Ukrainian airstrike kills up to 20 Russian drone operators at Kursk factory launch site

Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian drone launch site at a Tyotkino sugar factory in Kursk Oblast, killing up to 20 operators while continuing to defend the last kilometers of territory against renewed attacks.
A Ukrainian soldier with a drone. Credit: The General Staff
Ukrainian airstrike kills up to 20 Russian drone operators at Kursk factory launch site

Ukraine’s Air Force has destroyed a Russian drone launch site in Kursk Oblast, killing up to 20 unmanned aerial vehicle operators, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported.

Russian forces have largely expelled Ukrainian troops from nearly all of the region, reclaiming about 99.5% of the territory previously occupied by Ukraine. Only a small area of about 3 square kilometers near the border remains under Ukrainian control. Despite the Russian military claiming to have cleared most of Kursk Oblast of Ukrainian presence, fighting continues, with Russia resuming offensive operations immediately after the Easter ceasefire ended on 21 April. 

On 19 April, a Ukrainian airstrike hit a facility near Tyotkino, used by Russian forces to prepare, equip, and launch reconnaissance, attack, and FPV drones.

According to Militarnyi, the strike targeted the grounds of the Tyotkino sugar factory, where Russian personnel were based.

The General Staff did not specify the weapon used. In a previous operation, a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter had struck a similar site with a French-made high-precision AASM (HAMMER) guided bomb.

Meanwhile, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported on 21 April that Ukrainian forces thwarted another Russian offensive along the Sumy and Kursk axes. 

“Intense fighting continues in Sumy Oblast near the state border, as well as on Russian territory.

Following orders from their command, Russian forces are attempting to push us out of Kursk Oblast and seize border areas of Sumy Oblast. However, the aggressive plan has once again been disrupted by Ukraine’s Defense Forces, whose active operations have derailed the enemy’s advance in this sector,” said Syrskyi. 

According to Ukraine’s General Staff, Ukrainian forces repelled five Russian attacks in Kursk Oblast on 21 April, with two engagements still ongoing. Russian aircraft conducted 16 airstrikes, dropping 21 guided aerial bombs. Additionally, more than 130 artillery strikes targeted Ukrainian positions and nearby settlements.

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