- Ukraine and Russia are increasingly relying on medium-range drones to carry out strike missions.
- The drones are targeting high-value assets relocated farther away from the front lines.
- This shift is expanding the "kill zone" and highlighting how the battlefield is evolving.
The "kill zone" around the front line is growing as Ukraine and Russia increasingly turn to drones with greater range to punish enemy targets once out of reach.
Ukrainian soldiers told Business Insider that a shift is underway and that the use of medium-range drones has become more commonplace as both sides withdraw logistics and fighting positions to spots farther away from the line of contact, beyond the reach of shorter-range first-person-view (FPV) drones.
The evolution and resulting expansion of the kill zone show how both sides in this conflict are adjusting their targeting approaches as the battlefield changes and further underscore the role drones play in the war.
A Ukrainian drone unit commander, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive developments, said that medium-range drones have long been used throughout the war for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, but it was unusual for them to be sent on strike missions.
Now, both Ukraine and Russia are employing more medium-range drones for strikes on enemy positions between 100 -200 kilometers (roughly 60-125 miles) from the front line, rather than relying on more expensive long-range drones or less-capable short-range ones.
The commander said the degree to which tactics are shifting varies in different sectors of the front line, but in northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region, where he operates, the trend began a few months ago and has become much more noticeable. He said he heard five medium-range drones flying near his position just on Wednesday alone.
There is no designated line of contact, only a 10-kilometer "kill zone" on both sides of what the commander described as an "imaginary line on the map" and separated scout points with infantry troops.
The commander said there is virtually no movement within the kill zone, with infantry in front-line positions supplied and supported by quadcopter drones and ground robots.
Ukraine and Russia have moved high-value systems such as artillery, command-and-control nodes, and support and logistics centers farther back from the front, beyond the reach of most small FPV drones. They are a popular weapon on the battlefield; however, they tend to have short ranges of just a few miles.
To reach the key targets, both militaries are using medium-range drones, the commander said. The aircraft are still relatively small and may only be capable of carrying an explosive payload of 5-10 kilograms (roughly 11-22 pounds), but it's enough to destroy small buildings or to kill or wound groups of hostile forces.
Yuriy, a Ukrainian lieutenant-colonel in an electronic warfare unit, who requested only to be identified by his first name, said that one aim with the increased use of mid-range strike drones is to kill Russian troops farther from the front line because once they get close and start spreading out, they create an overwhelming number of targets for short-range drone operators.
He said that his job as an electronic warfare specialist has not changed despite the shift because his unit predicted that this would happen as the fighting dragged on.
As the war nears its fourth year, both sides are continually updating how and where they strike. When Ukraine gained longer-range weapons early on, such as US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Russia shifted vital targets farther back, and now drones are once again reshaping the fight.
While short- and medium-range drones are common around the front line, both Ukraine and Russia rely on longer-range systems with ranges of hundreds of miles to carry out deep-strike missions.
Russia uses long-range Iranian-designed Shahed drones in nightly attacks on Ukrainian cities and critical civilian infrastructure. Kyiv, on the other hand, has stepped up its strikes against Moscow's energy infrastructure in recent months to exert greater pressure on the Kremlin.
