# Ukrainian Drones Target Russian Oil > Ukrainian special forces use long-range drones to disrupt Russian oil exports, but Trump's Starlink restrictions threaten their operations. - Title: Ukrainian Drones Target Russian Oil · Dailymail | Shortify - Summary: Ukrainian special forces use long-range drones to disrupt Russian oil exports, but Trump's Starlink restrictions threaten their operations. Ukrainian drone… - Keywords: ukraine, russian oil, starlink, drones, putin, trump, ukrainian special forces, shadow fleet, donbas, musk, news, entertainment - Source: Dailymail — https://dailymail.com/news/article-16212819/ANDY-JEHRING-Ukrainian-drones-Putin-Trump.html?ito=1490&ns_campaign=1490&ns_mchannel=rss - Published: 2026-10-15T23:16:13+00:00 - Read time: 1 min - Topics: ukraine, russian oil, starlink, drones, putin, trump, ukrainian special forces, shadow fleet, donbas, musk, news, entertainment ## Ukrainian drone launch Ukrainian special forces fire FP-2 drones from secret sites in eastern Ukraine. > Get down! The Ukrainian commander bellows as a high-speed drone armed with a 105kg warhead hurtles across the field ## Drone malfunction A rocket booster detaches prematurely, causing the drone to spiral and lose height. > We hit the deck. A rocket booster that should have propelled this unmanned kamikaze monoplane to 60mph in under a second has detached prematurely ## Drone target The drone flies 16,000ft toward a target 100 miles away in occupied Ukraine. > Despite the premature issue with the booster, the drone is now airborne and cruising at 16,000ft toward the target over 100 miles away, deep in occupied Ukraine ## Drone message The drone bears a message in Ukrainian: 'Greetings to you, you bitches, from all the children who were killed'. > On its wing, scrawled in Ukrainian with marker pen, are the words: 'Greetings to you, you bitches, from all the children who were killed' ## Ukrainian drone unit Ukraine's elite 20th Unmanned Systems Brigade, nicknamed 'K-2', operates the FP-2 drones. > Led by Ukraine's elite 20th Unmanned Systems Brigade, nicknamed 'K-2', it's all part of the desperate race to hammer Russian logistics ## Drone strikes K-2 drones target Russia's shadow fleet, disabling 300 vessels in two months. > Operation MoLoChKa has disabled 300 vessels in two months, according to Kyiv ## Shadow fleet Russia's shadow fleet moves 3.7 million barrels of oil per day, accounting for 70% of maritime exports. > Putin's 'shadow fleet' in Crimea uses unregistered tankers to move 3.7 million barrels of oil per day, accounting for up to 70 per cent of all its maritime oil exports ## Drone pilot A 22-year-old woman named 'Maksymivna' pilots drones from a Black Sea base. > Among the drone pilots was a 22-year-old woman, with the call-sign 'Maksymivna', with perfectly manicured black and white nails ## Maksymivna's mission Maksymivna targets a vessel suspected of grain theft and fuel smuggling. > She squints intently through her live view, looking for any sign of a vessel. Half an hour passes. Suddenly Maksymivna leans forward and taps the screen. She's spotted something ## Drone strike Maksymivna successfully strikes a Russian vessel after four attempts. > Maksymivna makes her mark. The screen freezes the moment before impact. A dozen windows from the ship's bridge fill the monitor, now presumably blown apart ## Starlink issue Trump imposes a 100mph speed limit on Starlink terminals used for drone guidance. > On Wednesday, a 100mph 'speed limit' was imposed on its small terminals, which are attached to drones to pick up the Starlink signal ## Drone impact Starlink restrictions cause drones to crash if they exceed 100mph. > If they travel faster than that, which drones must do to evade Russian defences, the feed cuts and they crash ## Ukrainian response Ukraine fears Russia will seize advantage after Starlink restrictions. > A Ukrainian military source told the Daily Mail some teams have been grounded, with fears Russia will now seize the advantage ## Trump's deal Trump announces deal to buy 1.8 million tonnes of Russian diesel for next month's elections. > Last Friday, the US President, desperate to lower fuel prices ahead of next month's midterm elections, announced a deal to buy 1.8million tonnes of Russian diesel in the coming months ## Trump's blame Trump blames Zelensky's strikes for rising global fuel costs. > He then declared it is 'time for Ukraine to get a new President' as he blamed Mr Zelensky's deep strikes inside Russia for rising fuel costs globally ## Ukrainian perspective Ukrainian pilots see drone strikes as necessary revenge for Mariupol. > For me, this story started in Mariupol,' says 'Hrynia', one of the launch pilots, who studied at the university in the city on the Sea of Azov coast before the war ## Key takeaway Ukrainian drone units strike Russian oil tankers to cripple Putin's shadow fleet, but Trump's Starlink speed limits risk disrupting their counteroffensive.