The Ukrainian military intelligence’s drone conducted a long-range strike on the “Voronezh M” radar station in the Russian city of Orsk in Orenburg Oblast near Kazakhstan some 1,600 km away from the frontline. According to Liga’s intelligence source, the drone traveled over 1,800 km to reach and attack the target, setting a new record range for Ukrainian drone strikes.
The “Voronezh M” is part of Russia’s family of long-range over-the-horizon radar systems designed to detect spacecraft, aircraft, and missiles at ranges up to 6,000 km.
A source in the Ukrainian military intelligence agency HUR confirmed the attack to Liga, stating,
“The Ukrainian drone covered a distance of over 1,800 kilometers to the enemy’s object, setting a new range record for kamikaze drones.”
The shortest distance from the frontline to Orsk is about 1,600 km. The 1,800 km route possibly implies the drone’s launch from Kyiv Oblast of central Ukraine.
So far, there is no confirmation that the attack was successful. On May 26, a local Russian Telegram channel reported that a drone crashed near Orsk, and it was possibly targeting a military facility.
????‼️Today, Russians reported finding a Ukrainian UAV 1500 km from Ukraine near Orsk not far from another EW radar…
It seems that UAV had for target another Voronezh-M radar (early warning). It seems the UAV started a ???? in the fields, about 16 km from the radar. The drone was… pic.twitter.com/Qms1L0wnxF
— PS01 (@PStyle0ne1) May 26, 2024
The previous longest range for a Ukrainian drone strike was an attack on a target in Salavat, Bashkortostan, around 1,500 km from Ukraine.
In early April 2024, Ukrainian drones had reached Russia’s Tatarstan, striking targets in Yelabuga around 1,200 km from Ukraine’s border.
Another similar radar station, Voronezh DM, was attacked by drones on 23 May in the village of Gluboky in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai, leading to a fire at the facility. Photographs that later emerged on social media showed significant damage to the facility.
Read also:
- Another oil refinery targeted in Russia’s Tatarstan by drones
- Drone strike causes blaze at oil refinery in Russia’s Salavat, 1,300 km from Ukraine (video)
- Media: Drones attacked Russia’s Volgograd oil refinery, Kaluga oil depot, Lipetsk steel mill
- Drones attack oil refinery in Russia’s Kaluga Oblast