The Under Reported War - Issue 32
Sunday 26th April to Saturday 2nd May - Ukraine's Long-Range War Reaches the Ural Mountains
Welcome to a weekly roundup of news from the war in Ukraine you probably did not hear about. All reports are linked to their sources so you can read the original if you’d like to. If you have any questions, detect errors and omissions, or need more detail, just let me know.
By the way, today is Day 1,530 of Putin’s 3-Day Special Military Operation.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“There is no significant damage.”
Governor of Perm Krai, Dmitry Makhonin after major oil facilities in his region went up in flames on April 30th.
link
This week I am going to focus on the expansion of Ukraine’s long-range drone war on Russia’s oil industry. But first….
TWO HEADLINES THAT NEVER WERE
(BUT SHOULD HAVE BEEN)
As ever, welcome to The Under Reported War.
‘Butcher of Bucha’ Survives Bomb Attack
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To date, Ukraine, by my inexact count, Ukraine has killed seventeen Russian generals. Last week, they tried to make that eighteen. You may recall the atrocities in Bucha in the first month of the Russian invasion. Rape, torture and mass executions were conducted by Russian soldiers under the command of this man, Major General Omurbekov, the target of this attack. He was wounded but survived.
Major General Azatbek Omurbekov’s condition is currently unknown
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“The Russian officer who oversaw the occupation of Bucha in 2022, during which an estimated 458 Ukrainians were murdered, has been targeted by a bomb attack in the Russian Far East”Assassination Attempt on Major General Omurbekov
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“On April 28, an explosion was recorded near a residential building in the Khabarovsk Krai, aimed at eliminating Major General Azatbek Omurbekov, commander of the 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade. The incident resulted in the death of a high-ranking officer from the general’s inner circle. Details from the InformNapalm Investigation.”
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Russia in Retreat for Second Consecutive Month
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Russia’s big offensive started in March. Since then it has achieved a net loss of territory at the cost of verified casualties of over 1,000 a day.
Russian Troops Are Falling Back. Drones Are Why
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“Ukrainian drones are striking harder and more often across occupied Ukraine and even deep into Russia itself. At the same time, Russia’s spring offensive is off to a slow start—if not already faltering.”
UKRAINE’S LONG-RANGE WAR
With another much-heralded Russian ground offensive yet again going nowhere, the long-range war has become the most important strategic campaign of this conflict. Last year, rarely more than one or two drones hit targets across Russia last year. Now wave after wave of carefully targeted and intense drone strikes are now crippling Russia’s oil industry.
It is oil revenue that funds Putin’s wars.
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TUAPSE BURNS
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As noted in last week’s bulletin, the global media finally woke up and did a good job covering Ukraine’s long-range war when drones attacked the oil refinery at the Black Sea city of Tuapse. It’s a shame it took them eight days to do so.
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Here’s a brief summary of events in Tuapse up until Saturday May 2nd:
Timeline of attacks on Tuapse
link
• April 16 — First wave of attacks
• April 19 — Fire extinguished
• April 20 — Second wave of attacks
• April 24 — Fire extinguished
• April 28 — Third wave of attacks
• April 30 — Fire extinguished
• May 1 — Fourth wave of attacks”...fire not yet extinguished
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Mountain top view of Tuapse
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“A massive plume of smoke from the burning oil refinery in Tuapse is visible from the Krasnaya Polyana mountain resort, located 105 km away. A state of emergency has been declared throughout the entire Tuapse district.”
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Streets of Fire in Tuapse
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“Meanwhile, in Tuapse, rivers of oil are now burning right in the city streets. Local authorities have declared a state of emergency and ordered the evacuation of residents.”
A complete evacuation of the city was ordered.
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New Fires at Tuapse Refinery
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“Russian oil refinery in Tuapse this morning (May 1st) after the fourth wave of the Ukrainian drone attacks.”
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Krasnodar Governor Kondratyev claims videos of the burning Tuapse refinery are “PSYOP”
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“He alleges that Ukrainian drones are dropping fuel tanks solely to create “intense smoke and flames” for the camera.”
As Peter Pomerarntsev so astutely pointed out years ago, “In Russia nothing is true and everything is possible.”
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THE WEEK THE WAR REACHED THE URAL MOUNTAINS
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During WWII, Stalin ordered armaments and munitions to be shipped east to keep them out of range of German bombers. Most were relocated to the shadows of the Urals Mountains—the geographic boundary between Europe and Asia. This region still has a huge concentration of tank and aviation factories, munitions production, and oil refining.
