placed on fiber-optic controlled drones and long-range Middle Strike systems, with the volume of contracts already exceeding the indicators of 2025 by 300%.
"And we have contracted them. I won’t say how many, but it is already 300% more than for the whole of last year. And we are still continuing," the minister added.
According to the Minister of Defense, "hell is beginning for the Russians, which is difficult to cope with– and this is a window of opportunity that we have today."
In addition, Fedorov shared an example regarding the continuation of last year’s drone operation "Auchan," which this year is named "ArtAuchan." Last year, over the course of three nights, the Defense Forces utilized a thousand drones and destroyed nearly 800 units of Russian equipment, which disrupted Russia’s mechanized assaults for half a year. Speaking about "ArtAuchan," Fedorov said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine recently developed a special projectile that ruptures the barrels of Russian artillery: in just two nights, Ukrainian warriors burned down 250 of the occupiers’ artillery systems.
"But the tourist season in Crimea this year will be only for our drones," the minister said.
