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Ukraine's military intelligence claims killing Russian drone operators in occupied Melitopol

• 2 min read
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by Asami Terajima
Ukraine's military intelligence claims killing Russian drone operators in occupied Melitopol
A screenshot from the video posted by Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) on Sept. 28, in which it claimed to have killed four Russian drone operators in occupied Melitopol. (HUR)

Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) claimed on Sept. 28 that it killed at least four Russian drone operators in the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

HUR claimed that an explosion rocked a guarded military base on the airfield in occupied Melitopol, destroying a Soviet-era UAZ-452 van and at least four operators who were allegedly inside the vehicle. The video provided by HUR shows the van exiting a facility but doesn't show the explosion.

The Kyiv Independent couldn't independently verify the claim, as information coming from occupied territories is scarce. HUR did not disclose further details of the operation.

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Ukraine has conducted various high-stakes operations in occupied territories to disrupt the Russian army's logistics and military capacity, as well as to boost morale.

Often using homemade long-range drones, Ukraine is often hitting military targets in occupied territories and deep inside Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry has not reacted to the Ukrainian claim. Both sides rarely admit military targets taking a hit.

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UkraineRussian-occupied UkraineRussiaMelitopolZaporizhzhia Oblast
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Asami Terajima

Reporter

Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.

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