Record 20 Russian officers killed in Ukrainian strikes on headquarters in Donetsk, monitors say
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Ukrainian missile strikes on Russian army command posts in Donetsk on Aug. 26 killed more Russian officers than in any other single attack during the war, independent monitors claim.
Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet that tracks Russian military deaths in collaboration with the BBC Russian Service, identified 20 officers killed in the attack.
Each of the dead Russian officers was identified by name, age, and rank by Mediazona. Seven colonels, six lieutenant colonels, five majors, one captain, and one senior lieutenant were killed in the strikes, which hit the headquarters of the Central Military District and the 41st Combined Arms Army in occupied Donetsk.
According to Mediazona, 18 of the Russian officers died immediately in the missile strike, while two succumbed to their injuries.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian illegal occupation administration in Donetsk Oblast, confirmed in a post on Telegram that Ukraine had launched an attack on targets in Donetsk on Aug. 26, claiming that Anglo-French "Storm Shadow" air-launched cruise missiles were used, and that eight civilians were injured.
Mediazona also identified two other instances of "mass casualties" amongst staff officers of the 41st Combined Arms Army, according to their research, eight officers were killed on Aug. 4, with an additional four killed on Sept 8, 2025.
At least 276,113 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since 2022, according to Mediazona, which tracks individuals killed by searching through obituaries, posts on Russian social media networks, and leaked Russian databases.
