May 2026 Update - Ukraine's Mid-Range Strikes Disrupt the Battlefield
Dear supporters of Ukraine,
With spring in full swing, Ukraine’s prospects have improved, and there is real momentum now. Ukraine's increasingly successful mid-range strike drone campaign could, for the first time, challenge the attritional character of the war that has dominated the battlefield since 2023. Ukraine is now able to systematically strike trucks and warehouses beyond the front zone, disrupting Russian logistics, making it harder for Russia to supply and sustain its troops. Also, Ukraine’s aerial assaults on Russia’s oil infrastructure, transshipment harbours, and shadow fleet tankers continue unabated. Rest assured that UAO will ramp up its effort to support these momentous campaigns.
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Also, there are encouraging news from Scandinavia: Sweden announced it will donate up to 16 JAS 39 Gripen C/D multirole fighters from its current fleet, including advanced AMRAAM and air-to-air missiles - particularly IRIS-T and METEOR, the latter with a range of up to 200 kilometres. Ukraine could, for the first time, be able to suppress Russia’s relentless glide bomb campaign that keeps wrecking front line cities. Ukrainian pilots and maintenance crews are already training, and Sweden expects full operational capability in the first quarter of 2027. However, the picture is not entirely rosy. Russia continues and expands its massive aerial assaults on Ukrainian cities, Kyiv above all, sustained by Chinese support and a shady web of sanctions evasions. More than ever, Ukraine relies on the resolve of its allies and friends around the world.
Our May 2026 newsletter provides you with updates about our most recent work in Ukraine - enabled by your generous donations:
- Ukraine's mid-range strike campaign: Russia under real pressure
- UAO's exceptional deliveries throughout May
- New Victory Gallery Art Pieces
Your UAO Volunteer Team
Ukraine's mid-range strike campaign: Russia under real pressure
For several years, Ukraine lacked precise, serially produced, and affordable mid-range aerial strike capabilities in the range between 50 and 150 kilometres. This is no longer the case, as Ukraine's defense minister, Mykhailo Fedorov, reported. Since February, Ukraine's mid-range strike drones - FP-1, FP-2, Hornet, Bulava and more - have expanded the kill zone, and the number of strikes has more than doubled, increasingly disrupting Russia's formerly safe rear areas in the occupied territories towards the Sea of Azov, where new roads and railway lines were built. Mid-range strikes disrupt Russian logistics, destroying supply trucks and trains, destroying warehouses, air defence systems, and command posts.
The scale of this shift is hard to overstate. Since the start of 2026, open-source analysts have already documented more than 1,000 geolocated mid-range strikes - only counting those that could be independently verified, with the true number running far higher, with around 100 confirmed strikes every single week. Alongside the FP-1, FP-2, Hornet and Bulava, an expanding family of systems such as the RAM X and long-range FPVs now allows Ukraine to strike much deeper behind the front line to systematically dismantle the infrastructure that keeps the Russian war machine running. Recently, the UAO team has delivered comparable drones (see photo below). By striking Russian fuel and ammunition supplies long before they reach the front line, Ukraine is quietly reshaping the battlefield - inflicting severe damage on Russia, while keeping its own soldiers out of harm's way. It certainly is one of the most consequential developments of this war for several years.
Made by Ukrainian manufacturers, we delivered these mid-range drones called “Flying Dutchman” to the soldiers from the GUR “Artan” unit - the first time that we provided this type of mid-range drone
Now, to help to sustain and advance Ukraine's newfound battlefield advantage, Combat Veteran News and Ukraine Aid Operations are joining forces once again to support some of the newly formed units that execute mid-range strikes, but also advance Ukraine's UGV warfare. These Unmanned Systems Battalions are, quite literally, writing the playbook for robotic warfare - yet too often, the units' soldiers have to fund and procure essential equipment entirely by themselves. This is why both CVN and UAO have decided to support these decisive units, and why your generous donations matter more than ever.
We aim to deliver ground drones and heavy-lift transport drones to support logistics, but also auxiliary equipment for mid-range drones, electricity generation, and supplemental items. Ground drones resupply forward positions and evacuate the wounded across fields where no truck or pickup could survive, while heavy-lift transport drones cover the most precarious "last mile" - moving all kinds of supplies to units’ positions without risking soldiers’ lives. In particular, the following units will be supported: 1st Unmanned Systems Center, 9th Unmanned Systems Brigade, 413th Unmanned Systems Regiment, 421th Unmanned Systems Battalion, and the 435th Unmanned Systems Division. Supporting these units is one of the most impactful means your donations can help to shape the battlefield - please consider donating today!
