Ukraine plans to isolate Crimea, drone commander says

He said that intensified Ukrainian drone strikes against Russian-occupied territories have already disrupted enemy military logistics and fuel supplies.

Madyar emphasized that, as a result of the operation, traffic along the R-280 highway, which Russia calls Novorossiya and which runs from Rostov-on-Don to Crimea, has decreased by 71% over the past month. The route is critical to Russian logistics and, Brovdi emphasized, will be completely under Ukrainian control in just a month.

"We will isolate Crimea in the near future," the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces said.

He also compared strikes on Russian military vehicles traveling along the exposed highway to "shooting partridges in an open field."

Impact of Ukraine's campaign

Military analysts say Ukraine's medium-range strike campaign against occupied territories has significantly reduced Russian supplies reaching the front line, effectively halting offensive operations last month.

The campaign has also weakened Russian air defenses, creating opportunities for longer-range strikes that have targeted oil infrastructure and weapons production facilities deep inside Russia.

Madyar said one of his strategic goals was to force Moscow to withdraw troops rather than continue advancing.

"We will create conditions that will make it extremely difficult for any military personnel or those working in the defence industry to remain in Crimea, in the temporarily occupied territories, or use the access routes to them," he said.

Earlier, the Chonhar Bridge, which connected occupied Crimea with mainland Ukraine, was destroyed following a series of Ukrainian drone strikes.

In addition, on the previous day, Russian occupation authorities closed traffic on the bridge connecting Henichesk and the Arabat Spit in the occupied part of the Kherson region. Following the loss of the Chonhar Bridge, it became the second major crossing closed by Russian forces in recent days.