Ukraine’s “Free Hunt”: New Drones Turn Russia’s Safe Zone Into a Kill Zone

Ukraine’s new mid-range strike drones are allowing its soldiers to “free hunt” Russian targets in areas far behind the front lines that Moscow once considered safe. These drones can fly up to 300 kilometers into enemy territory, attacking warehouses, vehicles, and command posts. One Ukrainian soldier described the operations as “quite easy” because the area is full of targets but has few defenses. Dmytro “Liber” Zhluktenko, a former drone operator and analyst with Ukraine’s 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment, told Business Insider that operators attach a Starlink terminal to the drone for internet. They then fly it to critical highways and begin hunting. “Those highways are so loaded with military logistics that it would be very hard not to find targets,” he said. He added that the zone is “not a 100% kill zone, but you are definitely in danger.” Ukraine already uses short-range drones to hit troops near the front and long-range drones to strike oil facilities deep inside Russia. The new mid-range drones fill the gap, targeting areas 20 to 300 kilometers from the front. Russia has weak defenses in this middle zone, in part because it cannot move air defenses from other areas where Ukraine is already applying pressure. Western analysts say Ukraine’s varied drone campaigns have stretched Russia’s air defenses thin. Taras Berezovets, head of the military cooperation department of Ukraine’s Territorial Defense Forces, said in May that for Russia, “the area which they considered to be safe now is a new kill zone.” He said this creates psychological and practical problems. “It takes much more time to deliver armaments to the front lines,” he said, adding that using these drones in large numbers “will change the front lines.” Ukraine’s then-defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, said in May that “the enemy’s rear is no longer a safe haven.” He said Ukraine is launching a “logistics lockdown” for the Russian army. Ukraine’s defense ministry said destruction of enemy logistics and depots has increased fourfold in recent months. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month that Ukraine has achieved “serious disruptions” to Russian logistics through its mid-range and deep strike capabilities.