Lt Col Ray, a Ukrainian commander with the 414th aviation brigade, watched a long-range strike drone roar into the evening sky from a field of sunflowers in the Ukrainian countryside, bound for Russian-occupied Crimea. "We are making history here," he said. "This is where democracy beats totalitarianism. It's like George Orwell. But this time Big Brother loses." The launch on 21 July was part of Ukraine's campaign to disconnect Crimea from its power and logistics networks — a campaign that has now extended to Moscow and St Petersburg in 2026, bringing the war home to Russian citizens who had previously ignored it.
The drone carried between 50 and 100kg of explosives. Two more followed. After four hours, at about 1am, the first drone reached the holiday resort of Alushta on the southern coast of occupied Crimea, weaving between grey apartment blocks before crashing into a 110kV electricity substation. Flames erupted and lit up the city's inky blackness. That same night, unmanned drones hit 13 electricity nodes across Russian-controlled parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces, which the Kremlin says it has annexed.
Europe's New Defense Reality
Since 2022, Russia has carried out nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities and towns, sending Iranian-designed shaheeds as well as ballistic and hypersonic missiles. After Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, those swarms grew, raining down chaotically and killing families in their apartments and other civilians in what the article described as a calculated campaign of terror. Ukraine, once a recipient of western assistance, has responded by developing its own military manufacturing base and, after rapid growth, has become the world's leading unmanned systems power. The drones hurled at Crimea were built in Kyiv by a defense technology startup, and the firm's representatives take part in operations.
Ray's battalion, named after Kairos, the ancient Greek god of opportunity, luck and the fleeting moment, has carried out hundreds of deep strikes against Russia. Its targets have included oil refineries, warehouses and munitions depots, as well as ports and harbours and routes used for army logistics such as roads and railways. In 2026, Ukrainian drones have struck Moscow and Putin's home city of St Petersburg, embarrassing Russia's president. "I think Putin is afraid," Ray said. "One of the justifications he gave for his war was to stop Ukraine from [potentially] bombing Moscow. It's happening now as a direct consequence of his actions."
The model can fly more than 2,500km, far enough to pummel anywhere in European Russia and much of Siberia. Drone crews are given coordinates at the last minute. So far, none of those who take part in launches have been injured or killed, despite attempts by Moscow to identify and blow up lift-off points. One person involved said: "You are making change on a global scale. Trump wakes up and sees the results. At the same time it's very solitary. You can't tell anybody about what you do, even your wife, or boast: 'Today we bombed Moscow.' Only your commander understands."
The Economic Pressure Campaign
Kairos is part of "Magyar's Birds", a brigade named after the call sign of its founder, Robert Brovdi, the head of Ukraine's unmanned systems forces. In July, Brovdi launched a campaign to destroy oil tankers and other vessels in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea. So far, more than 200 have been hit. The Russians were taken unawares, their boats unable to escape. Since last week, the brigade has been burning warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia's equivalent of Amazon, obliterating at least nine of them. Ukraine says the company sells military products. The strikes have crippled small businesses and caused billions of roubles in damage. Brovdi said: "The socio-psychological impact on society is greater than that of an oil refinery."
Brovdi said Ukrainian long-range drones had "significantly thinned out" Russia's air defences. "We have already destroyed the majority of them," he said. "With every air defence unit destroyed, the breach expands." Three days earlier, air defence units were flattened in the Russian port of Yeysk on the Azov Sea, he added, bringing the number of systems knocked out to 305. He said Russia's enormous size, once a strategic strength, has turned into a weakness, and that a panicked Kremlin has moved "a certain number" of air defences from the frontline to protect Moscow.
Crimea now has so little fuel that Russian military groups are sometimes unable to fill up and launch drones. There are also frequent power cuts. One brigade member, call sign Schweik, predicted food shortages would happen soon. "The operation is endless. There will be a cascade effect. We will continue this pressure. They will be thinking about survival instead of assault operations," he said. Schweik added: "The situation is humiliating for Russia. Crimea is symbolic. It was Putin's first trophy and the place where the world order was broken. He created a kind of euphoria in Russia society, which in turn gave him permission to go and take more [Ukrainian] territory. Now everyone in the world understands that Russia is really weak."
The Frontline Trade-Off
Not all Ukrainian drones reach their targets. According to Ray, about a third are brought down over occupied territory. He said losses in the skies above Russia were considerably higher. Even so, Ukraine's strategy of piling pressure on the Russian economy appears to be working. Brovdi said: "Troops and resources must be exhausted, so that it becomes impossible for them to continue the war."
Brovdi acknowledged that Russian troops were still advancing in the eastern Donbas region, with battles in the city of Kostiantynivka. "Their gains to date do not justify the price they're paying for them," he said. He added: "At this rate, with their intention to seize half of Ukraine, are they planning to fight for 100 years?"
Ray's colleague Panama described the latest launch as a success. "It was 10 out of 10. With us it's always like this," he said, adding that he had been working with the current biplane-like model for a year and a half. "To begin with we used foreign drones. Sometimes things went wrong. Now we don't have problems," he said. The only challenge, he said, came from mosquitoes that fill the air during summer evenings. "Over time we've become friends with them. They don't annoy me any more. They are also inhabitants of free Ukraine. They can do whatever they want," Panama said.
Why This Matters:
Ukraine's transformation from aid recipient to the world's leading unmanned systems power demonstrates what happens when European nations are forced to build their own defense capabilities rather than rely on foreign assistance. The drone campaign against Crimea — stolen by Russia in the twelfth year — and strikes on Moscow and St Petersburg reveal a strategic shift: Ukraine is taking the war to Russian territory, forcing Putin to defend his own cities rather than focus solely on offensive operations. The economic pressure on Russia's fuel supplies, power grids, and civilian logistics networks shows that modern conflict isn't won only on the frontline. Europe must learn this lesson. The continent's security depends on member states investing in their own defense industries, not waiting for external support that may not arrive. Ukraine's success in building a drone manufacturing base in Kyiv under wartime conditions should embarrass European capitals that have spent years debating procurement rules while failing to modernize their own militaries.