Ukraine deepens pressure on Crimea with strikes on radar and drone sites as Russia hits rail network

Ukraine’s defence forces have struck a series of Russian military targets in occupied Crimea and eastern Ukraine, hitting radar stations, drone control centres and a training facility, while Russia retaliated by targeting the country’s railway network, killing six rail workers in the Kyiv region.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that on 27 August and the night of 27–28 August, strikes were carried out on a Nebo-SV radar station, a P-18 radar system and mobile communications equipment near Olenivka in occupied Crimea. In the area of Frunze, a Mykolaivka radio-relay station was hit, and in Sevastopol a Russian military training centre was struck. The defence forces also attacked drone control centres near Uspenivka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Kurakhove in Donetsk Oblast, as well as an area where Russian weapons and equipment were concentrated near Krasna Hora in Donetsk Oblast. The extent of damage is being confirmed Source: Ukrainska Pravda.

These strikes follow the destruction of a Kasta radar station in Karaichev, Rostov Oblast, on 24 August, and earlier attacks on electronic warfare systems in Luhansk and Myrne, Crimea, as well as fuel and ammunition warehouses in Berdiansk and Prymorsk.

Tu-95MS bomber and Buk-M3 system destroyed

On 28 August, Ukraine’s defence forces struck the Engels-2 airfield in Saratov Oblast, damaging a Russian Tu-95MS strategic bomber. OSINT analysts from the Stratehichna Aviatsiia Telegram channel reported that the aircraft’s wing was hit and the bomber is beyond repair. Satellite imagery posted by analyst Absolutely Reliable Source showed a badly damaged right wing, alongside a Tu-95MS damaged in a previous strike. Russia uses Tu-95MS bombers to launch Kh-101, Kh-555 and Kh-55 cruise missiles against Ukraine Source: Ukrainska Pravda.

Separately, the General Staff confirmed the destruction of a Russian Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system near Klintsy in Bryansk Oblast on 28 August. Ukraine also struck storage, preparation and launch sites for attack drones in occupied Donetsk and Hvardiiske in Crimea, as well as a Russian electronic warfare system near Znamianka in Crimea on 28–29 August Source: Ukrainska Pravda.

Russia targets Ukraine’s rail network

In a coordinated response, Russia escalated attacks on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure. On 1 September, a ballistic missile struck a locomotive depot in the Kyiv region, killing six employees of Ukrzaliznytsia, the state railway company. At least 12 people died and a dozen were wounded, including three children, in the broader bombardment of Kyiv and the region. Ukrzaliznytsia chair Oleksandr Pertsovsky called it “an unbearably difficult night for the entire railway family.” Since the full-scale invasion began, 58 railway staff have been killed and at least 318 injured. Ukraine’s rail network, Europe’s third largest with 24,000 km of track, has been a lifeline for civilians and world leaders alike Source: The Guardian.

Drone commander discloses unit losses

Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of the 414th Separate Unmanned Systems Brigade, publicly revealed that 79 of his service members have been killed during the full-scale war. He also claimed that since 21 July 2024, his brigade has verified 50,336 Russian troops as killed or wounded – 29,023 killed and 21,313 wounded. Brovdi stressed these figures relate only to his brigade. Such detailed unit-level loss data is rarely disclosed by Ukraine Source: Ukrainska Pravda.

Crimea’s tourism industry battered

The cumulative effect of Ukrainian strikes on Crimea is evident in tourism losses. In the first half of 2026, the peninsula’s tourism industry lost over US$46 million, according to reports Source: Ukrainska Pravda.

Why this matters

Ukraine’s campaign to degrade Russian air defence, radar and drone infrastructure in Crimea is making the peninsula increasingly untenable for Russian forces. Each strike on a Tu-95 bomber or Buk-M3 system reduces Russia’s ability to strike Ukrainian cities and defend occupied territory. Russia’s targeting of the rail network, meanwhile, aims to disrupt Ukraine’s logistics and civilian movement – a dangerous escalation that could hinder the movement of troops and supplies. The public disclosure of losses by a drone commander underscores the intensity of the attritional fight, while Crimea’s collapsing tourism sector signals the economic toll of the war on occupied territory.

The pattern of strikes and counterstrikes shows no sign of abating, and both sides are adapting their tactics. For European readers following the war, these developments confirm that Ukraine is sustaining a high-tempo campaign of deep strikes while Russia seeks to break Ukrainian morale by hitting critical infrastructure.