Ukrainian drones cut Russian supply traffic on highway to Crimea by 71%

Russian forces call it the Novorossiya route, the main supply line that runs through occupied Ukrainian territory from Rostov-on-Don to Melitopol, Mariupol and Crimea along the Sea of Azov coast.

Ukrainian forces have renamed the R-280 the highway of death because of the drones that hunt Russian convoys above it. The road has been almost closed to civilian traffic since late May and serves as Moscow's main land corridor to supply forces in the south without using the Kerch Bridge.

Drivers have posted video showing burned-out trucks along the road and, in some cases, the drone strikes themselves. Traffic was suspended this week on the Chonhar Bridge after Ukrainian drone attacks. Ukraine's 1st Separate Assault Regiment said Tuesday it sees all movements and controls Russian repair work.

Operators from the 412th Nemesis brigade said dozens of trucks and tankers have been destroyed in an effort called the middle strike campaign. The campaign targets Russian positions between 20 km and 200 km behind the front line, with a focus on logistics.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last month that such strikes had quadrupled since February. There are now twice as many strikes beyond 20 km as in March and four times as many as in February, he said on 5 May.

Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said the goal is a logistics lockdown and that more funds and drones are going to effective units. The enemy will no longer feel safe even far from the front line, he said.

Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said Tuesday that military cargo traffic on the highway had fallen 71% in the past two weeks.

Ukrainian units are using swarms of drones, including US-made Hornet drones assisted by AI, to attack roads, railways and bridges. The Hornet has a range of about 150 km. Ukrainian forces are also using a new locally made 2-meter fixed-wing drone called the Morrigan that can be launched by slingshot or rail.

A Russian official quoted by the Meduza news site said airdropped mines are also in use. Yevgeny Balitsky, the Kremlin-installed head of occupied Zaporizhzhia, warned of a remote mining system that detonates on movement and told drivers to limit trips.

Roads are now lined with the charred remains of Russian trucks as convoys try to avoid the main routes. The Institute for the Study of War said Ukrainian strikes are degrading Russia's ability to use the highway to Crimea and ground lines of communication around Donetsk City.

On 21 May, Vladimir Saldo, the Kremlin-appointed governor of occupied Kherson, restricted civilian truck traffic on the R-280. He compared the strikes to the siege of Leningrad.