Key developments on Sept. 15:
Ukrainian troops clear another village near Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast, military reportsSyrskyi dismisses 2 corps commanders over lost territory, media reportsUkraine tests new kamikaze drones resistant to Russian jammingStarlink ‘down across the entire front line’ in Ukraine as internet service suffers global outage
Ukrainian forces have cleared Russian troops from the village of Pankivka in the Dobropillia sector of Donetsk Oblast, the National Guard’s 1st Azov Corps reported on Sept. 15.
Ukrainian forces have spent the past month pushing Russian troops back after they advanced nearly 10 kilometers (6 miles) toward the strategic Dobropillia–Kramatorsk highway, near the embattled city of Pokrovsk. Since late August, Ukrainian units have regained control of several villages in the area.
The operation to clear the settlement was conducted jointly by units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard, according to the statement.
The estimated Russian advance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, as of Sept. 15, 2025, according to DeepState map. A black symbol marks Pankivka. (DeepState / OpenStreetMaps)
Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to reinforce their positions in the area, prompting Ukraine to deploy additional reserves to the sector overseen by the 1st Azov Corps of the National Guard, which comprises four infantry brigades and a marine regiment.
“Ukrainian defense forces are making every effort to halt the enemy’s advance and prevent a breach in the defenses,” the statement read.
Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has dismissed Volodymyr Silenko and Maksym Kituhin, commanders of the 17th and 20th respective Army Corps, Ukrainska Pravda reported on Sept. 15, citing two unnamed military sources.
These are the first senior personnel changes since President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Feb. 3 that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would transition to a corps-based structure.
Both commanders were reportedly removed one to two weeks ago following battlefield losses in the areas under their command, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
The 17th Corps, led by Silenko, was responsible for the sector of the front line south of Zaporizhzhia, where Ukrainian forces recently lost control of the village of Kamianske and were partially driven out of Plavni, both located along the Dnipro River.
Kituhin’s 20th Corps was deployed along the border between Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, which Russian forces crossed in August, digging into the latter region for the first time.
After release from captivity, Russian POWs often ‘sent back to die’ in Ukraine
For Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs), release from captivity can feel like escaping hell. But for Russian POWs, it might mean walking straight into another. Lengthy interrogations by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), criminal prosecution, and forced return to the front line are often what await Russian POWs after they return home, despite efforts from the Kremlin to disguise it. ”(Russian) propagandists film videos where the released POWs appear to be having fun on cue. But we under
Ukraine tests new kamikaze drones resistant to Russian jamming
Ukraine’s Brave1 defense innovation cluster has completed the final stage of testing for new kamikaze drones with a range of over 40 kilometers (25 miles), Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Sept. 15.
The drones are built to withstand Russian electronic warfare systems and will soon be tested in combat.
“Kamikaze attack drones with a range of 40 kilometers, capable of overcoming electronic warfare, represent a new level of capability to attack the enemy,” Fedorov said.
Electronic warfare has become one of Russia’s key defenses against Ukraine’s drone arsenal, as jamming and spoofing aim to disrupt navigation and prevent drones from striking targets.
If proven resilient, the new systems could improve Ukraine’s ability to strike logistics hubs, artillery positions, and equipment behind Russian lines.
“Strike drones are becoming a cheap and practical solution for the front lines — they are affordable to manufacture and easily scalable,” Fedorov added.
Everything you need to know about Russian attack drones in 2 charts
Russia’s “unprecedented” violation of Poland’s airspace earlier this week made one thing very clear — it’s not just Ukraine that needs to be concerned about Moscow’s long-range attack drones anymore. At least 19 Russian drones entered Polish airspace overnight on Sept. 10, prompting what was the first case of NATO directly engaging Russian military assets during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For most people outside of Ukraine, their frame of reference for a drone is a typical quadcopter,
Starlink ‘down across the entire front line’ in Ukraine as internet service suffers global outage
Starlink, the satellite internet service owned by Elon Musk, suffered a global outage on Sept. 15, the company announced on its official website.
The service has become vital for hospitals, schools, and front-line military units across Ukraine.
“Starlink is once again down across the entire front line,” Ukraine’s top drone warfare commander, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, wrote on Telegram.
Downdetector, a platform that tracks service outages, reported tens of thousands of user complaints worldwide. The company said it was investigating the cause.
Nearly an hour later, Brovdi reported that connectivity was beginning to “gradually restore,” though Starlink has not officially confirmed a full recovery. Downdetector also shows a decline in outage reports.
This marks the second major Starlink outage in recent months.
The stakes are high for Ukraine, as Starlink has replaced much of the country’s destroyed communications infrastructure and supports both civilian and military connectivity.
Note from the author:
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