Ukrainian Drone Commander Says Kyiv Will Bypass Moscow to Strike Vulnerable Energy Targets

Ukraine could bypass the heavy security ring around Moscow and instead focus its deep-strike drone campaign on crippling vulnerable Russian oil and energy infrastructure on the country’s periphery, a top Ukrainian drone commander told The Guardian on May 8.

Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces and elite 414th brigade—known as “Madyar’s Birds"—stated that Kyiv will likely bypass Moscow’s heavy air defenses in favor of striking vulnerable energy and military targets on the periphery. Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Brovdi is considered Moscow’s top assassination target, The Guardian notes.

While a “symbolic” strike on Red Square would capture global headlines, Brovdi noted that Ukraine is more likely to deliver a “slap in the face” where Russian air defenses remain vulnerable. “Why waste drones on the ‘great wall’,” he said, pointing to Moscow’s heavily fortified airspace. “If you hit the energy sector or military that’s the best strike, on the periphery.”

Brovdi’s units have executed a series of devastating strikes on Russian ports, missile factories, and oil refineries up to 2,000 kilometers from the frontline, according to The Guardian. The commander estimates that 100 million tons of Russian oil, valued at roughly €92 billion ($100 billion), is exported annually from ports currently within range of his drones. Striking these facilities aims to crash the Russian economy and restrict funding for the war, which consumes 40% of Moscow’s estimated €490 billion ($530 billion) annual budget.

The tactical shift toward unmanned warfare is altering the battlefield. Brovdi stated that drones are now responsible for 80% of enemy destruction, rendering armored assaults obsolete. He noted that a mass tank assault on Kyiv today would result in the “biggest bloodbath in world history” as millions of drones would swarm the vehicles.

This drone superiority contributed to Ukraine’s recent localized counteroffensives, resulting in the recapture of 12 villages in the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, The Guardian reported. According to the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces lost more territory than they gained in April for the first time since 2024. Ukrainian intelligence estimates that drone strikes are helping drive Russian casualty rates to between 30,000 and 34,000 per month.

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Operating from a secure underground bunker, Brovdi oversees a massive data operation, utilizing a situational awareness system called Delta that logs every mission and processes up to 15 terabytes of raw video footage daily. He warned that NATO military commanders, whose training predates modern drone warfare, must urgently overhaul their doctrines to emulate Ukraine’s data-driven combat ecosystem.

Despite recent tactical successes, Brovdi cautioned to The Guardian that an immediate end to the war remains unlikely. He anticipates an eventual operational pause driven by geopolitical circumstances or temporary agreements, which he warned Russian leader Vladimir Putin will simply use to regroup his forces.

The disproportionate impact of Ukraine’s drone operations has reshaped the country’s military strategy. In a recent interview, Commander Brovdi had revealed that the Unmanned Systems Forces now account for roughly one-third of all destroyed enemy targets, despite comprising only about 2% of the armed forces. This outsized effectiveness is driven by the development of cheaper, longer-range domestic drones capable of striking up to 2,000 kilometers deep into Russian territory.

By systematically targeting the oil refineries and energy infrastructure that fund Moscow’s military-industrial complex, Brovdi noted that Ukrainian forces have effectively eliminated the concept of a “peaceful rear” for the Kremlin, Brovdi noted.

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