Ukraine's drone chief says push to cripple Russia in Crimea is just getting started

Ukraine's campaign to cripple Russian military operations in Crimea is "just getting started," according to the commander leading the country's drone war. Major Robert "Magyar" Brovdi envisions rendering the peninsula, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, unusable as a staging ground for Russian forces.

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Crimea falls within the key conceptual pillars on the path to ending the war.

Brovdi told The Associated Press that his forces could strike seven times more military targets in Crimea if Western allies disbursed pledged funds more quickly. Despite this financial shortfall, Ukraine's summer offensive has already inflicted significant damage, disrupting supply lines by striking rail bridges and oil depots, and blinding Russian air defenses as drones operate. However, Brovdi noted that his forces are operating at only 14% of their required capacity for the Crimea campaign.

Before joining Ukraine's territorial defense in the war's early days, Brovdi managed an international grain trading business. He quickly rose through the ranks to command one of Ukraine's most effective drone brigades, eventually being appointed to lead the newly formed Unmanned Systems Forces. He emphasized that Ukraine's manufacturing capacity is not the bottleneck; rather, it is the "untimely financing" from partners that slows progress.

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It's not that the production capacity of Ukrainian manufacturers doesn't allow us to make the necessary quantities of drones. It's the banal problem of untimely financing, which our partners do allocate, but which moves significantly slower than our plans.

Brovdi's underground command post, adorned with Ukrainian art, including pieces by Maria Prymachenko, contrasts with the dozens of screens displaying live battlefield data. The facility offers soldiers amenities like coffee, books, and rest pods, creating an environment more akin to a Silicon Valley office than a traditional war room. He cited a recent reduction in Russian missile launches from Crimea as a sign of progress, attributing it to the systematic destruction of Russian air defenses, though the AP could not independently verify this claim.

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Please don't touch the sculpture.