Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces destroyed two Russian Tor air defense systems in occupied Donetsk Oblast and struck an oil depot in occupied Luhansk overnight on 22 February. The strikes targeted SAMs near Donetsk city and in Mariupol district, while the Luhansk oil depot fire was still burning hours later, the drone forces ommander reported.
Drone pilots hunt down two Tor SAMs near Donetsk and Mariupol
Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) commander Robert Brovdi (call sign "Madyar") reported on 22 February that his units detected and destroyed the first Tor about one kilometer from occupied Donetsk. The second Tor was destroyed near the settlement of Topolyne in Mariupol district, on temporarily occupied territory.
Pilots from the 6th battalion of the 414th separate brigade and the 1st separate center carried out the strikes. The "middle strike" command center of the Unmanned Systems Forces coordinated the operation.
Brovdi shared video showing suicide drone views of both Tor strikes, post-strike reconnaissance footage of one burning Tor vehicle, and the oil depot hit.
"Methodical detection and destruction of components of the enemy's long-, medium-, and short-range air defense system is one of the priorities of the SBS birds (meaning drones, - Ed.)," Brovdi wrote.
The overnight operation continues a rapid tempo of the Russian air defense asset kills.
- Just two days earlier, on 20 February, the Unmanned Systems Forces destroyed three Tor-M1 systems in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast in a single night — roughly $75 mn worth of hardware, according to Brovdi.
- In mid-January, SBS pilots wiped out six air defense systems and radar stations across occupied Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts within 48 hours, at distances of 46 to 160 km behind the front line. In a single week that month, the drone brigade destroyed an estimated $300 mn worth of Russian air defenses.
- Ukraine's SBU separately reported that its Alpha unit alone destroyed Russian air defense assets worth an estimated $4 bn in 2025, including S-300, S-350, S-400, and Tor systems.
Oil depot hit in Luhansk, fire burns for hours
A separate team from the 1st separate center struck an oil depot in occupied Luhansk the same night, Brovdi reported.
Ukrainian monitoring Telegram channel Exilenova+ shared video showing the moment of the strike around 2:45 a.m. that started the fire. Another video showed the subsequent blaze as a distant glow filmed from afar. The fire was still not extinguished as of 6:30 a.m., a third video showed.
- The Luhansk oil depot has been a repeated target for Ukrainian forces.
- In September 2025, Brovdi confirmed a similar drone strike that set the facility ablaze, with monitoring channels reporting the depot supplies fuel to Russia's 41st and 20th Combined Arms Armies.
- In late October, another overnight blitz shredded fuel infrastructure in occupied Luhansk.
- In November, FP-2 drones struck a fuel train and warehouse in occupied Luhansk.
- The day before the latest strike, the Unmanned Systems Forces also hit an oil depot in the village of Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea.
