Don's Weekly, 18 May 2026: Part 2
by Donald Hill
(…continued from Part 1…)
Huliaipole
In the last three months, 1,687 Russian glide bombs were used with about 85% of them hitting treeline, defensive position or urban structure. Ukraine’s LIMA jamming system is reportedly very effective against Russian bombs, and while it is possible that large numbers of unguided bombs could randomly hit targets, they would not hit at an 85% rate. This suggests that LIMA is not widely deployed in this area.
Below is a map of Russian artillery, drone and airstrikes that were published last week. It is just a fraction of the attacks that were made but provides a rough representation of the attacks on Ukraine’s logistical network and command posts.
Two soldiers from Ukraine’s 225th Assault Regiment were killed. Their heads were then cut off and displayed on the edge of a field. At the same location, the 225th killed some Russians.
A Russian Su-25 was shot down with MANPADS, a shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missile.
Zaporizhzhia
There have been reports of Ukrainian advances in this sector, and that is true, but Ukraine is collapsing the gray zone rather than pushing back established front lines. Any Russian reports about losing a village in the gray zone simply means that small groups or individual Russians were eliminated or captured. Russia never really controlled these locations but they did contest them.
Clearing out the infiltrators is still very useful, and Ukraine is still fighting off new Russian attempts of infiltration. There are multiple reports that Ukrainian forces are patiently pressing forward.
In January, Russian forces were approaching Richne, 8 km north of Stepnohirsk, but Ukraine has been conducting small unit counterattacks and pushed them back to Stepnohirsk. There is still fighting and heavy bombing of the 400 square meter block of apartments. Ukraine is also clearing out the gray zone and pushing closer to Kamianske. Russia is defending with multiple airborne and airmobile regiments. After delivering aid, they are attacked by a second drone and the local Ukrainian authorities evacuated them.
Kherson
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is a UN mission that says they speak for the rights of people in need, protect civilians and promote respect for international humanitarian law. Operating out of Kherson, where Russians constantly post videos of what they call aHuman Safari of them hunting civilians of all ages, the OCHA told both the Russian and Ukrainian militaries about their plan to patrol in one of their clearly marked vehicles. Their convoy was attacked anyway with no injuries. After delivering aid, they were attacked again. The head of the OCHA mission in Ukraine said, “I don’t know who did the attack.” It seems the Russian post and video of the attacks were just too difficult to decipher.
Russians are dropping magnetic anti-vehicle landmines to kill civilians.
Unknown Location
A ground view from a road passing through the Ukrainian obstacle belt.
Ukraine destroys a Russian counterbattery (anti-artillery) radar. These radars can locate enemy artillery by spotting the artillery shells moving through the air.
Occupied Territories
The SBS, SBU, SOF, GUR and Navy attacked 168 targets in the occupied territories during April. Some of these targets were attacked with 10-15 drones.
The videos below mix in some attacks in Russia but are mostly targets in the occupied territories. Attacks on command posts and warehouses used to involve just one drone. Now there are multiple attacks on a warehouse to make sure the equipment and supplies are destroyed and multiple attacks on command posts to cause more casualties and destroy more equipment and information.
A transport plane and helicopter were destroyed in Russia, but a Tor and a Pantsir air defense system, a training center, command post, airfield and a cargo ship in Berdyansk were attacked on one night. A Tor, multiple communication systems, and a drone command post were attacked. Two radars, a fuel and an ammo depot and troop positions were attacked. Warehouses, logistics hubs, a command post, a repair base and other facilities were attacked on the occupied territories and Belgorod.
A ship in the Caspian Sea, two Tor, a communication tower and equipment (incoming drones record the explosions of previous drones), oil rail cars, electronic equipment on ships, multiple attacks on three command posts, drone control point, and a warehouse. Electrical infrastructure, oil depots and rockety/artillery depots were attacked. A substation in Makiivka burned.
Russian machine guns engage drones in Crimea.
From December to May, Ukraine destroyed 108 air defense systems, 39 radars, and 6 EW systems.
…and there is no endless supply of these: nope, not ‘even’ in Russia.
(…to be continued…)
That's a lot of lost kit to replace.
Thank you for the report. Counted 4 Tor in the last paragraph. The detoriation of Russian AD goes on at a high speed.