"Welcome To the Stone Age:" Ukraine Extends Drone Kill Zone Into Russia

Ukraine's drone kill zone was originally intended to cover a few kilometers on either side of the front 'zero' line. Everything in that area was a target. When the front line, as such, became more of a gray zone because in many sectors neither side had firm control in the historical sense, the kill zone extended to 20 kilometers into the rear, though that has now increased with the introduction of more powerful drones to 50km. 

But the latest extension announced by Ukraine now moves in Russia itself. And as recent attacks on logistics, command and control headquarters, as well anything that moves suggests, the Ukrainians are making good on their threats. Ukraine's drone commander is a former grain trader who understands the power of setting quantitative objectives. He started by announcing that the Ukrainians would kill or severely wound 35,000 Russian soldiers a month - which they have now done for four months in a row, with a goal of increasing that number to 50,000, far more than the Kremlin could replace. He has now said that his intent is to bomb Russia back to the stone age (though some informed observers believe much of the country never left it...). And he appears to be beginning to make good on that promise, as well. JL

Yuri Zoria reports in Euromaidan Press:

Ukraine's Drone Forces struck Russian locomotives, communications, ammunition depots, drone landing sites, and logistics hubs in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts between 23 and 25 April as it expands the kill zone, scaling up depth in occupied areas. The SBS established its Deep Strike Center earlier this year to coordinate long-range drone ops against high-priority Russian targets. It has accelerated the tempo of strikes, hitting Iskander missile bases, air defenses, and the elite Russian drone unit Rubikon's facilities. Ukraine's drone forces have hit 240 targets across Russia and occupied territories in the first 48 days of 2026 alone, including 26 Russian air defenses. "Welcome to the stone age," Ukraine's "Madyar" Brovdi told Russian troops in occupied territories as rail logistics will become "dog sleds," and warehouses and fuel depots will retreat "beyond the Urals." 

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) struck Russian locomotives, communications towers, ammunition depots, a drone landing site, and a logistics hub in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts between 23 and 25 April, the SBS commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi reported. The SBS is expanding the kill zone, scaling up its operations at operational depth in the occupied areas, the commander said.

Ukraine's drone campaign has stopped being a sequence of headlines and has become the underlying logic of the war. What started as opportunistic raids on Russian rear positions has hardened into a coordinated effort to make Russian logistics, energy, and command infrastructure unsustainable wherever it sits — in occupied Ukrainian territory, in Russia's south or Baltics, in the Caspian Sea oil fields, or near the Urals. 

"Welcome to the stone age"

The SBS Deep Strike Center is gaining momentum, Brovdi said, with railway logistics, warehouses, fuel depots, communications, and command posts now under strike. 

"There will be enough birds," he added, referring to the middle-range drones drones.

The strikes change the very logic of the occupiers' presence in the rear, Madyar noted, forcing them to hide, disperse, and lose control over supply.

Brovdi framed the campaign in characteristically vivid terms: 

"Welcome to the stone age," he wrote, telling Russian troops in occupied territories that rail logistics will become "dog sleds and gondolas," and internet "pigeons," and warehouses and fuel depots will retreat "beyond the Urals." 

What got hit, by whom, and where

All strikes were carried out using domestically produced FP-2 mid-range strike drones, Madyar's video shows.

• On 25 April, the 9th "Kairos" battalion of the 414th SBS Brigade Madyar's Birds used two drones to strike two Russian locomotives in occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast. Later, pilots from the same unit struck another moving Russian train.

Communication tower in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast moments before a strike by Ukraine's 412th NEMESIS Brigade, 24 April 2026. Screenshot from video: Robert "Madyar" Brovdi via Telegram

• On 24 April, the 20th SBS Brigade "K-2" used two drones to destroy a Russian logistics hub in occupied parts of Luhansk Oblast. The same day, the 412th SBS Brigade NEMESIS struck a communications tower in Zaporizhzhia Oblast — the structure collapsed completely.

Vehicles inside a Russian logistics hub in occupied Luhansk Oblast moments before a strike by Ukraine's 20th "K-2" Brigade, 24 April 2026. Screenshot from video: Robert "Madyar" Brovdi via Telegram

• Between 23 and 25 April, the 9th "Kairos" battalion and the 1st SBS Center struck several communications hubs and another tower across occupied Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. On 25 April, the 9th battalion also identified and hit a Russian temporary deployment point in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Aftermath of a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian logistics hub in occupied Luhansk Oblast, 24 April 2026. Screenshot from video: Robert "Madyar" Brovdi via Telegram

• On 23 April, specialists from the 1st SBS Center destroyed a Russian ammunition and supply depot in Luhansk Oblast. On 24 April, NEMESIS pilots struck a Russian drone landing site and storage depot in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The same day, the 1st SBS Center hit another Russian ammunition depot in occupied Luhansk Oblast.

A campaign that's still scaling

The SBS established its Deep Strike Center earlier this year to coordinate long-range drone operations against high-priority Russian targets in occupied territories and beyond. The center has accelerated the tempo of strikes, with overnight operations against Iskander missile bases, air defense systems, and even the elite Russian drone unit Rubikon's facilities all carried out in a single 16-target package on 16 April. 

Ukraine's drone forces have hit 240 sensitive targets across Russia and occupied territories in the first 48 days of 2026 alone. SBS units have destroyed 26 Russian air defense elements at operational depth in March alone, with a Buk-M3 destroyed 50 km inside Bryansk Oblast.

Brovdi's stated goal is to scale the SBS to 5% of Ukraine's total military personnel — enough, he argued last September, to provide full front coverage at all three depths: tactical, operational, and strategic.