The 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade (), also known as "Magyar's Birds", is a formation within the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The unit is considered the first separate unmanned aerial systems formation within the Armed Forces of Ukraine and one of the most effective unmanned systems units of Ukraine's Defense Forces.
In 2022, Robert Brovdi ("Magyar") created the group "Magyar's Birds", which later became part of the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade. The unit became a company and specialized in the use of strike drones, SIGINT and electronic warfare (EW) systems, remote mining, patrolling, and artillery fire adjustment using drones. In January 2024, the company was expanded into the 414th Battalion and transferred to the marines. In June the battalion was expanded into a regiment, and in December 2024 into a brigade. In February 2025 the unit was included in the "Drone Line" initiative and transferred to the Ukrainian Ground Forces, and in September 2025 it completed its inter-service transition to the Unmanned Systems Forces.
History
Magyar's Birds (2022–2023) The "Birds of Magyar" unit originated in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It was founded by Ukrainian businessman and volunteer fighter Robert Brovdi, known by his call sign "Magyar." On 7 February 2022 he joined the Territorial Defense Forces, the 206th Separate Rifle Battalion of the Territorial Defense, where at the start of the invasion he was appointed platoon commander and carried out combat missions in Irpin, Bucha, and Borodianka.
In April the unit was moved to the Kherson axis, where "Magyar" decided to focus on Aerial reconnaissance and created "Magyar's Birds". "Magyar's Birds" engaged in reconnaissance, patrolling, artillery fire adjustment, the use of kamikaze drones, and bombing.
In May 2022 a separate aerial reconnaissance group "Magyar's Birds" of 26 people was formed, working at that time together with the 28th Mechanized Brigade. In August 2022 the aerial reconnaissance operators assembled one of the first FPV drones and began the experimental use of strike drones against enemy personnel and equipment; drop drones also entered service. After the end of active fighting on the Kherson axis, the unit was redeployed to the Bakhmut axis.
The unit took part in the Battle of Bakhmut. As part of the 251st Territorial Defense Battalion, which was under the operational control of the Operational-Strategic Group of Forces "Khortytsia", it fought in the areas of Bakhmut, Opytne, Klishchiivka, Kurdiumivka, Soledar, Berkhivka, and Krasna Hora over the course of 110 days. According to "Magyar's" recollections, there was a situation in which, over 4 days, with the forces of a single Territorial Defense machine-gun crew and four drone crews, they repelled 16 recorded attacks by Wagner fighters, halting them on a single hectare that they nicknamed "the bloody one". "Magyar's Birds" received the order to withdraw in March 2023.
In March 2023 the tactical group "Magyar's Birds" was reorganized into a separate strike UAV company and incorporated into the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade. Between March and June 2023 the company carried out combat missions in the areas of Pervomaiske, Avdiivka, Staromykhailivka, Krasnohorivka, and Marinka, combining aerial reconnaissance, fire adjustment, and the use of strike UAVs and FPV drones, in particular in the areas of Donetsk, Pisky, Lozove, and Yasynuvata.
From 13 June to 1 October 2023 the unit, as part of the "Donetsk" Operational-Tactical Group, took part in the counteroffensive by Ukraine's Defense Forces in southern and eastern Ukraine. The strike UAV company "Magyar's Birds" carried out missions of aerial reconnaissance, target engagement, remote mining, fire adjustment, as well as electronic warfare and SIGINT in cooperation with the 35th, 36th, 37th, and 38th Separate Marine Brigades. The unit took part in the battles for Urozhaine and Staromaiorske. According to published results of the unit's activity during the counteroffensive, over 110 days it struck 514 enemy targets, of which 309 were destroyed.
From 3 October 2023 to 31 July 2024 the strike UAV company "Magyar's Birds", which was under the operational control of the Marine Corps Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, took part in combat operations on the left bank of the Dnieper, in particular in the area of Krynky. During October 2023 – January 2024 the unit struck 764 pieces of enemy equipment, of which 273 were destroyed. In parallel, the unit developed a SIGINT and EW capability: according to the unit, on the left bank of the Dnieper, in cooperation with the marines, more than 10,000 enemy FPV drones were detected, a significant portion of which were suppressed. The use of FPV-drone signal-interception equipment made it possible to identify their launch points and pinpoint operator positions. During operations on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Krynky area, the unit also carried out the remote laying of about 3,500 anti-tank mines produced by the unit's "Tsukrarnia" (Sugar Factory) workshop, using drones, in a sector covering about 72.5 km².
By 16 January 2024, Brovdi reported that the unit had accumulated 692 days of continuous combat. Sixteen of its soldiers had been awarded the Order for Courage for their actions.
