By Vladyslav Smilianets and Valentyn Ogirenko
EASTERN UKRAINE, May 28 (Reuters) - In a corn field in eastern Ukraine, soldiers fired drones into the sky using a slingshot, aiming at military targets in the country's Russian-occupied east, dozens of kilometers away.
"We're focusing on the enemy's bases in the field, ammunition depots and air-defence systems," said their commander from the 1st Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces - an elite drone unit - who asked to be identified by his call sign "Kyt,"
which means "whale".
His men had unpacked drones from crates and assembled them at the launch site. Using a laptop computer, a soldier programmed each drone with a target before it was loaded onto the slingshot. A soldier started the propeller using an electric screwdriver before it was fired into the sky.
Ukraine is pouring resources into such "middle strikes" that target Russian air defences and military logistics between 30 km (19 miles) and 180 km behind the front line. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this month these strikes have quadrupled since February.
Ukrainian officials and military analysts credit these attacks with helping to slow Russian advances, shifting momentum on the battlefield. According to the DeepState open-source map, Russia captured only around 50 sq km of territory this month.
"The enemy's rear is no longer a safe haven," Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, a 35-year-old tech enthusiast, said on Wednesday, announcing a further 5 billion hryvnias ($113 million) in funding for the most effective middle-strike units.
HUNDREDS OF MISSIONS
"Whale" said this was just one of hundreds of such mid-strike missions.
The Ukrainian-made drones - known as "Drakosha" or "little dragons" - could hit all parts of occupied Ukraine and even Russian territory, the commander said. "It's deep, and it's increasing," he said.
Since 2022, Russia has seized around 12% of Ukraine, according to DeepState - meaning it now controls around one fifth of the country, including land seized in Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014.
The Institute for the Study of War said the strikes were hampering Russia's ability to transport personnel and material to the front by hitting key arteries like the M-14 highway from Rostov in Russia to Crimea, which passes through Mariupol.
Defence analysts say such attacks alone cannot turn the tide against Russia but they're having an additional impact by facilitating longer-range drone strikes that are damaging Russian oil infrastructure.
"Whale" said the four-year war had seen one side periodically gain a technological advantage before the other side caught up.
"This is a constant process. Once we find the technology, they work against it," he said, noting Russia had enormous experience in air-defence technology. "You cannot underestimate the enemy."
($1 = 44.2940 hryvnias)
(Reporting by Vladyslav Smilianets and Valentyn Ogirenko; Writing by Daniel Flynn; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
