Ukraine's bold military strike cost Russia millions in a single day

Ukrainian forces effectively disabled military equipment valued at millions of dollars with a drone strike in a single day. Read on for a detailed account of the incident and an analysis of Ukraine's strategic execution of this operation.

Forbes’ David Axe reported that the Russian Armed Forces, which may have been emboldened by their then-recent capture of Avdiivka, reportedly shipped some of its best military equipment to southern Ukraine ahead of a possible new offensive. 

Some of this equipment was located by Ukraine in a warehouse and was soon targeted by the country for destruction, something which happened rather quickly and via the use of first-person view attack drones and a lot of skill. 

Drone operators from the Presidential Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine knocked out four pieces of Russian equipment being stored in the small village of Staromlynivka and later released video footage of the drone attack. 

In the part of the video republished and edited by the Ukrianian Telegram news channel Censor, the warehouse attack can be seen from the perspective of the drone flying outside of the warehouse complex before it begins its approach toward its open doors. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @censor_net

As the drone entered the warehouse, it flew slowly over its targets before stopping near a BMPT Terminator armored fighting vehicle and turning downward to hit and destroy the vehicle. But that wasn’t the only attack.

Photo Credit: Telegram @censor_net

The video continued by showing three more drone attack approaches on other pieces of equipment in what looked to be the same warehouse, and that footage is followed up by a shot of the warehouse engulfed in flames as another drone attacks. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @censor_net

The video then cuts to a separate drone attack approach on what appears to be a different location before it cuts again to several pieces of footage from a further vantage point showing the warehouse on fire. It is unclear if it is the same warehouse. 

Photo Credit: Telegram @censor_net

Ukrainska Pravda reported that the strike destroyed two T-72 tanks and an S-60 anti-aircraft—as well as the previously mentioned BMTP Terminator and 2 URAL-4320 off-road vehicles loaded with ammo according to the Telegram channel drone operators.

Photo Credit: Telegram @censor_net

“The Russians had likely gathered the equipment for an offensive, but our pilots tracked it and hit it using drones. The occupiers had hidden the vehicles in warehouses, but the drones found the equipment even there,” the drone operators wrote.

Photo Credit: Telegram @censor_net

Forbes reported that the drone group claimed the strike cost Russia tens of millions in equipment at the cost of just roughly $5000 for Ukraine, but added that the drone raid was more notable for the range of the strike behind enemy lines. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Kirill Borisenko - Own Work, CC BY-SA 4.0

“The Russian army isn’t likely to pack tanks and BMPs into warehouses within normal range of Ukraine’s two-pound FPV drones. Two miles or so,” David Axe wrote before going on to say the range could have reached ten miles with help. 

However, as impressive and skillful as the drone strike was for Ukraine, it also revealed a concerning truth about the country’s current capabilities. Axe asked if Ukraine was able to hit targets ten miles behind the lines with drones, then why not with other weapons?

Artillery, glide bombs, and rockets could have hit the Russian warehouses and ensured the destruction of the whole complex, but Ukraine opted to use drones instead—which may indicate that Kyiv is running out of its heavier weapons. 

“The answer is obvious. The United States was the main supplier of Ukraine’s heavy munitions, and Russia-aligned Republicans in the U.S. Congress since October have refused to vote on fresh aid to Ukraine,” Axe wrote. 

Axe continued by saying that the warehouse strike was “bad news for Ukraine,” adding that it was an embarrassing loss for the Russians but that “it was equally appalling to the Ukrainians that they had little choice but to attack with drones instead of… rockets.”

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