KYIV, Ukraine – In early March, an American-made reconnaissance aircraft hovered over the waters of Ukraine’s Black Sea, inspecting Russian targets below. As it approached a gas field off the coast of southern Ukraine, patrolling drivers spotted what appeared to be Russian soldiers and military equipment over an oil refinery.
As it piloted an array of seaplanes, the Ukrainian navy began firing on the machine. When a nearby Russian Ka-27 jet arrived to evacuate the crew and equipment, the Ukrainian fighter jet descended, exploding on contact with the plane.
The engagement cost Russia more than $1.5 million in military equipment, and according to the Ukrainian military, destroyed a key Russian platform for strikes in neighboring Ukrainian regions. It was one early example of aggressive Ukrainian strategy using long-range strike drones to destroy Russian resources.
Sefa Karacan/Anadolu via Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a 40-day “influence operation” that expires in early August to force Russia to end its war.
The reconnaissance aircraft that spotted the oil rig – a long-range surveillance aircraft known as “V-BAT,” developed by the American defense company Shield AI – played a very important role in the operation.
“We focus on targets that are expensive, important, or difficult to replace,” the Ukrainian military’s V-BAT operator, who goes by the symbol “Negative,” said.
Surveillance drones deep in Russia have allowed Kyiv to increase its strikes targeting military infrastructure, energy and supplies.
“One of its biggest advantages is its range,” said the drone operator. “Because the V-BAT can see from a long distance, we are able to confirm what is there, collect detailed images, and provide intelligence without getting too close to the target.”
In June, Ukraine nearly doubled its strikes more than 30 miles above Russia’s borders, according to Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov.
The strike campaign in and around the Black Sea was very effective. On Tuesday night, the Ukrainian military attacked nine oil tankers in the Black Sea, acting as part of the Russian fleet. Last month, Russian officials halted gas sales to people in Crimea, a peninsula in southern Ukraine that has been controlled by Russia since 2014.
Fedorov said his drones would soon turn Crimea “into an island,” separating it from the Russian mainland.
The success of this strategy would have seemed unimaginable a year ago. In March 2025, the US stopped providing certain types of intelligence for Ukraine to strike inside Russia, forcing Kyiv to turn to other partners.
French President Emmanuel Macron said in January that two-thirds of the intelligence Ukraine now receives comes from France.
“As the United States retreats, it’s clear that we’ve started trying to involve European countries,” said Taras Chmut, a defense expert at Ukraine’s Come Back Alive Foundation, in an interview earlier this year. “They may be somewhat limited in technology, but they are faster at making decisions than the Americans.”
Surveillance drones have also helped fill the gap. Ukrainian manufacturers have expanded the range of their surveillance aircraft by equipping them with Starlink terminals. But operators say V-BAT offers unique capabilities.
“We use several other systems, but none of them offer the same range as V-BAT. They cannot compete with it in terms of endurance or communication,” said Negative, the drone operator.
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The intelligence provided by the aircraft is important not only for target selection but also for spotting Russian air defenses standing in the way, experts say. According to Fabian Hoffman, a Ukrainian defense expert, one of the key reasons for Ukraine’s recent success in penetrating Russia is the year-long “shaping campaign” that has taken out Russian air defense equipment.
Ukrainian officials say V-BAT has helped identify the location of Russia’s most expensive aircraft, such as its S-400 systems. The plane also has AI software on board that plans its routes based on known Russian air defense locations.
Shield AI employees in Ukraine say the data and feedback they get from drones is important to their aircraft and software, which needs further development. According to a Reuters investigation earlier this year, the V-BAT has crashed more than 50 times in the past 18 months on flights around the world.
Ukrainian workers say the war zone is the only place where the necessary changes can be made.
“For example, if Russian electronic warfare starts working on a certain frequency, our operators report that information. If those times change, we get new reports and adjust,” said Alex, a Ukrainian veteran and operator of the Shield AI platform. “That information is important because it allows us to understand how we need to update the aircraft.”
The Ukrainian military, which is adapting to technology at a pace few militaries can match, said it hopes more American companies will develop the technology alongside them.
“We always work as a team. We go into the field and get the important information we need from us and they get the information they need to update the aircraft itself,” said Negative, who is in charge of the drone. “So it improves them and us.”
