Ukraine claims to have killed scores of Russians in two airstrikes in its occupied eastern regions, as Kiev steps up medium-range drone strikes targeting Moscow’s military infrastructure.
The first wave of airstrikes hit a Russian drone operator training camp in the occupied town of Snizhne on Wednesday night, killing at least 65 cadets and one instructor, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Thursday claimed that around 100 Russians were killed or injured in an attack on the headquarters of Russian security services and air defense systems in occupied Ukraine’s Kherson region. He did not say when the attack took place.
At least 66 killed in attack on Russian drone pilot training camp, Ukraine says
It is unusual for Ukraine to claim such a high number of casualties, and CNN cannot independently verify it. The Kremlin directed CNN to contact the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment. CNN has contacted both the Federal Security Service (FSB) and the ministry for comment.
Meanwhile, throughout Thursday, the Russian Ministry of Defense touted the gains achieved on the front.
Separately, the ministry announced Thursday that it had handed over some nuclear ammunition to a storage site in Belarus as part of a nuclear force exercise. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko led the exercise via video call on Thursday, the Kremlin added.
Ukraine has achieved new battlefield successes in recent weeks, halting the rate of land loss. Last month, Russia regained more land than it had seized for the first time since August 2024, but Russia still controls almost 20% of Ukraine’s territory, according to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based conflict watchdog.
Its success is largely due to Kiev’s current drone advantages. Ukraine has focused on short-range attacks on Russian positions along the front lines and long-range attacks reaching into mainland Russia, but has recently stepped up medium-range attacks targeting Russian logistics.
These attacks appear to represent the latest manifestation of that strategy. Robert Brobdy, commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Force, claimed that the attack on the drone academy targeted a 2,484 square meter complex housing drones, explosives and a command post. He posted footage showing one-way attack drones attacking buildings, with each attack causing more damage to the building.
Footage posted on social media on Wednesday night also showed buildings ablaze in Snizhne, which CNN geolocated in the same area as a drone training camp.
President Zelenskiy also posted footage showing attacks destroying several buildings, alongside claims that he attacked the headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service and air defense systems.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine targeted the Syzran refinery in Russia’s Samara region, more than 800 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border, in other nighttime attacks. According to the region’s governor, two family members of Russian soldiers who fought in Ukraine were killed in the airstrike. Other salvoes targeted areas along Russia’s western border, forcing Russian air defense forces to shoot down 121 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
Meanwhile, at least five people were killed and 41 injured in Russian airstrikes in Ukraine overnight and until noon Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said.
