“The first operation of its kind in modern history.” Kiev's army claims success in Donetsk, “through minimal but precise actions”
Ukrainian drone units have carried out a series of successful attacks on the Russian-held Donetsk airport, sabotaging Moscow's attempt to turn the air facility into a military base, the Ukrainian military's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) claim, according to The Kyiv Independent.
The 14th regiment of the USF “systematically destroys enemy infrastructure, making the operation of the airport impossible,” the Ukrainian military said on Thursday.
Russian occupation forces had turned Donetsk Airport into a strategic launch pad for Shahed UAVs – cheap but lethal attack drones that Russia sends by the hundreds over Ukrainian cities, most often in nighttime attacks. They are operated by an elite unit of the Russian military, Rubikon, deployed at Donetsk airport.
The airport also served as a logistics hub for the Russian military, USF's 14th Regiment said.
“The decision was made to carry out systematic preemptive strikes that will disrupt enemy launches and reduce the number of enemy drones that will fly again to attack kindergartens, high-rise buildings and hospitals,” said Serafym “Falcon” Hordiienko, the USF 14th Regiment officer who planned the operation.
Hordiienko described the strike campaign on Donetsk airport as “the first operation of its kind in modern history”.
Ukrainian drone operators systematically hit the base by destroying launch pads and transport vehicles, while also attacking runway crews, the USF also claimed. The strikes damaged essential technical equipment, fuel stations and logistics centers.
USF drone strikes also destroyed ammunition depots and launch pads of Shahed UAVs, the Ukrainian military said.
In parallel with these attacks, the USF “hunts” mobile fire groups and Russian air defense units, with the aim of forcing the cancellation of flights, “completely degrading the ecosystem of the airport”.
“An important task for us was the application of the concept of asymmetric influence, in which maximum combat results were achieved through minimal but precise actions,” Hordiienko said. “For us, as a strategic influencing unit, the ability of the enemy to carry out terrorist attacks on Ukrainian cities is a personal matter.”
The Kyiv-based publication notes that it could not independently verify all claims by the Ukrainian military.
The USF announcement came as more information emerged regarding Ukrainian attacks on Donetsk airport, amid Ukraine's escalation of its campaign of “intermediate strikes” on Russian operations near the front line.
Ukrainian forces used long-range SCALP (Storm Shadow) missiles and US-made ATACMS missiles to strike the air facility in March 2026, at the time damaging the airport's launch pad for Shahed drones. In December and November 2025, USF struck drone storage facilities at this airport.
The airport in the city of Donetsk ceased operations in May 2014, after the beginning of the Russian occupation of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The location was one of the last strongholds of Ukrainian soldiers in the city.
