In Krynky, Russians Are Safe From Ukraine’s Drones For Just One Minute

Eighty seconds. That’s how long it took a Ukrainian team to detect a Russian fighting vehicle with one drone and then send a second drone to destroy the vehicle.

It was a new speed record for a drone kill-chain in Russia’s wider war on Ukraine, according to famed Ukrainian drone commander Robert Brovdi. And it underscored the escalating threat Ukrainian drones pose to Russian vehicles and infantry on one key battlefield.

The recent drone-strike occurred on the eastern edge of Krynky, a settlement on the mostly Russian-held left bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast.

In early October, Ukrainian marines motored across the Dnipro and, in a series of daring infantry actions, established Ukraine’s first enduring bridgehead on the far side of the river. Now the marines are fighting to expand that bridgehead.

The Ukrainians enjoy local air-superiority over Krynky, and not by accident. Ukrainian gunners, drone-operators and electronic-warfare troops spent weeks early this fall targeting Russian air-defenses and radio-jammers along the Dnipro’s left bank while also setting up their own jammers, which can ground enemy drones.

There even have been rumors the Russians inadvertently helped out the Ukrainians when a Russian rocket battery misfired and blew up a nearby jamming vehicle belonging to the Russian army’s 144th Motor Rifle Brigade.

The end result of all this preparation is a battlefield where Ukrainian drones utterly dominate. It’s not for no reason Russian brigades and regiments so far have failed to push back the small force of Ukrainian marines—a few companies or battalions—in Krynky.

The Russians outnumber the Ukrainians perhaps 10 to one in southern Kherson Oblast. But Russian troops can’t stage anywhere near Krynky without coming under assault from a lot of drones.

And quickly. Brovdi’s drone-operators recorded the record-fast drone strike and shared it with the media, revealing how the Ukrainian drone-ops have become so responsive.

It all starts with observation drones—quadcopters, it seems—that hover over Krynky at all hours, watching for approaching Russian troops. When the quadcopter-ops spot Russians, they call the operators of explosives-laden first-person-view drones.

Many FPV-ops steer their drones via virtual-reality headsets, guiding them straight into collisions with their targets. Boom!

The recent record-setting strike targeted a Russian BTR wheeled fighting vehicle that attacked in the late evening. “It came very quickly to the attacking position,” Brovdi said.

A Ukrainian quadcopter observed as the BTR opened fire with its 30-millimeter autocannon. Unluckily for the BTR’s crew, Brovdi’s group’s “emergency drones”—its exploding FVP models—already were in the air, waiting for this opportunity.

“Just wait,” Brovdi recalled telling the Ukrainian troops on the ground. “We need a few minutes to get to you.”

But it was getting late, and most FPV drones don’t work in the dark. Moreover, the BTR crew—apparently realizing the risk it was taking—was in a hurry to retreat back to Russian lines. For a few seconds, it seemed possible the Russians would escape.

Then, a stroke of misfortune for the BTR crew. Reversing out of its firing position, the wheeled vehicle edged off the road, sank into the mud and got stuck. “Come on, worm, dig deeper,” Brovdi chuckled as he watched the recording of the hapless BTR.

That was all the help the FPV drone-op needed. The explosive drone speeded in from its holding position. As two Russians fled on foot, the drone struck the mired BTR. “The worm is running,” Brovdi mused.

From detection to destruction, the entire raid lasted a minute and 20 seconds. What that means, for the Russians struggling to contain the Ukrainians’ Dnipro bridgehead, is they might have a window of just one minute in which they can safely approach Ukrainian positions, fire a few rounds and then retreat.

Stay any longer, and the drones could find them.