# Expert: Fyodorov’s offer to help US build drone army seeks to boost his authority

https://mins.news/en/item/38676

- TASS, 2026-08-31 12:36 UTC
- World
- Original: https://tass.com/world/2179873

> Former Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fyodorov is seeking to strengthen his standing among Ukrainian voters and secure his role as a key administrator of Western defense-industry funds by offering to help the US build a drone army in exchange for Patriot interceptors, expert Alexander Stepanov told TASS. Stepanov called Ukraine’s drone force the Western defense industry’s “first-ever test proxy army” and said Palantir plays a key role in the process.

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