Editor's note: Most of the Ukrainian soldiers and commanders interviewed are identified by their callsigns, in accordance with military protocols.

KHARKIV OBLAST — Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr had already narrowly survived crossing a mine-strewn field and a river in the crosshairs of Russian artillery when the swarm of first-person-view

Drones struck the seized Ukrtelecom building in occupied Luhansk overnight on 21 October, hitting the mobile operator Russia’s occupation authorities run there under the name “Lugacom,” Russian Telegram channel Astra and Ukrainian monitoring channels reported. The strike came a night after drones hit “Ugletelecom,” the occupation’s telecom operator in Donetsk, which reportedly runs on equipment seized from Ukrainian companies. Footage posted by Ukrainian monitors shows heavy fire damage inside the Luhansk building. Ukraine has not officially commented.

Ukraine has spent months hitting the supply lines, depots, and infrastructure that sustain Russia’s occupation of southern and eastern Ukraine, with mid-range drones striking trucks, trains, and communications towers well behind the front. This spring the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, promised Russian troops in occupied territory a “stone age.” This time the targets were the networks the occupation runs on.

A burned-out Ukrtelecom building in Luhansk

Residents reported explosions in Luhansk overnight, and the former Ukrtelecom building was attacked by a drone, Astra reported, citing its readers. The occupation runs its mobile operator, “Lugacom,” from the seized building, and built its network on equipment taken from Ukraine’s Kyivstar, according to dev.ua. The building also houses an occupation-run telecom services center. Luhansk is situated in the easternmost Ukrainian region and has been occupied since 2014.

Ukrainian monitoring channel Exilenova+ said Ukraine’s Defense Forces struck the building, which also hosts an information technology and technical support center. A video it posted shows extensive burning inside. Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation, said the drones hit a data center in the building.

Occupation officials had not commented, according to NV. In September, drones hit a hardware store in Luhansk, sparking a large fire. Earlier this month, fires broke out at a Russian supply base in Khrustalnyi, also in occupied Luhansk Oblast.

Donetsk’s occupation telecom operator hit the night before

The night before, drones struck “Ugletelecom,” one of the key communications operators in occupied Donetsk Oblast, Exilenova+ reported. It operates from an office building at 60 Postysheva Street, where Ukraine’s state holding company Donbasugleobespechenie was registered before the occupation, according to RBC-Ukraine. Astra found about 27 organizations registered at the address, including internet provider Fticom, and damage on four floors.

Ugletelecom runs on equipment seized from Ukrainian companies, Donetsk-focused outlet Kochegarka reported, citing local sources. The occupation also moved local businesses that had used Ukrtelecom over to it, according to dev.ua. Residents had reported powerful explosions in the city.

Power cuts across the occupied territories

In occupied Donetsk Oblast, drones attacked the 330 kV Pivdenna substation in Chystiakove, and locals reported outages, Telegram channel DroneBomber said, calling the report preliminary. Occupied Donetsk went into a blackout on the evening of 20 October after strikes on its power supply, Andriushchenko said. He also reported air defense activity and hits in the Mariupol area.

In occupied Crimea, residents of Krasnoperekopsk reported explosions and hits near the railway station, then partial power cuts, monitoring channel Crimean Wind said. In occupied Melitopol, drones tried to attack the city’s power facilities at around 03:30 but missed, Russian senator Dmitry Rogozin claimed.

French mapper Clément Molin counted 770 confirmed Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian trucks in the logistics zone 10 km behind the front line in September, up from 630 in August.

Russian troops launched attacks against Ukraine overnight with Iskander-K cruise missiles and 186 drones, including Shahed-type ones, the Air Force reported.

A city stretches out beneath the lens of a Russian drone. Roads, apartment blocks, parks, and office buildings come into view as the weapon closes in on its target.

Footage like this has become all too familiar over the course of Russia's full-scale war, usually captured by small

On the night of Oct. 20, Russia attacked Ukraine with 165 Shahed-type and other drones, 105 of them jet-powered, Ukraine's Air Force said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces targeted energy facilities in 11 oblasts across Ukraine.

"The trend this year continues," Zelensky said, "Since the start of fall, our warriors have liberated more territory than the Russians have managed to capture. The same was true at other points this year."

This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin.

Key news as of Oct. 17:

• Eleven Ukrainians, including 96-year-old woman, return from Russian-occupied territories, ombudsman says
• Russia sends terrorism

Russian strikes hit 20 locations, while falling debris was reported at four other sites.

The Russian soldiers are believed to belong to the 38th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, which is operating in the area. Kravchuk alleged that orders of this nature within the brigade are issued at the initiative of its commander, Colonel Valery Kazak.

Ukrainian forces downed 289 out of the 332 drones, including jet-powered attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Russian drones and ballistic missiles of the Iskander-M or the North Korean KN-23 model struck 22 different locations, and debris fell in three areas.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia used a total of 850 Shahed-type drones since 09:00 a.m. on Oct. 14.

While the humanitarian crisis in the Russian-occupied front-line city of Oleshky recently garnered media attention, all regions of occupied Ukraine face worsening humanitarian issues at the hands of Russia's occupation authorities.

Across all occupied territories, civilians face failing water and electricity systems, shortages of qualified doctors, deteriorating municipal

The SBU reported that the terminals were intended to support the planning of Russian military operations in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukrainian security officers say they prevented the devices from being activated.