Russia Once Put Anti-Tank Mines on Drones. Now Those Mines Are Being Sawn in Half

Russian forces appear to be arming some of their attack drones with reduced warheads after repeated Ukrainian strikes on logistics and ammunition supplies, according to footage released by Ukraine’s 3rd Heavy Mechanized Brigade on June 17.

The video shows a Russian drone carrying a weakened explosive payload. According to the brigade, this may indicate that Russian troops can no longer afford to equip some strike UAVs with whole anti-tank mines.

The military said the discovery was made by the “Iron Birds,” an interceptor battery of the brigade’s anti-aircraft missile division. In recent days, Ukrainian air defense crews reportedly shot down three Russian Molniya attack drones carrying TM-62 anti-tank mines that had been cut in half.

Before the Ukrainian strikes on the Russian logistics, interceptor drones had repeatedly recorded Russian Molniya-type UAVs fitted with full anti-tank mines.

The brigade said the use of half-cut mines points to ammunition shortages in some parts of the front. It linked the shortages to Ukraine’s ongoing campaign against Russian logistics, including drone strikes on ammunition depots, the destruction of vehicles, remote mining of supply routes, and the growing fuel crisis affecting Russian forces.

The mass destruction of Russian logistics, the brigade said, is producing a cumulative effect and creating consequences for the Russian occupation army that had not been seen before.

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War in Ukraine

Inside Ukraine’s Logistic Lockdown

Jun 10, 2026 18:25

The Molniya drone has been used by Russian forces as a low-cost attack UAV, often adapted with improvised or repurposed explosive payloads.

Sanctions and logistical shortages took a toll not only in the Russian frontline areas. Recently, an aging Russian Tu-22M3 long-range bomber crashed in Russia’s Irkutsk region during a training flight.

Earlier, a Russian battalion commander reportedly took his own life after a Ukrainian strike on the Chonhar Bridge severely disrupted Russian logistics and created major supply problems for his unit.

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