Donetsk Oblast: News

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The drone war is becoming a race to adapt, rather than perfect

You don't need to have followed the Ukraine war closely to recognize the central role that drones have played in the conflict. As I write, the Russian e-commerce giant Ozon is reeling following a third day of long-range drone strikes— an indication not only of the significance of drones, but also of how the drone war has evolved. At the start of the war, such an attack was impossible; now, as of summer 2026, drones shape almost every act as part of wider systems. But readers of this publicatio

About Donetsk Oblast

The Kyiv Independent's news and on-the-ground reporting from Donetsk Oblast, covering 26,517 square kilometers (10,239 square miles) in Ukraine’s East with a pre-war population of approximately 4.1 million. The administrative center is Kramatorsk, as Donetsk city has remained under Russian occupation since 2014. Donetsk Oblast has been the scene of intense fighting, for example, around the cities of Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Vuhledar, as Moscow attempts to capture the entire region.

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