A satellite image shows the burning oil refinery in Tuapse, Russia: Ukraine is now increasingly targeting the Russian oil infrastructure.Image: keystone
Almost every day, Ukraine attacks the Russian oil infrastructure, sometimes far behind the front line. Now a Ukrainian drone commander is threatening Russia.
May 3, 2026, 5:51 a.mMay 3, 2026, 5:51 a.m
Tobias Schibilla / t-online
In recent weeks and months, Ukrainian attacks on oil refineries and pipelines in Russia have increased significantly. The attacks are putting economic pressure on the regime in Moscow. In a rare interview, the commander of Ukraine’s drone force has now blatantly threatened Moscow with further destruction.
“Hardly any target in Russia is safe from our drones,” Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi told the British BBC. Even targets that are between 1,500 and 2,000 kilometers behind the front are no longer in the protected Russian hinterland.
Zelenskyj: Attacks are “very painful” for Moscow
Brovdi, known by his fighting name Magyar, leads the drone force of the Ukrainian army. In an interview with the BBC, he explains why he thinks it is important to bring the war to Russian territory: “We are like a red rag to the enemy. We bring the war to his territory so that he feels it himself.”he said.
According to Brovdi, the attacks are not only directed against military targets, but increasingly also against Russia’s energy infrastructure. “If refineries are a tool to convert resources into money for war, then they are legitimate military targets.”he told the BBC. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently described such attacks as “very painful” for Moscow.
Robert “Madyar” Brovdi: Largest killing of enemy forces [Russians] in history of mankind is being coordinated from this very room. In 10 months, we’ve surpassed 85,000 confirmed enemy personnel destroyed, all eliminated from this room using drones that cost $300-$2,000 each.
—Kate from Kharkiv (@kateinkharkiv.bsky.social) 1 May 2026 at 21:59
The drone attacks are coordinated from top secret military bases. BBC journalists report from an underground command post where numerous screens show live footage from the battlefield. There, soldiers track the drone pilots’ operations in real time and document their results.
Ukrainian commander: drones put pressure on Russia
Although the drone forces only make up around two percent of the total strength of the Ukrainian army, they are for about a third of successful attacks on Russia responsible, Brovdi said. Drones have become the most important factor through which Ukraine can exert military pressure on Moscow.
Ukrainian army shows online how versatile it uses ground drones
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
A central goal of his units is to compensate for Russia’s numerical superiority in troops. “Our task is to kill more enemy soldiers than Russia can recruit.”said Brovdi. Specifically, he spoke of more than 30,000 Russian units that his units would kill or seriously injure every month. This information cannot be independently verified, but is consistent with the observations of respected think tanks such as the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Brovdi was a successful entrepreneur before the war
The strategy is part of a broader approach: In addition to military effects, the attacks are also intended to have a psychological effect. Brovdi hopes that damage to infrastructure and rising casualties will weaken support for the war in Russia.
Brovdi, 49, comes from the western Ukrainian city of Uzhhorod and was a successful entrepreneur in the agricultural and real estate sectors before the war. Shortly before the start of the Russian invasion, he volunteered for military service. Today he is one of the most famous commanders of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
His drone unit, known as “Magyar’s Birds,” began as a small reconnaissance unit and developed into an independent unit over the course of the war. It is now part of Ukraine’s official drone force, which Magyar leads.