On 25 October and during the night of 26 October, the Ukrainian Defence Forces carried out strikes against Russian military installations in the temporarily occupied territories. In the Melitopol area of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a communications hub and a drone workshop were hit. Strikes also targeted the occupiers’ command posts in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as supply depots in the Luhansk region. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the results of the operations on 26 October.
- On 25 October and during the night of 25–26 October, the Defence Forces struck a Russian army communications hub in the Melitopol area.
- A workshop producing Russian drones has also been hit near the town.
- The General Staff has reported strikes on the occupiers’ command posts in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
- Logistics depots supplying Russian troops have been hit in the Luhansk region.
- Earlier, on 20 and 21 October, attacks on communications facilities in the occupied cities of Donetsk and Luhansk were reported.
Two Russian military installations have been hit in the Melitopol area
According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, one of the outcomes of the operations was the destruction of a communications hub belonging to a Russian army unit in the area of the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol.
The military stated that the strike disrupts the enemy’s communications and command and control. Such facilities are used to transmit information, coordinate troop movements and maintain liaison between the command and subordinate units.
Another target struck was a Russian drone workshop in the Melitopol area. According to the General Staff, putting UAV maintenance facilities out of action reduces the occupiers’ ability to attack Ukrainian positions and settlements near the front line.
The report does not disclose the exact locations of the targets, the weapons used or the extent of the damage.
Reports of explosions and damage to buildings have emerged from Melitopol
Explosions were heard in occupied Melitopol on the night of 26 October. According to reports from the local publication «RIA-Pivden», Russian mobile fire teams opened fire on drones, particularly over residential areas.
At the same time, the occupying administration of Zaporizhzhia Oblast reported damage to residential, administrative and commercial buildings in the city centre.
The head of the occupation administration appointed by Russia Yevhen Balytskyi He also reported that three people had been injured — two children born in 2015 and 2016, and a man born in 1961. There is currently no independent confirmation of this information.
The causes of the damage to civilian infrastructure have not been definitively established. In particular, there is no confirmed evidence to determine whether the damage was caused by direct hits from drones, falling debris or the operation of Russian air defence systems.
Drones had previously attacked communications facilities in Donetsk and Luhansk
The latest operation took place following reports of strikes on telecommunications infrastructure in other temporarily occupied territories.
On 20 October, Ukrainian drones attacked a facility belonging to the telecoms operator «Ugletelekom» in Donetsk. The following night, on 21 October, a building in Luhansk housing the telecoms operator «Lugacom» and the Telecommunications Services Centre was struck.
The attacks were reported by the monitoring channel Exilenova+ and the Ukrainian media. The photographs released showed significant damage to buildings.
Consequently, over the course of the week, three separate incidents involving strikes on communications facilities in the occupied territories came to light. However, the General Staff did not state that all three operations were part of a single plan.
The defence forces also attacked Russian command posts and depots
In addition to targets in the Melitopol area, the Ukrainian military struck command posts of Russian units near Myrnohrad in the Donetsk region and Chervonohirka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Another target was an enemy drone control centre near the village of Vyshneve in the Zaporizhzhia region.
In the temporarily occupied territory of the Luhansk region, the Defence Forces carried out strikes on warehouses logistical support for the Russian army near Komisarivka and Katerynivka.
The General Staff explained that strikes on command posts are hampering the coordination of Russian units, whilst the destruction of depots is disrupting the supply of essential resources to the troops.
The Ukrainian command has not released any information regarding personnel casualties or the exact extent of the damage.
