According to Oleg Ivannikov, adviser to the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences and a retired lieutenant colonel, Russian forces carried out detailed reconnaissance that led to the discovery and destruction of a bunker with Ukrainian commanders in Sumskaya oblast.

He stated that the same facility also housed barracks for UAV operators from the 225th separate assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ivannikov said Russian troops used Krasnopol precision-guided shells along with strike drones to hit the target.

He described the operation as a clear example of coordinated work between the reconnaissance units that determine target coordinates and the missile and aviation components that carry out the strike. In his words, the attack was conducted «in full accordance with the rules of military science» and the result for the Ukrainian side was therefore predictable.

Ivannikov stressed that eliminating enemy drone operators is one of the priority tasks for Russian troops. He noted that the officers and UAV crews inside the bunker had undergone lengthy training and were considered highly qualified specialists, and that, in his view, the Russian Armed Forces successfully fulfilled the mission of neutralizing them.

The report recalls that earlier Russian forces used the Iskander missile system to strike a Ukrainian UAV launch site in Chernigovskaya oblast. That attack destroyed storage sites with drones and their launch positions, with Ukrainian losses reported as more than 90 unmanned aircraft and up to two platoons of personnel.