Ukraine deploys three-layer drone campaign to disrupt Russian logistics in occupied south

Ukraine has deployed a three-layer drone campaign to disrupt Russian logistics in the occupied south, organizing its drone units into concentric zones that target supply lines from the front line to 200 km deep, according to analysts and Ukrainian military sources.

The campaign has three distinct zones: short-range FPV quadcopters patrol near the gray zone out to about 20 km; mid-range AI-assisted drones, including the Swift Beat Hornet and the B-2, range up to 150 km and target logistics trucks and cars on highways; and long-range Fire Point FP-1s and FP-2s, with warheads weighing as much as 150 kg, strike high-value targets such as supply depots, oil infrastructure, command centers, and air defenses out to around 200 km.

Strikes on Russian logistics in the occupied south more than doubled between February and March, according to Ukrainian analysis group Tochnyi. Russian forces lost ground in March and April. Tochnyi stated: "The intensity of attacks on munitions storage aligns with observed reductions in Russian artillery usage, while fuel-related targeting suggests a parallel effort to constrain mechanized operations by disrupting supply chains behind the front."

Russian forces in southern Ukraine depend heavily on trucks for reinforcements and supplies. Hundreds of trucks travel daily from Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia through occupied Mariupol before heading west toward occupied Crimea or north toward occupied Donetsk. Both routes—the M-14 highway from Rostov-on-Don and the H-20 highway north into Donetsk—are under intensive drone attack.

A video from May 22, 2026, shows a Ukrainian drone narrowly missing a military cargo truck parked beneath trees lining the M-14 near Pryazovske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The drone, apparently a Swift Beat Hornet with AI-assisted targeting, exploded in the trees.

Analyst Clément Molin said the Rostov-Crimea and Mariupol-Donetsk roads are "the backbone of Russian presence in the south." He explained the strategy is to "force Russia to change [its] strategy, which will obviously be less efficient." A better-protected but less efficient Russian logistical system still results in fewer reinforcements and less supplies reaching front-line regiments.

The campaign aims to bleed Russian supplies and buy Ukrainian engineers time to prepare defenses along the 1,200-km front line of Russia's 51-month wider war on Ukraine. Ukrainian industry now produces millions of small FPVs and tens of thousands of heavier drones annually. Drone units rely on Starlink connectivity, with backup mesh radio networks and inertial navigation systems for when external communications are jammed.