Last week, the war arrived. First, facilities in Yekaterinburg and Chelyabinsk were attacked. Then one of Russia’s most important refineries in the city of Perm was badly damaged. Plus a nearby important oil storage and pumping station, and another huge refinery in Orsk on the Ural River near to the border with Kazakhstan..
Russian air defences will now have to be stretched even thinner to protect these formerly untouchable strategic installations and cities.
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Ukrainian drones are now reaching the Urals – as far away from Ukraine as England - 1500km
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“ The news that Ukrainian drones are now reaching the Urals – as far away from Ukraine as England – has been met with dismay by Russian warbloggers. They say that Russia’s air defence system is chronically disunited and coordinated action is difficult”.
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‘We’re fishing, for f***s sake, catching drones” (Video)
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““Over [last] weekend, combat drones attacked the Russian city of Yekaterinburg for the first time. The nearby city of Chelyabinsk was also targeted.””
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Drones struck Russia’s Yekaterinburg for first time at record distance of 1,800 km
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“Residents of Yekaterinburg expressed shock that drones reached their city…”
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PERM POUNDED
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Drone attacks spread to the major cities of Orsk and Perm, also in the furthermost regions of European Russia. Here’s what happened as far as I know right now.
ON April 29, drones attacked Russian oil facilities in Orsk and Perm located 1,500 kilometers from Ukraine
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“According to the publication Astra, which conducted an OSINT analysis, the Orsknefteorgsintez oil refinery in Orsk was targeted. This is one of Russia’s largest refineries, with a processing capacity of approximately 6 million tons of oil per year.”
“According to information from the Exilenova+ channel, a linear production and dispatch station [LPDS} in Perm is likely on fire following the strikes. This facility serves as a key node in the Transneft system, responsible for pumping, storing, and distributing oil via main pipelines”
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Visual confirmation shows fire on 2-3 tanks at Russia’s LPDS Perm
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“Each tank holds up to 50,000 cubic meters of oil, about 314,000 barrels worth more than $37 million at current prices. Direct losses are estimated at $75-112 million before counting infrastructure damage.”
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Then another wave of FP-2 drones arrived.
Perm is under drone attack again, before previous oil infrastructure fires were even extinguished.
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”This time, the target is the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez, one of Russia’s major oil refineries… The facility processes around 13–15 million tons of oil per year: gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.”
Liutyi drone hit the AVT-4 unit at Lukoil’s Perm refinery on April 30
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“[The drone struck] the vacuum column and [set] fire to the atmospheric distillation column. Hitting both columns effectively knocks out the plant’s key primary oil processing unit.”
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Vital pumping station continues to burn
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“5 out of 9 large storage tanks have been destroyed, one is damaged, and equipment has been damaged, OSINT reported “
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REFINERY OUTPUT DROPS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN 17 YEARS
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Ukraine’s April strikes pushed Russia’s refinery output to its lowest level since December 2009
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“In April, Ukraine carried out at least nine strikes on Russia’s oil refining industry, according to Bloomberg. Estimates by the analytics firm OilX indicate this reduced Russia’s average refinery throughput to 4.69 million barrels per day, the lowest level since December 2009…
Russia’s internal pipeline network, the largest in the world and designed during the Cold War, remains relatively resilient to military action. This has enabled rerouting of oil flows from damaged facilities, meaning the attacks have not yet caused sustained disruptions to domestic supply.“
This analysis does not factor in the most recent wave of attacks in the Urals.
THE DEAD OFFENSIVE
None of these long-range attacks would be possible without Ukraine’s campaign against Russian missile defences. The process is called DEAD (Destruction of Enemy Air Defences) in military jargon. Radars are the highest priority.
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This advanced radar tracked aircraft and drones 500km inside Ukrainian territory from a supposedly safe location 100km behind the frontline.
RAM-2 strike on high-value range Nebo-M radar [Video]
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“RAM-2 loitering munition strike on [a] Russian Nebo-M radar station in Belgorod region. ~100km from the frontline… ”
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Drone destroys P-18 Terek radar 150 km behind the line of contact [Video]
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“Drone operators from the 475th Assault Regiment Code 9.2 detected, struck, and destroyed a Russian P-18 Terek radar south of Zaporizhzhia. The station was located 150 km behind the line of contact, deep in the rear.”
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Tor Turned to Toast [Video]
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“The Tor air defense system remains the most frequent victim of FP-2 drone strikes among all SAM systems.”
