Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
Deep inside Russia, another night of drone alarms turned into flames on a well-known southern airfield.
Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign has been steadily grinding down Russian airbases through 2026, with the Rostov-on-Don-Centralny military airfield among the most frequently hit sites.
The base is a hub for Russian military transport aviation in the south.
Overnight into Thursday, September 17, Ukrainian forces confirmed one of their most damaging single-strike results of the year according to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU):
- one An-12 heavy transport
- two An-26 transports
- three helicopters destroyed on the ground
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the airfield hit was carried out by the SBU as part of a wider overnight operation.
In a statement carried by Kyiv Post, he described a joint push by four Ukrainian services against targets deep in Russia.
Four services, two main targets
“Last night, a joint operation by the SBU, Unmanned Systems Forces, HUR, and Foreign Intelligence Service resulted in a strike on the Yaroslavl oil refinery. The Security Service also successfully struck a military airfield in Rostov; hits on an An-12 aircraft, two An-26s, and three helicopters have been confirmed,” Zelensky said in a post on X.
Click to display external content from t.co,
- You can always enable and disable third-party content.
You agree to display external third-party content. Personal data may be sent to the provider of the content and other third-party services.
HUR is Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate; the Foreign Intelligence Service, SZR, is a separate civilian agency.
The Unmanned Systems Forces are Ukraine’s dedicated drone branch, formally established in 2024.
The second target of the night was the Slavneft-YANOS oil refinery in Yaroslavl. Ukrainska Pravda reported large fires at both the refinery and the Rostov airfield, with one blaze breaking out near the aircraft parking area at the base.
Fire, blackout, no reported casualties
Rostov Oblast Governor Yury Slyusar said a fire broke out at the site and was extinguished, and that falling drone debris damaged a transformer substation, cutting power to four districts of Rostov-on-Don. He said preliminary information showed no deaths or injuries.
The SBU framed the raid as retaliation. “Such special operations are a direct response to the enemy’s massive attacks on our country’s territory,” the service said in comments to Kyiv Post.
The Rostov-on-Don-Centralny airfield has been targeted repeatedly this year. Defence Blog counted fires reported at the base on at least nine occasions in 2026, with strikes on March 28, April 26, May 8, May 22, July 6, July 16, August 6, August 28, and September 6 preceding Thursday’s attack.
Six aircraft destroyed in a single night ranks among the heaviest single-strike losses claimed at a Russian military base since the war began. The An-12 and An-26 are workhorse tactical transports Russia uses to move troops, cargo, and equipment across its rear areas.
