Ukraine Aims for 2% Drone Cost Ratio Against Russia, Acting Defense Chief Says

Ukraine’s newly appointed acting Minister of Defense, Major General Yevhenii Khmara, detailed Kyiv’s strategy of asymmetric drone warfare, local Patriot air defense manufacturing, and frontline logistics reform in an interview with political commentator Laura Loomer on July 29.

Taking office after commanding the Security Service of Ukraine’s (SBU) elite Alpha special operations unit and briefly heading the agency, Khmara highlighted the contrast between Russian military tactics and Ukrainian target selection. He stated that while Russian forces target civilian infrastructure such as gas stations and municipal buildings, Kyiv deliberately focuses its deep strikes on Moscow’s military-industrial complex, including oil refineries and transit hubs.

Elaborating on this distinction, Khmara told Loomer that “Russia is interested in terrorizing civilians. Ukraine is interested in protecting its people.”

To counter Russia’s numerical superiority, the defense chief emphasized the necessity of imposing disproportionate economic and operational costs on Moscow’s forces. Khmara told Loomer that “we can’t go punch for punch. We have to be asymmetric,” explaining that Kyiv aims to keep the financial cost of its long-range drone operations at roughly two percent of the damage inflicted on Russian assets, including deep strikes against Russia’s strategic bomber fleet executed under his prior command.

Alongside the deep-strike operations, Khmara underscored that frontline resource management and the protection of supply routes from enemy drones are essential components of combat effectiveness, according to Loomer’s report.

Guided by a leadership philosophy of “don’t send someone where you’re not ready to go yourself,” the defense minister advocated for rapid technological adaptation, artificial intelligence integration, and the domestic production of Patriot air defense interceptors to safeguard Ukrainian airspace.

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Highlighting wider strategic ties with Washington, Khmara expressed hope for a lasting US-Ukraine partnership that combines American military hardware with Ukraine’s accumulated experience in modern drone warfare, Loomer reported. Reflecting on the personal stakes of the war, the defense minister—who lost a brother in the war—noted that his primary goal is to conclude the fighting before his two young sons reach conscription age so they can focus on rebuilding their country.

Laura Loomer, a Prominent MAGA commentator, previously underwent a public reversal of her anti-Ukraine stance following a fact-finding trip to Kyiv, where witnessing Russian missile strikes firsthand led her to publicly acknowledge that she had been misled by Kremlin disinformation campaigns.

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