On February 7, 2022, Robert Brovdi enlisted in the Obolon Territorial Defense — even before the start of the full-scale invasion. This decision was made against the backdrop of escalating threat of Russian aggression.
On February 24, 2022, from the first day of the full-scale invasion, Brovdi was in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as part of the 206th Territorial Defense Battalion. He assumed the position of platoon commander of the second assault company of 206 TDF under the command of the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
For the 46-year-old businessman without prior military experience, this was a radical transition to a new reality. However, the management skills acquired in business proved valuable in the military context.
As part of the 206 TDF, Robert Brovdi participated in combat operations for the liberation of Kyiv. This was a critical period of the war, when Russian forces attempted to quickly capture Ukraine's capital.
Combat missions:
The defense of Kyiv became a decisive moment in the initial period of the war. Ukrainian forces compelled Russian troops to withdraw in early April 2022, marking the aggressor's first major strategic defeat.
In early April 2022, the rifle platoon of the 2nd Assault Company of the 206th TDF Battalion under Brovdi's command was sent to the front on the Kherson direction, subordinated to the 28th OMBr.
The 1st Platoon of the 2nd Company, 206th TDF Battalion, began focusing on the unmanned component. It was then that reconnaissance of the line of contact using drones began—the first steps toward forming the future "Madyar's Birds" unit.
In May–June 2022, Robert Brovdi created a separate aerial reconnaissance unit of 26 personnel, which he named "Madyar's Birds." This moment became a turning point in his career and in the development of Ukrainian drone warfare.
Brovdi was among the first to realize the potential of mass application of commercial drones in combat conditions. The innovation of his approach lay in the systematization and scaling of drone use.
Five functions of combat application (until November 2022):
1. Detection of enemy forces
2. Patrolling the front line
3. Adjustment of artillery fire
4. Control of kamikaze drones
5. "Optional"—dropping explosive devices on the enemy
August 2022: "Madyar's Birds" assembled the first FPV drone. Experimental use of strike drones to hit enemy manpower and equipment began. A crew training group was formed and initial training conducted at a base near Ruska Kosa (7–10 km from the line of contact).
In November 2022, after participating in the Armed Forces of Ukraine's counteroffensive on the Kherson direction and the liberation of Kherson, Brovdi's unit as part of a separate company tactical group (CTG) was redeployed to the Bakhmut direction.
Operational subordination: The "Madyar's Birds" unit of the 251st TDF Brigade was operationally subordinated to JFO "Khortytsia."
Aerial reconnaissance and artillery adjustment tasks were performed in support of:
Settlements where battles were fought (2022–2023):
Special operations:
Duration of participation: 110 days. During this period, the unit employed FPV drones to halt enemy assault actions. Tactics for ground and air group coordination were developed.
The Battle of Bakhmut became a test for the "Madyar's Birds" concept. In conditions of intense urban combat, drone operations proved their effectiveness. The Bakhmut experience shaped tactical approaches that were later scaled to the level of the Unmanned Systems Forces.
In March 2023, the company tactical group (CTG) "Madyar's Birds" was reorganized into a separate strike unmanned aviation systems company (RUBAK) of the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This marked the beginning of the unit's official structural integration into combat units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In early March 2023, the unit received orders to withdraw from the Bakhmut area and move to new positions.
Period: March 5 – June 11, 2023
Combat action areas:
Missions:
Period: June 13 – October 1, 2023
Robert Brovdi as commander of RUBAK "Madyar's Birds" under the operational group "Donetsk" participated in the counteroffensive.
Missions were executed in support of:
Mission types:
Results (June 13 – September 30, 2023, 110 days):
During this period, battles and liberation of the settlements of Urozhayne and Staromaiorske continued. For the first time, a public report on the unit's operational results was released.
Period: October 3, 2023 – July 31, 2024
RUBAK "Madyar's Birds" under operational command of the Marine Infantry Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine participated in the counteroffensive on the left bank of the Dnipro. Battles for the settlement of Krynky continued.
Results (October 2023 – January 2024):
RER/EW project:
The Electronic Warfare (EW) and Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) project was launched. Over 10 months of combat operations (October 2023 – July 2024), the combined EW and ECM group "Madyar's Birds" together with the Marine Infantry:
This project was intensively disseminated within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Territorial Defense, State Border Guard, SOF, and SBU through crew training at the "Madyar's Birds" base and equipping crews with EW systems.
Remote mining:
During the operation on the left bank of the Dnipro, "Madyar's Birds" remotely deployed approximately 3,500 anti-tank mines produced by the unit's "Tsukrarnya" workshop using drones in a sector covering 72.5 square kilometers.
On January 16, 2024, the separate strike unmanned aviation systems company "Madyar's Birds" became a separate military unit: the 414th Separate Strike Unmanned Aviation Systems Battalion of the Marine Infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Robert Brovdi became commander of the separate battalion, and "Madyar's Birds" became the first separate unmanned aviation systems unit within the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The structural core of repair, training, and support units is being formed. Without withdrawing the battalion from the combat zone, recruitment of specialists is being conducted based on the principle of competent mobilization for over 40 specialties.
Period: May 28 – July 17, 2024
The "Madyar's Birds" unit under Brovdi's command performed combat missions in the Kharkiv direction to reinforce the Vovchansk formation and the 13th "Khartia" Brigade in the Lyptsi direction.
