Ukraine war latest: Elite Russian drone unit pulls back from northern Donetsk Oblast amid Ukrainian offensive

Key developments on Sept. 18:

• Russia pulls elite drone unit from northern Donetsk Oblast after losses from Operation Vivaldi, Ukraine's military says
• Russia increasingly using repurposed S-400 training missiles to bombard Ukraine, Reuters reports
• As elections get underway, Russia closes Sochi polling stations over drone threat
• Ukrainian National Guard creates recruitment center for foreign volunteers, Ukrainian Prime Minister announces
• Head of Ukraine's Eastern Operational Command steps down amid military reshuffle

Russia pulled units of its elite unmanned systems formation Rubicon from the front line in northern Donetsk Oblast after suffering heavy losses during Ukraine's ongoing Operation Vivaldi offensive, Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps said on Sept. 18.

"3rd Corps fighters disabled Rubicon's command system: they destroyed its logistics, ammunition depots, drone launch sites, newly formed units, and experienced UAV operators," the unit said in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda.

"The Russians lost the ability to quickly replenish the unit with resources and trained personnel."

The Rubicon Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies is a sprawling Russian drone unit and the core of Russia's recently formed Unmanned Systems branch of the military.

The unit specializes in cutting off logistics, hunting Ukrainian drone teams on the ground, and intercepting high-value reconnaissance and strike drones, and is made up of detachments, each numbering several hundred personnel.

The Rubicon contingent was systematically attrited during both the lead-up to Vivaldi and in its early stages, Oleksandr Borodin, the 3rd Corps spokesperson, said in a comment to the Kyiv Independent.

"Most specialized drone units in the area suffered significant losses among qualified personnel and material and technical resources," Borodin said.

"One of these units was the 'notorious Rubicon,' and it was this unit that was withdrawn from our zone of responsibility in the most difficult hours for the enemy, probably due to the trends of a rapid decline in its combat potential."

Russia increasingly using repurposed S-400 training missiles to bombard Ukraine, Reuters reports

Russia increasingly uses repurposed S-400 training missiles to strike Ukrainian cities, Reuters reports, citing figures compiled by military analysts at Ukraine's General Prosecutor's Office.

Russia fired 87 of the RM48U training missiles at Ukraine in July, compared to 10 in June and 14 in May. The RM48U is significantly less accurate than a purpose-built ballistic missile but still capable of causing significant damage.

Russia uses such repurposed training missiles, originally designed to serve as aerial targets in military training, to keep up pressure on Ukraine and conserve stocks of their more valuable ballistic missiles, an analyst interviewed by Reuters said.

"Their use allows the Russians to husband the more capable missiles they have, the Iskanders, but also the KN-23s and the Zircons, for winter when they would want to really lean into their ballistic missile campaign," Sidharth Kaushal, a senior research fellow at London think tank RUSI, told Reuters.

Ukraine’s sole defense against ballistic missiles is the American-supplied PAC-3 Patriot. Patriot interceptors have been in short supply amid intensified Russian ballistic missile attacks and the U.S. war in the Persian Gulf draining global Patriot interceptor stocks.

As elections get underway, Russia closes Sochi polling stations over drone threat

Voting for Russia's State Duma elections in the Black Sea city of Sochi was put on hold on Sept. 18, with polling stations closed due to the threat of a Ukrainian drone attack, local authorities said.

"Exhaustive security measures have been taken at polling stations in Sochi," said the city's mayor, Andrey Propushin.

"Members of election commissions, observers and voters, who are at the precincts, have been moved to shelters until the 'drone attack' threat is lifted."

Russia on Sept. 18 began its three-day elections for the 450-member State Duma, the lower chamber of Russia's legislature, for the first time since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

Elections in Russia are tightly controlled by the regime but can help the Kremlin gauge the level of public support for the invasion of Ukraine, now ongoing for more than four and a half years.

The ruling United Russia party, backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, is broadly expected to maintain control over the Russian legislature.

With the exponential expansion of Ukraine's "deep-strike" drone campaign over the past 12 months, Russian cities on the Black Sea coast, usually popular with tourists in the warmer months, have increasingly coming under fire.

Ukrainian National Guard creates recruitment center for foreign volunteers, Ukrainian Prime Minister announces

The Ukrainian National Guard has launched a centralized recruitment center which aims to boost foreign recruitment and aid foreign volunteers that enlist in the Ukrainian National Guard, Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi announced on Sept. 18.

"The Center will coordinate the recruitment of foreign volunteers for contract service and will accompany them at all stages: from interviews and checks to training," Koretskyi said in a statement on social media.

"The candidate's path to service should be as fast as possible. Combat units should receive the necessary reinforcements more quickly," he continued.

The Ukrainian National Guard is under the jurisdiction of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs, unlike regular military forces, but includes some of Ukraine's most effective military units, such as 1st Azov Corps and 2nd Khartiia Corps.

Ukraine is increasingly turning to the recruitment of foreign volunteers to replace losses and to supplement domestic manpower reserves. "Our goal is to fill up to 30 to 50% of assault and infantry positions with foreigners," former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in June.

"Recruiting foreign volunteers to the Defense Forces is one of the state's priorities. The task is to scale this work and attract more people to the Ukrainian army who are ready to defend our state together with Ukrainians," Koretskyi said.

Head of Ukraine's Eastern Operational Command steps down amid military reshuffle

Major General Viktor Nikoliuk announced on Sept. 17 that he is leaving his post as commander of Ukraine's Eastern Operational Command.

"I can say with confidence that I am handing over to my successor a fully combat-ready force capable of steadfastly conducting active defensive operations," he wrote.

The general assumed leadership of the Eastern Operational Command — a group of forces defending some of the most embattled regions along Ukraine's front lines, including units in Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv oblasts — in April 2026. He previously served as the commander of the Donetsk Operational-Strategic Group.