Key facts
- An August 26 Ukrainian missile strike killed 20 Russian officers in Donetsk.
- The strike targeted the headquarters of the Central Military District and the 41st Combined Arms Army.
- Seven colonels, six lieutenant colonels, five majors, one captain, and one senior lieutenant were among the dead.
- Eighteen officers died immediately, while two succumbed to injuries.
- Denis Pushilin confirmed the attack and stated Anglo-French Storm Shadow missiles were used.
- Eight civilians were injured in the attack, according to Pushilin.
An August 26 Ukrainian missile strike on Russian army command posts in Donetsk killed 20 Russian officers, marking the single deadliest attack on Russian personnel during the war, according to independent monitors Mediazona. The strike targeted the headquarters of the Central Military District and the 41st Combined Arms Army.
Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet that tracks Russian military deaths in collaboration with the BBC Russian Service, identified the 20 officers by name, age, and rank. Seven colonels, six lieutenant colonels, five majors, one captain, and one senior lieutenant were killed. Eighteen officers died immediately in the missile strike, while two succumbed to their injuries.
Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian illegal occupation administration in Donetsk Oblast, confirmed in a post on Telegram that Ukraine had launched an attack on targets in Donetsk on Aug. 26. He claimed that Anglo-French "Storm Shadow" air-launched cruise missiles were used and that eight civilians were injured.
Mediazona's research also identified two other instances of "mass casualties" amongst staff officers of the 41st Combined Arms Army, with eight officers killed on August 4 and an additional four killed on September 8, 2025. According to Mediazona, at least 276,113 Russian soldiers have been killed in Ukraine since 2022.