Ukrainian drones now roam occupied Luhansk skies — Third Army Corps knocks out Russian logistics in the region

Ukraine's Third Army Corps has declared an operation putting Russian supply lines across occupied Luhansk Oblast under the fire of its strike drones, the unit announced. Its pilots ranged deep over the occupied region toward the Russian border and hit the logistics that sustain Russia's hold there. The Corps cast the move as an answer to Russia's claims of having fully captured the oblast, though a single operation does not amount to lasting control.

Drones crossing occupied Luhansk unopposed

The Corps released footage from the raid. Footage features drones flying over occupied Luhansk city without resistance, passing the city's main landmarks, including the circus, a downtown hotel, and the main avenue.

The video then cuts to Russian vehicles being struck on the oblast's highways.

More than 205 kilometers to the Russian border

Pilots of the unmanned systems battalion reached the Izvaryne checkpoint on the Russian border. That lies over 205 kilometers inside the territory Russia holds. Along the routes, they struck armored vehicles and ammunition depots, the Corps reported.

Brigadier General Andrii Biletsky, the Corps commander, tied the strikes to Russian boasts. 

"In response to the enemy's statements about the complete capture of Luhansk Oblast, we announce an operation to control logistics routes in Luhansk Oblast and Eastern Slobozhanshchyna. Luhansk, Starobilsk, Alchevsk, Brianka, and Kadiivka are now under the control of the Third Army Corps' drones," he said.

Eastern Slobozhanshchyna is a historical borderland of northeastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia, including most of Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts, as well as parts of Donetsk Oblast and of the nearby Russian regions. 

The pilot who grew up in Luhansk

The operation was planned and led by a strike-drone platoon commander with the call sign "Skhid" ("East"), a native of Luhansk Oblast, the Corps said. In 2022, he got into besieged Mariupol. After the city's defense ended, he made his way alone to Ukrainian-held territory. For that, he holds the title Hero of Ukraine.