Ukrainian forces destroy 3 Russian units amid drills in Zaporizhzhia region
Photo: The SBU struck a military training ground in Zaporizhzhia and destroyed a Russian air defense system (Getty Images)
On the night of June 12, drones from the Unmanned Systems Forces carried out a series of strikes on the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia region. Three Russian units came under attack simultaneously during exercises, according to Robert Brovdi, call-sign Magyar, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The strike hit the Vostochny training ground in the village of Novopetrivka, Zaporizhzhia region. Three units were conducting training there at the same time:
- 40th Marine Brigade (Kamchatka), the same unit that had been storming Vuhledar for over a year and lost most of its personnel on the outskirts of the city
- 1461st Regiment of the 36th Army, a Buryat regiment of the Territorial Defense Forces
- 1466th Regiment of the 5th Army, recruits from Primorsky Krai.
All three units are operating in the Huliaipole sector of the front in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukrainian forces destroy 3 Russian units amid drills in Zaporizhzhia region pic.twitter.com/X5rFTmzXQN
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) June 13, 2026
What was struck overnight
In addition to the training ground, the SBS struck the following targets:
- Tor-M2 air defense missile system near the village of Vershyna Druha, Zaporizhzhia region
- ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun near Novopetrivka;
- A crew of a portable anti-aircraft missile system in the Novopetrivka area
- Command post of the 120th Marine Division’s drone unit near Novoandriivka, Donetsk region
- Technical landing point for a drone unit near Dovzhansk, Luhansk region.
Russia is deploying new infrastructure for launching attack drones. At least five new facilities have already been identified along the border with Belarus in the Bryansk, Oryol, and Smolensk regions.
Some of them are located several dozen kilometers from the Belarusian border and, according to analysts’ estimates, are capable of simultaneously housing hundreds of drones, which complicates the work of Ukrainian air defense.
Due to strikes on Russian logistics in the south, the number of their assault operations has been cut in half. Instead, the Russians have begun to rely more heavily on airpower and guided bombs, replacing artillery, which is becoming scarce due to supply disruptions.
