Serhiy Prytula on fundraisers and new drones

Ukrainian volunteer activist and politician Serhiy Prytula explained in an interview with NV Radio on Oct. 11 how his foundation is completing another fundraiser for a new batch of drones for the Ukrainian military, and what innovative solutions are being developed in Ukraine.

NV: Before we talk about the most recent large fundraiser of yours, let’s summarize the results of the previous ones. How successful were they?

Prytula: In principle, any large fundraiser that has been started and completed, and the goal has been achieved, can be considered successful. I don’t remember any unsuccessful fundraisers. Any list of items that was purchased thanks to the incredible strength of the unity of Ukrainians inside the country, in business, small, medium, large, friends of Ukraine from outside our country who support us, everything that went to the front helps in one way or another to speed up the victory and save the lives of our soldiers.

NV: I know that you don’t engage in improvisation, everything that goes to the front is the result of cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which means that the military needs it right now. What will be the purpose of this large fundraiser, which has been announced and is already underway?

Prytula: Now, together with [Ukrainian bloggers] Serhiy Sternenko and Ihor Lachenkov, we’re raising UAH 175 million ($4.8 million) to purchase 100 Ukrainian-made kamikaze unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with excellent technical characteristics, a flight distance of up to 800 kilometers and a payload of 30 kilograms. This is a list of items that have passed not only tests, but already have seen some successful use. In particular, after consultations with experts from specialized units of the Special Operations Forces and the SBU [security service of Ukraine], we decided to hold this mega-fundraiser since we have the opportunity to respond to our enemies with these drones.

Ukrainian drone strikes throughout 2023 were very painful blows to the enemy. Regardless of whether it happens at military facilities in temporarily occupied territory or deep in Russia’s rear. After all, both military airfields and critical infrastructure facilities, and oil refining complexes are all clear, legitimate targets for our Defense Forces.

There should be more drones, they should be used in all areas of the front, and they should also be used to strike deep into temporarily occupied territories. Therefore, we’ll transfer these drones, for which the fundraiser is currently underway, to the above units of the Defense Forces and the Special Operations Forces.

As of now, we can state that we’ve already raised funds for 68 drones, we still have [time] to complete [the fundraiser] and maybe even, as usual, exceed the goal. Because usually Ukrainians, people who support us from abroad, we tell them we need this amount, and they always do something to exceed the plan, even a little bit. We raised funds for 10 mine trawls but ended up paying for 14. We collected for three Bayraktar UAVs, but raised funds for four, etc.

NV: Exceeding the plan is good, and 700 kilometers is a very good range, as we can see.

Prytula: 800 [kilometers].

NV: 800. If it’s not a military secret, maybe you can tell us what is the weight of the warhead of these drones?

Prytula: The Morok UAV can carry 30 kilograms of payload over this distance, which is a decent payload.

NV: And why exactly did you define 175 UAVs as the goal for this fundraiser?

Prytula: I’m sorry, we have defined 100 UAVs, it’s just their total cost is UAH 175 million. The drone market is rapidly developing in Ukraine, and now we can buy drones with such technical characteristics for cheaper than they cost a year ago. Competition in this segment gradually drives the prices down, which, of course, cannot help but please the volunteer movement, since our budgets are not bottomless.

NV: This is an investment in domestic, Ukrainian companies.

Yes, and it’s obvious that everything that proves itself well on the battlefield in Ukraine today will be in demand all over the world tomorrow. This is what happened with the Bayraktars when they showed a high level of efficiency after the full-scale invasion, and I especially remember how everyone went crazy when the Bayraktars were able to work on a surface target when the boat was moving and was hit. After that, there was a huge queue to the Baykar Makina company. I think the [U.S.] company that produces HIMARS [high-mobility artillery rocket systems] has secured orders from the defense ministries of various countries for 10 years.

And the same applies to innovations in defense production. Ukraine is now really actively moving forward in the development of everything that doesn’t require direct human participation in the process. It’s not just kamikaze UAVs that we’re talking about now. Various types of UAVs are produced: for reconnaissance, these are also FPV [First Person View] drones, on which Ukraine currently has very interesting developments. I don’t want to spoil it again but we’re now looking at some technical solutions for FPVs.

I hope these solutions will give us certain advantages over the enemy, because the classic of this military race is that we find some interesting technical solutions faster and apply them. But in three or four months, the enemy begins to understand how our technologies work, and thanks to the significantly higher budgets they spend on the defense industry, they catch up with us in this process and we have to invent something new.

Similarly, the market of moving mobile platforms, where a turret for a large-caliber machine gun is placed, i.e., for remote combat, is currently developing. In addition, our naval drone fleet is really actively being developed. And there are some more novelties that I don’t want to talk about yet until they are used more widely.

