Robert 'Madyar' Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, operates from a subterranean bunker, orchestrating long-range drone strikes that have rattled the Kremlin. As Vladimir Putin assures Russians of inevitable victory, Moscow's Red Square will see no military hardware in its annual Victory Day parade for the first time in nearly two decades, due to fears of a Ukrainian attack.
The Man Behind the Drones
Brovdi, a former grain trader who now leads the elite 414th brigade 'Madyar's Birds', has become Moscow's top assassination target after President Zelenskyy. His unit has executed a series of devastating strikes on Russian infrastructure, including oil refineries, ports, and missile factories deep within Russia. Brovdi suggests that a 'symbolic' attack on Red Square would generate global headlines, but Ukraine will likely target weaker air defences elsewhere. 'Why waste drones on the great wall?' he says, referring to Moscow's enhanced security. 'If you hit the energy sector or military that's the best strike, on the periphery.'
Crippling the Russian War Machine
The brigade's long-range drones have knocked out enemy air defence systems faster than Moscow can rebuild them, making targets within a 1,250-mile radius of Brovdi's bunker vulnerable. Ukrainian drones recently hit the Black Sea oil terminal at Tuapse four times in two weeks, with Brovdi noting that 'practically everything there has burned.' Similar strikes targeted Baltic ports and even reached the Urals, hitting oil refineries and fighter jets. Brovdi believes that by crashing Russia's economy, Ukraine can force an end to the war. Putin spends 40% of his $530 billion annual budget on the military, and Brovdi estimates that 100 million tonnes of Russian oil worth $100 billion is exported yearly from ports within drone range.
Ukraine claims Russian military casualties from drones have reached 30,000 to 34,000 per month for five consecutive months, reducing the army's offensive potential. 'This affects the combat capability of the Russian army, reducing its offensive potential. That is a fact,' Brovdi states.
Inside the Bunker
Meeting Brovdi involves elaborate security protocols and a mystery ride in a car with blacked-out windows. His operations centre is deep underground, with a corridor lined with sleeping pods leading to a room filled with computer screens and live video feeds. Drones hang from the ceiling, and video loops show the final moments of Russian soldiers. An electronic table itemises enemy losses in real time. Brovdi, once clean-shaven and suited, now wears a green military uniform and a long beard, speaking Ukrainian and reeling off statistics. He maintains a record of every drone sortie since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
Ukraine's Drone Superpower Status
Ukraine has emerged as a drone superpower, exporting counter-drone technology to Gulf states. Its situational awareness system, Delta, logs every mission, and Brovdi receives 12-15 terabytes of raw video footage daily. Tactical gains include a small counteroffensive that retook 12 villages in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. In April, Russian forces lost more territory than they gained for the first time since 2024, according to the Institute for the Study of War. 'Our troops are advancing and liberating our territories,' says Capt Oleg Kopan, deputy commander of the 148th brigade's artillery reconnaissance division.
Kopan attributes Ukraine's advances entirely to rapidly evolving unmanned technology. 'Drones allow us to inflict precise damage with fewer personnel casualties and greater efficiency,' he says, though he acknowledges that Russia is adapting quickly by copying Ukrainian tactics. Brovdi believes Ukraine has pioneered a 'new doctrine of war,' with drones responsible for 80% of destruction. 'A blitzkrieg is now impossible,' he warns. 'If Russia had a million tanks and tried to seize Kyiv again, it would be the biggest bloodbath in world history. Two million drones would swarm over these tanks and burn them mercilessly.'
He criticises Nato countries for not overhauling their armies to integrate drone warfare, urging them to emulate Ukraine's ecosystem of video footage, photographs, coordinates, and confirmed kills. 'Russia won't stop. Neither we nor you have time,' he says.
Despite successes, Brovdi admits Ukraine is 'a long way from victory.' He foresees a possible pause linked to an agreement or geopolitical circumstances, but warns that such a pause would only allow Putin to regroup. 'He is afflicted with an incurable disease of power and the desire to build a dictatorship. He's a sick man,' Brovdi concludes.
