Ukrainian unit deploys long-range drones to strike targets deep inside Russia
A secretive Ukrainian strike team operating Fire Point drones has been launching long-range attacks on Russian oil facilities and logistics hubs, a campaign that Ukrainian officials say has intensified pressure on Moscow.
Ukrainian soldiers from the First Separate Center of Unmanned Systems have been deploying Fire Point drones capable of flying 800 to 1,200 miles to hit targets inside Russia, including oil refineries near Moscow and infrastructure in occupied Crimea. The unit, whose members are identified only by callsigns for security reasons, conducts nightly launches from a farm field in eastern Ukraine, using a motorcycle-engine launch system that can prepare a drone in minutes.
Ukraine’s defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the drone campaign is isolating Crimea, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the strikes as “Ukrainian sanctions.” Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War noted that the attacks generate “substantial damage” and disrupt the Kremlin’s war effort.
While Russian air defenses intercept many of the unmanned vehicles, some have reached industrial sites, rail bridges and fuel depots, contributing to reported declines in oil refinery output. The Ukrainian team claims the operations are a response to the prolonged conflict and a means to pressure Russia toward a settlement favorable to Kyiv.
