Ukraine has escalated its assault on Russia’s oil industry with a new drone bomber attack on a pumping station along the Russian-Belarusian border. The drones, operated by the 14th Separate Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Regiment, struck a critical node in Russia’s infrastructure, causing a blaze that registered on NASA’s fire-detecting satellites.
This marks one of the most sophisticated attacks yet from Ukraine’s drone operations, which have targeted Russian oil for over two years. Previously, drones were used to launch explosives-laden missions, but this latest attack saw the use of bombs dropped from the drones themselves.
Ukraine’s larger drones can now carry underbelly bombs and may be capable of one-way missions, allowing them to range 800 miles beyond the front line. The recent attack on the Druzhba pipeline was notable for its precision, with Estonian analyst WarTranslated noting that the strike was “precise” based on the fire damage.
The implications of this new capability are significant. Ukraine’s drones could now be used in multiple attacks, potentially allowing them to disable or destroy key oil infrastructure without having to return to base. However, remote landing is a challenging aspect of wartime drone operations, and it remains to be seen how successful these drones will be in their future missions.
Sources: David Axe
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2025/01/30/a-new-kind-of-ukrainian-drone-may-have-blown-up-a-major-russian-oil-pipeline