Germany has confirmed the delivery of 4,000 artificial intelligence drones to Ukraine

German Defense Minister Pistorius has confirmed that the German arms manufacturer will provide Ukraine with 4,000 attack drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Russia has warned that allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons against Russian targets would lead to an escalation.

Xinhua quoted Germany's Bild newspaper as saying that the drones provided by Germany are produced by German artificial intelligence weapons manufacturer Helsing and are expected to begin mass delivery in December. The drones have the ability to resist electronic interference and carry out long-distance combat missions in extreme weather conditions, and its prototype has been tested in the eastern battlefield of Ukraine.

Pistorius was also quoted as saying that deliveries of German drones equipped with smart technology had begun and that Ukraine would be able to use them to attack high-value targets such as Russian command posts.

On Monday (November 18), the Ukrainian National Police said in a social media post that the Russian military launched a missile attack on a residential area in the city of Odessa, killing at least 10 people and wounding 39 others. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of using ballistic missiles to attack residential areas in Odessa.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on the same day that in the past 24 hours, the Russian military dispatched aviation, drones, missiles and artillery units to attack Ukraine's military airport infrastructure, energy facilities used by military enterprises, training sites for drone operators and drone storage warehouses, and carried out strikes on Ukrainian troops and weapons depots in 135 regions.

Russian presidential press Secretary Dmitry Peskov told the media on the same day that the United States approved Ukraine's use of long-range weapons to strike Russia's hinterland is "dangerous and reckless." Peskov said Western countries supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons are aware of Russia's position, "whether they will take such a dangerous and reckless action to further escalate the situation, we will wait and see."

According to TASS news agency, Putin said in an interview program on September 12 that if the West allows Ukraine to use long-range weapons to attack Russia, it will "obviously change the nature, the nature of the conflict," and Russia will respond according to the threat it faces.