At least five new sites for launching attack drones have been created by the army of the aggressor country Russia in the Bryansk, Oryol and Smolensk regions. The Belarusian service of Radio Liberty reported this on June 10 in an investigation.
Over the past three years, Belarus has faced an unprecedented number of drone incursions into its territory, according to media reports. In just one week of May, 116 cases of air border violations were recorded. In general, we are talking about more than 1 thousand cases per year.
According to the Ukrainian military, most drones fly through Belarus or use routes along the border during massive attacks. The Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces says that such tactics complicate the work of Ukrainian air defense.
The nearest known site for launching drones to Belarus and NATO countries is the Shatalovo military airfield in the Smolensk region of the Russian Federation. Construction work here began at the beginning of 2025, but has not yet stopped, journalists note. Almost immediately, two stationary launchers for Shahed appeared in the eastern part of the airfield, and as of May 2026, about 10 launchers are already visible on satellite imagery.
A satellite image taken on March 1, 2026 shows that the airfield is also capable of launching advanced Gerani jets.
One of the largest known complexes for launching attack drones is located near the village of Tsimbulova in the Oryol region (200 km from the border with Belarus). Russian media called it “the largest drone port in the world.”
Radio Liberty obtained a fresh satellite image of the complex dated June 1, 2026. It shows that the area of the military facility is now almost 2×4 km. This spring it almost doubled, journalists note.
There are at least 12 operational launchers located here, and the Russians may have been preparing eight additional permanent launch sites.
Near the urban-type settlement of Naul, Bryansk region, the Russians built a complex from scratch for training and launching attack drones of the Geranium type. Active construction began in the summer of 2024. Later the facility began to expand. A photo dated June 1, 2026, shows that at least three fixed launch sites and about 16 small secure shelters have appeared here, presumably for storing drones.
In the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2023, one of the key launch sites for Shahed was the Seshcha airfield in the Bryansk region. According to monitoring groups, in 2022–2024 it was also used as an important logistics hub between Russia and Belarus. In May 2023, Ukrainian drones attacked the airfield, after which Seshcha almost ceased to appear in open communications from the Ukrainian side as a launch point for Shahed.
However, satellite images from June 4, 2026, obtained by journalists, show that construction work continues at the airfield. In some areas, earthen embankments have been erected to accommodate air defense systems. The transport planes are spaced far apart, some of them covered in car tires that the Russian military uses as extra protection against drones.
The media notes that Russia has built a completely new complex for launching attack drones near the village of Osavitsa, Bryansk region. Construction began in the summer of 2025. It can be used in just a few months.
A satellite image from January 11, 2026 shows at least two fixed launch sites, as well as four small fortified shelters. According to researchers, the location of the facility 35 km from the border with Ukraine expands the possibilities for attacks on border regions.
