Ukraine Pinning War Hopes on Expanded Drone Program

The Ukrainian soldiers rose in the predawn, stretching, rubbing their eyes and rolling up sleeping bags in a basement hide-out near the front line in the country’s east. Their day would not take them far afield. Most stayed in the basement, working with keyboards and joysticks controlling drones.

At a precarious moment for Ukraine, as the country wobbles between hopes that President Trump’s cease-fire talks will end the war and fears that the United States will withdraw military support, the soldiers were taking part in a Ukrainian Army initiative that Kyiv hopes will allow it to stay in the fight absent American weapons.

Should the peace talks fail, or the United States discontinue arms shipments, the Ukrainian drone initiative is likely to take on more importance. The program doubles down on unmanned systems that are assembled in Ukraine, mostly small exploding drones flown from basement shelters.

On Monday, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia added to the many uncertainties in the war by ordering a three-day cease-fire in Ukraine next month, though it is unclear if such a pause would hold, or even start. That announcement followed a week of unabated warfare in Ukraine, including the deadliest attack on Kyiv, the capital, in nearly a year, and of conflicting signals about what would come next from the Trump administration.

President Trump has been less critical of Ukraine’s leadership in recent days, instead rebuking Mr. Putin for his continuing bombardment of Ukraine. But Mr. Trump has still not promised more weapons, which remain crucial.

A U.S. decision to discontinue military aid would leave Ukraine vulnerable along the front and far beyond. Its army relies on Patriot interceptors as its only defense against Russian ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv. Ukraine’s military also lacks its own medium-range missiles, such as those fired by the American-made HIMARS system, which are key to striking Russian troops and equipment before they reach the front line.