On June 27, 2024, the 414th OUBAS "Madyar's Birds" was transformed into the 414th OPUBAS MP ZSU (Separate Strike Unmanned Aviation Systems Regiment of the Marine Infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine).
The day after the announcement of the Separate Regiment's creation, Commander Brovdi announced a new stage of competent mobilization: 119 types of vacancies for civilians. Over 1,000 applications were received from volunteers in the first 24 hours.
A dedicated UAV repair base, active operations company, FPV drone operator training schools, ECM and EW units are being created. Internal R&D projects in communications, optics, artificial intelligence, and ammunition production have been launched.
Start: July 21, 2024
The 414th OPUBAS "Madyar's Birds" performs combat missions in the Pokrovsk direction. The "Pokrovsk Dome" was deployed to protect the city from enemy drones.
Results (July 21, 2024 – April 11, 2026):
This snapshot specifically for the Pokrovsk direction as of April 11, 2026 is the oldest statistical block on the page; the hub has not found a separate more recent official summary specifically for this direction. Overall brigade-wide (not only Pokrovsk) indicators for the 414th Brigade "Madyar's Birds" as of August 2026 are on the unitpage; overall system-wide indicators of the USF Grouping for 15 months (through September 10, 2026) are on the "Unmanned Systems Forces".
Periods:
The 414th OPUBAS "Madyar's Birds" participated in combat operations in the Kursk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation.
From November 10, 2024, the 414th OPUBAS "Madyar's Birds" covered the front line passing near the occupied city of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast.
On December 10, 2024, Robert Brovdi announced that the 414 Separate Unmanned Aviation Battalion of the Marine Infantry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was transforming into the world's first unmanned systems brigade — the 414th Separate USF Brigade "Madyar's Birds" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade).
"We will become x3. And this must be done operationally and with quality. Without withdrawing from any section of the front where the 'Madyar's Birds' Team is currently operating," Brovdi noted.
Formation of a full-fledged brigade structure with training, production, and engineering infrastructure was completed.
From December 26, 2024, the 414th Separate USF Brigade "Madyar's Birds" deployed "Kupol Kherson" to protect the city from enemy drones.
On June 3, 2025, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Robert Brovdi to the position of Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This appointment became recognition of:
Less than a month before the appointment, on May 8, 2025, Brovdi was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine.
On March 31, 2026, the USF Commander appointed:
In 2026, under Brovdi's command, the USF deployed a campaign to isolate occupied Crimea: according to statements, in just 72 hours (July 6–8) 21 vessels of the Russian "shadow fleet" were hit in Kerch and the Sea of Azov, and during July 1–8 — 44 energy nodes in Crimea and the reception point of the "Kuban–Crimea" energy bridge. On July 5, 2026, Brovdi publicly transferred a case to the DBR about the sale of a position within the USF ($2,000), declaring "zero tolerance" for corruption. As of mid-2026, he commands a branch of the armed forces, holding the rank of major.
The Crimea isolation campaign continued and expanded throughout August: according to the USF Commander's summary post from 01.09.2026, since the start of Operation "MoLoCHKa" (06.07.2026), 260 vessels of russia's shadow fleet were struck (54 in August), within "Crimean Switch off" — 349 energy nodes (168 in August). On 28.08.2026, a new geographical direction of the campaign was opened — "East-Vyo" in Luhansk region (first targets — Luhansk TPP "Shchastia" and "Alchevska" substation). More details — on pages operations and campaigns.
Sources: Kyiv Independent, 08.07.2026 · Ukrainska Pravda, July 5, 2026 · TG 2782, 01.09.2026 · TG 2770, 28.08.2026 · Ukrinform, August 28, 2026
Period: August 1–30, 2026.
July 30 – August 2: a series of deep strikes on the "Taman" oil terminal (12 reservoirs of 5,000 tons each, fire over 17,000 m²) and four Russian oil refineries — in Perm, Volgograd, Saratov, and Ufa; the strike on Saratov refinery was confirmed jointly by the 1st Operational Center USF and the 412th Brigade Nemesis.
August 9: on the day of his 51st birthday, Brovdi publicly formulated the "five pillars" doctrine — conditions under which Russia will physically lose the ability to continue the war.
August 10: Associated Press published an interview about the Crimea isolation campaign; that same day, Brovdi publicly corrected false headlines about "200 ballistic missiles simultaneously," clarifying the actual order of magnitude (approximately 77, with the adversary's intention to increase to 200).
August 26: after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's security meeting in Zaporizhzhia region (attended by Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapaty, Commander of the Airborne Assault Forces General Oleh Apostol, and Brovdi), two new army groupings in Donetsk region were announced — under the command of Denys "Redis" Prokopenko (1st Corps of the National Guard "Azov") and Andriy Biletskyi (3rd Army Corps). The USF Commander called the model of their interaction with the USF Grouping "Smart War" — network-centric warfare with the shortest "Sensor–Shooter" chain.
August 29: on Defenders of Ukraine Remembrance Day Brovdi disclosed the losses of the 414th Brigade "Madyar's Birds" over 4.5 years of full-scale war and compared them with confirmed enemy losses (details on the unit's page).
August 30: Birds of the 1st USF Operational Center reported strikes on air defense elements at Yeysk and Millerovo military airfields, including a DRL-27 radar module of the RSP-27 landing system.
Sources: TG 2690, 2719, 2722, 2765, 2774, 2777 · president.gov.ua, 26.08.2026 · Associated Press, 10.08.2026