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Meet “Knyaz Oleg”—Russia’s New Recon Drone Just Got Destroyed Over Ukraine

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Ivan Khomenko
News Writer
Russian reconnaissance drone “Knyaz Oleg” captured mid-flight over Lyman area before being shot down. (Source: 63rd Mechanized Brigade video)
Russian reconnaissance drone “Knyaz Oleg” captured mid-flight over Lyman area before being shot down. (Source: 63rd Mechanized Brigade video)

Ukrainian forces have downed a previously unseen Russian reconnaissance drone known as “Knyaz Oleg the Prophet” during a mission over the Lyman area, the 63rd Separate Mechanized Brigade reported on November 4.

According to the brigade’s official statement, air defense units detected and destroyed the drone as it attempted to conduct surveillance at medium altitude. The video published by the 63rd Brigade shows the moment of impact and subsequent destruction of the aircraft.

The Ukrainian unit emphasized that the downing marks the first recorded case of this particular drone being neutralized since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“This is not a wonder weapon—any hostile platforms violating Ukrainian airspace will be destroyed,” the brigade said in its public release.

No technical specifications of the “Knyaz Oleg the Prophet” drone are currently available in open sources. There is no confirmed information on its manufacturer, onboard systems, or sensor suite.

Based on the available footage, the aircraft appears to have been used for optical reconnaissance within a range of roughly 40–50 kilometers from its launch point, as later mentioned by Russia’s 11th Army Corps.

The 63rd Brigade described its engagement as a standard air-defense operation: detection, target lock, launch, and destruction. The successful interception was presented as evidence of both readiness and operational efficiency of Ukrainian air-defense units operating along the Lyman front.

Russian military sources cited by domestic media acknowledged the loss, stating that the drone had been deployed for reconnaissance in both the Sloviansk and Lyman directions before being shot down.

Earlier, Ukraine’s armed forces used FPV drones to destroy two Russian “Merlin-VR” reconnaissance UAVs valued at $300,000 each. The strike was carried out within 30 minutes as part of the Come Back Alive Foundation’s “Dronopad” initiative, which has reportedly downed over a dozen such drones to date.

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