Ukraine’s National Guard 1st Azov Corps has released footage it says shows reconnaissance and strike drone activity over Russian-occupied Mariupol, declaring its “return” to the city nearly four years after it fell to Russian forces.
In a statement published on Facebook on May 8, the unit said: “The Azov is already patrolling its hometown of Mariupol. For now, from the air. But there’s more to come.”
The footage reportedly shows drone surveillance over Mariupol and nearby Russian-controlled military positions in Mariupol, a city in eastern Ukraine that fell under Russian occupation in May 2022 after a prolonged and destructive siege.
According to the statement, Ukrainian reconnaissance drones are now operating up to 160 kilometres behind the front line, targeting transport routes and logistics corridors allegedly used by Russian forces.
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Video released by the corps includes aerial views of the city and what it claims are military installations under Russian control, as well as updated imagery of the heavily damaged Azovstal Iron and Steel Works — the sprawling industrial complex that became the last major stronghold of Ukrainian resistance during the siege.
The plant, which became a symbol of Ukrainian defence in the early months of the full-scale invasion, was the site of a prolonged battle before Ukrainian forces were ordered to surrender in May 2022.
A Ukrainian service member quoted in reports said seeing footage of the city was emotionally significant, describing it as both familiar and distant after years of occupation. She said the imagery offered a sense that “something is changing”, despite no ground control having been re-established.
YES!!!!! 💪🇺🇦 https://t.co/sde444kNmk
— Shaun Pinner (@ShaunPinnerUA) May 8, 2026
Ukrainian officials have framed the drone activity as part of a broader effort to disrupt Russian supply lines and assert pressure deep behind the front. The Defence Ministry said Russian forces “won’t be safe anywhere” on Ukrainian territory, underscoring an expanding long-range strike strategy.
Russian authorities have not publicly commented on the latest claims, but the occupied city remains a key logistical and symbolic hub for Moscow in southern Ukraine. Since its capture, Mariupol has undergone extensive reconstruction efforts under Russian administration, alongside reports of population replacement and militarisation.
The siege of Mariupol in 2022, which lasted from February to May, is widely regarded as one of the most devastating episodes of the war, with local estimates suggesting tens of thousands of civilian deaths, though exact figures remain unverified.
Now in its fifth year of occupation, the city has become both a strategic asset and a powerful symbol in the wider conflict — one that Ukraine’s latest drone operations appear designed to bring back into focus, even if only from above.
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