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Dozens of Russian drones fell to gun turrets over Kyiv in a month, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry says

30 October 2026 at 13:57

A Ukrainian air defense crew with a heavy machine gun in Cherkasy Oblast

Automated gun turrets now serve in Ukraine’s Air Force and are destroying Russia’s jet-powered weapons, the Defense Ministry reported on 29 October. It gave no count for those jet kills, and it did not say what type of drones the turrets downed over Kyiv.

Jet drones are where Ukraine struggles most. From 1 to 26 September, Ukraine downed 55% of jet-powered drones against 90% of slower ones, partly because its interceptor drones fly at about 300 km/h, too slow to catch them. Yurii Cherevashenko, Deputy Commander of the Air Force, told a parliamentary inquiry commission on 6 October that jet-drone interceptors would arrive in the needed numbers no earlier than late November. Guns have limits too. On 5 October, Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said turrets had already downed Geran-5s, but that their range is short because their main weapon is a machine gun.

Air Force turrets against jet weapons

According to the ministry, Brave1, a defense innovation cluster, began developing automated turrets in 2024. The systems have since “moved beyond the experimental stage and become an integral part of air defense,” it said. In Air Force service, the turrets are destroying jet-powered Banderol munitions and Geran-5 drones.

Ukraine's mobile gun team. Photo: Ukraine's Air Force via Facebook
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Russia first used the Geran-5, a 6-meter jet-powered strike drone, in early 2026. The Banderol, a jet-powered cruise missile, flies at 520–560 km/h and can reach 650 km/h.

Private teams, a familiar number

Separately, the ministry said turrets have destroyed more than 60 targets within the private air defense project. The project lets companies form anti-drone teams that work under Air Force command.

shahed-136 Geran-2 iranian airborne A drone is seen in the sky seconds before it attacked buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Oct. 17, 2022. The Russian military has been using the Iranian Shahed exploding drones to strike Ukraine's vital infrastructure for more than a year. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky/EastNews
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Yet on 14 October, the ministry gave the same 60-plus total for all private teams. At the time, it named interceptor drones and heavy machine-gun turrets as their main weapons. Groups from six companies were on combat duty, about 50 groups had been formed in total, and some were still training. Nearly 100 companies had joined by then, up from 81 in mid-September.

The ministry says the project expands air defense “without placing an additional burden” on the military’s own air defense. It and Brave1 say they will keep integrating automated turrets into the air defense system.

Another Russian “state-of-the-art” Su-57 fighter burned at Akhtubinsk, apparently without anyone shooting at it

30 October 2026 at 13:40

ukraine reports first ever damage russia's newest stealth fighter su-57 felon sukhoi jet illustrative sukhoi_design_bureau_054_sukhoi_su-57_(49581303977)

Another of Russia's Su-57 stealth fighters has burned out on the ground, Ukrainian military news outlet Militarnyi reported. A Ukrainian Telegram channel blamed an engine start gone wrong and published satellite images of the scorched airfield.

Russia's war against Ukraine leans on warplanes that strike from standoff range, and Ukraine has spent this year hunting them on their airfields. Its newest fighter is a rare sight in that fleet: Ukrainian intelligence estimated Russia had about 20 Su-57s, against 135–140 Su-35S and 140–145 Su-30 jets, and could not tell how fast more are built.

Satellite images show where the jet burned

The fire broke out at the Akhtubinsk airfield in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast on 29 October. The Ukrainian Telegram channel Absolutely Reliable Source said the multirole fighter caught fire during a malfunction at engine start. It said the jet burned out completely. Militarnyi called the cause preliminary.

Satellite image of the Akhtubinsk airfield in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast after the Su-57 fire, with the burned site marked, 29 October 2026
Satellite image of the Akhtubinsk airfield in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast after the Su-57 fire, with the burned site marked, 29 October 2026. Satellite image: Telegram channel Absolutely Reliable Source

The channel's satellite images show a dark scorch mark and debris on open ground between the airfield's taxiways.

