On Monday, August 17, 2026, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on social media the effects of new strikes against Russian military targets, both on the territory of the Russian Federation and in occupied regions of Ukraine.
Orion (Inokhodets) / Illustrative photo: Kronstadt Group
During the night of August 16–17, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck a number of important military targets used by the Russian occupying forces. According to the report, a storage, preparation, and launch site for unmanned aerial vehicles in the Hvardijske area of the occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea was attacked. Russian forces frequently launch Geran/Shahed drones from this location. A fire was reported at the facility.
In addition, a ground control station for Orion unmanned aerial vehicles at Novofedorovka Air Base, formerly Saki-4, in Crimea was struck.
Ukrainian forces also attacked a ground control station for Geran/Shahed unmanned aerial vehicles and Gerbera decoy drones in Crimea, as well as a communications and power-supply point supporting the station on the Tendra Spit in Kherson Oblast. The extent of the damage is currently being assessed.
The Orion, also known as Inokhodets (izdeliye 90), is a MALE-class (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) unmanned aerial vehicle developed by Russia’s Kronstadt Group. It has a maximum takeoff weight of approximately 1 tonne, a wingspan of 16.2 m, and a payload capacity of 200 kg, including bombs or missiles carried on four underwing hardpoints. The aircraft can operate at altitudes of up to 7,500 m, reach a maximum speed of 200 km/h, and remain airborne for up to 24 hours. The prototype was powered by an Austrian Rotax 914 engine, while production aircraft use the Russian APD-110/120 developed by Morinformsystem-Agat and the P.I. Baranov Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM).
When it entered service in the first half of 2020, it was the largest unmanned aircraft in the Russian military at the time. Larger systems currently include the jet-powered Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik-B, as well as the propeller-driven Inokhodets-RU (Sirius), Helios-RLD, and Altius-U. Export Orion-E aircraft in the reconnaissance-only variant have been delivered to Algeria and Ethiopia. In December 2024, an undisclosed Asian country was also reported to have ordered aircraft in this configuration.
As for production for the Russian Armed Forces, available information indicates that at least 48 aircraft have been delivered. According to Western sources such as Oryx, nine have been shot down or destroyed on the ground by Ukrainian forces, while Ukrainian sources put the number at 13–15 aircraft.
⚡️ Уражено місце зберігання ударних БпЛА та засоби управління противника / Strike UAV storage site and enemy control assets struckhttps://t.co/NxmlS2tasj pic.twitter.com/xPEDABiWSn
— Генеральний штаб ЗСУ (@GeneralStaffUA) August 17, 2026
In a separate press release, the General Staff reported an overnight strike on the Kamensky Kombinat plant in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov Oblast, Russia, where the destruction of two workshops and damage to four others producing explosives and propellants were confirmed.
