Nightmare for Putin as £60m-worth of drones and warheads explode in huge Ukrainian strike

As many as 1,000 Russian Shahed drones and more than 1,500 warheads worth as much as £60 million have been destroyed in a massive cruise missile and drone strike by Ukrainian forces, reports have claimed. Huge explosions rocked the area around the disused Russian-occupied Donetsk airport, northwest of Donetsk, Ukraine, as an ammunition depot was “completely destroyed". A fuel depot was also struck.

A pre-launch point for drone strikes on Ukraine was “destroyed”, reports have also claimed. The drones and warheads destroyed were all destined for use in deadly attacks on Ukraine. The attack comes as a major blow to Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Ukrainian territory he has occupied since 2014. The logistics site had been months in preparation by the Russian forces, said Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces.

Robert "Madyar" Brovdi - head of the Force of Unmanned Systems - said: “The development of this complex target turned into a painstaking reconnaissance operation of several months, assembled from small puzzle pieces.

“This night it was implemented.”

Well-informed channel Dosye Shpiona reported: “Ukraine struck a major Geran-2 [Shahed] drone base at Donetsk airport with cruise missiles and drones.

“An ammo depot, fuel storage, and pre-launch prep site were destroyed.

“Power and comms nodes damaged. Up to 1,000 drones and 1,500 warheads were reportedly on site.”

In May 2014, fighters from the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), with technical assistance from Russian mercenaries, seized Donetsk Airport. In response, Ukrainian forces launched air attacks to regain control of it from the belligerents. While Ukraine regained control of the airport, service at the airport never resumed after the battle.

The following October, the belligerents attempted to retake the airport. A reporter for AP in Donetsk said on October 1 that there were indications that the Government had lost control of the airport. DNR leader Alexander Zakharchenko claimed that the rebels had taken complete control of the airport on January 17, 2015, after a series of battles. Over the course of battles for the airport, the airport complex suffered extensive damage from constant bombardments and the change of hands between pro-government and DPR forces.

However, satellite imagery has shown that from June 2025, Russian forces have begun to restore the airport, including construction work underway at abandoned carparks and the covering of trenches that ran over the runway. More images in August revealed that multi-launch pads for Geran-2 Drones, showing the airport is now fully functional and used for drone launches.

This news of the strike at Donetsk Airport comes just hours after Ukrainian drones struck Russia's Volgograd oil refinery overnight, causing fires and damage at the massive Lukoil facility. The attack is part of a broader drone campaign targeting Russian energy infrastructure, according to reports from Ukrainian military intelligence and local media.