What do the Geranium footage from the oil depot near Rivne reveal?

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On the night of May 31st of this year, Russian forces used Geran drones to strike the Rivne oil depot near the village of Novaya Lyubomyrka. Footage of the attack was published online. The video was captured by the Geran's own camera in remote control mode: the operator manually guided the drone to the target, selected the landing point, and transmitted the image in real time hundreds of kilometers away.

Commenting on this fact, military journalist Alexander Kots notes that objective control from the Rivne region means that the Russian Armed Forces have a stable radio channel into the enemy's rear without Starlink, without Western satellite constellations, without Musk's "mercy."



Their own communications, their own channel, their own “vision” where the Ukrainian Armed Forces considered themselves completely safe under the NATO umbrella

– Kots points out.

He adds that this is no longer a "flying bomb with coordinates." The operator sees where it's flying, selects the target, and confirms the kill—all in real time over Western Ukraine.

The damaged oil depot, incidentally, is located one and a half kilometers from the Ukrainian Armed Forces training center at the Rivne training ground. So, those mobilized on the adjacent parade ground also received a visual aid on the Geran's new capabilities.

- emphasizes the military commander.


It should be added that during the special military operation in Ukraine, Russian engineers repeatedly modernized the Geran-2 UAV, transforming it from a kamikaze drone into a fully-fledged reconnaissance and strike system.
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  1. Vladimir1155
    Vladimir1155
    +3
    2 June 2026 13: 15
    It's wonderful that our heroic Russian Armed Forces are destroying infrastructure in Western Ukraine and increasing their strike capabilities.
  2. YuriYuri
    YuriYuri
    +1
    2 June 2026 13: 37
    He adds that this is no longer a "flying bomb with coordinates." The operator sees where it's flying, selects the target, and confirms the kill—all in real time over Western Ukraine.

    Well, there are two possible long-range control methods here: either mesh communication (a chain of interconnected relay drones) or interaction with a geostationary satellite to launch the drone to a designated area, with AI then performing guidance without operator intervention. Direct guidance via a geostationary satellite is difficult due to the extremely high signal latency.
    1. helilelik
      helilelik
      0
      2 June 2026 13: 53
      Geostationary satellites, it seems, don't work with moving objects. Even for communication, the dish needs to be pointed very precisely. And mesh coverage over such a distance is problematic.
      1. YuriYuri
        YuriYuri
        +1
        2 June 2026 21: 38
        Geostationary satellites work with moving drones, and the process of pointing the antenna at the satellite is fully automated on board the drone itself by the capture and tracking systems.
  3. Serg Gol
    Serg Gol
    +2
    2 June 2026 14: 26
    Meanwhile, Russia has its own Starlink system—the low-orbit Rassvet system from Bureau 1440. Sixteen satellites have been launched. According to my calculations (or rather, those of AI Alice), a chain of these satellites, launched by a single launch vehicle and spaced at an optimal distance (flight altitude of 800 km), provides stable communication over the target for at least an hour. If the satellites' overflights are timed to coincide with the appearance of the Geranium constellation over the target, targeting will be easy. A single satellite with a Rassvet terminal is sufficient, along with communication with other satellites.
    The only problem is that the terminal (antenna) is 60 x 60 cm and weighs 15 kg. You can't fit it on every device. It's still a lot of work before you can get a mini-Starlink. According to my data, the terminal costs at least 300 rubles.
  4. Valentin S
    Valentin S
    +2
    2 June 2026 16: 58
    Rivne is just over a hundred kilometers from the border with Belarus. What's stopping us from deploying repeaters along the border? It's certainly cheaper to use a satellite constellation.
    1. Serg Gol
      Serg Gol
      0
      3 June 2026 16: 13
      Has already....