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I have to say it’s not clear if this next one was a near miss or a hit:
Another Tor-M2 air defense system claimed [Video]
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“Russian Tor-M2 air defense system [destroyed] using domestically produced Bulava [loitering munition] after the target was detected and tracked by a Leleka reconnaissance drone.”
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BUK HUNTING
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Here’s your weekly video of a Buk SAM launcher being blown up:
Let us never forget that it was a Buk from Russia’s 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade that launched the missile that killed the passengers and crew of Malaysian Airline Flight MH-17 in July 2014.
Buk M-3 fails to fire at atacking drone
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“Ukrainian Unmanned Systems units struck a Nebo-M radar in Ukolovo, Belgorod region, a Buk-M3 in occupied Donetsk region, ammo depots, a hideout with more than 30 vehicles in Bakhmut, and Russian UAV and troop deployment points across occupied territory”
THE MIDDLE STRIKE
The erosion of Russia’s air defences has permitted Ukraine to hunt where once those defences were thickest. This region up to 150km behind the frontline is called the Middle Strike. Attacks in this zone are causing chaos to Russia’s supply lines.
Ukraine now has a range of sophisticated middle strike drones and autonomous loitering munitions that can range 150km or farther. Resistant to electronic warfare, they also contribute to the DEAD campaign (see above) and clear the way for more drones and munitions to wreak havoc on Russian supply lines.
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Enemy Logistics [Disrupted] in Donetsk Using Hornet Drones [Video]
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“According to unconfirmed reports, its range may be 100–150 km, with a warhead weighing around 5 kg… The drone is developed and produced by Swift Beat, owned by Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google.”
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Ukraine’s Bulava middle-strike drone trialed in Donetsk. Results show all targets successfully hit
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“Each of the five launches [in July 2025] struck its target despite camouflage and intense electronic warfare.”
Modernized Bulava Increased Its Flight Radius to 100 Kilometers
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“The Ukrainian loitering munition Bulava will fly twice as far and carry a more powerful warhead to hit important targets behind enemy lines.
The latest modernization cycle has transformed Bulava from a tactical strike drone operating within a 55-kilometer radius into a platform with an operating range of more than 100 km and a guaranteed flight time of 75 minutes.”
Bulava loitering munition strike on Russian checkpoint [Video]
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This video is a good example of how relentless and accurate these attacks have become.
Ukrainian drones [strike] key Russian drone development complex [Video]
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“The attack, posted to social media, struck the facilities of the BARS-Sarmat Special Purpose Center, part of Russia’s Unmanned Systems Forces… at an unspecified location in Zaporizhzhia Oblast off the coast of the Sea of Azov… [It] serves as a key complex in the development of Russian drones, robotic and electronic warefare systems, as well as “command and communications equipment.””
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New mid-range drone designed to exhaust Russian air defenses
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“Khmarynka fits into a broader class of low-cost kamikaze drones designed for mass deployment, including to exhaust Russian air defenses and strike targets such as armored vehicles, warehouses, and infantry bunkers.”
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Ukraine’s new B-2 drone is a mystery. Its kills aren’t
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“Ukraine has a new drone for middle-distance strikes: the B-2. We don’t know much about the drone, but we know what it’s doing. The B-2 is one of several drone types peeling back Russian air defenses as far as 200 km behind the disputed gray zone”
RUSSIA’S LONG-RANGE WAR
As you will probably know, since this is a story covered regularly in the news, Russia continues to bombard Ukraine with large numbers of kamikaze drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
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KOVYOR - NEW CRUISE MISSILE THREAT
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Russia’s Stealthy S-71K Air-Launched Cruise Missile
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“The missile aims to be a less expensive, but still survivable standoff weapon option that can be built in large numbers.
At minimum, the deployment of the S-71 poses an additional challenge for Ukraine’s already strained air defense forces, especially given the continued scarcity of Western-supplied ground-based air defense systems.”
Ukraine says Russia has used the Kovyor in combat since last year.
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SHAHEDS TARGET HOME OF TOP DRONE ANALYST
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It is claimed that 20% of Russian Shqheds are piloted remotely by humans. That might explain the unusual pinpoint accuracy of this attack on the home of a key Ukrainian expert on Shahed drones:
Russia tried to kill Ukraine’s most public Shahed analyst — with four superspeed jet-powered Shaheds
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“Russia has attempted to target and kill Serhii Flash Beskresnov, an advisor to the defense minister who is well-regarded by the Ukrainian military, using jet-powered Shahed drones… Jet-powered Shahed drones travel at 300–500 km/h, making them difficult to shoot down. The drones used in this attack were manually controlled.”
