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Daily Update: Russia Loses 1,080 Troops and Over 2,100 Drones in One Day
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![Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk]( "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
Russian forces lost approximately 1,080 troops over the past 24 hours, according to the morning operational update from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on April 18.
Losses also included significant heavy equipment, amid fierce combat that saw 151 direct engagements along the frontline.
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The intensity of the fighting remains exceptionally high, particularly in the eastern sectors. The Pokrovsk direction continues to bear the brunt of the Russian offensive, with Ukrainian defenders halting 33 separate assault actions near settlements including Rodynske, Myrnohrad, and Pokrovsk itself.
The Kostyantynivka direction was the second most active front, witnessing 22 enemy attacks, followed by the Huliaipole and Oleksandrivka directions with 12 and 10 assaults, respectively, according to the General Staff.
“If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 18, 2026
Isaac Newton
The combat losses of the enemy from February 24, 2022 to April 18, 2026. pic.twitter.com/otDF2fqKz4
Russia continues to rely heavily on mass aerial and artillery bombardment to support its infantry. Over the last day, Russian forces launched one missile strike, 63 airstrikes utilizing 217 guided aerial bombs (KABs), and conducted 3,447 shelling attacks, 106 of which were from multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS).
Most notably, the Russian military deployed 9,305 suicide drones across Ukrainian positions and civilian settlements.
Despite the relentless pressure on the 1515th day of the full-scale invasion, Ukrainian forces continue to inflict massive attrition on the enemy. Over the past day, Ukrainian defenders successfully eliminated six Russian tanks, 10 armored fighting vehicles, 82 artillery systems, and four MLRS units, General Staff wrote.
Furthermore, Ukraine’s aviation, missile, and artillery troops directly struck a Russian UAV control point, two artillery pieces, and seven areas of concentrated enemy personnel and equipment. Defense forces also neutralized 2,104 operational-tactical level Russian drones and destroyed 180 vehicles.
Operators from the 1st Separate Center of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine have recently targeted a critical component of Russia’s air defense network in Donetsk region by striking a Pantsir-S1 system in temporarily occupied Mariupol.
Using a domestically developed FP-2 Middle Strike drone, Ukrainian forces hit the modern air defense asset, which is valued between $15 million and $20 million and specifically designed to counter drone threats. While Russian forces increasingly deploy mock-ups to mislead operators, the continued targeting of these high-value systems is actively turning Russia’s air defenses into “Swiss cheese,” leaving their ground forces and equipment highly vulnerable to daily strikes.
