Russian drones hunt Ukrainian heavy supply drone

Russian forces have released video of an FPV drone striking one of Ukraine’s largest uncrewed ground vehicles, a Protector, while it was hauling logs near Orikhiv in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region. The footage, shared by Russian channels, shows the drone hitting the vehicle’s cargo bed. The front of the Protector, where its control and communications equipment sits, was covered by a mesh cage built to set off or deflect incoming drones, and the strike landed behind it. It is not clear from the video whether the vehicle was disabled or only damaged, and Ukrainian forces have not commented. The logs it was carrying are typically used to build and reinforce dugouts and fighting positions. The Protector, built by Ukrainian company Ukrainian Armor, is a diesel-powered ground drone roughly the size of a Humvee. It weighs up to about 4,000 kg (8,818 pounds), measures more than 5 m (16.6 ft) long and is driven by a 190-horsepower engine, reaching 50 to 90 km/h (31 to 56 mph) depending on the road surface. The version now going to Ukraine’s National Guard can carry up to 1,480 kg (3,263 pounds) of cargo, more than double the 700 kg listed for earlier configurations, and tow a trailer of up to 4 tonnes. Ukrainian sources say it can travel up to 400 km (250 miles) on a tank of fuel. Operators drive the vehicle remotely over encrypted radio links that reach up to 12 km (7.5 miles) in open terrain, with a Starlink terminal as a backup channel, and it runs on run-flat tires so it can keep moving after wheel damage. This is not the first time a Protector has been caught on camera under drone attack. In June, Ukraine’s 429th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade “Achilles” said one of its Protectors survived a direct FPV hit and still delivered nearly a ton of supplies to front-line positions, before it was lost to a mine on a later mission. Screengrab from video posted to social media The vehicle is being fielded in growing numbers. Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense approved the Protector for military use in June 2025, and in August 2026 the National Guard began receiving the first of 100 Protectors funded by the German government, configured for front-line logistics and casualty evacuation. Ukrainian units increasingly rely on ground drones like the Protector to carry ammunition, food, water and building materials over the last few kilometers to front-line positions, where Russian surveillance and attack drones make it extremely dangerous to move supplies by truck or on foot. Russia, in turn, is hunting the vehicles with FPV drones, mines and artillery, which has pushed Ukrainian crews to add cages, screens and other improvised armor to protect their most vulnerable components.