A unit for special missions: How Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces destroy Russian command posts in the south — NV exclusive

On 26 October, Russian strikes in Ukraine resulted in six people being wounded. Two of the wounded were women aged 22 and 30, while the other four casualties were men aged 40 and 61, all from Zaporizhzhia. The State Emergency Service (DSNS) of Ukraine reported that Russian missiles, including one Kh-31P anti-radiation missile and three Kh-59/69 air-launched guided missiles, were launched from occupied areas of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts.

In the early hours of the morning, Russian forces also struck two districts of Izium in Kharkiv Oblast with guided aerial bombs, causing three people to need medical attention. Over 10 private houses and a youth sports school were damaged, with several streets losing power and internet services. No casualties were reported from the multiple strikes on an industrial enterprise in Odesa Oblast by Russian forces.

Energy facility damage in Khmelnytskyi Oblast led to emergency power outages, with windows shattered in two residential buildings. The Nikopol district of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast also faced Russian drone attacks, damaging a high-rise and an administrative building. Mykolaiv Oblast endured multiple Shahed attacks overnight with no reported casualties.

On the morning of 26 October, Russian aircraft dropped four guided bombs on homes and shops in Yasnohirka near Kramatorsk, resulting in one death and 10 injuries, including a 13-year-old girl. In Sloviansk, a Russian airstrike destroyed a private house, and rescuers retrieved the body of its owner. A Russian drone strike in Pavlohrad, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, claimed the life of one person and injured seven, including two children.

Over the past day, Russian attacks in Kharkiv Oblast caused acute stress reactions in a 60-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy, while two women aged 51 and 71 were wounded in Krasnopavlivka. In Izium, three people needed medical help, with the city administration reporting three wounded. Russian attacks also set fire to various buildings, including houses and production sites, with fires spreading to multiple locations.