The Russian Ministry of Defense announced on 22/8 that it struck multiple Ukrainian sites used for launching unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), along with fuel infrastructure, seaports, and cargo ships transporting weapons and military equipment.

"The Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile attack targeted an area north of Boryspil in Kiev province, destroying 40 heavy vehicles modified for transporting and launching long-range UAVs," the ministry stated.

Trucks carrying UAV launchers destroyed in photos published on 22/8. *X/AMK Mapping*

On the same day, Ukraine’s Vesti Boryspil newspaper reported that Russian forces launched 7 missiles at the city and published photos of a burnt truck at the scene. The Kiev Emergency Services later reposted these images, including a photo of firefighters extinguishing flames around the vehicle. However, the photos were quickly deleted.

AMK Mapping, an X account specializing in open-source intelligence on the Ukraine conflict, pointed out that Ukrainian media inadvertently revealed the target of the Boryspil strike: a warehouse containing a series of trucks used by the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces to launch FP-2 medium-range UAVs.

"At least 6 missiles, some carrying cluster munitions, struck the area, causing a large fire," the account noted.

Launcher cluster on a destroyed truck during the Russian strike on Boryspil on 22/8. *X/AMK Mapping*

Archer83Able, an open-source data analysis account on social media, shared a similar assessment, suggesting these were trucks modified as launchers for suicide UAVs developed by the Fire Point company.

Ukrainian officials stated that the missile attack on Boryspil killed two people and injured five. Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kiev province military administration, confirmed damage to a warehouse, a parking lot, multiple vehicles, a residential house, and a gas station, but did not provide further details.

The Ukrainian military has repeatedly used civilian trucks for transporting weapons, UAVs, and ammunition.

In 10/2025, the Russian Ministry of Defense released images of a coordinated strike using Iskander-M ballistic missiles and Geran-2 UAVs on a convoy of Ukrainian suicide UAVs east of Chernihiv, destroying 25 trucks and over 100 aircraft.

Ukrainian medium-range UAV launched from a modified truck in a photo posted in May. *X/Osinttechnical*

Denys Shtilerman, co-founder of Fire Point company, published images in late May showing a group of soldiers deploying FP-1/2 long-range UAVs from modified civilian trucks. Each truck could carry up to three aircraft with their launchers. Drone Warfare estimated that the transition from transport to launch readiness takes about 18 minutes.

Four days later, Russian forces published images of a Geran-type suicide UAV locking onto and destroying one of these trucks as it prepared to launch a UAV.

Thanh Danh (Based on Izvestia, Kyiv Post)