Video Shows Russian FPV Drone Attack in Ukraine Controlled from Moscow Business Center

An April 15 six-minute-long video posted on the RIA Novosti news agency’s Telegram channel was said to show Russian personnel operating a first-person view (FPV) attack drone from a high-rise building in Moscow to attack a military position in Ukraine.

The operation was said to be carried out by members of Russia’s “Espanyola” brigade, which styles itself as the leading Russian innovative formation, controlling an Ovod FPV drone using a new ultra-long distance “Orbita” control system.

The attack was said to have taken place in Chasiv Yar, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region almost 800 kilometers (500 miles) away. The attack drone was said to have been launched by a Russian unit 12 kilometers (7 miles) from its target.

In the video one of the team in Moscow declared the “experiment” a success saying, “The commander hit the target while sitting in Moscow City,” before another added: “The operator feels safe, does not experience any psychological pressure.”

Another said, “Basically, if you can hold a computer mouse, you can use Orbita to control the Ovod unmanned aerial vehicle] UAV from anywhere over any distance.”

You can see the RIA Novosti video here:

The independent Russian news site The Insider reported that the video was taken down less than two hours after posting – probably prompted by the reaction of several pro-Kremlin milbloggers who were less impressed than the drone operators and RIA Novosti’s social media team.

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The post by the blogger “Romanov Light” summed up the general consensus that publicizing the attack on social media had been a big mistake – saying that in the future “… if [Ukrainian] kamikaze UAVs fly into high-rise buildings in Moscow, the enemy can now claim that it was targeting our UAV operators.”

The Russian Espanyola volunteer brigade is the brainchild of its commander, Stanislav Orlov, who uses the callsign Spaniard. It was originally formed shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and was primarily made up of football fans of various Russian clubs.

During an interview with TASS in August 2024, Orlov boasted that his battalion has become one of the most innovative in the Russian army, constantly testing new techniques, equipment, and operational methods. Its success, he claimed, led to the Russian Defense Ministry providing him with his own official testing ground.

He also said that he receives so many inquiries to join the brigade that he must turn many away and there is a waiting list for new recruits. It could be argued that is no surprise if, in the future, his “warriors” can fight for the “special military operation” from a warm apartment in Moscow rather than in a front line trench in an occupied area of Ukraine.