'A powerful secondary detonation' — Ukraine confirms drone, missile strike on Russian Shahed base at Donetsk airport
Ukraine's armed forces have struck a hub for Russian drone logistics in occupied Donetsk, the General Staff confirmed on Nov. 6.
Late in the evening of Nov. 5 videos emerged on Telegram of explosions rocking the area around the Donetsk airport. Commentators called it a strike on a warehouse that housed long-range Shahed-type drones.
On Nov. 6 the General Staff confirmed the strikes on "a base of storage, assembly and launch of Shahed-type UAVs."
They further noted explosions and "a powerful secondary detonation" as well as the involvement of missile and artillery units and the Unmanned Systems Forces.
Videos posted to social media appear to support the claims.
💥/1. Donetsk is currently under missile attack! Locals are reporting powerful explosions in the city! Presumably Russian ammunition depot was targeted. pic.twitter.com/JKtSjnuXhO
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) November 5, 2025
Unmanned Systems Forces leader Madyar described the strike as the result of a "painstaking months-long reconnaissance operation" in a post on Telegram.
The "killboard" for the unit, also known as the 414, or "Madyar's Birds," does now include one warehouse.
The airport was one of Ukraine's premier development projects before falling under Russian occupation in 2015. Russia has in recent months turned it into a staging ground for drone logistics.
Unconfirmed figures circulating on Ukrainian social media indicate that the strike may have destroyed up to 1,000 Shahed-type drones and over 1,500 warheads for them.
Elsewhere overnight, Ukraine's military struck and damaged Russia's Volgograd oil refinery overnight as explosions rocked several Russian energy sites.
Dmytro Basmat
