Russia Has Offered a $20 Million Reward for Madyar — WSJ

Russia has reportedly offered a $20 million reward for information that would help locate Robert Brovdi, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces, whose call sign is “Madyar.” According to The Wall Street Journal, Moscow is using post-Soviet criminal networks to track down the Ukrainian military officer.

 

The Unmanned Systems Forces say that due to the high effectiveness of Ukrainian drones, the Kremlin has made Brovdi one of its top targets for elimination. In addition, Russian courts have convicted the Ukrainian military officer in absentia of terrorism on fabricated charges and sentenced him to decades in prison.

Due to the serious threat to his life, the commander and his subordinates are forced to observe strict security measures.

Journalists note that before visiting the secret command post, they were asked to put their phones in airplane mode and then place them in Faraday bags, which block Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and GPS signals. They were transported to the secret location in vehicles with tinted windows to conceal the route to the site, which, according to the journalists, is located “somewhere in southeastern Ukraine.”

Brovdi himself attributes the enemy’s focus on him to the scale of the Russian army’s losses. According to him, the Unmanned Systems Forces make up only 2.5% of the total strength of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but they account for about one-third of all Russian losses over the past year.

The commander also noted that since the start of the full-scale war, the Russians have killed 79 fighters from the “Magyar Birds.” Their names are engraved on a wall near the entrance to the command center. On the day of the interview, the UAS had killed or wounded 656 Russian occupiers for every one of its fallen soldiers.

“I don’t think this exchange rate is good enough,” says Madyar, according to the WSJ.

Earlier, Madjar announced that 300 vessels of Russia’s shadow fleet had been destroyed in the Black and Azov Seas.

Madyar also stated that 38 energy facilities in Crimea, Russia, and the occupied territories had been destroyed.

95% of drone attacks are concentrated on the front lines.