The Ukrainian Defence Forces have struck a Russian base for attack drones near the village of Navlya in the Bryansk region, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the facility, Russian troops were storing drones, carrying out pre-flight preparations and launching them to attack Ukrainian cities. The extent of the damage is being assessed.
Briefly about the main points
- The General Staff has confirmed that a base for attack UAVs near Navli has been struck.
- Russian drones were stored, prepared and launched at the site.
- Satellite images showed hangars and two fixed launch pads.
- The site is located approximately 67–75 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
- In April 2026, the Defence Forces had already struck this hub.
Drone training and launch site
The target was a specially equipped site for the storage, preparation and launch of attack UAVs in the area Navli. The General Staff did not refer to it as an airfield: it is a training ground and logistics hub for drones in an open area near the village.
The complex is situated approximately 67–75 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. This proximity enabled Russian forces to reduce the time it took for drones to reach the northern regions of Ukraine and the response time of the Ukrainian air defence system.
What the satellite images showed
Satellite imagery from September 2025 showed two separate sites near Navli. At one of them, the Russians may have been launching drones from mobile platforms.
In another area, OSINT analysts identified 18 new structures resembling garages or drone shelters, as well as two fixed launch pads. Radio Free Europe, comparing Planet Labs satellite images, reported that the complex had been built from scratch and had been in use since autumn 2024 as a training and launch site for «Geraniums».
The Navlyansky node forms part of a wider network of Russian ground-based launch sites for attack UAVs in regions bordering Ukraine. These positions complement launches from major airfields.
A second strike and its potential impact on launches
On the night of 3–4 April 2026, Ukrainian units had already struck two «Shahed» pre-flight training hubs — near Navli and at the airfield Khalino in the Kursk Oblast. The commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces spoke at the time about the work being carried out at these sites Robert Brovdi, known as «Madyar».
A new strike took place as part of an operation against Russian military infrastructure. That same night, the Defence Forces also struck the Saratov oil refinery, the Engels strategic air base and the Lyudinovskaya oil depot in the Kaluga region; the General Staff reported fires at several sites.
If the strike has affected launch sites, shelters or UAV stocks, this may temporarily complicate a specific cycle of preparing and launching drones from Navli. At the same time, a single site does not define the full extent of Russia’s capabilities for large-scale attacks, as it utilises a network of ground-based locations and airfields.
