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Ukraine Invasion Day 1,634: RU rocket & space center struck [1]

['Chloris Creator', 'Chitown Kev', 'Sabrina Haake', 'News Corpse']

Date: 2026-08-15  

The Russian AWACS fleet becomes more important for low-altitude air defense even as they have lost several planes due to Ukrainian attacks.

Key Takeaways The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Russian milbloggers continue exaggerating Russian advances in the Oleksandrivka and Hulyaipole directions as part of the systematic Russian cognitive warfare effort to propagate claims of expansive Russian gains for informational effects. * Ukrainian forces used combined arms approaches to leverage drones in support of infantry forces and achieved elements of mechanized maneuver at the tactical level during the Ukrainian 2026 Oleksandrivka counteroffensive. * Ukrainian forces conducted an FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile strike against an enterprise critical to Russia’s efforts to develop domestic satellite communications for the battlefield in Ukraine overnight on August 14 to 15. * Ukrainian forces appear to be targeting Russian ballistic missile launch infrastructure amidst Ukraine’s ongoing anti-ballistic missile interceptor shortage. Ukrainian forces recently advanced in the Oleksandrivka direction. * Russian forces launched 152 long-range drones at Ukraine overnight on August 14 to 15.

Ukraine says air defenses downed or suppressed 127 Russian aerial targets overnight: 124 Shahed, Gerbera and other drones, plus 3 Banderol loitering munitions. Russia launched 152 aerial targets in total; impacts were recorded at 16 locations. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/XgDyMoVSVM

Russia is reportedly prioritizing the production of jet-powered drones, such as Geran-4 and Geran-5 drones, likely as Ukrainian forces currently lack sufficient countermeasures to intercept the faster drones at a high rate.[66]

Ukrainian Presidential Advisor on Defense Technologies Serhiy “Flash” Beskrestnov reported on August 15 that Russian forces equipped their cheaper Italmas-type (or BM-35) strike drones, which Russian forces use for intermediate-range strikes, with jet engines and warned that Russia is adding these engines to other unspecified intermediate-range drones.[64] Yevhen Yevtushenko, the head of the military administration of Nikopol Raion in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, also warned that Russian forces are fielding Shahed-type and Italmas-type jet-powered drones against Nikopol Raion (immediately across the Kakhovka Reservoir from occupied Enerhodar, Zaporizhia Oblast).[65]

Ukrainian authorities recently stopped reporting out the number of missiles Russia is launching but are continuing to mention the types of missiles launched, such that no mention of missiles in the Ukrainian Air Forces’ report implies that Russian forces did not launch any.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 124 Shahed-type, Gerbera-type, and other drones and three Banderol loitering munitions; that Russian aerial munitions struck 16 locations; and that debris hit one location. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces struck civilian infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast; a gas station and administrative and agricultural buildings in Mykolaiv Oblast; and industrial enterprises and a shopping center in Poltava, Odesa, and Zaporizhia oblasts overnight.[62] Dnipropetrovsk Oblast officials reported that a Russian strike against Marhanets killed an infant and injured at least 11 other civilians.[63]

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 152 Shahed- and Gerbera-type strike drones (including jet-powered Shahed-type drones), Banderol loitering munitions, and Parodiya-type decoy drones from the directions of Kursk and Oryol cities; Millerovo, Rostov Oblast; Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Krasnodar Krai; and occupied Donetsk City overnight.[61]

Fire Point released detailed footage of its FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile. The company says the ground-launched unmanned system can deliver up to 1,150 kg over a range of up to 3,000 km, calling it the largest of its class. It can operate day and night under active electronic… pic.twitter.com/pB4NV5hfr9

Ukrainian forces used combined arms approaches to leverage drones in support of infantry forces and achieved elements of mechanized maneuver at the tactical level during the Ukrainian 2026 Oleksandrivka counteroffensive.

The spokespersons of two Ukrainian brigades that participated in Ukraine’s 2026 counteroffensive operation in the Oleksandrivka direction reported on August 13 that Ukrainian brigades and drone units supported Ukrainian assault groups – likely mechanized infantry – to overcome active Russian resistance throughout the operation.[8] One spokesperson added that effective command and control contributed to Ukraine’s ability to advance in the Oleksandrivka direction, and a Ukrainian source with access to Ukrainian military sources reported that Ukrainian forces outright seized 19 of the 26 settlements that were entirely Russian-occupied (as opposed to being contested, or with Russian forces present on the settlement’s or the settlements’ outskirts….

Ukraine says its forces have retaken 26 villages and 745 sq km on the Oleksandrivka axis over six months, pushing Russian troops back along several sections of the front. DeepState reports another 19 settlements liberated. #Ukraine #Russia — Kyiv Post — CYNC Verity Media (@cvmedia.bsky.social) 2026-08-13T09:45:07.992Z

These reports suggest that Ukrainian forces managed to employ elements of mechanized maneuver at the tactical level to retake several settlements. The spokespersons additionally reported that Ukrainian forces liberated Filiya (northeast of Oleksandrivka) as part of the counteroffensive operation on a prior unspecified date. The other spokesperson noted that Ukrainian forces have full control over the liberated settlements and have cleared approaches to them.

