Ukrainian drone forces launched a series of devastating attacks against Russian military convoys and positions between 17 and 18 May 2025. Using precision first-person view (FPV) drones and reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), Ukrainian elite units neutralised dozens of enemy targets along a wide stretch of the eastern front, from Kursk to Pokrovsk and Cerebrianka.
Video footage released by Ukrainian units shows panicked Russian soldiers fleeing from vehicles trapped in minefields, only to be picked off one by one by FPV drones. These attacks, which took place in areas including Daetsk, Cerebrianka and the Pokrovsk direction, underline the increasingly decisive role of unmanned systems in modern warfare. Russian military elements — including armoured vehicles, command posts, bunkers, artillery and ammunition depots — were swiftly located, targeted and destroyed in seconds.
In one coordinated operation, Ukraine’s Prime border guard unit, usually stationed far from the front, carried out an extraordinary series of precision attacks on Russian positions in the Kursk front. The results were striking. Eighteen Russian bunkers, three military trucks, one Gvozdika artillery system, two UAV control points, two communication towers and one ammunition depot were obliterated. Ten enemy soldiers were also neutralised. This single operation alone, experts estimate, caused damage worth tens of thousands of pounds — with destroyed Russian equipment valued in the range of 2 to 5 million UAH (around £40,000 to £100,000).
Separately, Ukraine’s Hydra unit operating between Daetsk and Luhansk launched a rapid counter-attack after spotting Russian infantry. Using kamikaze drones, the Hydra team pursued fleeing soldiers through forested terrain. Drones struck both infantrymen and their vehicles, reducing Russian mobility and morale to rubble.
In another highlight, Russian motorcyclists violating traffic laws on Ukrainian soil were caught on reconnaissance drones. Ukrainian forces, with perfect timing, detonated remotely controlled mines under the motorbikes. The 28th Mechanised Brigade, which carried out the operation, left no room for escape. The mines were followed by follow-up drone strikes to ensure full neutralisation.
On 17 May, Ukrainian defences in the Costantka Pokrovsk axis foiled another attempted Russian armoured assault. Two Russian vehicles were lured into a mined zone and struck with a sequence of blasts. One immobilised vehicle was later targeted with a UAV bomb, exploding into a heap of scrap metal. The other vehicle was similarly destroyed after hitting another mine. This strategic use of traps and follow-up drone attacks reveals the Ukrainian army’s increasing dominance in remote battlefield control.
Ukrainian forces continue to rely on high resolution aerial surveillance, drone-guided strikes and coordination between border guard and mechanised units. Each Russian incursion is now met not only with resistance but with technologically driven elimination.
