The Ukrainian army is using locally produced AI-controlled drones to target Russian logistics deep behind the front. kyiv is counting on this technology in order to compensate for its military differential with Moscow.
The objective is to strike deep in order to disrupt the logistics. As a colleague from Forbesthe Ukrainian army has been using drones powered by artificial intelligence for several months to strike Russian targets.
During the summer of 2025, the journalist tells “having seen (on a screen, Editor’s note) a drone locking onto its target automatically. A few moments later, another vehicle appeared on the screen. A second was launched, before it reached its target a few minutes later”. A rhythm which has become the norm for Ukrainian operators.
The machines make it possible to identify targets more quickly, and to penetrate deeper behind Russian lines in order to strike logistics networks.
Azov returns to Mariupol. For now, through reconnaissance-strike systems.
Pilots of First Corps Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine patrol roads up to 160 km deep behind the line of contact.
In the cameras of reconnaissance-strike drones: Mariupol and enemy military targets.… pic.twitter.com/9QcTBiZr6I
— First Corps Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine (@azov_media) May 8, 2026
“Hit faster and further”
The unit of the 13th Khartiia Brigade, commanded by Heorhii Volkov, notably uses AI-boosted Hornet drones costing less than $6,000. Rather than targeting only the troops at the front, kyiv seeks to disorganize the entire Russian military system. “As soon as we started hitting 30 or 40 kilometers behind the lines, we saw immediate results”explains Heorhii Volkov.
Thus, the goal is to cut off the supply of ammunition, fuel or food to Russian forces so that they do not reach the front line, located between 30 and 120 kilometers to the rear.
“In a war of attrition, the advantage will go to the one who knows how to strike faster and farther”explains a Ukrainian expert on drone warfare. And a former soldier analyzes: “We are moving from a model where an operator controls a drone to a model where he programs dozens, even hundreds.”
The next step for Kiev: setting up a wall of semi-autonomous drones, equipped with AI, capable of striking before the targets arrive at the front.
/2026/05/17/6a095268c9da6220003352.jpg "War in Ukraine: Russia claims to have shot down more than 500 Ukrainian drones overnight from Saturday to Sunday")
