Ukraine launches “Logistics Lockdown” program with $113 million for middle-strike drones against Russian rear

May 27, 2026 - 11:09
Ukraine launches “Logistics Lockdown” program with $113 million for middle-strike drones against Russian rear

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Ukraine is launching a "Logistics Lockdown" program to scale strikes on Russian supply chains at operational depth, Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on 27 May. The Ministry of Defense will direct fresh funding to the most effective drone brigades and run large centralized tenders for medium-range strike systems. Fedorov tied the push to a measurable drop in Russian assaults at the contact line.

The shift reflects Ukraine's broader 2026 doctrine: force the cost of every Russian advance higher by starving the assault force of fuel, ammunition, and reinforcements before it reaches the front. This comes amid escalated Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian military vehicles in occupied Donetsk and along the Mariupol-Melitopol and Donetsk-Mariupol highways.

A program built around one metric

The first phase channels UAH 5 billion (about $113 million) directly to brigades hitting Russian logistics, depots, equipment, command posts, and supply routes at operational depth. Distribution runs through the Ministry of Defense's eBaly ("e-points") merit system, which ranks units by performance. First transfers have already been disbursed, and direct procurement is underway, according to Fedorov. 

The second phase opens centralized tenders for bulk procurement of middle-strike systems. Fedorov expects the centralized tenders to deliver results at the front by summer.

Double tap strike on Russian trucks.
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The numbers Fedorov pointed to

The minister says Russian losses per square kilometer of advance have nearly tripled since autumn. Ukrainian forces killed 67 Russians per 1 km² of advance in October, and 179 per 1 km² in April

Russia is now losing more than 35,000 troops killed or seriously wounded each month, Fedorov said. 

Fedorov noted that Ukraine has quadrupled its destruction of Russian rear-area logistics and military infrastructure in recent months. Ministry of Defense dashboards show the pattern, he added: more Russian logistics destroyed, fewer Russian assaults at the line of contact.

Fedorov also pointed to Ukraine's earlier shutdown of Starlink access for Russian forces as another factor in Ukraine's technological advantage on the battlefield.

A Ukrainian Hornet drone about to strike a buhanka.
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Middle-strike drones are medium-range strike UAVs typically reaching about 300 kmMilitarnyi notes. They have already forced the Russian occupation force to limit movement through occupied Kherson Oblast toward Crimea. 

Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS), outlined in April that middle- and deep-strike operations would scale up from May.