Ukrainian forces conducted an FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile strike against an enterprise critical to Russia’s efforts to develop domestic satellite communications for the battlefield in Ukraine overnight on August 14 to 15.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported on August 15 that Ukrainian forces struck the Progress Space Rocket Center in Samara City, Samara Oblast (roughly 1,488 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border), causing a fire.[10] The Ukrainian General Staff noted that the Progress Space Rocket Center is one of Russia’s rocket and space industry’s key enterprises and produces Soyuz-type launch vehicles, including the Soyuz-2.1b three-stage carrier rocket involved in the deployment of Russia‘s Rassvet satellite constellation — the Russian analogue of Starlink. Ukrainian defense manufacturer Fire Point confirmed on August 15 that Ukrainian forces used FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles to strike the Progress Space Rocket Center.[11] Geolocated footage published on August 15 shows smoke rising over the Progress Space Rocket Center.[12]

Things at Progress plant in Samara, Russia are, well, progressing after an FP-5 Flamingo missile strike. — Anton Gerashchenko (@antongerashchenko.bsky.social) 2026-08-15T13:14:41.851Z

Samara Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Fedorishchev acknowledged that Ukrainian forces struck an unspecified industrial facility in Samara City.[13] Russia reportedly began deploying Rassvet communications satellites into low orbit in late March 2026 after SpaceX cut off Russia’s access to Starlink terminals on February 1, 2026, and Russian forces reportedly already leverage the Rassvet satellites for precise drone strikes in Ukraine.[14]

RAND engineer Michael Bohnert amplified reporting on August 15 that two of five Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missiles struck the Progress Space Rocket Center despite Russia reportedly deploying four A-50U Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft to assist in intercepting Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missiles.[15]

Ukrainian and Russian sources recently reported Russia’s increased use of A-50U AWACS aircraft to identify and help intercept Ukrainian cruise missiles, including in Samara Oblast.[16] Russian forces reportedly have fewer than ten operational A-50 AWACS aircraft and four or five of the modernized A-50U variant as of June 1, 2025.[17]

"A Russian Aerospace Forces A-50 long-range radar detection aircraft operating over Ufa is detecting Ukrainian drones at low altitudes. This activity was recorded during the recent attack on the oil refinery." — The hedgehog (@the-hedgehog.bsky.social) 2026-08-11T20:20:53.350Z

Ukrainian forces appear to be targeting Russian ballistic missile launch infrastructure amidst Ukraine’s ongoing anti-ballistic missile interceptor shortage.

Ukrainian officials reported on August 15 that Ukrainian forces struck the Savasleyka Air Base in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (roughly 680 kilometers from the Russian-Ukrainian border), causing a fire.[18] The air base houses a branch of the Russian Ministry of Defense’s 4th State Center for Aviation Personnel Training and Military Tests as well as Russian MiG-31K fighter jets that Russia uses to launch Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles against Ukraine.[19] A source that reports on successful Ukrainian strikes published footage on August 15 reportedly showing a fire at the air base.[20] Ukraine last struck the Savasleyka Air Base in August 2024 and April and June 2025.[21]

Russia halted crude oil exports from its main Novorossiysk terminal after Ukrainian drone strikes left tanks at capacity, halting 700,000 barrels per day. — Pulse Of Nations (@pulseofnations.lol) 2026-08-15T23:05:05+00:00

Recent Ukrainian strikes against Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai, are disrupting Russian energy and other cargo exports from the Black Sea port.

Reuters reported on August 14, citing three familiar sources, that Russian authorities suspended crude oil exports from and stopped accepting oil into the Sheshkaris terminal in Novorossiysk, Krasnodar Krai after a recent Ukrainian drone strike.[22] The sources added that the terminal’s storage tanks had reached capacity. Ukrainian forces struck Novorossiysk, including the Sheshkaris oil terminal, on August 11 to 12.[23] Russian Railways announced on August 13 that it imposed restrictions on loading cargo at Novorossiysk from August 13 to 22 – likely due to the recent Ukrainian strikes in the area.[24]

Ukrainian forces recently conducted a cyberattack against Wildberries to complement Ukraine’s ongoing strike campaign against the company’s warehouses in Russia.

Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that Ukrainian forces conducted a cyberattack against the digital infrastructure of Wildberries on August 10 to 11.[25] The GUR reported that the cyberattack caused large-scale failures, disrupting the main remote customer service channel, partially destabilizing the payment infrastructure, and adding additional load on contact centers.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/8/15/800084939/community/1634/

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