Ukraine’s 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade recently destroyed two bridges within Russia’s Belgorod region in a spectacular operation that was made possible with the help of cheap first-person-view (FPV) drones. Ukrainian troops carried out the strikes on underground stashes of Russian mines and ammunition located under the bridges near the border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv region.

Footage of the attack released by the unit showed the drone approaching the target before spotting the hidden munitions. The unit then detonated the drone near the mines, causing a massive explosion. A second camera was positioned nearby to record the strike from a distance.

According to CNN, which geolocated the bridge in Russia’s Belgorod region just across the border with Kharkiv, the unit targeted the two bridges after getting “wind that there was something suspicious there.” Bridges Used for Russian Resupply

After Ukrainian forces were able to confirm there were Russian mines stored under one of the bridges near the border, they decided to strike. “It became clear that something was going on there,” a representative of the brigade told CNN. “We saw the mines, and we struck.”

Ukrainian officials later added that the two bridges were used by Russian forces near the frontline to resupply ammunition and equipment. Russian troops had mined both of them in order to blow them up if the Ukrainians launched an attack.

Defense Infrastructure

The use of bridges as a part of a defensive infrastructure is not new to the current Russia-Ukraine war. In February 2022, Ukraine destroyed several bridges leading towards Kyiv to slow down Russia’s advance and protect the capital. Now, Ukrainian forces appear to have used the same tactic to inflict a symbolic victory against Russia.

There were two likely reasons Ukrainian forces selected this particular area of the frontline for the attack. First, the 58th Brigade had an opportunity to use an FPV drone with fiber optics to investigate the possible targets without being detected. Regular reconnaissance drones were unable to fly under the bridge without losing signal, but an FPV drone could be controlled in person and had lower batteries, which allowed the operator to bring fiber optics to visually check under the bridge.

It’s unknown whether the Russian military was already using the bridges for resupply or whether the positions were only just being readied to be used in the future. But Ukrainian forces clearly struck quickly.

Ukraine Strikes with Drone Underwater

As CNN notes, under normal circumstances, Ukraine would have been forced to destroy bridges at such a distance with a guided missile or precision bomb, which would have cost tens of thousands of dollars. In the past, for example, Ukraine has relied on U.S.-supplied HIMARS systems to target infrastructure in Russia’s Kursk region. Each HIMARS launcher costs several million dollars, while the rockets themselves run tens of thousands apiece.

A single U.S.-made JDAM-guided bomb can cost $26,000–$40,000 and the munitions Ukraine receives from the West are usually needed to target the advancing Russian troops. Ukraine used drones worth less than a smartphone for each of its Belgorod bridge strikes. Cheaper Drones Are Redefining Battlefield

Experts say that the successful attack was the latest example of how low-cost drones are changing the nature of warfare by giving Ukraine new ways to target Russian forces and infrastructure.

“The price tag is important in this type of unconventional warfare, and being able to attack such high-value targets cheaply is very attractive,” Mykola Bielieskov, a military analyst, told CNN.

While most of Ukraine’s drone strikes in Russian territory so far have been carried out with fixed-wing loitering munitions like Turkey’s Bayraktar TB2, Kyiv has also made use of small FPV drones smuggled close to Russian military airfields to destroy or damage dozens of Russian aircraft. This time, Ukraine’s 58th Brigade made use of small, one-pounder FPV drones with infrared and visible light cameras.

These developments come as Russia has been grinding forward in eastern Ukraine over the past weeks. This has been accompanied by Moscow’s continued near-daily missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities. Putin Has Given Up on Ceasefire

Russia’s Vladimir Putin has also continued to refuse any ceasefire, adding to the challenges for Ukraine. Against this backdrop, the symbolic victory in Belgorod likely gave a much-needed boost to Ukrainian soldiers on the frontlines.

Russia has not yet commented on the strike. But the loss of the bridges will impact its logistics in the Belgorod region, where Moscow will now have to restore routes to supply the troops near Ukraine’s border. Ukraine Emphasizing Innovation

Innovation is key for Ukraine’s forces under the current circumstances, as Kyiv has had to constantly improvise with limited Western supplies as Russian forces enjoy a numerical advantage in the latest stage of the war.

FPV drones, often cobbled together with commercial parts and modified by volunteers, have been Ukraine’s most effective innovation so far. “The value of these drones cannot be overstated,” the 58th Brigade representative told CNN. “They allow us to achieve results that would otherwise require weapons we don’t have.”