"Dead Carried Out In Batches" As Ukraine Missile Hits Russian 8th Army HQ

Ukrainian Storm Shadow cruise missiles provided by the UK destroyed the headquarters of Russia's 8th Combined Arms Army in Luhansk, causing massive casualties and taking down the building from which the Russian staff were operating.

Using their increasingly accurate and lethal domestically produced drones as well as their own and foreign missiles, Ukraine has increased the tempo of long range attacks on Russian targets. JL

Alisa Orlova reports in the Kyiv Post:

Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk came under heavy drone and missile attacks overnight. British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles were used in the attack on a site being used as headquarters for Russia’s 8th Combined Arms Army. “The building is hit all the way to the basement. The dead are being carried out in groups.” More than 20 drones drones targeted Russian-occupied Luhansk. Fires broke out across the city. Ukraine has stepped up drone and long-range missile strikes deep into Russian-held territories in recent months, targeting military infrastructure, logistics hubs, and defense industry sites.

Russian-occupied Donetsk and Luhansk came under heavy drone and missile attacks overnight, leaving at least one dead, several injured, and sparking fires across the region, according to Russian-installed officials and Ukrainian sources.

In Donetsk, a woman was killed and two others, including a teenage boy, were wounded after drones and cruise missiles hit several parts of the city late Sunday, said Denis Pushilin, the Russian-backed head of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

Shops at the Sokol market, the city’s central department store, a clinic, dormitories, boiler houses, and a pharmacy were damaged, Pushilin said. One residential building was completely destroyed and 12 others were hit. In total, 26 strikes involving drones, long-range missiles, and 155mm artillery were carried out on Donetsk and surrounding areas, Pushilin claimed.

Russian Telegram channel SHOT say that British-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles were used in the attack – a claim also supported by the Ukraininan OSINT project Dnipro. One of the missiles reportedly struck a building that previously belonged to the Donetsk State Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals.

 

The Ukrainian Telegram channel Supernova+ claims that the site was being used as headquarters for Russia’s 8th Combined Arms Army.

 

“The building is hit all the way to the basement. The dead are being carried out in groups,” the channel reported. The claim could not be independently verified.

The strikes continued into the early hours of July 1, when more than 20 drones targeted Russian-occupied Luhansk. Fires broke out across the city, Russian state media TASS reported, citing emergency services.

The Russian-installed authorities imposed heightened security measures in several nearby towns, including Khrustalny and Lutuhyne.

 

No casualties or damage were officially reported by the Russian-backed Luhansk administration.

Earlier, the Russian-appointed head of Luhansk, Leonid Pasechnik, claimed Moscow’s forces had gained full control of the entire Luhansk region – statement Ukraine has not confirmed.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said air defense systems shot down 60 drones overnight across Russia and occupied Crimea. Most of the drones were intercepted over Crimea and the Rostov region. The ministry did not provide details on strikes in Donetsk or Luhansk.

Ukraine has stepped up drone and long-range missile strikes deep into Russian-held territories in recent months, targeting military infrastructure, logistics hubs, and defense industry sites.