Ukraine claims it killed scores of Russians in two strikes in occupied eastern region

By Issy Ronald, Kosta Gak, Anna Chernova, CNN

(CNN) — Ukraine claims to have killed scores of Russians in two strikes in the country’s occupied eastern region, as Kyiv steps up mid-range drone attacks targeting Moscow’s military infrastructure.

One wave of strikes hit a Russian drone pilot training camp in the occupied town of Snizhne, killing at least 65 cadets and an instructor on Wednesday night, according to the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces.

Another set of strikes hit a Russian security service headquarters and an air defense system in the Kherson region in occupied Ukraine, killing and wounding almost 100 Russians, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Thursday. He did not say when the attack took place.

Ukrainian claims of such high casualty figures are unusual, and CNN cannot independently verify them. CNN has approached Russian authorities for comment.

Meanwhile, throughout Thursday, Russia’s Defense Ministry touted gains it claims to have made on the front line.

Separately, the ministry said Thursday it has delivered some nuclear munitions to storage sites in Belarus as part of a nuclear forces exercise. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, led those exercises Thursday via video call, the Kremlin added.

Ukraine has had some newfound success on the battlefield in recent weeks, stanching the rate at which it was losing land. Last month, it took back more land than Russia seized for the first time since August 2024, though Moscow still controls almost 20% of Ukraine’s territory, according to an analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based conflict monitor.

That success can largely be attributed to Kyiv’s current drone superiority. After focusing much of its efforts on short-range attacks on Russian positions along the front line, and long-range strikes reaching far into Russia itself, Ukraine has recently stepped up its mid-range strikes, targeting Russia’s logistics.

These attacks seem to mark the latest displayof that strategy. Robert Brovdi, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, claimed the drone academy strike targeted a 2,484-square-meter complex, which housed drones and explosives as well as a command post. He posted footage appearing to show one-way attack drones hitting a building, which became increasingly damaged with each strike.

Footage posted on social media Wednesday night also showed a building ablaze in Snizhne, which CNN has geolocated to the same area as the drone training camp.

Zelensky also posted footage showing strikes destroying several buildings, alongside his claims of striking a Russian FSB headquarters and air defense system.

In other overnight strikes, Ukraine targeted the Syzran oil refinery, which lies in Russia’s Samara region, more than 800 kilometers (497 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border, Zelensky said. Two family members of a Russian soldier who fought in Ukraine were killed in that strike, according to the region’s governor. Other salvos targeted areas all along Russia’s western border, forcing Russian air defenses to shoot down 121 Ukrainian drones, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

Meanwhile, at least five people were killed and 41 injured in Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight into Thursday, as ofmidday, according to Ukrainian authorities.

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