Ukraine’s Drone Force Is Punching Holes in Russia’s Air Defense—194 Hits This Year

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces say their operators have struck 194 elements of Russia’s integrated air defense network since the start of 2026, including 31 targets in June alone, as Kyiv pushes deeper into the Russian rear and occupied territories, according to a report published on June 29.

Since the Unmanned Systems Forces became a separate branch of Ukraine’s Armed Forces on June 11, 2025, their operators have struck 276 Russian air defense assets in total.

The tally includes 169 surface-to-air missile systems and self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, 76 radar stations, and 31 electronic warfare systems.

The force also reported strikes on 426 mobile radar systems and 3,838 mobile electronic warfare systems. These systems are not part of Russia’s main integrated air defense network, but they provide local protection for military sites, logistics hubs, fuel depots, and other targets behind the front.

The campaign matters because Russia’s rear areas are protected by layers of radars, missile systems, and jammers. Every launcher, radar, or electronic warfare system knocked out creates another gap in that shield and makes the next deep strike easier to carry out.

The Unmanned Systems Forces said their operators continued targeting Russian air defense, fuel infrastructure, and military logistics between June 27 and 29. The strikes were coordinated with the USF Deep Strike Center.

In temporarily occupied Crimea, operators of the 1st Separate Unmanned Systems Center struck a Pantsir-S1 air defense system, an ST-68 radar, and a 48Ya6-K1 Podlyot radar.

Also in temporarily occupied Crimea, operators of the 412th Nemesis Brigade struck fuel tank railcars. In the Zaporizhzhia region, the same brigade hit a fuel and lubricants storage facility, as well as two Russian fuel tankers.

Operators of the 3rd Battalion of the 414th Magyar’s Birds Brigade struck another fuel tanker in the Zaporizhzhia region.

In Russia’s Bryansk region, operators of the 413th Raid Regiment struck a locomotive used to support Russian military logistics.

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Category

War in Ukraine

Ukrainian Drones Hit Over 800,000 Russian Military Targets in First Half of 2026

Jun 23, 2026 10:38

In the Kherson region, operators of the 20th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck a Russian harbor tug.

The strikes reflect a broader Ukrainian effort to dismantle the systems that keep Russia’s war machine running across occupied territory: air defenses, fuel supplies, rail links, and logistics nodes.

The temporarily occupied Crimea remains one of the central targets of that campaign. Russia uses the peninsula as a major southern supply hub, relying on the Kerch Strait crossing, ferries, and the land corridor through occupied southern Ukraine. By hitting air defenses and fuel logistics there, Ukraine is working to make the peninsula harder for Russia to protect, supply, and use as a launchpad for attacks.

Previous OSINT reports indicated that Ukrainian Defense Forces drones reportedly struck Russian S-300/S-400 air defense positions near Kerch in temporarily occupied Crimea, as well as a major electrical substation in the village of Marianivka.

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