Ukraine 'Hatylo' battalion destroys Russia's base in Kharkiv direction
Destruction of the enemy using drones (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Soldiers of the unmanned systems battalion “Hatylo” of the 3rd Separate Heavy Mechanized Iron Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out a successful operation in the village of Kamianka in the Kharkiv region to eliminate enemy forces, according to a Facebook post by the Joint Forces grouping.
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According to the military, during the operation, an Russians stronghold in the settlement of Kamianka was destroyed.
“Our drone operators conducted a complex operation. The enemy tried to hide behind thick walls, but for modern Ukrainian unmanned aviation, there are no unreachable targets,” the Joint Forces grouping commented on the strike.
How the operation unfolded
According to the military, the operation in Kamianka was not an ordinary attack — it was a carefully planned dismantling of an enemy shelter aimed at eliminating the invaders even in the deepest hideouts.
Instead of a single strike, the drone operators used a комплексна tactic:
- Combined strike: a series of FPV drones was used to blow up the building where enemy personnel were hiding.
- Power: dozens of kilograms of explosives were delivered onto the enemy positions, leaving the building’s structures with no chance of remaining intact.
Аighters of the Hatylo battalion have long become a nighttime nightmare for the Russians in the Kharkiv direction. Their specialization is the systematic destruction of shelters, ammunition depots, and equipment in the deepest hideouts while minimizing risk to their own forces.
The battalion’s operations demonstrate modern methods of warfare, where unmanned systems are becoming a crucial tool in the fight against occupying forces.
Footage released shows that after precise hits, the structure collapses completely, turning into a mass grave for the Russians.
#Ukraine 'Hatylo' battalion destroys #Russia's base in the Kharkiv directionhttps://t.co/xzJjwocNDS pic.twitter.com/yDqHjGtX3u
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) February 9, 2026
Why this matters for the front
The Kharkiv region remains a zone of active combat, where control over every building in settlements such as Kamianka is strategically important. The destruction of such enemy nests:
- Disrupts rotation, as the enemy loses prepared positions for concentrating forces.
- Demoralizes troops, because occupiers realize that even strong concrete walls cannot protect them from the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ strikes from above.
- Saves resources, since instead of an infantry assault, the building is destroyed remotely, preserving the lives of Ukrainian defenders.
Near Pokrovsk, Russians have been searching for soldiers due to killings and desertions from positions.
RBC-Ukraine also reported that Russian forces have recently been actively redeploying their so-called elite airborne units to the Orikhiv direction in the Zaporizhzhia region, indicating that the enemy has suffered significant losses there.
In addition, reports indicated that in 2026, Russia plans to intensify its offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region.