Ukrainian forces are ramping up long-range drone strikes deep inside Russian territory. A BBC correspondent visited a secret launch site in eastern Ukraine, where soldiers prepared drones for launch. 'We're like a red rag to the enemy. Because we're taking the war to their territory so that they feel it too,' one soldier said.
In a rare interview, Commander Robert Brovdi of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces told the BBC such attacks will escalate, claiming his forces are holding back Russia's frontline advance by killing a record number of soldiers. '1,500 to 2,000km inside Russian territory is no longer the peaceful rear,' he warned.
President Volodymyr Zelensky calls these deep strikes 'very painful' to Moscow, causing 'critical' losses worth tens of billions of dollars in the energy sector. Locally produced drones are becoming cheaper and flying further: the model seen launched can travel over 1,000km.
Brovdi justifies strikes on oil refineries as legitimate military targets: 'Putin extracts natural resources and converts them into blood dollars that they then direct against us in the form of Shahed drones and ballistic missiles.' Residents in Tuapse on Russia's Black Sea coast complain of toxic rain after strikes on a local refinery.
The commander operates from a secret underground bunker, where dozens of operators monitor drone feeds on screens. His forces make up just 2% of Ukraine's military but account for a third of all targets destroyed, with a casualty rate of less than 1% per year.
Brovdi also implements a 'kill plan' targeting Russian soldiers: '30% of all drone strikes have to be against military personnel. You can call it a kill plan, yes, and right now we are exceeding it.' He claims over 30,000 Russian soldiers are killed per month, verified by video.
Before the war, Brovdi was a grain trader and art collector. He first saw the potential of drones during battles in Kherson, using a device bought for his children. His 414th Brigade is now known as the 'Birds of Magyar'.
The commander's ultimate goal is to affect Russian morale. He hopes high casualties and large fires at border facilities can create 'a certain ferment' within Russia. A video of a crying woman in Tuapse, he says, shows the war's fallout spreading beyond limited circles.
Source: www.bbc.com