Video: Ukrainian UAVs Search for Targets Without Starlink at Ranges of Up to 100 km
Ukrainian UAV operators continue to operate even after Starlink was jammed about 10 km from Donetsk. The “High-Altitude Predators” are attacking Russian logistics around the clock on the front lines and deep within enemy defenses, including at distances of over 100 km.
Senior Sergeant Roman Pidlubny, a combat captain with the 1st “High-Altitude Predators” Unmanned Systems Battalion of the 59th Special Forces Brigade, spoke about this on Army TV.
“We operate both along the front line and deep behind enemy lines. Our operations are ongoing, around the clock,” the soldier said.
According to him, the longest flights also allow for monitoring enemy activities in the Azov Sea region.
During such flights, operators identify additional important targets. Roman Pidlubny noted that the troops had located command posts of Russian regiments and battalions more than 35 km from the front line and successfully struck them with precision-guided munitions.
He also spoke separately about the decision-making process for pilots during combat missions.
According to him, the battalion command established a rule whereby the initial decision to change a target is made directly by the drone operator.
“If he sees that this target is more significant to him than the one he was approaching for a strike, and takes priority, then the pilot makes the decision on his own,” the senior sergeant explained.
Such a decision, he said, prevents the loss of precious time when the operator spots a target directly during the flight.
“There’s very little time to make decisions. And when the pilot already sees the target and wants to engage it, but we stop him or tell him, ‘Fly on—there’ll be another target there,’ it very often results in the loss of the drone or it being shot down,” the soldier noted.
Pidlubnyi cited an example from a few days ago when an operator spotted a mobile Russian fire group during a flight. The military officer immediately decided to attack it.
“The pilot decided to engage the target immediately and executed the mission very effectively. There was even an operator there—a member of the mobile fire group standing with a machine gun, firing; you could see very clearly how the machine gun was operating. We hit it right on target,” the combat captain explained.
He emphasized that the pilot’s decision in this situation was swift and decisive.
At the same time, the Donetsk area remains one of the most challenging areas for Ukrainian drones to operate in.
According to the military officer, as drones approach the city, the Russians begin actively jamming Starlink.
“It’s very difficult to fly into Donetsk from that direction right now. It’s also difficult to monitor the roads around Donetsk because as soon as we enter the zone—literally 10+ km from the outskirts of Donetsk—Starlink jamming begins,” the military officer said.
At the same time, further south, Ukrainian operators have more opportunities to operate along the roads used by the Russians to move equipment and resources.
“We’re currently conducting in-depth analyses, mapping out routes where we can break through, identifying pockets of activity, and we’re having great success there, even in Donetsk itself,” added Roman Pidlubny.
On the morning of September 17, Russian troops struck the “Epicenter” shopping mall in Kharkiv. As a result of the attack, the building sustained significant damage and caught fire.
Earlier, Russia attacked Izyum with KAB missiles; among the casualties was a two-month-old infant.
On September 10, in Kyiv’s Svyatoshynsky District, a drone crashed in an open area in a forest near a shopping center. According to preliminary reports, there was no fire and no casualties.
In Kyiv’s Solomyanskyi district, an enemy drone struck the roof of a four-story business center. Emergency services were dispatched to the scene to investigate the circumstances and address the aftermath of the incident.
