Ukraine Destroys Hiding Russian Armor Before It Can Launch Myrnorhad Attack

Throughout occupied Donetsk oblast, the Russians have been using abandoned coal mines as hiding places for their increasingly vulnerable armor. This was - once upon a time - a clever use of such cover. But not anymore. 

With the increased deployment of increasingly sophisticated drones and skillful drone pilots, Ukrainian forces were able to detect the presence of the armored personnel carriers intended for an assault in Myrnohrad (next to Pokrovsk) towards the fortress belt city of Kramotorsk. Virtually all of the Russian armor and a number of the troops servicing or preparing to attack in them were also eliminated. Which explains why the Russians still do not have a complete grip on Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk as well as a good chance of taking the fortress belt anytime soon. JL

Sania Kozatzkyi reports in Militarnyi, David Axe reports in Trench Art:

FPV drones from the Ukrainian 414th Unmanned Systems Brigade detected Russian forces staging up-armored MT-LB infantry carriers in a disused coal mine for an assault north of the ruins of Myrnohrad in Donetsk Oblast. The Russian armor assigned to that assault toward Kramatorsk never left. The armored vehicles were detected and struck in the area of the Kapitalna Mine (formerly the Stakhanova Mine) in Myrnohrad. Within an hour, Ukrainian drone operators hit four MT-LB tracked armored infantry vehicles. In addition, six ATVs were destroyed on the mine’s grounds. A passenger vehicle used for the same purpose was also destroyed. The Russian army in Ukraine rarely deploys armored vehicles for direct assaults anymore. One pre-emptive Ukrainian drone raid is a healthy reminder why the Russians have held back their armor. 

The Russian army in Ukraine rarely deploys armored vehicles for direct assaults anymore. One pre-emptive Ukrainian drone raid is a healthy reminder why the Russians have mostly held back their armor despite effectively rebuilding the active vehicle inventory following disastrous losses between 2022 and 2024.

Just before June 10, first-person-view drones from the Ukrainian 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Forces Brigade detected the Russian Center Group of Forces staging up-armored MT-LB infantry carriers in a disused coal mine for an apparent planned assault north of the ruins of Myrnohrad in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. 

The Pilots of the 4th Battalion of the 414th Unmanned Strike Aviation Brigade ‘Birds of Magyar,’ destroyed the Russian armored vehicles in Myrnohrad, using fiber-optic FPV drones. 

Robert ‘Magyar’ Brovdi, the Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, announced this and also released video footage of the operation.

According to Brovdi, Ukrainian intelligence received advance warning that Russian forces were preparing a mechanized assault in the sector defended by the 1st Corps of the Ukrainian National Guard ‘Azov.’

The preemptive strike was carried out on June 10. The armored vehicles were detected and struck in the industrial area of the Kapitalna Mine (known as Stakhanova Mine until 2017) in the city of Myrnohrad.

Within an hour, Ukrainian drone operators hit four MT-LB multipurpose tracked armored vehicles, which Russian forces primarily use as armored personnel carriers to transport infantry. 

In addition, six ATVs were destroyed on the mine’s grounds. These vehicles are used to provide rapid mobility for assault groups and to deliver ammunition and supplies to Russian positions. Ukrainian forces also destroyed a passenger vehicle that was being used for the same purpose. 

The Russian vehicles apparently assigned to that assault toward Kramatorsk never left the warehouses where they were stored. “A pre-emptive inspection of the industrial zone at Stakhanov Mine by fiber-optic FPV pilots of the 4th Battalion, 414th Separate USF Brigade ‘Magyar’s Birds’ ensured that nobody would be going anywhere,” wrote Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

“These armored vehicles are being destroyed before they can be used in assault operations, although finding them often requires searching as carefully as one would for mushrooms in a forest,” the commander said. 

Strikes on Training Grounds and Fuel Tank Facilities

On the night of May 30, pilots of the 414th Unmanned Strike Aviation Brigade ‘Birds of Magyar,’ and the 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment (‘Raid’), operating under the coordination of the newly established Deep Strike Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces, carried out a series of strikes against Russian training grounds, troop deployment areas, and logistical support facilities. 

The targeted sites were located in the operational rear of the occupying forces, up to 100 kilometers from the front line. In total, 21 confirmed successful strikes were recorded.

Later in June, Detachment ‘13’ of the 414th Unmanned Strike Aviation Brigade ‘Birds of Magyar’ struck fuel and lubricant storage tanks in occupied Mariupol, as well as a site used to store military equipment in Novoazovsk of the Donetsk region.