Ukrainian SOF drones take aerial control of Melitopol-Chonhar supply route to Crimea

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SOF) drone operators have established aerial control over part of the Melitopol-Chonhar land route, a key supply corridor to Crimea, the 3rd Separate Special Purpose Regiment named after Prince Sviatoslav the Brave announced on Facebook.

The unit is destroying Russian equipment and disrupting enemy logistics routes along the Melitopol-Chonhar corridor, the regiment said. "As a result, logistics for supplying the Russian forces and fuel to the peninsula have been complicated," the SOF stated. The regiment added: "This is only the beginning. More to come!"

The operation targets the western end of Russia's constrained supply lines to Crimea, which also include the Kerch Bridge, under sustained Ukrainian threat since 2022, and the rail and road corridor through occupied Donetsk Oblast. The Melitopol-Chonhar segment crosses flat steppe with limited cover and funnels convoys through narrow bridge crossings over the Syvash, terrain that favors drone operators with persistent surveillance and strike capability.

On 31 May, Mariupol residents reported in local group chats that Russia shut down part of its land corridor from Crimea to occupied Donetsk due to Ukrainian drones. Separately, the command of Russia's Dnepr Group of Forces has ordered the use of civilian vehicles to transport fuel along the Rostov-on-Don to Crimea highway.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry recently committed $113 million to medium-strike drones designed to target Russian rear logistics, part of a broader "logistics lockdown" approach to occupied territory.