Two drones were shot down, but two got through. Beskresnov was hospitalised and his house burnt down. A similar attack last November on the home of an employee of the drone manufacturer, Firepoint, led to his death.
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RUSSIAN DRONES FALLING APART
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This is possibly the least surprising story in this week’s bulletin.
Russian Shahed drones falling apart in the air as [build] quality worsens
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“The intercepted drones are shown with access panels torn away, bent and crumpled wingtip surfaces, and in at least one case a completely detached nose fairing… “Russia’s Alabuga drone factory in Tatarstan employs unskilled migrant workers, relies on inferior Chinese components, and prioritizes volume output over manufacturing quality.
UKRAINE’S DRONE & MISSILE HUNTERS
LIMA LINE SPOOFS RUSSIAN SUPERWEAPON
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The Kinzhal hypersonic missile is an air-launched version of the Iskander ballistic missile. Putin hyped it back in 2020 as one of his new impossible-to-intercept hypersonic weapons. Like all those other new super-weapons, the reality has turned out to be a little different. The Kinzhal has been intercepted but its speed and air-launched trajectory makes it very difficult to do so.
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Rather than firing scarce missiles with a low chance of hitting a Kinzhal, Ukraine now drives the hypersonic missile off-course with electronic jamming and spoofing generated by the Lima Line.
I’ve written about Ukraine’s Lima Line before. It is a remarkably effective chain of electronic jammers that attempt to confuse drones, cruise missiles, nad ballistic missiles about their position and dupes them to miss their targets.
Lost Russian Kinzhal missile crashes
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“A Russian Kinzhal missile crashes after reportedly losing its course due to electronic warfare interference.”
Twenty-six Kinzhals Neutralised from Jan-March 2026
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“Ukraine’s Lima electronic warfare system has neutralised 26 Kinzhal missiles since the start of the year and 58 overall, according to its developers. The system also deflected 33 cruise missiles and over 10000 drones in Q1, and is claimed to disrupt over 98% of guided bombs within its coverage.”
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THE INTERCEPTOR WAR
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As Ukraine promised last year, its small, light, and fast interceptor drones have cut drastically the numbers of Shahed-style kamikaze drones getting through Ukraine’s defences.
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P1-Sun Interceptors destroy 3,000 Shaheds already in 2026
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“Ukrainian P1-Sun interceptor drones by Skyfall shot down over 3,000 Russian Shaheds in 2026 [so far] at roughly $3,000 each,”
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Like many other nations, Japan is donating its new drone designs to Ukraine to allow them to be battle-tested. Praised for its ease-of-control, the Terra A1 interceptor is curreently deployed along Shahed routes in Chernihiv oblast.
Terra A1 Interceptor Drone Enters Combat Use in Ukraine
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“The Japanese company Terra Drone has announced the start of real-world operational deployment of its Terra A1 interceptor drone in Ukraine”
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Ukrainian Wild Hornets Demonstrate 2,000 km Remote Drone Control (Video)
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“The Ukrainian drone manufacturer Wild Hornets showcased the capability of its Hornet Vision Ctrl system by remotely operating the Sting interceptor drone at a distance of 2,000 km. According to available reports, the operator was located abroad, while the drone itself was deployed in northern Ukraine.”
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UKRAINE’S AIRBORNE DRONE CARRIER
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Last year, ageing civilian An-28 was converted into a gunship.
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Watch Ukraine’s Minigun-Firing, Drone-Hunting Turboprop In Action [Video]
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“Blessed with short takeoff and landing capability, the rugged An-28 Cash utility transport is the latest addition to Ukraine’s anti-drone force.”
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Then the An-28 was given an additional role because of two problems. One disadvantage of using small ground-launched FPV interceptor drones to hunt Shaheds is their short battery life. Sometimes the newest jet-powered Shaheds fly out of range before a drone can climb and intercept. And the An-28 was handicapped because it could only destroy drones within the short range of its minigun.
Ukraine, ever the innovator, decided to solve this challenge by converting the gunship into an airborne drone carrier. To extend its kill zone by tens of kilometres, the An-28 was adapted launch six P1-Sun interceptor drones from struts beneath its wings. Crew members then pilot the drone towards its target.
This next video is extraordinary. Well worth watching.
