Madyar’s Birds Strike Russian Special Forces in Occupied Ukraine, at Least 120 Casualties

Ukrainian UAVs struck the headquarters of Russia’s 14th GRU Brigade near Mariupol. The night strike killed 51 Russian troops and wounded 76 more, says Robert Brovdi (call sign Madyar), commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF).

“Over 120 special forces operatives from the 14th Special Forces Brigade of the Russian GRU were eliminated/destroyed as a result of a planned operation conducted on the night of December 25-26 by the Birds of the 1st Operational Center of the Special Operations Forces in the settlement of Berdyanske, temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region, according to confirmed operational intelligence,” the statement reads.

A number of logistical facilities and enemy “special forces” were hit, according to a Telegram statement by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

“Overnight of Dec. 25-26, 2025, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit enemy targets in the temporarily occupied territory of the Donetsk region – a concentration of manpower from the 14th Special Forces Brigade in the Berdyanske settlement and a logistics depot of the 228th Motorized Rifle Regiment in the Starobeshevo area.”

During the operation, Russian Grad systems were hit from above by heavy Vampire drones – often nicknamed “Baba Yaga.”

Footage of the strike was later released by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on X.

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The video shows both MLRS launchers taking direct hits on their firing platforms. Grad systems can strike targets up to 20 kilometers away and have been among Russia’s most frequently used weapons since the start of the full-scale invasion.

In the days since the attacks, Madyar’s Birds have been able to conduct their customary post-attack body-count, usually through a combination of visual confirmation and on-the-ground intelligence.

“In addition, based on the results of previous hits, the destruction of the fuel and ammunition depot of a separate logistics brigade of the enemy, which was located in the area of the temporarily occupied city of Volnovakha in the Donetsk region, was confirmed,” the statement read.

Brovdi started as a conscript, but his entrepreneurial skills and enthusiasm for drones and logistics led him to be appointed as commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces in June – a testimony to his predatory success on the battlefield.

As David Kirichenko wrote for Kyiv Post: “Swashbuckling, plain-spoken and with a controversial past, Brovdi is emblematic of a new generation of social media-savvy, nonconformist commanders rising to senior positions as Ukraine’s military attempts to rid itself of the stultifying habits of the Soviet era.”

He adds: “Ukraine’s drone units make up 2% of personnel but account for one-third of enemy casualties.”  

At a recent conference on a NATO base in Germany, Brovdi said his units now now focus on hitting the drone operators who have made life so hard for Ukrainians on the front line.