Overview
- Ukraine reported that new port-based air-defense teams have already downed their first Russian drones under an experimental program.
- The units draw from port employees, many of them war veterans, and operate within the Air Force command structure for coordination and control.
- Officials said 25 other state enterprises are finishing similar formations to guard key industrial sites across the country.
- Russian strikes on port infrastructure have surged this year to more than 800 drone launches, up from 75 in the same period last year, according to the government.
- Ports have stayed open and moved nearly 30 million tonnes of cargo in 2026, even as over 900 facilities and 177 civilian vessels have been damaged since 2022.