Ukraine's most sophisticated attack drone is about as stealthy as a crop duster: slow, low-flying and completely defenseless. So when the Russian invasion began, many experts expected the few drones that the Ukrainian forces managed to get off the ground would be shot down in hours. But more than two weeks into the conflict, Ukraine's drones -- Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 models that buzz along at about half the speed of a Cessna – are not only still flying; they also shoot guided missiles at Russian missile launchers, tanks and supply trains, according to Pentagon officials. The drones have become a sort of lumbering canary in the war's coal mine, a sign of the astonishing resiliency of the Ukrainian defense forces and the larger problems that the Russians have encountered. "The performance of the Russian military has been shocking," said David Deptula, a retired three-star Air Force general who planned the U.S. air campaigns in Afghanistan in 2001 and the Persian Gulf in 1991.

In a video that went viral on Twitter Sunday night, a massive explosion rips through what appears to be a Russian convoy, scoring a direct hit on a surface-to-air missile system. The black-and-white footage, posted to the account of the Ukrainian armed forces, is one of several that have emerged on social media in recent days showing the devastating impact of Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian hardware. As the drone's payload explodes in the video--which appears to be a cellphone recording of a screen in a Ukrainian drone facility--people at the facility can be heard gasping in awe before breaking out in cheers and applause. The video racked up more than 3 million views on Twitter in two days. There will be no peace for you on our earth!" the Ukrainian armed forces wrote in the video's caption. The star of this video and others circulating on Twitter is the Bayraktar TB2 – a type of Turkish drone that the Ukrainian military has increasingly deployed against Russian forces in recent ...