Ukraine’s Airborne Drone Carrier [Video]
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“Ukraine has deployed AN-28 aircraft as airborne carriers for P1-SUN anti-air interceptor drones, enabling launch and engagement from the air.”
Low-tech transport plane firing high-tech interceptor drones is Ukraine’s newest Shahed-hunter
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“One in three Russian aerial targets over Ukraine is now destroyed by an interceptor drone that costs less than a used car. This week, Ukraine added a new launch platform to that fleet: a 1969 Antonov An-28 transport plane.”
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YAK ATTACK
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At the opposite end of the technology spectrum, Odesa’s Yak-28s continue their WWI-style defence of the city. This small fleet of retired crop dusters and training aircraft takes to the sky with rear-seat gunners armed with an automatic weapon. They hunt Shahed drones and are highly successful. You might recall from an earlier bulletin that the embarrassed Russians targeted their airstrip with expensive Iskander ballistic missiles. The Yaks are still flying.
Footage of Ukrainian Yak-52 crews in action [Must watch VIDEO]
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“Incredible footage of Ukrainian Yak-52 crews..of the 11th Separate Army Aviation Brigade “Kherson” [as they] clear the skies of Russian drones.”
STORIES I MISSED
Here a a few important (or just entertaining) stories I would have posted had I been able to do so these past months.
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NEVER FORGET THEIR NAMES
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It’s always good to remind Putin’s Russia that the people it has murdered will not be forgotten.
How Czechs Trolled The Russian Embassy, Then Things Escalated (3rd Oct 2025)
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“Since 2020, Prague has been renaming landmarks around Russia’s sprawling embassy amid increasing tension between Moscow and the West. The street sign trolling has apparently contributed to a diplomatic spat in which Czechia announced it had banned non-accredited Russian diplomats from entering the central European country.”
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WAVES OF DRONES ATTACK ALCHEVSK STEELWORKS
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This was the moment when I realised Ukraine had the ability to attack targets in multiple waves and wreak lasting damage on Russia’s heavy industry.
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SBU drones hit the Alchevsk steelworks again (4th April 2026)
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“SBU drones hit the Alchevsk steel plant again, the second strike there this month, shutting production down. The SBU says blast furnaces, key workshops, distillation columns, gas pipelines and power substations were damaged.”
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Ukraine attacked the steelwork’s transformer farm again this week. Without its 220 kV transformers, the steelworks is crippled.
Alchevsk steelwork’s main transformers destroyed
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“Satellite imagery published by DniproOsint shows FP-2 drones destroyed both transformers at the 220 kV substation in Alchevsk, knocking out the site’s two main transformer units in a direct strike on power infrastructure in occupied Luhansk region.”
Some OSINT researchers have been calling for years for a concerted campaign against Russia’s network of 220kV substations. Wrecking that network would hamstring Russian industry and cities. Previously they had been thought too small to hit accurately. The evidence of the image above is that Ukraine’s drones now have the precision strike capability to do just that.
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MAGURAS IN THE MED
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Having gone after Russia’s ‘ghost tanker’ fleet in the Black Sea with its tiny Magura unmanned surface vessels (USVs), Ukraine has extended the campaign a thousand kilometres westwards into the Mediterranean Sea.
Russia has been backing one side of the civil war in Libya. Naturally, Ukraine offered its services to the other side in exchange for an opportunity to kills Russian mercenaries fighting there. It now seems another part of the deal was the ability to base Magura sea drones in an un-named Libyan port and start hunting ghost tankers.
Ukrainian forces operating in Libya have attacked a Russian tanker (7th April 2026)
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“The Russian-flagged Arctic Metagaz, carrying 61,000 tons of liquefied natural gas, was badly damaged in a suspected sea drone attack near Maltese waters early in March.”
How Ukraine Could Launch Drones From Libya To Strike Russia’s Tanker
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“The incident single-handedly demonstrated how Ukraine had gained a much larger and more visible footprint and could act with such boldness to “endanger an incident as shocking” as the Arctic Metagaz attack.”
That’s all for now. Any errors, corrections, or omissions welcomed. As are your comments in general.
Thanks for reading,
Martin
Wonderful coverage as always. You make me so encouraged for Ukraine! I am so glad you are back! Hope everything is going well. Slava Ukraini!
Simply spectacular! Definitely haven’t seen any reporting at all, and nothing like this in these years of watching for it. Thank you! It’s heartening to see and know Ukraine is prevailing and winning!