Ukrainian forces devastate Russian drone stockpile in Crimea strike

New information is emerging from the front regarding a Ukrainian attack directed towards the occupied Crimea. Specifically, around Cape Fiolent (near Sevastopol), the defenders' army destroyed a Russian Shahed drone warehouse. The extent of the losses suffered by the Russians is not fully known yet.

There has been a noticeable pattern in Ukrainian activities over the past few weeks. Let's recall that in the last weeks of June, the defenders struck one of the warehouses in Yeysk, which – as it turned out later – was a location where the Russian Federation stored Shahed-136 drones, known in Russia as Geran-2.

Not much time has passed, and the Ukrainians are carrying out an attack similar to the previous one. This time, however, the target was the area around Sevastopol in occupied Crimea. Precisely at this location (Cape Fiolent), the Ukrainians made a precise strike using an unknown missile on a facility that – as it turns out – served an important function.

According to the profile @front_ukrainian on platform X, during the latest attack, the Ukrainians struck a warehouse of Shahed-136 drones. The losses suffered by the Russians during the strike are also known – the Ukrainians managed to destroy around 90 unmanned aerial vehicles.

The intensification of shelling toward Russian warehouses with unmanned aerial vehicles should not be surprising in light of how crucial drones are on the battlefield in the 21st century. These small constructions can often threaten even the most heavily armoured units, and they are relatively cheap to produce – at least compared to conventional artillery ammunition.

Therefore, eliminating unmanned aerial vehicles from the enemy's arsenal is a perfectly understandable and thoughtful tactic – especially considering the imminent arrival of F-16 jets in Ukraine, which could be a valuable target for Russian drones on the airfields.

Let's recall that the Shahed-136 drones mentioned, though eagerly used by the Russians, are not a Russian creation. This weapon originates from Iran, known in the Russian Federation as Geran-2. They use a copy of the German Limbach L550E engine for propulsion, namely the Mado MD550. The unit generates a power of around 37 kW, allowing the unmanned aerial vehicle to accelerate to a speed of about 185 km/h.

Although some sources claim that the Geran-2 can reach a distance of even 2,000 kilometres from the launch site, it is more probable to assume that its range is around 1,000 kilometres.

The Geran-2 weighs about 200 kilograms, approximately 40 kilograms of which are the warhead. The Iranian drone is around 3.5 metres long, while its wingspan, built in a delta configuration, reaches 2.4 metres.