05/09/2026
The 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov” has already reached temporarily occupied Mariupol. More than 100 km from the front line, Ukrainian soldiers are conducting reconnaissance and creating problems for the logistics of the occupiers using drones.
The invaders in the Mariupol area can no longer feel safe, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
“Azov” is a nightmare for the occupiers in Mariupol and its surroundings
Analysts noted that the Defense Forces are already conducting reconnaissance and blocking Russian ground communication lines in occupied Mariupol in the Donetsk region, which is about 105 kilometers from the front line . And this is evidence of the growth of Ukrainian capabilities for medium-range strikes.
The 1st Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine “Azov” reported on May 8 that it had struck Russian military targets near Mariupol and that UAV operators were blocking Russian logistics to a depth of up to 160 km.
Geolocation footage published on May 6 and 8, including by Azov, confirms that Ukrainian forces launched drones and hit a truck on the T-0509 Mariupol-Donetsk highway (H-20 highway) approximately 95 kilometers from the front line.
Additional geolocation footage from the 1st Corps of the Azov National Guard captured the operation of Ukrainian UAVs along the same route approximately 95-104 kilometers from the front line, as well as in Mariupol itself , on the M-14 Mariupol-Berdyansk-Melitopol highway.
The occupiers use the N-20 Mariupol-Donetsk highway to supply their groups operating north of Mariupol and further northeast as part of the offensive on the Ukrainian “belt of fortresses.”
The M-14 Mariupol-Berdyansk-Melitopol highway extends westward to the occupied Zaporizhia and Kherson regions and supports Russian logistics in the Orikhiv direction and the eastern (left) bank of the Dnieper.
“Ukraine’s ability to launch drone strikes on moving targets over 100 kilometers from the front line, in areas where Russian forces have previously been able to conduct logistics relatively safely, is likely to lead to partial battlefield air interception effects that will impair the ability of Russian forces to conduct future offensive operations or defend against Ukrainian counterattacks,” ISW noted.
Analysts recalled that since the end of December 2025, the Defense Forces have been intensifying mid-range strikes (strikes to an operational depth of 50-200 km) against concentrations of occupation troops and Russian military facilities in the occupied part of Ukraine. Since March of this year, the intensity and frequency of such strikes have increased significantly – and, ISW suggests, this trend will continue in the future.
“Intensified and sustained efforts by the Ukrainian air interception campaign at operational depth could support future Ukrainian counterattacks, such as the Ukrainian counterattacks that led to the liberation of much of Kupyansk in November 2025 and over 400 square kilometers in southern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast in early 2026,” ISW predicts.
As OBOZ.UA reported, ISW previously analyzed the “scenario” for the end of the war against Ukraine, compiled in Russia, and pointed to the enemy’s plan.
Analysts also described how the Kremlin creates information conditions for provocations against NATO.
The increased capabilities of mid-range strikes are very important for disrupting the enemy’s logistics. Having said this many times already, destroying the opponent’s supply lines is at least as crucial as destroying his assets on the line of contact. In the long run, even more so. Hitting depots, transportation infrastructure, and vehicles on the move is easier than hitting well-hidden assets.