Russian-installed official reports Ukrainian attacks on Russian-held parts of Donetsk region

Firefighters work outside a damaged multi-storey residential building, following what local Russian-installed authorities called a Ukrainian military strike, in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Makiivka (Makeyevka) in the Donetsk region, a Russian controlled area of Ukraine, September 8, 2025. (Reuters)
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  • Russia has formally annexed four regions, including Donetsk, and is engaged in a slow drive westward to capture the rest of the area

The Russia-installed head of occupied parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region said late on Monday that Ukrainian forces had launched heavy drone and missile attacks on two cities in the area, killing two people and injuring 16.
Denis Pushilin, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said Ukrainian forces had struck targets in the region’s main city, also called Donetsk, and in Makiivka, an industrial town further north.
There was no comment from Ukrainian officials on the attacks.
Russian news agencies quoted security officials in the occupied areas as saying that at least 20 drones had been deployed in the two assaults and that air defense units were in action. They said explosions had resounded throughout the city of Donetsk and the air was hanging heavy with smoke.
The popular Russian war blog Rybar said there had also been explosions in Yenakiievo, another Russian-held industrial town, where it said at least one apartment block had been hit.
Russian forces, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, control a little less than 20 percent of all of Ukraine’s territory and about 75 percent of Donetsk region.
Russia has formally annexed four regions, including Donetsk, and is engaged in a slow drive westward to capture the rest of the area.