In a quiet cornfield in eastern Ukraine, a specialized team of soldiers launched high-tech attack drones into the morning sky using a giant, heavy-duty slingshot. These soldiers are targeting Russian military bases, ammunition depots, and air defense networks located dozens of kilometers away in occupied territory. This silent, slingshot-launched drone campaign represents a major weapon for Ukraine as the country pours its resources into disrupting the Russian military’s rear operations.
The elite unit belongs to the 1st Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces, a highly specialized branch of the Ukrainian military. Their commander, who uses the call sign “Kyt” (which means “whale” in Ukrainian), explained that his men focus entirely on destroying the enemy’s logistical spine. The soldiers quietly unpack the wooden crates, assemble the wings, and configure the onboard systems right on the field, hidden under the tall corn stalks.
The launching process is a mix of high-tech programming and basic mechanical force. First, a technician uses a laptop computer to program the exact target coordinates into the drone’s guidance system. Next, the team loads the aircraft onto the massive slingshot. Another soldier uses a standard electric screwdriver to spin up the propeller before they pull back the heavy bands and fire the drone into the sky. The soldiers affectionately call these domestically made drones “Drakosha,” which translates to “little dragons.”
This silent, slingshot-launched campaign is part of Ukraine’s broader strategy of “middle strikes.” These attacks specifically target Russian military assets located between 30 kilometers and 180 kilometers behind the active front lines. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recently announced that Ukrainian forces have quadrupled these missile strikes since February. By systematically blowing up fuel depots and radar stations, the drones are starving the frontline Russian troops of essential supplies and ammunition. These strikes make it impossible for the Russians to build stable defensive positions near the front lines.
These continuous rear-area attacks are successfully shifting the momentum on the battlefield. Without constant supplies of fuel and ammo, Russian forces cannot sustain their heavy artillery barrages or launch massive tank assaults. According to the latest data from the DeepState open-source intelligence map, Russia’s territorial gains have slowed to a crawl. The Russian army managed to capture only about 50 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory over the past month.
To maintain this highly successful campaign, the Ukrainian government is pouring massive funding into its drone factories. On Wednesday, the 35-year-old Tech and Defense Minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, announced an additional 5 billion hryvnias, which equals roughly $113 million, in emergency funding for the most effective middle-strike units. This cash injection will help factories build thousands of new “little dragons” and train more pilots over the next few months, representing an estimated 1.5% boost in total domestic defense production.
“Whale” told reporters that this weekend’s launches represent just a tiny fraction of the hundreds of middle-strike missions his unit conducts every week. He confirmed that these domestically made drones possess the physical range to strike targets anywhere inside the occupied territories, and can even fly deep into Russian border regions to hit military airfields. The overall scale of the conflict is massive, with the military spending over $1 billion annually on its unmanned fleet to counter Russia’s larger army. By investing in these cheap drones, Ukraine’s army can successfully destroy high-tech Russian equipment worth millions of dollars daily.
The geographical stakes of this conflict remain incredibly high. Since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia has seized roughly 12% of Ukrainian territory. This means that Moscow currently controls about one-fifth of the entire country, including the Crimean Peninsula and large swathes of the eastern Donbas region. The drone commanders are determined to prove to the Kremlin that their forces are not safe anywhere within these occupied territories. They will continue to launch attacks until they liberate every single inch of their homeland.
For now, the soldiers in the eastern cornfield will continue to pack their wooden crates and launch their “little dragons” into the sky. While diplomats in Washington and the Middle East try to negotiate ceasefires, the war in Ukraine remains an active, high-tech struggle. By using simple tools like a slingshot to launch advanced, computer-guided weapons, these elite drone units are successfully rewriting the rules of modern warfare and proving they can strike back against a much larger invader.
