31 August 2026
In the early hours of August 30, the Ukrainian Defense Forces carried out a series of strikes on storage and launch facilities for Russian military attack UAVs at the Tsimbulova drone base.
Satellite imagery showing the aftermath of the attack was published by the monitoring communities Exilenova+ and Supernova+.
In particular, one of the launchers for Geran UAVs was hit at the drone base.
In addition to the launch position, a storage facility for attack UAVs was also hit, with signs of fire visible at the site.
Damaged infrastructure at the Tsimbulova drone base. August 31, 2026. Source: Supernova+
The facility is located near the eponymous village in Russia’s Znamensky district of the Oryol region.
The site is located approximately 175–180 km from the Ukrainian border.
Tsimbulova settlement. Map: Google Maps
Between July and August, Russian forces completed the construction and deployment of 16 launchers for jet-powered UAVs at the Tsimbulova drone base.
The base’s infrastructure was expanded with 10 launchers for Geran-5 jet-powered UAVs and six launchers for Geran-4 UAVs.
Additionally, four launchers for Geran-3 UAVs and three launchers for standard Geran-2 drones have been installed at the site.
The Tsimbulova drone base. August 31, 2026. Source: Supernova+
Satellite imagery has also revealed the construction of a large-scale anti-drone defense system around Russia’s Geran strike drone production facility in Alabuga Special Economic Zone.
The imagery shows dozens of large lattice towers appearing around the UAV production facilities and other buildings involved in supporting production.
The defense system consists of two rings of towers: an inner perimeter of shorter towers surrounding the key production facilities, and an outer perimeter of taller towers covering a much larger area.
A good start. But Ukraine must destroy the drone factory ASAP.