Ukraine’s Drone Commander Says Crimea Campaign Could Expand Sevenfold With Faster Western Funding

Major Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, who oversees Ukraine’s expanding drone operations, outlined an ambitious strategy to render Crimea unusable as a Russian military hub in an interview with The Associated Press. The commander of Ukraine’s newly formed Unmanned Systems Forces said his brigades could dramatically escalate their campaign against the peninsula—annexed illegally by Russia in 2014—if pledged Western financial support arrived on schedule. Currently operating at just 14% of required capacity, Brovdi’s forces have already inflicted substantial damage to rail infrastructure, fuel storage facilities and power grids that sustain Russian operations.

The summer offensive beginning in late June represents the opening phase of a comprehensive effort to disable Crimea’s value as a staging ground for Russian military activities, according to Brovdi. He credited systematic destruction of over 300 air defense assets—including radar stations and electronic warfare equipment—with creating conditions allowing Ukrainian drones to strike targets with minimal losses. In four recent large-scale Russian missile barrages from the peninsula, only five missiles launched total, a reduction Brovdi attributed to degraded air defenses, though the AP could not independently verify the claim.

Brovdi, whose call sign reflects his ethnic Hungarian heritage from the western Zakarpattia region, emphasized that manufacturing capacity within Ukraine remains adequate. Rather, he identified financing delays from international partners as the primary obstacle to scaling operations. “It’s the banal problem of untimely financing, which our partners do allocate, but which moves significantly slower than our plans,” he stated.

His underground command post blends military function with cultural elements, displaying pieces by renowned Ukrainian painter Maria Prymachenko alongside dozens of screens transmitting live battlefield footage. The facility includes amenities—quality coffee, exercise equipment, sleeping pods—that reflect a workspace culture more aligned with technology companies than traditional military headquarters. Brovdi acknowledged twice publicly apologizing to Crimean civilians for power disruptions caused by targeting electrical infrastructure, which Russian forces depend upon to operate Soviet-era air defense systems.

Using Starlink connectivity where available across Crimea, Ukrainian forces have calibrated strikes to employ an average of three drones per target, selecting munitions based on objective type—different approaches for bridge structures versus fuel vehicles or moving trains. Ukrainian intelligence indicated that roughly two weeks into the campaign, Russian authorities ordered military commands and security services to relocate from the peninsula alongside covert removal of classified archives and artwork, though the AP could not independently verify this account.

Brovdi highlighted emerging Russian countermeasures, including expanded jamming systems intended to degrade Starlink coverage and development of alternative satellite communications networks. He characterized Russia’s satellite initiative as a global threat, warning that authoritarian control of worldwide information access carries serious implications. Additionally, Russian deployment of Shahed jet-powered drones has increased two and a half times in recent weeks, presenting greater challenges for Ukrainian air defenses.

Russia currently possesses capacity to launch simultaneous barrages of 77 ballistic missiles and plans expansion to 200, Brovdi said, representing a critical vulnerability for Ukraine given shortages of interceptors for U.S.-supplied Patriot systems. Dozens of Russian missiles penetrate Ukrainian defenses during mass attacks, underscoring the necessity for Ukrainian long-range strikes against Russian missile production facilities.

Ukraine has increasingly targeted Wildberries, Russia’s largest e-commerce platform, which Brovdi described as functioning simultaneously as military supply logistics and consumer economy linchpin. The strikes aim both to disrupt Russian military procurement and to create direct economic hardship for Russian civilians, potentially fostering domestic pressure to end the conflict. Brovdi declined to specify a timeline for the Wildberries campaign, stating only that operations will persist “until it becomes impossible for it to recover quickly.”