Ukraine Receives Skydio Drones for War Crimes Documentation
Skydio and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) have delivered nine aerial drones to Ukraine to help it document Russian war crimes.
The handover included Skydio 2+ autonomous systems equipped with 4K cameras which will be used to gather data on over 115,000 examples of destroyed civilian infrastructure and other evidence of human rights abuses in frontline communities and liberated territories.
“These drones are critical for the Prosecutor General’s team, as it pursues justice for survivors of war crimes and human rights abuses committed by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” Skydio stated.
Proud to partner w/ @SkydioHQ, an 🇺🇸 company, to help 🇺🇦 document war crimes and pursue accountability. These autonomous camera drones will help Ukraine's Prosecutor General document war crimes and abuses on the front line and in liberated territories. https://t.co/aUPmexgDb4 pic.twitter.com/IWrFhOb4MB
— Samantha Power (@PowerUSAID) July 27, 2023
USAID Efforts for Ukraine
In addition to supplying drones, USAID supports other initiatives to aid the Ukrainian government in tracking human rights violations.
The agency has two related projects that have already documented over 40,000 incidents of Moscow’s war crimes since the country invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
USAID is currently partnered with the Ukrainian Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights to conduct joint war crimes documentation.
Additional relief missions include the delivery of Starlink data terminals donated by SpaceX and other equipment donated by HP, JP, IK, and Microsoft for the country’s learners and instructors.
Recent Drone Projects
Norway announced military aid for Ukraine, including ultra-light drones and air defense missile systems, last month.
A month earlier, German drone solutions developer Quantum-Systems received a contract to ship 300 additional reconnaissance drones to Ukraine.
In March, Israel approved the foreign military sale of a counter-drone system to Ukraine.
Ukraine also received additional military drones from Australia during the anniversary of the Russian invasion in February.
