Ukraine’s Drones Kill and Wound More Than 120 Russian GRU Troops in Donetsk Region

According to intelligence data, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) carried out a strike on a deployment site of a special forces unit of Russia’s Main Directorate of the General Staff (GRU).

The strike was reported by USF commander Robert ‘Madyar’ Brovdi on social media.

The operation was conducted on the night of December 26 by the remote pilots of the 1st Center of Unmanned Systems Forces, formerly known as the 14th Separate Regiment.

The deployment site belonged to the 14th Guards Separate Special Purpose Brigade Order of Kutuzov and was located in the settlement of Berdianske, in the Donetsk region.

According to updated intelligence assessments, more than 120 Russian special forces personnel were killed or wounded in the strike.
Brovdi said 51 servicemen were killed and 74 were wounded.

The number of missing personnel or those possibly trapped under the rubble was not specified.

In addition to the unit’s accommodation site, its command post was also hit.

According to the CyberBoroshno project, drones struck five buildings, with one of them hit twice. Ukrainian-made FP-1 and FP-2 drones were used in the attack.

If confirmed, the losses would represent the largest single incident in the history of both the brigade and the GRU overall.

For comparison, total GRU special forces losses during the first and second Chechen wars were estimated at about 320 personnel.

In a single night of fighting in Ukraine, the brigade may have lost nearly half that number.