Scorch mark left by the Su-57 fire at the Akhtubinsk airfield in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, 29 October 2026
Scorch mark left by the Su-57 fire at the Akhtubinsk airfield in Russia's Astrakhan Oblast, 29 October 2026. Satellite image: Telegram channel Absolutely Reliable Source

Akhtubinsk has seen Su-57s hit before. Ukrainian drones first damaged Su-57s there in June 2024, and Ukrainian intelligence said two were likely hit.

The fourth Su-57 hit or lost this year

Militarnyi counted the fire as the fourth time a Su-57 was hit or lost in 2026. Ukraine's General Staff said drones hit several Su-57s and a Su-34 at the Shagol airfield in Chelyabinsk Oblast on 25 April. Ukrainian intelligence later said the state of those jets was unknown.

On 23 July, a Su-57 crashed in Moscow Oblast. A Russian Telegram channel said Russia's own air defenders shot it down.

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Russia's air force received two new Su-57s in September, its second batch this year, Militarnyi reported.

Ukraine keeps hitting Russian warplanes on the ground. On 29 October, Ukraine's Navy said its Neptune missiles destroyed two Su-34s at the Marinovka airfield in Volgograd Oblast. Two weeks earlier, it reported hitting six Su-34s at Borisoglebsk in Voronezh Oblast. Russia uses those bombers to drop glide bombs on Ukrainian towns.

Ukrainian officials reach Russian-held Oleshky. The question now is where its residents can go

30 October 2026 at 11:45

Aerial view of Russian-occupied Oleshky, in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast. Photo via ArmyInform

Ukraine’s human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets and his delegation safely reached Russian-occupied Oleshky in Kherson Oblast on 30 October, with the local truce at 80 hours and holding. He said he was talking with residents to learn what help they need most.

Russia has kept Oleshky, on the left bank of the Dnipro River, cut off for months, leaving residents starving. Now the test is where the buses take people. The White House promised residents who wish to leave transport to their “preferred destination.” Lubinets said on 27 October that everyone who wants to go to Ukraine will be able to. Under agreement pages published by Fox News, his own delegation and the residents who choose Ukraine travel together via Anapa in Russia. From there, a Russian military transport plane to Homiel in Belarus is expected on 31 October.

Aerial view of Russian-occupied Oleshky, in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast. Photo via ArmyInform
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Buses on standby, aid for those who stay

On the morning of 30 October, before reaching the town, Lubinets wrote from Armiansk in occupied Crimea that he was coordinating the mission with Yana Lantratova, Russia’s human rights commissioner. He said 25 buses with 750 seats had been prepared, plus ambulances for people with limited mobility. Anyone who wants to leave will get a safe way out, and those who stay will receive aid, he added. In delivering that aid, special attention goes to elderly residents and people with disabilities, he said.

We are in Oleshky! The Ukrainian delegation has safely reached the city.

The ceasefire has been in effect for 80 hours and remains in place. I am currently on the ground, speaking with local residents to hear about their needs and understand what kind of assistance they need… pic.twitter.com/AOhKIV0WLO

— Dmytro Lubinets (@lubinetzs) October 30, 2026

The evening before, he said people who want to leave could do so until 14:00, with aid distribution after 14:30, without naming a date. Speaking to journalists, he called it the first truce since 2022 to hold this long on such a large stretch of front.

How the truce came about

The White House announced the truce on 23 October, crediting First Lady Melania Trump. It took effect at 03:00 Kyiv time on 27 October. Its zone was later widened. By 29 October, the convoy was ready, Lubinets said. The truce is due to end at 22:59 Kyiv time on 1 November.

Oleshky evacuation begins but volunteer claims Russia already moved people outside of agreed terms

30 October 2026 at 09:40
"Everyone who wishes to leave Oleshky will be given the opportunity to leave safely. At the same time, those who have decided to stay can stay and will receive all the necessary humanitarian support," Ukraine's Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.

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