Ukrainian Drones Strike Shahed Drone Base at Donetsk Airport

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces carried out a large-scale strike on a storage and launch-preparation base for Russian Shahed attack drones at Donetsk Airport.

The attack was reported on social media by the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert ‘Madyar’ Brovdi.

He also released video footage showing direct hits on facilities used by Russian forces.

It is reported that the strike on the storage, equipping, and launch-preparation hub for Shahed drones on the grounds of the former international airport in temporarily occupied Donetsk was carried out on the night of December 30.

The operation was conducted by the external pilots of the 1st Separate Unmanned Systems Center (formerly the 14th Separate Regiment).

According to the commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, the following targets were hit:

• a Geran/Shahed logistics hub
• a pre-flight preparation and maintenance site for Geran/Shahed and Gerbera drones
• a central warhead storage facility for Geran/Shahed unmanned aerial systems
• an accumulation storage facility for Gerbera unmanned aerial systems
• a concentration point for enemy personnel and technical staff responsible for preparation and technical pre-launch servicing of Geran/Shahed and Gerbera UAVs

The operation was planned by the intelligence directorate of the 414th Separate Brigade “Birds of Madyar”, in cooperation with the newly established Deep Strike Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces Group.

This is not the first strike on this location, which Russian occupying forces use to launch drone attacks against Ukrainian territory.

The previous large-scale combined strike by the Ukrainian Defense Forces took place late in the evening on November 5.

Subsequent satellite imagery confirmed the destruction of two warehouse buildings at the airfield where Shahed strike drones and their warheads were stored.

According to analysts from the Dossier of the Spy group, Ukrainian defenders used both cruise missiles and strike drones during the attack.

Information about the establishment of infrastructure for operating Shahed and Gerbera drones in the Donetsk Airport area first emerged back in August.