Inside Ukraine's secret long-range drone campaign in Russia

In a darkened warehouse, masked specialists from Ukraine's military intelligence service, the GUR, assemble lines of 15-foot Liutyi long-range kamikaze drones. Some models carry explosive payloads of up to 150 pounds and can travel nearly 1,300 miles; others are now reported to reach as far as 2,000 miles and carry more than 500 pounds.

Commander "Vector," who leads a unit that conducts deep strikes, calls the drones "our most important card." The cost of each drone is estimated at roughly $230,000. The campaign, which began in early 2024 with only a few dozen aircraft per month, has expanded into nightly operations that launch an average of 200 to 300 drones into Russian territory.

Ukraine recently carried out its largest attack yet on an oil refinery near Moscow, sending plumes of black smoke over the capital's suburbs, temporarily shutting flights at four airports and prompting Russian officials to report hundreds of drones downed in the skies above several cities.

Russia, Moscow

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