Ukrainian drone chief says faster Western aid could multiply Crimea strikes sevenfold

Maj. Robert “Magyar” Brovdi leads Ukraine’s newly created Unmanned Systems Forces and describes the Crimea offensive as the first stage of a strategy to make the peninsula unusable for Russian forces. He estimates Ukrainian drone capacity is at just 14% of what is required and claims that faster disbursement of pledged Western money could increase attacks on military targets by a factor of seven. So far, drones have hit rail bridges, oil depots, power infrastructure and have knocked out over 300 air-defense assets, reducing Russian missile launches from the region.

Brovdi’s underground command post doubles as an art gallery and a high-tech war room equipped with live feeds and Starlink connectivity, allowing three-drone strikes on heavily defended sites while avoiding civilian structures. He warns that Russia is deploying jamming equipment and building its own satellite system, and notes a rise in Shahed drones and planned ballistic-missile salvos. Ukraine is also targeting Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce platform, to disrupt military supply chains and pressure the Russian public.