Period: March–April 2022
Unit: 206th Battalion, 241st Territorial Defence Brigade
Robert Brovdi's first combat experience was gained during the Russian offensive on Kyiv — one of the decisive operations of the war's initial period.
Missions and participation:
The defense of Kyiv concluded with the withdrawal of Russian forces in early April 2022.
Period: April–August 2022
Unit: 1st Platoon, 2nd Company, 206 TrO Battalion subordinated to 28th Mechanized Brigade
The unit began developing its unmanned capabilities, conducting reconnaissance along the line of contact. This is where the concept of "Madyar's Birds" (Птахи Мадяра) was born.
In August 2022, the first FPV drone was assembled, and a crew training group was formed at a base near Ruska Kosa (7–10 km from the contact line).
Period: November 2022 — March 2023
Unit: "Madyar's Birds" (Птахи Мадяра), 251st Territorial Defence Brigade, "Khortytsia" Operational-Strategic Grouping
Duration of participation: 110 days
Settlements:
Bakhmut, Soledar, Blahodatne, Krasna Hora, Paraskoviivka, Berkhivka, Opytne, Klishchiivka, Kurdiumivka, Ozarianivka
Missions:
The Battle of Bakhmut became a proving ground for developing mass drone employment tactics.
Period: 5 March – 11 June 2023
Unit: Strike UAV Company "Madyar's Birds" (РУБАК «Птахи Мадяра»), 59th Motorized Brigade
Areas: Pervomaiske, Avdiivka, Staromykhailivka/Krasnohorivka, Marinka
Missions:
Period: 13 June – 30 September 2023 (110 days)
Unit: Strike UAV Company "Madyar's Birds" (РУБАК), Donetsk Operational-Tactical Group
Missions supporting 37th, 35th, 38th, 36th Marine Brigades:
Results:
Liberation of Urozhaine and Staromaiorske settlements.
Period: 3 October 2023 – 31 July 2024
Unit: Strike UAV Company "Madyar's Birds" (РУБАК), Marine Corps Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Results (October 2023 – January 2024):
Electronic Warfare/EW Project (10 months):
Remote mining:
Period: 28 May – 17 July 2024
Mission: Reinforcement of Vovchansk grouping and 13th "Khartia" Brigade on Lyptsi direction
Period: 21 July 2024 – 11 April 2026 (ongoing)
Unit: 414th Separate Strike UAV Battalion/Separate Brigade of Unmanned Systems "Madyar's Birds" (414 ОБр БпС)
Results:
The "Kupol Pokrovsk" (Dome Pokrovsk) system was deployed to protect the city from enemy drones.
Periods:
Combat operations on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Start: 10 November 2024
Front sector near occupied Vuhledar.
Start: 26 December 2024
City defense system against enemy drones deployed.
First documented strike on oil refining infrastructure under Brovdi's command as Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces.
In total, 24.2% of Russian refining capacity was taken offline in August 2025. Estimated monthly losses: ~$3 billion.
Strike on pipeline infrastructure near Unecha, Bryansk Oblast. Following this, Hungary temporarily stopped receiving Russian oil and later imposed sanctions against Brovdi.
88 targets engaged, including:
Strategy: Sequential strikes on terminals to create a logistical "bottleneck" in oil exports.
Baltic Direction:
Black Sea Direction:
Results:
Engagement of the frigate at Novorossiysk port.
579 enemy personnel engaged in a single day.
900+ enemy personnel engaged on the Rodynske–Huliaipole sector (~100 km frontage).
January–April 2026:
Enemy personnel:
Combat sorties:
Targets engaged/destroyed (286,000+ / 101,000+):
A strike on a refinery or port is not just "an explosion." Its economic function is broader:
```
downtime + repair + rerouting + insurance + export delay + fiscal loss + PVO diversion
```
Why oil infrastructure has high ROI:
This means oil infrastructure is simultaneously a fiscal bloodstream and a logistical dependency. Each port or refinery functions both as an export channel and as fuel for the war itself.
Per Reuters and OSW chronicles, in addition to the previously documented Lukoil-Volgograd (Aug 14, 2025), Druzhba-Unecha (Aug 22, 2025) and Yaroslavl (May 2026):
KSE Institute, in its "Drone Strike Impact Assessment" (April 2026), estimated:
This is not Madyar's estimate — it is independent third-party quantification based on tanker movement and export-flow analysis.
Madyar publicly assessed that the export oil flow within potential strike range is on a strategic scale — around 100 million tonnes of oil per year. Depending on the world price:
So we're talking about a strategic-scale export flow — tens of billions of dollars per year, potentially approaching $100B under high prices. The "$100B" figure should be read as an upper-bound estimate, not as steady realised revenue.
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Two independent indicators of a change in the war's dynamics:
The Guardian (May 2026): in April 2026, Russia recorded its first net territorial loss since August 2024 — approximately 45 square miles. Over the previous 12 months it had still been gaining territory overall, but the tempo is being exhausted.
This does not mean Madyar's drones alone stopped the front. But the drone system is one of the main factors slowing Russian advances, complicating logistics, and driving attrition in personnel and equipment.
The Guardian: for the first time in nearly 20 years, the Victory Day parade had no tanks and no missiles; the cited reason was fear of a Ukrainian strike.
The signal has several layers:
Per Ukrayinska Pravda, citing USF, between December 2025 and April 2026 Russia recruited/mobilised 148,400 people, while confirmed casualties from drone strikes amounted to 156,735 (the first negative balance). Per Janis Kluge (Meduza), Russia recruits about 30,000 contract soldiers per month.
Carnegie Endowment notes: what matters is not "gross" losses, but irrecoverable losses that actually remove people from the combat cycle. IISS (via The Guardian, Feb 2026): Russia, despite pressure, can likely sustain the invasion through 2026, though recruit quality is declining.
An honest formulation: Madyar's drone war creates powerful attrition pressure, but a swift Russian military collapse is not the right forecast. More accurately: Russia can still wage war, but each month it becomes more expensive, bloodier and less effective.