Battlefield compilations produced by Ukraine’s drone units aim to weaken Russian morale while strengthening support among Ukrainian troops

KYIV: Ukraine’s unmanned forces have increasingly turned battlefield drone footage into a psychological warfare tool, publishing videos that show drones pursuing Russian soldiers before lethal strikes.

Robert Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces and founder of the 414th Aviation Strike Brigade, known as “Magyar’s Birds,” has pioneered the strategy. The unit has built an archive containing thousands of battlefield recordings captured largely by first-person-view drones.

Editors select footage each day and produce short compilations for social media. Ukrainian forces call the videos “yoblyks,” a wartime slang term carrying a deliberately mocking meaning.

Videos Aim to Undermine Russian Morale

A military editor using the call sign Catman said the videos seek to warn Russians about the consequences of joining Moscow’s invasion force.

He said the productions deliberately portray Russian soldiers as vulnerable while using black humour to reduce fear among Ukrainian troops.

Moreover, the footage provides Ukrainian forces with visual evidence that can help assess Russian battlefield casualties.

However, the videos have raised ethical concerns because they turn the final moments of combatants into social-media content. Ukrainian personnel involved in producing them argue that the realities of Russia’s invasion have hardened attitudes toward such material.

Information War Expands Across Social Media

Meanwhile, both sides increasingly use battlefield footage as part of the broader information war.

Russian military bloggers also distribute videos showing Ukrainian battlefield casualties, while fabricated material and AI-generated content have further complicated the online information environment.

Ukrainian officials argue that their videos can also reach Russian families searching for information about missing soldiers.

Furthermore, Brovdi has defended the confrontational language surrounding the campaign, describing it as part of wartime military culture.

For Ukrainian drone units, the videos therefore serve several purposes: documenting battlefield operations, influencing Russian audiences and strengthening morale at home as the prolonged war continues.