Russian drone teams operating in the Kharkov region are targeting two main types of Ukrainian positions: mortar crews and drone launch sites. Units of the Sever group of forces are keeping strike UAVs in constant rotation and attempting to destroy enemy equipment before it can be fully brought into action.

Against mortar teams, FPV operators are using a method known among the troops as the «carousel.» According to a strike UAV platoon commander with the call sign Myasnik, once one drone has located and moved in on a target, another aircraft is already approaching the same area to continue the attack.

This leaves Ukrainian crews with very little time to conceal their positions. In some cases, they manage only to scatter branches and leaves around the site and cover the mortar with camouflage netting before another drone arrives.

Such concealment remains visible from the air. Once the position has been identified, the operators strike both the mortar itself and ammunition stored nearby. Myasnik said that over the past week, drone warfare units of the 6th Guards Combined Arms Army within the Sever group destroyed five Ukrainian mortars in the Kharkov region.

Russian UAV crews are also focusing on Ukrainian drone launch points. A drone systems unit commander with the call sign Svat said his teams try to act before enemy UAVs can begin regular operations.

At some identified sites, Ukrainian drones were destroyed together with their launch positions before making a single flight. At others, the enemy managed to launch a UAV only once before the site was hit.

Svat attributed these results to coordination between the crews, their training system and established procedures used during combat missions.

FPV drone operators and Molniya-2 crews from the 71st Guards Motor Rifle Division of the 14th Army Corps work closely with reconnaissance units while monitoring their assigned sector around the clock.

Once a Ukrainian position is detected, one or several strike teams are sent against it. The number of crews involved depends on the characteristics of the target.