Russia may have used long-range FPV drone to strike Zaporizhzhia for first time

What happened earlier

This morning, the SES press service in Zaporizhzhia reported that two fires broke out in Zaporizhzhia and the settlement of Stepnohirsk on April 14 as a result of FPV drone attacks. No further details about the attack on Zaporizhzhia were provided.

Later, the mention of FPV drones was removed from the SES report, but there was information online that Zaporizhzhia was likely attacked by an FPV drone for the first time.

What the military says

As Vladyslav Voloshyn, a spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces, explained to RBC-Ukraine, it will be clear whether the enemy attacked Zaporizhzhia with an FPV drone after the services conduct research and study the wreckage. According to him, it is too early to say what type of drones were used

"The distance from the frontline to Zaporizhzhia is roughly 30 kilometers. The enemy doesn’t launch FPV drones from the line of battle engagement but from about two kilometers away from it," Voloshyn explained.

If it’s confirmed that an FPV drone was used, it would mean that Russia has developed drones capable of flying over 30 kilometers. This will indicate that the war has moved to a new stage, as most FPV drones have a range of 3–10 kilometers.

Voloshyn recalled that previously, Russia had attacked Zaporizhzhia using guided aerial bombs, Shahed drones, and ballistic missiles.

"They have never used FPV drones to attack Zaporizhzhia before. Until now, such drones were used mainly against settlements located right along the frontline," he added.

Russian forces struck residential areas in the frontline town of Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region overnight. As a result, a fire broke out in a high-rise building, and the power supply was cut off.

The town is located about 40 km from the city of Zaporizhzhia and around 2.5 km from the left bank of the Kakhovka Reservoir (Dnipro River).