(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Ukrainian drone units have destroyed several Russian military assets including a Buk M1 air defence system and a Nebo 55Zh6 radar station during operations in early March, according to reports from Ukrainian special drone forces.
The strikes were carried out between March 1 and March 13 by units of Ukraine’s specialised drone forces.
According to operational reports, Ukrainian drone pilots destroyed the twentieth and twenty first elements of what Ukrainian forces describe as the Russian air defence network.
One of the targets was a Buk M1 surface to air missile system located near the town of Kurakhove in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Another target was a stationary Nebo 55Zh6 radar station located in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The operations were conducted by drone pilots from the 7th Battalion of the 414th Separate Brigade of Ukraine’s drone forces, commonly known as the “Birds of Magyar”.
Additional drone units from the 1st Separate Drone Centre participated in the strike against the radar installation.
Ukrainian forces also reported the destruction of four Russian Merlin VR reconnaissance aircraft over the area of Huliaipole.
The aircraft were reportedly shot down over a period of four days by drone pilots from the 7th Battalion of the 414th Brigade.
Military analysts say the Merlin VR reconnaissance aircraft operates at a level used by Russian army command structures, normally providing intelligence at division or army level.
The loss of several such aircraft within a short period may indicate increased Russian surveillance activity in the area prior to the strikes.
Ukrainian forces described the downing of four aircraft in four days as a significant signal regarding Russian operational focus in the region.
The Buk air defence system and the Merlin reconnaissance aircraft were destroyed by pilots from the 7th Battalion of the 414th Brigade, while the Nebo radar system was destroyed by drone operators from the 1st Separate Drone Centre.
The Ukrainian drone forces maintain an online operational tracker that records the destruction of Russian military equipment during the war.
The tracker, known as the SBS scoreboard, provides updated data on the number of Russian military assets destroyed by Ukrainian drone units.
