Ukraine is aiming to destroy up to 35,000 Russian troops per month, as it steps up its drone attacks across the frontlines. The figure represents the number of Russian recruits the Kremlin is reportedly able to draft each month into the ranks of its army.
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a major military reshuffle earlier in June, when he appointed Major Robert “Madyar” Brovdi as the new commander of Kyiv’s drone forces. The 49-year-old is a rising star of Ukraine’s military, having started off serving in the Territorial Defence Forces in 2022, where he led an assault platoon. He soon established his own aerial reconnaissance unit called “Madyar’s Birds”.
The unit became the first in the Ukrainian military to specialise in both reconnaissance and strike drone operations.
Brovdi is planning to reorganise Ukraine’s drone forces into a much more lethal killing machine.
Drones are already estimated to be inflicting 80% of Russian casualties on the battlefield, but the new commander wants more bang for his buck.
He told the Ukrainian media outlet Censor.net that it was vital to inflict maximum casualties on Putin’s army and prevent the Kremlin from replenishing its frontline troops.
“The enemy’s ranks are replenished by approximately 35,000 monthly, while verified eliminations reach around 18-22 thousand,” he said.
“This surplus creates a problem if not addressed. Our goal is to reach a level of 35,000 Russian soldiers neutralised per month.”
The commander wants to set up dedicated drone units for each section of the frontline, with operators who are intimately familiar with their own sector, rather than deploying UAV teams as a mobile reserve shuffled between hotspots.
His concept is to create a continuous “kill zone” across the whole frontline where defence relies not on bunkers, manpower, or fortifications, but on the work of FPV drones.
Brovdi wants to focus initially on removing Russian reconnaissance and strike capabilities and directly targeting enemy drone pilots.
“Locating and neutralising enemy pilots is our highest priority task,” he said.
Artur Rehi – an Estonian military analyst – noted that if Brovdi succeeds in his aims, then Russia could be deprived of its last major battlefield advantage – namely sheer numerical superiority in manpower.
“Without this, Russia’s ability to sustain offensive operations may collapse, as its capacity for large-scale mechanised assaults has already been severely reduced,” he said.