Ukraine Strikes Russian Drone Command Posts and Training Ground

Ukrainian Defense Forces struck multiple Russian drone command posts, a military training ground, logistics facilities, and an ammunition depot across occupied areas of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions on Friday, Sept. 18, and Saturday, Sept. 19, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. According to the military update published on Facebook, Ukrainian forces conducted targeted strikes against unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) command posts in both active combat sectors.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. In the Zaporizhzhia region, precision strikes engaged drone command centers near Volodymyrivka, Verbove, Dobropillya, and Rivnopillya, alongside two distinct UAV control posts located in the vicinity of Novoprokopivka. Ukrainian units also targeted the Russian military’s “Vostochny” training ground situated near the occupied settlement of Novopetrivka in the Zaporizhzhia region. In the Donetsk region, strikes hit Russian UAV command posts in the areas of Luhanske and Pokrovsk. Ukrainian forces additionally engaged logistical infrastructure, striking a material and technical supply warehouse in Rybynske and an ammunition storage depot near Amvrosiivka. The General Staff also confirmed battle damage assessments from prior cross-border operations, verifying that a Ukrainian strike on Sept. 17 damaged a Russian 80P6 radar station deployed near the settlement of Mityuli in Russia’s Smolensk region. Other Topics of Interest Russian Strike on Kharkiv Region Kills 4 A Russian drone strike on a residential home in Balakliya, Kharkiv region, killed four people, prompting local authorities to declare a day of mourning. Airfield and refinery strikes in Rostov and Yaroslavl The strikes against Russian tactical command and rear storage assets follow a series of coordinated long-range drone operations conducted on Sept. 17 targeting strategic installations inside Russia. In that overnight operation, long-range attack drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine’s (SBU) “Alpha” Special Operations Center struck the Rostov-Tsentralny military airfield in Rostov-on-Don. SBU assessments confirmed direct hits on six aircraft in the airfield’s parking sector: one An-12 military transport plane, two An-26 transport aircraft, and three helicopters, triggering fires and secondary detonations. Regional authorities reported that falling debris also damaged an electrical transformer substation, cutting power across four municipal districts. Concurrently, a joint operation by the SBU, the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), and the Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) damaged the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl, located roughly 250 kilometers northeast of Moscow. The facility ranks among Russia’s five largest oil refineries, with an annual processing capacity of approximately 15 million metric tons. Drone impacts ignited structural fires at the plant and prompted the temporary closure of a section of the M-8 highway connecting Yaroslavl with the Russian capital. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the engagements in Rostov and Yaroslavl, characterizing the precision operations as part of a systematic asymmetric response designed to degrade Russian air power, military logistics, and wartime industrial capacity. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.