President Zelenskyy’s global fundraising initiative, UNITED24, together with the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Digital Transformation, has announced the start of the Army of Drones campaign. The goal is to purchase 200 reconnaissance drones for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as to collect thousands of multi-use and commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). These will be used to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified war.

The Army of Drones will allow Ukrainian defenders to constantly monitor the 2,470 km long frontline and to field an effective response to enemy attacks using modern technology.

How to donate

  • Supporters around the world can contribute in two ways: by either donating funds toward new drones or by ‘dronating’ their own hobby/commercial drones.
  • Both contributions can be made via the landing page on the UNITED24 website.
  • All donations via the UNITED24 website are transferred directly to the special National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) account of the Ministry of Defence. 

The funds raised will be used to acquire tactical UAVs for air reconnaissance. These drones can fly up to 24 hours at a distance of up to 160 km and an altitude of up to 5 km. They are equipped with several thermographic cameras, position sensors, and software support. Most importantly, these tactical UAVs are difficult to detect and therefore difficult for the enemy to take down.

Donated multi-use and commercial drones can be sent to a warehouse in Poland or the United States, where they will be transported and delivered to Ukraine. Ukrainians will also be able to send them through any branch of NovaPoshta, the project’s partner. 

A quadcopter with the following minimum parameter settings is required: 5,000 mAh lipo battery, flight range starting from 1 km, 20 MP camera, 30-minute charging time, 5280×3956 photo resolution, and 3840×2160 video resolution, while a joystick and remote control are preferable.

It doesn’t matter if a drone is new or old — it just has to be in working order.

About the initiative

The Army of Drones is a comprehensive program that involves the purchase, maintenance, and replacement of drones, as well as pilot training.

“We call upon the whole world to join our fundraiser and help us purchase these drones, from big businesses to everyday people who care about the plight of Ukrainians. It is a war not only of people, but also of technology. Our IT army defeats Russia in cyberspace every day, and the Army of Drones will accelerate our victory on the real battlefield,”

Mykhailo Fedorov, Minister of Digital Transformation, who is responsible for UNITED24 on behalf of the government.