Rear cities turning into front-line zones: Soldier on new range of Russian drones

The gradual shift from traditional FPV drones to FPV “wings” — already adopted by Russian forces — marks the beginning of a new phase in the drone war.

Ukrainian serviceman and public figure Yegor Firsov warned about this in a social media post.

“The priority is shifting to FPV wings: a flight range of 60–70 km is easy. Soon they’ll reach beyond 100 km. The payload is larger. The kill zone and potential drone impact area will only keep expanding,” Firsov noted.

He emphasized that in this particular component, the enemy currently outpaces Ukraine, becoming the first to deploy FPV-wing drones on a massive scale.

According to Firsov, the consequences are already visible. Cities once considered rear areas are turning into front-line zones. He pointed out that the distance between Kharkiv and Belgorod — 50 km — which two years ago was nearly unreachable for FPV drones, has now become an operational range.

“Cities close to the front will suffer. Distances once considered unreachable have become routine. In Donetsk region, Kostiantynivka is already in almost the same position as Pokrovsk. Logistics are extremely complicated due to drones attacking from all directions,” he said.

Amid fighting near Chasiv Yar, the threat to Kramatorsk has increased, with drones — including fiber-optic FPVs — reaching the city more often.

In Donetsk region, Kostiantynivka has found itself in nearly the same difficult situation as Pokrovsk, while Druzhkivka is already preparing for evacuation.

It is expected that the Sloviansk–Kramatorsk–Druzhkivka highway will come under increasingly tight control from enemy drones.