NV: Do you foresee foreign investment into Ukrainian UAVs development?

Prytula: Yes, and they’re already coming in. The meeting with the representative of the investment fund, which took place last week, already named certain companies and some amounts, including up to one million dollars, which have already been invested in Ukrainian companies. Of course, one million dollars is barely pocket change for the global arms market, but if we’re talking about Ukrainian companies that are at the development stage and need capital to start assembly line production, transition from garage production, this is a phenomenal amount that domestic investors are not always able to allocate.

So, I really like the way it’s moving. The main thing that happened was that a certain fear was overcome, a barrier of mistrust between investors and business. Ukrainian business, which for years has lived in the paradigm that if you involve an investor, your company can face raids [unlawful sezisure] tomorrow, is very careful about potential investment partners.

Foreign investors were usually afraid to invest in Ukrainian technologies because of corruption and many other reasons. Now the ice has broken, I’m sure that Ukraine will become one of the leaders of innovations in military development, not even after the war, but during it.

NV: You mentioned the landmine trawls for which the foundation raised funds not so long ago, this is very necessary amid the Ukrainian offensive and counteroffensive. How did they perform at the front, what do you know?

Prytula: I have a business trip planned right now, I’ll go and see with my own eyes, talk to the units that received them, then I’ll be able to give you an answer. I just don’t want to guess and talk about things that I don’t have much information about right now.

NV: OK, but according to your observations, do the initiatives of volunteer foundations encourage the general situation in the state to establish mass production?

Prytula: I know that when we announced the fundraiser for trawls, some of my friends who work in parliament immediately called me, saying that they also put pressure on the committee and state funds were allocated for the purchase of a much larger number than the one we were raising for. That’s why volunteer initiatives work here, providing an impetus for state engagement. Another thing is that there are certain types of items, no matter how many volunteers raise funds for it or send to the front, this doesn’t mean that the state will start purchasing them.

Therefore, it’s extremely important to support a business that manufactures, e.g., FPV drones. We’ve already reached a certain level in Ukraine, when FPVs are assembled not only in garages, relatively speaking, from components imported from China. But not only the assembly line of these FPV drones is already being set up, but also one of the companies from which we will now contract FPVs, from Ukrainian companies. We and the Uklon [ride hailing ]company are currently raising funds for 2,000 FPVs, whereas 1,000 have already been contracted, people have donated enough, and now we’re raising funds for another 1,000 pieces.

One of the companies has already localized [production], 70% of the components are produced here, in Ukraine. That is, dependence on foreign components will decrease over time. In addition, there are certain initiatives from our partners from abroad who plan to create in Ukraine, at least that’s what I’m getting from them, a certain hub of components for Ukrainian drone manufacturers. Of course, if this happens, it will be a huge boost for the development of this industry.

NV: That is, it’s about co-production, it also means that Ukraine is mastering technologies, right, which is also very important in this new type of war?

Prytula: When I talked with the guys from the Azov Regiment, [Captain Svyatoslav Palamar aka] Kalyna said … that in a battle between two Soviet-style armies, the bigger one will win. Ukraine cannot afford the “luxury” of remaining a Soviet or post-Soviet army, fighting according to those old doctrines. There are fewer of us, and we’ll win only thanks to innovation. The process doesn’t stand still, we already use a lot on the battlefield to make life easier for our troops.

NV: This means that we should switch from a Soviet-style army to a new type, a high-tech one. In this regard, do you feel any changes in the Defense Ministry’s system, which should also set the tone?

Prytula: It will be a bit difficult for me now to comment on the changes in the Defense Ministry since the personnel reshuffle there just ended. It’s clear there’s a great openness to cooperation with the new minister. Last week, [Defense Minister] Rustem Umerov invited representatives of the volunteer environment, primarily large foundations, to a meeting. Our foundation’s director also attended the meeting. There is good communication at the level of deputies, new deputy defense ministers. The process of establishing relations has taken place and continues. I hope this cooperation will be quite effective.

And I really want to wish the new minister success in his position. I understand it will be extremely difficult for him to surprise Ukrainians with something, because we have gone through this path from Javelin [anti-tank missiles] and Stinger [MANPADS] to Leopards [tanks], air defense, Patriot [air defense systems], and we’re discussing when we get the F-16 fighter jets. There is a small list of items remaining that can make a big splash. But Rustem is probably not the kind of person who is going to go for a showstopper anyway.

His task is to ensure stable supplies of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as doing everything so that the Defense Ministry is not associated with the word “corruption.” Therefore, I think, we should support him, give time to adapt and put everything in order.

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