Combat drone explodes, killing Russian Air Force personnel after supposedly being ‘neutralized’ in Kursk region

A combat drone exploded after it had been forced to land in the Khalino airfield of Russia’s Kursk region. The UAV was believed “neutralized” by Russian electromagnetic suppression systems when it detonated, in the presence of local Air Force commanders and FSB officers.

RBC Ukraine reported on the incident, citing a source in Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR). According to the intelligence insider, the commander of Russia’s 14th Air Force regiment based in Khalino was either killed or injured, together with the second-in-command officer.

Pro-war Russian Telegram channels are speculating that the blast might signal a new tactic in Ukraine’s use of combat UAVs.

On September 24, GUR sources said that Ukrainian drones had struck the Kursk FSB (Federal Security Service) building, as well as an oil-refining plant located near the airfield. The regional government acknowledged the strike on an “administrative building,” without detailing which agency’s offices had been targeted.

On Monday morning, Kursk Governor Roman Starovoyt said that Ukrainian UAVs had damaged “several homesteads and the roof of an administrative building.” According to a GUR source, the affected building was the Interior Ministry headquarters in Kursk.