Ukraine Strikes Deepen as Russia Expands Drone Base Network; Moscow Warns UK Over Drone Supplies
Large-scale strikes continue as both sides expand drone infrastructure ukraine-russia
Ukraine launched a large-scale drone attack on Moscow overnight, with Russian officials claiming to have shot down 180 of over 600 drones allegedly launched at the region; strikes reportedly damaged a Wildberries warehouse and started fires across Moscow Oblast, with Russia claiming a record 1,671 drones downed nationwide. Separately, Ukraine struck a ground-control station for the Orion drone that fires Russia's Banderol missile, along with Shahed storage sites and drone relay points in occupied Crimea and Kherson Oblast. [1] [2] [3]
Satellite imagery shows Russia expanding its long-range Geran one-way attack drone network, with at least 10 new or expanded drone bases identified, some reportedly within range of Warsaw and seven already used in strikes on Kyiv, raising concern along NATO's eastern border. Russia's new Arena-M active protection system has reached the front but is reportedly struggling to stop the volume of Ukrainian FPV drones, with ISW noting Ukraine has knocked out seven of Russia's ten largest military warehouses despite Moscow's air defenses. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Ukraine continues to field new strike systems, including a Mission Control targeting module said to inflict roughly five dollars of Russian losses for every dollar spent, and the long-endurance T40 drone, described as capable of reaching targets beyond the Urals. Russian strikes elsewhere killed at least 19 people and injured 53 across Ukraine over the past day, including 10 dead in a Kharkiv Oblast strike Zelensky called a deliberate attack on a crowded intersection. Ukraine also lost a Swedish-supplied assault boat to a Russian Geran-4 drone near the Kinburn Spit, and CNN reported a Ukrainian Patriot battery has sat with empty launch tubes for weeks amid an interceptor shortage. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Russia warns UK over drone supplies as regional spillover continues europe-other
Russia's embassy in London warned of consequences over UK drone supplies to Ukraine, prompting Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham to reaffirm UK support for Kyiv. Separately, Ukraine claimed a Russian Banderol missile, launched from an Orion drone, entered Moldovan airspace with an explosion reported near a village, while Romania reported Russian drone attacks on Ukraine's Danube ports have hit a recent high, with debris reaching Romanian territory. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Ukraine is participating in NATO's Baltic Trust 2026 exercise, bringing its counter-drone combat experience to 650 participants from 24 countries as part of deepening alliance integration. [1]
Industry and procurement developments modest today global
Coverage elsewhere was largely limited to industry and technology news: new loitering munitions and FPV drones shown at SOF Week, US Army cargo drone and autonomous swarm contracts, an Australia-Japan laser counter-drone trial, and continued discussion of jammer-resistant drone designs and post-Replicator Pentagon planning. None of these developments involved reported combat use. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]