Ukraine’s military has destroyed two bridges inside Russia’s Belgorod region in an operation that highlighted how cheap, first-person-view (FPV) drones are being used to great effect on the battlefield.

The 58th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade used the drones to strike stockpiles of Russian mines and ammunition hidden under the bridges near the Ukrainian border. Ukrainian officials said the targets were being used as supply lines for Russian forces near the frontline. The Russian military had mined the two bridges in anticipation of a Ukrainian attack and was preparing to blow them up itself if the situation required it.

The action follows a similar tactic used by Ukraine in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion. In February 2022, Ukraine destroyed several bridges on the roads leading toward Kyiv in a last-minute effort to slow Russia’s advance and buy time to prepare the city’s defenses. This week, the same tactic was apparently used against Russia.

“Judging by the movements of the enemy around the bridge, it became clear that something was going on there,” a representative for the 58th Brigade told CNN, noting that regular reconnaissance drones could not operate under the bridge without losing their signal.

The brigade used an FPV drone equipped with fiber optics to send a video feed back to its operator in real-time. This would allow a single operator to inspect the structure without having to send a person under the bridge. The drone discovered a significant cache of anti-tank mines and other ammunition hidden under the bridge. “We saw the mines, and we struck,” the brigade representative said.

In a video released by the brigade, the drone is seen flying toward the bridge. After reaching its destination, the drone’s camera appears to spot the hidden munitions and then detonate, producing a large explosion. A second camera mounted nearby captured the blast from afar.

CNN geolocated the bridge to Russia’s Belgorod region, which shares a border with Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. Buoyed by their success, the brigade also inspected another bridge in the area, where it also found mines and other ammunition. This time, they used a second drone to set off a second large explosion. “We saw an opportunity and took it,” the brigade said in a statement.

What is remarkable about this week’s bridge strike is not simply its audacity but also its cost. The drones used cost between 25,000 and 30,000 Ukrainian hryvnias, or roughly $600–$725 each.

Destroying bridges this far inside Russia would normally require the use of expensive guided missiles or precision bombs. In the past, Ukraine has attacked bridges in Russia’s Kursk region using U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers. A single HIMARS system costs millions of dollars, and the rockets themselves cost tens of thousands of dollars each. In contrast, the drones used to blow up the bridges in Belgorod cost less than a modern smartphone.

This is not the first time Ukraine has used FPV drones in this manner. In June, Kyiv used small FPV drones smuggled near Russian military airfields to destroy or damage scores of Russian aircraft.

“These types of operations show how even modest technology can achieve outsized effects when used creatively and innovatively,” said military analyst Mykola Bielieskov. “FPV drones offer Ukraine a way to help level the playing field against Russia’s far larger arsenal of weapons at a relatively low cost.”

The Belgorod bridge strike came as Ukraine was facing increasing pressure along the frontlines. Russian forces have been slowly grinding forward in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, while Moscow has also stepped up its near-daily missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities.

Putin is also continuing to deny Ukraine’s calls for a ceasefire, saying instead that Moscow intends to continue its offensive. It was against this backdrop of growing concern that news of the two destroyed bridges offered a rare bright spot for Ukraine.

Russia has not commented publicly on the incident, but the loss of the two bridges will hamper Moscow’s logistics in the Belgorod region, cutting off supply lines to Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.

But for Ukraine’s military, the Belgorod strike was also a reminder of a bigger reality of the war. Innovation has become a necessity of survival. The war in Ukraine has often forced Kyiv to improvise in the face of limited Western supplies and Russia’s quantitative advantages on the battlefield.

FPV drones, which can be built from scratch with commercial components and modified by volunteers, have become one of its most effective tools. “The value of these drones cannot be overstated,” the 58th Brigade representative said. “They allow us to achieve effects that would otherwise require us to use weapons that we do not have.”

As the war drags on, Ukraine’s ability to adapt and strike creatively on Russian soil may become more important in compensating for Moscow’s battlefield advantages. For now, two destroyed bridges in the Belgorod region are a reminder that even the smallest and cheapest weapons can make a strategic difference.