Key developments on Nov. 26:
- Russia launches record 188 drones against Ukraine overnight, Air Force says
- Russian Defense Ministry admits that Ukraine hit airbase in Kursk Oblast with ATACMS
- Russia's advance in Ukraine fastest since early 2022, analysts claim
- Russian soldiers suspected of executing 5 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk
- UK boosts Kyiv's arsenal with more Storm Shadows amid Starmer's support pledge, Bloomberg reports
Russia launched a record number of 188 Shaheds and other drones against Ukraine in a single night on Nov. 26, Ukraine's Air Force said.
Ukrainian air defenses reportedly shot down 76 drones across 17 oblasts, while 95 were "lost," presumably thanks to electronic warfare means. Five drones flew to Belarus, according to the Air Force.
Russia has deployed cheap kamikaze drones, including Iranian-made Shaheds, against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure since the first year of the full-scale war. Moscow has intensified the drone attacks in recent months, with air raid alerts sounding daily in major cities like Kyiv.
"During the overnight attack, Russia launched a record number of Shahed-type attack drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles of an unknown type from the directions of Orel, Bryans, Kursk, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Russia," the Air Force's statement read.
Moscow launched more than 2,000 strike drones against Ukraine in October, breaking the previous record set in September by nearly 700, according to Ukraine's General Staff.
Kollen Post
Russian Defense Ministry admits that Ukraine hit airbase in Kursk Oblast with ATACMS
Russia's Defense Ministry admitted on Nov. 26 that Ukraine had targeted Russian S-400 air defense systems and an airfield in embattled Kursk Oblast with U.S.-made long-range ATACMS missiles over the past three days.
The statement is the first public confirmation of the attacks by Russia, following multiple reports of strikes after Washington permitted Ukraine to use its ATACMS missiles to strike against targets on Russian soil.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian forces launched five ATACMS missiles on Nov. 23 near the village of Lotarevka, some 37 km northwest of Kursk, with three of them shot down. The other two missiles hit the positions of an S-400 surface-to-air missile division.
"The strike damaged a radar. There are casualties among the personnel," the Defense Ministry said.
Previously, Ukraine's General Staff also claimed that Ukraine had struck a Russian S-400 radar in Kursk Oblast.
Ukraine also fired eight ATACMS missiles on Nov. 25 at the Kursk Vostochny airbase in the town of Khalino in Kursk Oblast, seven of which were allegedly shot down by Russian air defenses, the Russian ministry claimed.
One of the missiles "reached its target," injuring two soldiers and damaging infrastructure, the ministry said.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
While OSINT analysts earlier reported the strike against the Russian airbase, the Ukrainian military has not commented on the attack.
Russia's Defense Ministry threatened with "retaliatory actions" to Ukraine's strikes.
Kateryna Denisova
Russia's advance in Ukraine fastest since early 2022, analysts claim
The advance of Russian forces in Ukraine continues to gain pace, reaching a new weekly and monthly record, the independent Russian outlet Agentstvo reported on Nov. 25, citing its analysis of the DeepState monitoring group's data.
Russia has captured 234.79 square kilometers (90 square miles) in the past week, which is the highest number in 2024, according to the analysis.
Russian forces have taken 600 square kilometers (232 square miles) since the start of November, which is more than in the entire October, setting a new record since early 2022, Agentstvo wrote.
The advance is reportedly the fastest near Velyka Novosilka, a village in southern Donetsk Oblast close to the administrative border with Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Ukrainian officials have increasingly raised concerns about a possible new Russian push in Zaporizhzhia Oblast in the south, just as Russian forces continue to advance in the east, focusing their efforts near Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
According to Agentstvo's analysis of DeepState data, Russia captured around 187 square kilometers (72 square miles) in the south.
Moscow's troops have also reportedly advanced 33 square kilometers (12.7 square miles) near Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in Donetsk Oblast, 10 square kilometers (3.8 square miles) in the east of Kharkiv Oblast, and 4 square kilometers (1.5 square miles) near Chasiv Yar.
The Kyiv Independent could not immediately verify the claims.
Kateryna Denisova
Russian soldiers suspected of executing 5 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk
Russian forces apparently shot five unarmed Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) in Donetsk Oblast earlier this November, the Prosecutor General's Office said on Nov. 26, launching a war crime investigation.
According to the statement, Russian troops captured five Ukrainian defenders during an assault in the Pokrovsk sector. After forcing them to lay down their weapons and lie down on the ground, they are said to have shot them with automatic weapons.
"An investigation is currently underway to establish all the circumstances of the crime and the persons involved," the prosecutors' statement read.
Reports of murders, torture, and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war are received regularly by Ukrainian authorities and have spiked in recent months. Most cases were recorded in the embattled Donetsk Oblast.
Ukraine’s Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, said he had notified the United Nations and the Red Cross regarding the latest case from the Pokrovsk sector.
"I emphasize that the killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and is qualified as a serious international crime," he wrote.
Kateryna Denisova
UK boosts Kyiv's arsenal with more Storm Shadows amid Starmer's support pledge, Bloomberg reports
The U.K. has delivered dozens of Storm Shadow cruise missiles to Ukraine, Bloomberg reports, marking the first major arms transfer under Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership.
The unannounced shipments carried out weeks ago, were ordered after Ukrainian forces faced shortages of long-range missiles, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Officials speaking to Bloomberg, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the information, confirmed that the missiles were supplied before the U.K. and the U.S. authorized Ukraine to target locations inside Russia with long-range weapons. The exact timeline and quantity of the shipment remain undisclosed.
"We do not comment on operational detail, to do so would only benefit [Russian President Vladimir Putin]," the Ministry of Defense told Bloomberg. The ministry reiterated the U.K.’s "ironclad" support for Ukraine in its war against Russia.
Ukrainian forces recently used the Storm Shadow missiles to strike Russian targets in the western Bryansk region, one day after deploying U.S.-made ATACMS in similar operations.