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With the new campaign, we support the soldiers from the 1st Unmanned Systems Center, one of the key units responsible for mid- and long-range strikes. The unit belongs to the Unmanned Systems Forces led by famous commander “Madyar”
UAO's Exceptional deliveries throughout May
May was one of our busiest months, with the UAO team driving eastward every day. Supported by your generous donations, large quantities of essential equipment went to the most embattled front regions, from Kupiansk to Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk. Let’s take a tour!
Powering the front lines
May’s key theme was energy, the delivery of generators, power stations, but also Starlink terminals - items that almost every unit we are in contact with requests. Electricity keeps command posts running, drones in the air, and positions in the front zones interconnected. In cooperation with our reliable partners from the Netherlands, Stichting Diel, and a large group of Dutch drivers, who fundraised for power stations in their own network, UAO supplied a long list of units: the Special Operations Forces received a large shipment of generators and power stations, while the 156th Mechanized Brigade and the National Guard took deliveries on our trip to Kramatorsk. The 54th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, the 67th Brigade, the 152nd Brigade, the 5th Artillery Brigade, Marines and EW units in the east, and the Border Guards' "Avenging Shadow" drone unit (5 generators and 4 Starlink terminals) all received the equipment that keeps them powered and fully operational. The 128th Mountain Brigade received another batch of Starlink Mini terminals - it might be hard to believe, but it is small devices like these that became the most requested item by almost any unit.
Enormous electricity generation and storage equipment delivery to the Special Operations Forces. In collaboration with Dutch Stichting Diel, we supplied a huge number of generators and power stations for use by several front line units
Eyes in the sky
Reconnaissance and strike drones went to many units in good measure. When our friends at Protect Ukraine stocked up on thermal vision reconnaissance drones, they presented us with the opportunity to fulfil several long-outstanding requests at once:
Two pairs of “eyes in the sky” went to the 38th Marines, one pair to the Rubizh brigade, two pairs to Kraken, and two pairs to the 3rd Assault Brigade. But that is only a fraction - in total we were able to distribute over 30 thermal drones donated by Protect Ukraine.
The 79th Brigade, the heroic defenders of Pokrovsk, received a reconnaissance drone, three generators and two drone detectors, and the 95th Air Assault Brigade received six additional drone detectors, essential devices for spotting incoming threats in due time. The 42nd Mechanized Brigade "Perun" received a truly enormous delivery - two thermal vision drones, two regular drones, and no less than 50 FPV drones. UAO also provided spools with a total of 200 kilometres of fibre optic cable to the Khartiia Brigade. We also continued support of the “Taifun” drone unit, whose ranks now include one of the metalwork artists from the Hisoshi Art Studio, that supports funding our work with artworks from Russian battlefield remains that we sell in our UAO Victory Gallery.
In collaboration with the Dutch fund “Project Ukraine”, this thermal vision drone was provided to the Rubizh Brigade
Four-wheeled friends on the move
Mobility saves lives, and in May, we delivered a large fleet of UGVs to the front zones. For example, the 42nd Mechanized Brigade "Perun", the Rubizh Brigade and Omega unit received “Targan” ground drones, funded by Stichting Diel, for evacuations and resupply missions in the expanding grey zone.
The 4th Operational Brigade "Svoboda" of the National Guard of Ukraine received one of our "Targan" ground drones from the last ground drone fundraiser. They upgrade the ground drone in order to fulfil its operational tasks
Electronic warfare and things you rather don't like to hear
Electronic warfare systems (REBs) that UAO procures continue reaching the units that need them most: One just went to the 104th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, holding the line in the Kupiansk direction, and the 30th Brigade was supported in the Kramatorsk direction.
Not every request is high-tech. During a visit to their base, the 225th Separate Assault Battalion told us that their most urgent need was something far more sobering: Gas masks. We initially supplied 30, they proved their worth, and we are now providing another 100 - still not enough. These are the sad facts of war that remind us why your continued support matters so much.
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Another one of our excellent REB systems has been delivered to the 104th Separate Territorial Defense Brigade. These defenders are holding the line in the Kupiansk direction
New Victory Gallery Art Pieces
Many new art pieces were added to the UAO Victory Gallery. Beside of painted 30mm shells, we also added a big collection of non-military art as well as pieces designed by the Hisoshi Metal Art Studio in Kyiv.
Like always, proceeds go to buying equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This month in particular, Victory Gallery purchases go towards the above-mentioned Unmanned Systems units which disrupt the enemy's logistics. As a matter of fact, one of the Victory Gallery's artists from the Hisoshi Metal Art Studio fights now in the "Typhoon" drone unit - a unit which we supported in the previous months on multiple occasions. Getting an art piece helps us to provide his and other units with critical equipment.
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New Victory Gallery pieces.
Thank you for standing strong with Ukraine. Together we will win this war!
Sincerely, the UAO Volunteer Team.
Heroyam Slava!
