Putin selects commander to lead new drone warfare branch of Russian military

President Vladimir Putin has named his selection to lead the Russian military’s cutting-edge drone warfare branch, highlighting the central role such technology is now playing in modern conflict.

Col. Gen. Denis Lyamin was announced as the commander of the nation’s Unmanned Systems Forces following the president’s meeting with leaders of the Defense Ministry on Wednesday.

“It is well known that we have decided to create a new branch of the armed forces: the unmanned systems forces. The task was to find someone who has proven to be the best in this field,” Putin said, calling the appointee “one of the most qualified specialists in this field.”

Col. Gen. Denis Lyamin, a newly appointed commander of Russia’s Unmanned Systems Forces, attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov/Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Lyamin previously served as chief of staff for Battlegroup Center, which Putin praised as one of the Russian military’s “leading units” responsible for “carrying out the most important and critical tasks in liberating the Donetsk People’s Republic.”

Ukraine has taken similar actions to formalize and build out its drone-based military operations, establishing last month its own Long-Range Strike Command. President Volodymyr Zelensky said the new command would “enhance the effectiveness of long-range strikes, reduce the enemy’s ability to wage war against Ukraine, and undermine its military potential.”

“This command must concentrate 100% of the available resources to reduce Russia’s warfighting potential even more significantly,” Zelensky said, explaining that it was “effectively a command for global impact on Russia over this war.”

After years of grinding conflict on the front lines resulting in millions of casualties, unmanned aerial vehicles have been embraced by both sides as the most effective and crucial avenue of warfare.

“The fact of the matter is that the line of contact is surrounded by a large drone ‘no-go’ zone. We hear that in order to keep fighting — the way they’re fighting now — the Russians are sending wave after wave of soldiers into that kill zone,” Gen. Philip M. Breedlove, the former NATO supreme allied commander for Europe, told the Washington Examiner. “And the Ukrainian forces are just killing Russians at a rate that is completely staggering.”

To keep the pressure on Ukraine, Russia is using clandestine drone incursions to strike cities and has become particularly brazen in targeting civilians — a practice Kyiv has decried as tantamount to war crimes. The United Nations issued a similar finding about the illicit nature of these “drone safaris” in a report last year.

The small size, large number, and disposable nature of the UAVs make it nearly impossible for Ukraine to project defensive capabilities beyond its military.

Mystetsky Arsenal Art Gallery burns opposite the damaged Monastery of the Caves following Russia’s drone and missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, June 15, 2026. (AP Photo//Efrem Lukatsky)

“For a civilian trying to live his civilian life — who is not associated with any military unit — the hard answer is that it is almost impossible to protect that individual,” Breedlove said. “There are ways to protect from drones, and both the Russians and the Ukrainians are getting better at it. But they’re defending their militaries.”

Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported that a “massive attack” on Kyiv early Wednesday morning killed at least 17 people. The preeminent targets of the attack were civilian warehouses.

Kyiv launched its own campaign last month against Russian consumer goods warehouses, targeting infrastructure owned by Wildberries — the country’s largest online retailer. Ukraine, accusing the retail giant of cooperating with the Russian military by supplying components for UAVs, has struck close to two dozen warehouses.

Vladimir Tkachuk, founder and CEO of drone manufacturer Uraldronzavod, was wounded in a car explosion on Wednesday — prompting local authorities to launch an attempted murder investigation.

RUSSIA ACCUSED OF ‘DRONE SAFARI’ AS SHOCKING FOOTAGE EMERGES OF UKRAINIAN CIVILIAN BEING ‘HUNTED’

It was the second attempt on the life of a Russian drone manufacturer in a week, following the shooting of Andrei Cherezov in late July. An unidentified gunman fired multiple shots at Cherezov in the stairway of his apartment building.

Multiple Russian nationals were targets of assassination attempts in June, including Andrei Pinchuk, the would-be state security minister of Donetsk.

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