US to Transfer Skydio Autonomous Drones to Ukraine

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has announced the transfer of nine Skydio autonomous drones to Ukraine for documenting war crimes.

As the press service reports, USAID will send drones to Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office. Skydio 2+ are equipped with 4K cameras and will be used for taking photos and videos to document war crimes.

"These will aid the Office of the Prosecutor General to document the more than 115,000 instances of destroyed civilian infrastructure, and evidence of human rights abuses on frontline communities and liberated territories," the statement reads.

As for now, two Ukrainian human rights coalitions that enjoy USAID support have documented over 40,000 cases of Russian war crimes since 24 February 2022. USAID also participates in joint visits with the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights to record war crimes.

On 18 July, Samantha Power, Administrator of USAID, said that Ukraine will receive an additional US$250 million to support agriculture, which suffers from blocking grain exports due to the ongoing full-scale Russian invasion.

Power also announced the allocation of over $500 million in humanitarian aid and handed over US$2.3 million worth of equipment to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.