Russia preparing Donetsk airport for Shahed attacks on Ukraine - ISW
Illustrative photo: Russia preparing Donetsk airport for Shahed strikes on Ukraine (defence-ua.com)
The Russian army plans to expand its use of temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories, including the Donetsk airport area, for drone strikes, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
According to ISW, placing Shahed launch sites closer to the front line reduces the response time of Ukrainian air defense. Analysts believe that further territorial gains by Russian forces will pose an increasing threat not only to Ukraine but also to NATO member states.
Background
Earlier, the OSINT group CyberBoroshno released satellite images of the airport in northern occupied Donetsk dated July 2025. The images show that Russian forces have partially cleared the Donetsk airport runway of fortifications and have begun construction work in the parking area.
Satellite imagery indicates that Russian forces are constructing enclosed storage facilities near the destroyed airport terminal. These may also be intended for establishing drone control stations, warhead unloading zones, airspace monitoring points, and a functional runway.
The airport infrastructure is likely being prepared for the launch of Shahed-type strike drones, Gerbera decoy drones, and possibly Geran-3 jet-powered UAVs.
What ISW says
ISW analysts believe that relocating long-range drone launch platforms closer to the front line will reduce the response time for Ukrainian air defenses.
"Russian forces have been launching long-range strike drones from occupied Ukraine, and Russia's continued use of occupied Ukraine for such strikes will increasingly threaten Ukraine and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) states if Russia continues to occupy Ukrainian territory," the report states.
Recently, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov said on national television that the Russian army is already integrating systems that allow Shahed drones to evade Ukrainian interceptors.
He noted that the Russian forces may soon switch to jet-powered drones, meaning Ukraine must urgently work on countermeasures.
More on how Shahed drones have become smarter and what Russia has embedded into Iranian UAVs can be found in the full RBC-Ukraine article.
