“In June, we struck 11 oil refineries and more than eight defense-industrial enterprises. There were only a few days when nothing was burning in the enemy’s strategic rear. Moscow burned twice in June.”
That is how the 1st Separate Unmanned Systems Center of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces described its deep-strike campaign to RBC-Ukraine. The center said its long-range drones hit 697 targets in Russia in the first half of 2026 alone and put a record 43% of the country’s oil refining capacity out of action. The number of strikes deep inside Russian territory has risen by 1,150% since the start of the year, it added.
According to Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, the country used six times more long-range drones in 2025 than in 2024.
Omsk, 3,000 kilometers away
The strike range keeps stretching. In July the center, working with other units, hit Russia’s largest oil refinery, in Omsk. The city is about 2,400 kilometers away in a straight line. With detours and maneuvering, the drones flew as many as 3,000 kilometers, deep into Siberia.
The center would not discuss future targets. “But the effort is systematic, and every next step is part of our broader strategy,” it said. Current priorities are the fuel sector, the defense industry and the logistics networks serving them. The unit says it has more assets, sharper reconnaissance and a shorter preparation cycle.
What makes a drone go that far
Oleh Krot, chairman of the board of Culver Aerospace, said long-range drones are built around a long, complex flight profile rather than a short mission. “Deep-strike drones are engineered from the outset to cover vast distances, operate for extended periods and complete missions in a challenging environment,” he told RBC-Ukraine.
The makers of the Bars drone put it more simply: fuel and battery capacity. The more a drone carries, the farther it flies. Short-range models are designed around simplicity, quick deployment and low cost. Deep-strike machines have to stay stable and reliable for hours, which puts a premium on aerodynamics, engine stability, navigation resilience and manufacturing quality.
DG Industry designed its Shpatel drone, which can fly hundreds of kilometers one way, as a universal platform. The same airframe can strike targets under manual control or on pre-programmed coordinates. It can also serve as a decoy to overload air defenses, or as a communications relay.
Developers pointed to cost as well. Mass use of cheap long-range drones forces the enemy to fire far more expensive air-defense weapons at them.
Routes, jamming and testing
Flight paths are set before launch, with planners weighing range, platform limits, navigation conditions and operational security. Manual control, common on tactical systems, works less well at long range, so makers lean on autonomy and mission-planning quality. The military makes the final call on routes.
Manufacturers declined to say how they beat electronic warfare. DG Industry did say demand is growing for satellite communication links, and it has adapted its drones to use them. “Their impact is not currently critical for our platform,” the company said of jamming.
Krot said testing begins with engineering reviews and ground checks of components, electronics, engines and software, followed by staged flight trials. In Ukraine the loop of “combat use – analysis – engineering modification – new iteration” runs much shorter than in traditional defense industries, developers say.
Over the next one to two years, the center expects deep-strike drones to become more autonomous, harder to jam and more tightly tied into the wider intelligence network.
