Drone Pilots Capture Russian Troops Fleeing Botched Assault in Eastern Ukraine

(DONETSK OBLAST, UKRAINE) – Ukrainian drone pilots from the 414th Separate Brigade have published combat footage showing the defeat of a Russian assault group in the Donetsk region.

The video was released on 15 May 2026 as part of the unit’s weekly series called “Shobla Tyzhnia,” Episode 43. It shows Russian infantry running away across open fields, through reeds and ditches, while Ukrainian drones watch from above.

A voice in the video speaks from the view of a Russian soldier. He describes the fear and panic around him. “Everyone around is scurrying like cockroaches. But it is terrifying to stick your head out because something is whistling, something is whistling.”

The soldier questions why he ever joined the fight. “Why on earth did I need that special military operation? Why did I come here? Just to end up belly down in a ditch, chased by drones?”

The footage shows how Russian troops left their wounded behind as they ran. The narrator tells of a soldier called “Vasiok” who was hit directly by a drone. “Vasia received a credited headshot. His ears scattered. That is how his episode ended.” 

The Russian soldiers threw down their weapons and body armour to run faster. “We raced through bushes, through gullies, ravines and ditches, whilst Vaska’s corpse burned out in the weeds. We threw away weapons and armour, shouted nonsense into the radio, and from the sky, a downpour of fire pursued us,” the narrator says.

The video ends with the soldier accepting his fate. “I will remain in these fields because I chose this bizarre path. No one will bury me in the mud. At home there is food and booze. I went to the special military operation. Now I rot in the Donbas terricones.”

The 414th Separate Brigade is led by Robert Brovdi, known by his call sign “Magyar.” The unit has become one of Ukraine’s best drone fighting forces. It uses advanced drones for both spying and attacking. The brigade also runs a public online scoreboard called “Pidrakhuika” that tracks confirmed strikes on Russian forces.