Separate military unit (2024) On 16 January 2024 the unit was transferred from the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade to the Marine Corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and expanded from a company into the 414th Separate Strike Unmanned Aerial Systems Battalion. "Magyar" became the battalion commander. According to the outlet Focus, "Magyar's Birds" became the first separate unmanned aerial systems unit within the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From 28 May to 17 July 2024 the "Magyar's Birds" unit carried out combat missions on the Kharkiv axis, in particular to reinforce the Vovchansk grouping and the 13th "Khartiia" Brigade on the Lyptsi axis.
At the end of June 2024 "Magyar" announced that the battalion had been expanded into a regiment. It was reorganized to include new units: one dedicated to intercepting and destroying enemy drones, another focused on experimental unmanned systems, and a third responsible for developing and implementing new technologies. With the reorganization, the regiment planned to develop its own capabilities for training operators, as well as to deploy its own legal production facilities. According to Ukrinform, within the first day after the recruitment announcement more than a thousand applications were submitted. In parallel, internal support sub-units were being formed, in particular an unmanned systems repair base, training and combat sub-units, and electronic warfare (EW) and SIGINT capabilities. In July–August the regiment was moved to the most difficult Pokrovsk axis, where the "Pokrovsk Dome" system for countering enemy drones was deployed. According to the unit, between July 2024 and May 2026 more than 534,000 combat sorties were carried out, more than 160,000 targets were struck, of which more than 71,000 were destroyed. It was also reported that more than 49,000 enemy service members were struck. From August 2024 to February 2025, and again in March – August 2025, the unit took part in combat operations on the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod oblasts of the Russian Federation. In addition, from November 2024 "Magyar's Birds" operated on a section of the front near Vuhledar. On 16 November 2024 fighters of "Magyar's Birds", using a Vampire drone, destroyed the Russian "Borisoglebsk-2" electronic suppression complex on the Pokrovsk axis, whose value was estimated at $200 million.
Formation of the 414th Separate Brigade In December 2024 the transformation of the 414th Separate Strike Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment "Magyar's Birds" into the 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was announced. During this period the formation of a full brigade structure with training, production, and engineering infrastructure was completed. The unit deployed an unmanned systems repair base, an active-operations company, a separate instructors' company, and specialized schools for FPV-drone operators, strike-bomber operators, and SIGINT specialists. According to "Magyar", within the first days after the announcement of the expansion into a brigade, the unit received nearly 1,400 applications for more than 3,000 vacancies. "Magyar" emphasized that the unit's activity was not limited to the use of reconnaissance-strike UAVs: with the expansion, it planned to increase its capabilities in SIGINT, electronic warfare, the use of radar systems, and layered control of its area of responsibility. At the same time, the brigade structure with training, production, and engineering infrastructure was completed, and at the end of 2024 a counter-drone system was deployed in the Kherson area – the "Kherson Dome".
On 9 February 2025 the brigade, together with 4 other units, joined the initiative of the President of Ukraine "Drone Line", which was intended to scale up the experience of combat UAV use across the entire front.
From February to May 2025 the brigade, under the "Drone Line" initiative, recruited more new crews than some older units had over three years of the war. As a result, in those months the brigade led the "eBaly" target-strike ranking (also known as "Army Bonus"), built on the basis of the "Delta" situational awareness system; by May 2025 its figures were three times higher than at the time the points system was introduced. For the year 2025, the "Magyar's Birds" brigade took first place in effectiveness figures within the "Army of Drones. Bonus" program.
Transition to the Unmanned Systems Forces On 3 June 2025 the brigade commander, Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, was appointed commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On 18 June, junior lieutenant Andrii Klymenko ("Klima") became the new commander of the 414th Brigade. According to the brigade, "Klima" became the first commander of a brigade in the rank of junior lieutenant in the modern history of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; before his appointment he had founded and led the strike UAV unit "Klima-Team", was a volunteer from the first days of the full-scale invasion, and rose from Territorial Defense rifleman to brigade commander. In civilian life he had been the absolute world champion in ITF taekwon-do (2017).
On 11 June 2025 the unit joined the newly created Unmanned Systems Forces Grouping, which united units of the "Drone Line" and the Unmanned Systems Forces. In early September 2025 the USFG commander "Magyar" announced that the brigade had completed its inter-service transition from the Ground Forces to the Unmanned Systems Forces and would soon double in size. On 3 September 2025 the brigade's inclusion in the Unmanned Systems Forces was officially announced. On 15 October 2025 the brigade's strength was roughly doubled – to 12 battalions.
On 5 December 2025, by decree of the President of Ukraine, the brigade commander Andrii Klymenko was awarded the title of Hero of Ukraine. On 6 December 2025, on the occasion of the Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Supreme Commander-in-Chief Volodymyr Zelenskyy presented the battle flag to the 414th Brigade.
On 11 June 2026, the Day of the Unmanned Systems Forces, by decree of the President of Ukraine No. 486/2026, the brigade was awarded the honorary distinction "For Courage and Bravery"; a separate decree No. 487/2026 awarded the same distinction to the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces.
Deep strikes by the 9th "Kairos" Battalion