Hornet drones on the “Highway to Hell”: Azov Corps systematically targets Russian logistics

Because of continuing Ukrainian attacks with Hornet drones – catapult-launched AI-enabled one-way attack drones of the Hornet type – Volodymyr Saldo, head of the occupation administration in Kherson, on 21 May completely banned civilian lorries from a section of the M-18 highway between Melitopol and Dzhankoi. Only military vehicles, fuel transports and staple food deliveries are still permitted there.

NEW: SPECIAL REPORT | Ukraine is actively challenging the positional character of the war that has dominated the battlefield since 2023. Russian battlefield gains are approaching net zero while Ukrainian forces are setting conditions potentially to break out of positional warfare… pic.twitter.com/LkTnS4YFCT— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) May 25, 2026

Video footage had previously allowed analysts to geolocate attacks on at least 35 Russian vehicles. According to this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are targeting several logistics arteries: the H-20 from Donetsk city to Mariupol, the M-14 route from Mariupol via Berdiansk to Melitopol and, following on from it, the M-18 from Melitopol to Dzhankoi in Crimea.

Selenskyj hat es versprochen:
Landkorridor zur Krim schneller als gedacht unter ukrainischer Kontrolle:
General Ben Hodges – ehemaliger NATO-Oberbefehlshaber Europa – berichtet direkt.
Laut Hodges hat Ukraine nach einer Woche der Kampagne die Kontrolle über den Landkorridor… pic.twitter.com/fPwd93xM1S— Anna (@AnnaDeMilanese) May 25, 2026

The 1st Corps of the National Guard “Azov” uses Hornet drones as its base platform. In-house modifications extend their range, and alternative means of communication are added.

According to its own statements, Ukraine intends to reduce freight traffic on these key routes by 50 to 75 per cent and thereby severely disrupt the supply of the Russian front.

The logistics axis under attack lies roughly 70 to 150 kilometres behind the front line – an area for which corps-level formations are responsible. Brigades, by contrast, cover artillery, command posts and targets up to a depth of about 70 kilometres, while battalions primarily engage troops and equipment in the frontal area.

Azov is back in Mariupol.
Pilots of the First Corps Azov patrol roads up to 160 km behind the front line, striking Russian logistics in Mariupol and surrounding areas pic.twitter.com/D4iPmhH31x— Saint Javelin (@saintjavelin) May 8, 2026

Hornet drones launched from high-altitude balloons

Trials are at least also under way to deploy the Hornet drone from high-altitude balloons; according to recent estimates it weighs around 10 to 15 kilograms. Filled with helium, the balloons carry the drone with the wind into the target area. There it is released from an altitude of up to nine kilometres and can travel an estimated distance of up to 300 kilometres.

If Hornet drones have good communication links at higher altitudes, the operator can lock them onto identified targets. They then continue the terminal approach autonomously, against both stationary and moving targets.

Azov patrols the border areas around Mariupol.
Ukrainian territory must be free of Russian forces. The surest path to achieving this is pushing the „sanitization zone“ for enemy logistics closer to Russia itself and occupied Crimea.
Pilots of the First Corps Azov of the… pic.twitter.com/qJLfZljIks— First Corps Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine (@azov_media) May 25, 2026

The Hornet campaign is complemented by heavy FP-2 attack drones. FP-2 systems with reduced range and a warhead weighing up to 200 kilograms are now being used. The campaign is intended to isolate the Russian-occupied areas in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts as well as Crimea in logistical terms.

The consequences are already visible: fuel is now being rationed in Crimea. Petrol is only available up to a maximum of 20 litres, and diesel in some cases only against fuel coupons.

With its approach, the Azov Corps is pioneering a strategy that could put Russia's front-line logistics under massive and possibly lasting strain in the long term.