WATCH: Ukraine Destroys Shahed Launch Vehicle in Donetsk Airport

Ukrainian forces have destroyed a rare Russian vehicle used as a launch platform for Shahed attack drones at the occupied Donetsk airport, the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after the Knights of the Winter Campaign said on Friday, June 26.

The brigade’s “Spalakh” Unmanned Systems Battalion published footage of the strike on Facebook, saying the vehicle was identified and destroyed inside the airport complex.

“Our troops are in Donetsk,” the brigade wrote.

“Today’s rare target was a vehicle used as a launch platform for Shahed drones. At Donetsk airport. For the first time. We are helping protect peaceful Ukrainian cities from this scourge.”

Rare launch platform targeted

The brigade did not specify the type of vehicle used as the launch platform or whether additional launch equipment was destroyed in the strike.

Russian forces have increasingly adapted civilian trucks and military vehicles into mobile launch platforms, allowing Shahed drones to be deployed closer to the front line while making launch sites more difficult to detect and target.

Unlike fixed launch sites, mobile platforms can be relocated quickly after firing, reducing their vulnerability to Ukrainian counterstrikes.

Shahed drones remain a major threat

Iranian-designed Shahed drones, known in Russia as the Geran-2, have become one of Moscow’s primary long-range strike weapons during the full-scale war.

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The loitering munitions have an estimated range of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and carry warheads weighing roughly 40-50 kilograms (88-110 pounds). Flying at relatively low altitudes, they are designed to overwhelm air defenses through large-scale swarm attacks while targeting critical infrastructure, military facilities and civilian areas.

Russia has significantly expanded domestic production of the drones and now launches them in record numbers during overnight attacks on Ukrainian cities.

The destruction of launch vehicles can disrupt these attacks before drones are airborne, reducing Russia’s ability to carry out mass strikes and forcing its military to replace specialized equipment needed to deploy the unmanned aircraft.

Ukraine has increasingly focused on targeting not only the drones themselves but also the infrastructure supporting their production, storage and launch as part of its broader campaign against Russia’s long-range strike capabilities.