Russia building new drone launch site near Ukraine border, OSINT analyst says

Russia has started constructing a drone launch site in Bryansk Oblast, close to the Ukrainian border, open source intelligence (OSINT) analyst Brady Africk said on Sept. 18, citing recent Maxar Technologies satellite imagery.

A satellite photo taken on Sept. 14 shows storage areas and launch rails for drones, the analyst said. Another piece of footage shows that the site was still empty as of July.

Russia's Bryansk Oblast lies just northeast of Ukraine's Chernihiv and Sumy Oblasts, making it a strategically important region for Russian attacks on Ukraine.

The new launch site is located just 35 kilometers (20 miles) from the border with Ukraine, close to the village of Aleshok, Africk said.

Ukrainian forces have reported destroying multiple military targets in Bryansk Oblast during the all-out war, and the site’s close proximity makes the new drone launch facility potentially vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks.

Russia is already using the village of Navlya in Bryansk Oblast to launch drones into Ukraine, as well as sites in Krasnodar Krai, Oryol Oblast, and occupied Ukrainian territories.

The Iranian-made Shahed drones and their Russian variants, called Geran-2, have an estimated range of 2,500 kilometers (1,500 miles).

Over the past few months, Moscow's aerial attacks have escalated significantly. In July, Russia launched a record 6,129 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine. Mass attacks continued into the fall, with a record 810 drones launched overnight on Sept. 7.

Russia aims to be able to launch 2,000 drones against Ukraine simultaneously, German Major General Christian Freuding said in July.

The threat of Russian drones extends beyond Ukraine, as Poland detected at least 21 Russian drones in its airspace overnight on Sept. 10, with at least three of them shot down.

Ex-Ukrainian officer commands Russian offensive on Kupiansk, BBC reports

The Kyiv IndependentKateryna Denisova