A Russian unit boasted on social media about a successful drone-on-drone strike, only to discover later that they had mistakenly shot down one of their own unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
In a major blunder for Putin's forces, the Russian unit mistakenly used a DJI Mavic drone to shoot down what they believed to be a Ukrainian UAV in Avidiivka.
However, the target was actually a Zala ISR drone, which belonged to the Russian military.
The soldiers proudly shared their perceived achievement on Russian Telegram channels and posted photos of the downed drone.
However, their celebration was short-lived, as it soon became apparent that the UAV they had targeted was a Russian Zala ISR drone.
A social media post from Russian soldiers on Telegram said: "Here! That's how our boys fight — in a word, heroes. Avdiivka's direction... took down this not-so-small dealie. Our comrade saw it in the sky and without hesitation, raised his MAVIC and rammed it... just like back in WWII ... sacrificed an expensive quadrocopter to destroy an enemy [drone]."
It comes amid Ukraine's daring incursion of Russia's border region as Kyiv's forces captured 92 settlements in the Kursk region.
The blunder has attracted ridicule online.
A drone-focused blogger account on Telegram commented on the post and said: "Well done boys! Not only did they lose their copter, but they also shot down our own DEALIE, oh, I mean our ZALA. I would call this act 'Bravery and Stupidity' or maybe just 'Stupidity'"
Military analyst Samuel Bendett highlighted the error in a post on X, formerly Twitter: "Russian Telegrams are posting the following screenshot from a Russian unit "bragging" about what turned out to be a friendly fire incident when they used their DJI Mavic to down a Zala ISR drone, thinking it was a Ukrainian UAV."
The Mavic model, which is made by Chinese company DJI, is used by both Ukrainian and Russian armed forces.
The Zala 421-08M was developed to be easily carried by land infantry and remain airborne for up to 100 hours.
Elina Beketova, Democracy Fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told Newsweek that Ukraine has "repelled more than 120 Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk region" in one day.
"Russian troops continue to conduct their offensive operations on the Donetsk and Kharkiv fronts. Ukrainian defense forces have repelled more than 120 Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions just within one day (August 18).
Beketova provided an update on the frontlines after Ukraine ordered civilians to evacuate from Pokrovsk.
"The hardest situation is on the Toretsk and Pokrovsk fronts. Just in Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces shelled the area 2,806 times within August 18, with 12 settlements under attack. According to local Ukrainian authorities, 500-600 people are evacuating from Pokrovsk every day. Starting August 20, there will be a mandatory evacuation of all people with children from Pokrovsk.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine's invasion of Kursk shows Kremlin threats of retaliation are a bluff as Ukrainian forces advance deeper into Russia's Kursk region.
"The operation 'no one knew about' proved that there are no red lines of the Kremlin to be wary of," Zelensky said.
It comes as Russian authorities are struggling to contain a massive fire in the Rostov region for a third day after Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in the town of Proletarsk to disrupt Russia's military supply chain.
The blaze, spanning 10,000 square meters, has involved 500 firefighters, with 41 hospitalized, according to state news agency TASS.
Ukraine's Army General Staff claimed responsibility and said the strike was intended to undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian Federation."
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