"Significant" Russian Donetsk Drone Training, Logistics Center Destroyed, 65 killed

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces in coordination with military intelligence, destroyed Russia's primary drone command center in occupied Donetsk, which included training facilities, ammunition storage, repair shops and sleeping quarters. 65 Russians were killed in addition to the damage done to the facility. JL

The Kyiv Post reports:

Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces struck a Russian drone training and production facility used for drone pilot command and accomodation, munitions manufacturing and combat payload assemblage. The coordinated deep strike operation killed Russian personnel while destroying production and repair workshops, along with four Tiger armored vehicles undergoing repairs. Ammunition stocks and drone components were also eliminated. The lieutenant colonel head of the training facility was killed in the attack. Personnel losses were estimated at 65. Underground ammunition storage intensified the destruction.

Ukraine’s newly independent military branch, the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), together with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), said on Wednesday that they have struck a Russian training and production facility used for drone pilots and munitions manufacturing, killing personnel and destroying equipment in what they describe as a coordinated deep-strike operation.

USF said the facility belonged to the so-called “Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences” and was used to train UAV operators and assemble combat payloads.

According to the unit, production and repair workshops were destroyed in the strike, along with four “Tiger” armored vehicles that were undergoing repairs. Ammunition stocks and drone components were also eliminated. 

The head of the training facility, identified by the call sign “Buriy,” a lieutenant colonel, was killed in the attack. The Ukrainian side estimates total personnel losses at no fewer than 65.

Commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi said the mission was codenamed “Snow of Akhmat,” referring to the settlement of Snizhne in occupied Donetsk region, where the facility was reportedly located.

He said the target was a training and production complex linked to the 78th motorized special purpose regiment “North-Akhmat,” part of Russia’s 42nd division. The strike involved 11 planned “middle-strike” attacks using 100-kilogram warheads. 

“The main two-story complex of 2,484 sq. meters contained UAV assembly and warhead production, as well as personnel accommodation,” Brovdi said, adding that underground ammunition storage intensified the destruction.

“The ammunition stored in the basement added unforgettable impressions for those present at the site,” he said, adding that three such training centers of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences have been deployed in occupied territories, with two still operational “for now.” 

The strike is part of a broader escalation in Ukraine’s drone campaign. On May 17, the Unmanned Systems Forces said they completed a 48-hour coordinated air offensive that hit 46 high-value Russian military and naval assets across multiple directions, carrying out 186 individual strikes.

According to USF Commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, the operation included strikes deep inside Russia and occupied territories, targeting command posts, logistics hubs, air defence systems, and naval infrastructure.

Targets reportedly included a Svetlyak-class border patrol ship in Dagestan’s Caspian Sea base, a Tor-M2 air defence system in Luhansk region, a protected Black Sea Fleet communications hub in occupied Crimea, and multiple command posts and logistics facilities across Donetsk, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia regions. The campaign also disrupted fuel supplies, communications networks, and port infrastructure.