The leader of Ukraine’s special drone branch said his operators are striking advancing Russian infantry at extreme close range, providing rare insight into how some of the country’s best pilots are fighting.
Maj. Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, wrote in a statement on Sunday that his pilots have, over the last month, been engaging enemy troops at an average strike depth of 1.44 km, or 0.89 miles, from the line of contact.
That’s a roughly 10-minute brisk walk for the average person.
“This figure fluctuates, but: We are literally working under our feet,” Madyar wrote.
His remarks reflect how top Ukrainian commanders in some areas have been prioritizing their limited resources. Using elite strike crews for short-range suppression could also be a sign of heightened pressure on Ukrainian lines.
The Unmanned Systems Forces is a relatively new elite formation in Ukraine that focuses on providing strike or reconnaissance support with smaller drones. Madyar, a prominent drone unit commander appointed to lead the group in June 2025, said on Sunday that his branch comprises 12 combat crews who are present on 30% of the front line.
Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
Russia relies on ground infantry assaults to gradually take territory in Ukraine, and has been aggressively attempting to advance along some key frontline areas in recent months.
Madyar wrote that his units are assigned to corps commanders, who have been deploying the operators to attack such advancing troops at closer range.
“Not a single Corps commander, who has many hundreds of crews from their own brigades and subordinate units within their area of responsibility, is ready to release SBS work to proper depth,” Madyar wrote, referring to the Unmanned Systems Forces as the SBS.
He added that this was due to Ukrainian commanders wanting to protect their troops in the trenches.
For Ukrainian soldiers, being sent to hold a trench is one of the war’s most high-casualty tasks. They’re often outnumbered by waves of attacking Russian troops, and typically need the help of friendly drone pilots to thwart assaults before they can get close.
But ideally, these drone operators prefer to spot and engage enemy infantry farther away, roughly 6 to 10 miles from the line of contact, as these troops form up or begin to launch assaults.
“To systematically reach proper depth, it is necessary to manage to create new crews, at least three times more than the current number,” Madyar wrote. “The existing ones, for the most part, will remain in tactical depth.”
Drone pilots striking more infantry in December
Madyar also said infantry strikes have recently accounted for a larger share of his units’ time.
According to him, the SBS has a usual goal of targeting infantry in 30% of its strikes, but nearly 40% of its successful attacks, against roughly 12,000 soldiers, were against infantry in December.
Still, the commander wrote that in the SBS’ entire history, the majority of its engagements have been against Russian equipment and logistics routes, at ranges of roughly 2.3 miles to 9.2 miles, depending on the type of system targeted.
Madyar’s branch has struck over 1,200 “launch points” for Russian drone pilots, at an average depth of 2.25 miles, he added.
Elite units typically make a name for themselves by using small, inexpensive drones to strike priority air defense systems, logistics routes, or command posts deep behind enemy lines.
Indeed, the commander had posted his statement on Sunday in response to what he said were recent criticisms that his units were focusing too much on strikes against Russian soldiers.
Madyar also wrote that not all SBS crews are equally contributing to these strike statistics.
“Only six to seven out of 12 SBS units are working at the desired pace; the others are catching up and need more time,” his statement said.
