Hunting Russian Soldiers with 'Vampir' Drones: Ukrainian Forces Prepare for New Offensives on the Southern Front

ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION – For today's cleansing mission in the chilly, windy steppes of southern Ukraine, the choice of munitions falls on the 'Spear.'

In a cramped trench, less than eight kilometers from Russian forces, Ukrainian soldiers are preparing bombs, wrapping wires and tail fins around long black steel tubes, equipped with menacing iron spikes and filled with explosives.

This primitive, Mad Max-styled munition has been designed for a drone warfare that has spiraled out of control; nothing unusual for Ukraine in 2026.

'If these bombs were to explode right now, there would be nothing left of us,' said drone pilot Oleksandr 'Hunter' with a dry smile.

Hunter, along with navigator Edward 'Timone' and sapper Maksym 'Old', form the crew of the heavy bomber 'Vampir' from the 423rd Separate Battalion of Unmanned Systems of the Ground Forces, also known as the Scythian Griffons.

This night shift is dedicated to targets in the village of Danilivka, where Russian soldiers have held positions in basements for over a month.

'Basically, we do everything to ensure they never feel comfortable in any shelter; that is our main task right now,' said Hunter.

After attaching the munition, the drone is ready for takeoff, but an alarm signal forces the team to retreat to cover as a Russian unmanned aircraft has been detected in the air.

With an analog detector in the trench and fresh information from the battalion's radio reconnaissance coming in around the clock, the team only emerges from cover when a safe window opens in the continuous stream of various Russian drones overhead.

When the signal for safety is received, the 'Vampir' finally ascends into the night sky.

In the era of drone warfare, most munitions simply lack the power to penetrate sturdy shelters.

The 'Spear,' specially designed in the battalion's workshop, addresses this issue by first breaching the shelter before detonating the ten-kilogram explosive charge inside. It is perfect for clearing enemy hideouts without risking lives on the ground.

Since February, Ukrainian forces have taken the initiative on the southern front, counterattacking through the eastern regions of Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, where Russia achieved its fastest successes in the final months of 2025.

Kyiv has reported the liberation of over 480 square kilometers of territory, with February being declared the first month since 2023 when Ukraine regained more territory than it lost.

However, on the ground, the reality is more complicated, as the traditional understanding of the front line dissolves into a contested 'gray zone' that is becoming wider and deeper, filled with an increasing number of drones from both sides each month.

'I wouldn't call it a counteroffensive because a counteroffensive is when they retreat and we advance,' said Vitaliy Chekan, commander of the Scythian Griffons, in an interview with the Kyiv Independent, 'but they are not moving anywhere.'

Based in Zaporizhzhia region even before it became one of the main hot spots of the war, the battalion now plays a key supporting role for the advancing ground units.

At Ukrainian positions, the 'Vampir' drone is being prepared near the front line in Zaporizhzhia region on March 12, 2026. (Francis Farrell / The Kyiv Independent)

Unlike the Ukrainian counteroffensive of 2023, which occurred at the dawn of the first-person drone era and when Kyiv still had a lot of motivated personnel, the attacks of 2026 have shown that the unmanned component of the offensive has indeed become independent.

'We constantly work with assault units and fully support them from the air,' said Chekan.

'We conduct reconnaissance, strike, accompany them from the air with drones, constantly attack, and only after that do the assault teams advance.'

Now Kyiv claims to have the initiative, but Russian efforts to advance and penetrate have not ceased.

'The Russians are always looking for weak spots, like water,' said Hunter.

'If they see that there is no Ukrainian defense in a certain area, they can advance and gain some depth.'

Hidden deep in the forest, further from the front line, two metal monsters awaited their chance to emerge into the wild fields.

In the spring of 2026, the American Bradley infantry fighting vehicle recalls a paradigm of warfare that existed three years ago but has now disappeared forever.

These machines belong to the 225th Assault Regiment, one of the largest units among the assault forces created by Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi last year.

The unit, which at that time still had the size of a battalion, played a key role in the initial breakthrough across the Russian border into Kursk region in 2024, later repeating this attempt in a smaller raid into Belgorod region.