Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces struck a key drone pilot training academy in occupied Snizhne on the night of May 19-20, killing at least 65 Russian personnel, including the facility’s commander.
The “Snow for Akhmat” Operation
Ukrainian forces utilized 11 combat drones, each carrying 100-kilogram warheads, to strike a 2,500-square-meter facility in the Donetsk region. The building housed assembly halls for drones and munitions, as well as soldier quarters.
Robert “Madiar” Brovdi, commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, confirmed the strike. A fire in the basement ammunition depot caused further destruction.
Targeting the 78th “Sewer-Akhmat” Regiment
The facility belonged to the 78th Special Motorized Regiment “Sewer-Akhmat,” part of the 42nd Division of the Russian Armed Forces, linked to Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov. The center’s commander, known by the callsign “Buryi” and a doctor of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences, was among the deceased.
Diminishing Russian Drone Infrastructure
Brovdi reported that Russia previously operated three such drone academies in the occupied Donetsk region; only two now remain functional. This follows previous strikes by Ukrainian forces against the Rubikon research center and BARS-Sarmat facilities in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Drone Strikes at the Syzran Refinery
Separately, a fire erupted at an oil refinery in Syzran, Samara region, following a drone attack. Governor Vyacheslav Fedorischev confirmed two fatalities, the imposition of a drone alert status, and the closure of civilian airspace.
Elsewhere in Russia, three people were injured during drone strikes in Shebekino and surrounding areas of the Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border.