Record drone imports in January were driven by deliveries from China and Germany
3 March 2025 12:56
In January 2025, imports of unmanned aerial vehicles reached $127.26 million. This was reported by the publication “How Much is How Much”, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports, citing data from the State Customs Service of Ukraine.
This amount is 1.9% more than the record figure of December 2024 (then it was $124.89 million) and 28.2% more than in January 2024 (then it was $99.23 million).
In January 2025, Ukraine imported aircraft parts worth $23.99 million. This is 28.1% more than in December 2024 (then it was $18.73 million) and 4 times more than in January 2024 (then it was $6.02 million).
Where did most deliveries come from?
In January 2025, most drones were imported from China – by $124.44 million or 97.78% of the total value of drone imports.
Germany is in second place – $2.05 million or 1.61%.
The United States is in third place – $304 thousand or 0.24%.
At the same time, in January 2025, most aircraft parts were also imported from China – by $10.63 million or 44.32% of the total value of aircraft parts imports.
Imports from the Czech Republic amounted to USD 10.46 million or 43.6%, and from Poland – USD 2.16 million or 9.01%.
It is worth recalling that in 2024, imports of drones amounted to $1.17 billion or 1.66% of the total value of imports of goods. In 2023, it was $440.79 million or 0.69%.
At the same time, in 2024, most drones were imported in monetary terms from China (92.35%), Germany (3.64%), and Poland (2.35%). In 2023, it was from China (76.37%), Latvia (13.77%), and Vietnam (2.56%).
In 2024, drone imports from the United States amounted to $1.6 billion or 0.14% of the total value of drone imports. In the top ten largest suppliers of drones to Ukraine (by value), the United States ranked 9th.
What about drone production in Ukraine
At a recent press conference, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that in 2024, Ukraine produced 2.2 million FPV drones and 100,000 long-range UAVs.
“I said we would make a million drones. We have produced 2.2 million FPV drones. Plus 100 thousand long-range drones. We will make more this year. This helps us survive. This does not replace the US assistance, but this is not the goal – to replace the assistance of partners. It’s better with help,” the head of state said.
As reported by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, 96.2% of all UAVs for the Armed Forces are of Ukrainian production.
According to First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, if at the beginning of 2024 the number of FPV strike drones used to defeat the enemy was about 20,000 per month, now this figure has increased to 200,000.
He said that in 2025, the level of provision of unmanned systems, especially FPV drones, is about 200 thousand per month and continues to grow.
