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    Home»World News»UK & Europe»‘Highway of death’: the Ukrainian drone campaign menacing Russian logistics | Ukraine
    UK & Europe

    ‘Highway of death’: the Ukrainian drone campaign menacing Russian logistics | Ukraine

    AdminBy AdminJune 11, 2026No Comments5 Mins Read0 Views
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    Russian forces call it the “Novorossiya” route, the crucial main supply line that snakes through the Ukrainian territories under Moscow’s occupation, linking Rostov-on-Don in Russia to Melitopol, Mariupol and Crimea via the Sea of Azov coastline.

    In recent months, however, Ukrainian forces have given the R-280 a new name – “the highway of death” – in reference to the Ukrainian drones that dominate the airspace above the road, hunting down convoys of Russian military traffic.

    The road, which has been almost completely closed to civilian traffic since late May, is particularly important to Moscow because it constitutes the main land corridor for supplying Russian forces in the south that avoid the exposed Kerch Bridge to Crimea.

    Drivers have recorded video footage that not only shows burnt-out trucks on the side of the road, but in some instances captures the drone attacks themselves.

    Traffic was suspended this week on the Chonhar Bridge – a key section of the road connecting Russia-occupied Kherson province to Crimea – after a series of Ukrainian drone strikes. Ukraine’s 1st Separate Assault Regiment said on Tuesday: “We see all movements and totally control the enemy’s repair works. We are ready to make our long-range adjustments at any moment.”

    A satellite image of Chonhar bridge showing the damage. Photograph: Planet Labs

    Ukrainian drone operators, including those of 412th “Nemesis” brigade, say dozens of trucks and tankers have been destroyed as part of an intensified effort known as the “middle strike campaign”.

    The campaign is aimed atRussian targets located between 20km and 200km behind the frontline, with a focus on logistics and supply lines. Last month, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said such strikes had quadrupled since February.

    “There are now twice as many strikes at distances of 20km-plus compared with March,” Zelenskyy said on 5 May, “and four times as many compared with February. And there will be even more. This is a priority area.”

    Map showing route of the R-280

    Footage released by Ukrainian army appears to show drone attacks on bridge and trucks – loop
    Footage released by Ukrainian army appears to show drone attacks on bridge and trucks – loop

    Three weeks later, Ukraine’s defence minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, was more explicit. The intention, he said, was a “logistics lockdown”, and extra funds and drones were being funnelled to the most effective units.

    “Our task now, as directed by the president, is to maximise the middle strike and, in coordination with the military, create a complete logistics lockdown for the enemy,” Fedorov said. His formula is simple: the enemy “will no longer feel safe even at a great distance from the frontline”.

    The impact on the Russian supply line has been remarkable. On Tuesday, Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said military cargo traffic along the highway had fallen by 71% over the past two weeks.

    Ukrainian drone units are coy about the precise details of the new tactics, but a central component of the effort appears to be the use of swarms of drones to attack logistics routes including roads, railways and bridges in numbers that seem to have caught Russian forces by surprise.

    Hornet drones made in the US reportedly feature heavily in the Ukrainian campaign. Photograph: Spc. Thomas Dixon/7th Army Training Command

    US-produced Hornet drones have reportedly featured heavily in the Ukrainian attacks, their operators assisted by AI to identify truck traffic.

    The winged drones, which are the size of a large surf board and have a range of about 150km, have been used to patrol and bomb Russian convoys almost continuously. One immediate impact has been fuel shortages in Crimea.

    Ukrainian forces also appear to have been utilising a new, locally produced 2 metre-long lightweight fixed-wing drone, known as the Morrigan, which can be launched from a sling shot or a rail, removing the need for a road or airfield.

    A Russian official quoted on the Meduza independent news site also suggests that airdropped mines are being used.

    Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed head of the occupied part of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, described a “comprehensive remote mining system” that detonated on movement, warning drivers to “limit trips unless absolutely necessary”.

    A photo released by Ukraine’s 412th brigade that is says shows a fixed wing Morrigan drone. Photograph: 412 Nemesis Brigade

    The end result has been roads littered with the charred hulks of destroyed Russian trucks, as convoys have tried to move off the main roads to avoid detection.

    The new Ukrainian tactic has been noted by independent analysts, including the US-based Institute for the Study of War thinktank. In a recent update, it said: “Ukrainian intermediate-range strikes are already achieving notable operational effects, including degrading Russia’s ability to use the key Russian highway connecting Russia to occupied Crimea and GLOCs [ground lines of communication] around Donetsk City.”

    On 21 May, Vladimir Saldo, the Kremlin-appointed governor of Russian-occupied Kherson region, signed a decree introducing restrictions on civilian truck movements on the R-280 where it runs along the Sea of Azov.

    In an indication of the Ukrainian success, Saldo compared the strikes to the siege of Leningrad: “This is cynical barbarism. In its cruelty, these actions are reminiscent of the fascist blockade of Leningrad, when the enemy tried to intimidate people, sever connections between territories and break the will of the civilian population.”



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