African Recruits Tricked into Russian Service, Z Blogger Admits

(KYIV) – Ukraine executed a significant escalation of deep strike operations against Russian military and energy infrastructure between Wednesday night and Thursday, coinciding with a critical EUR 90 billion European Union support package that reshapes the strategic outlook of the war.

Ukrainian forces launched approximately 280 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles at targets across occupied territories and deep inside Russia. The salvo was almost double the 155 drones Russia deployed against Ukrainian civilian areas during the same period. The strikes continued a systematic campaign to degrade Russia’s oil transportation and refining capacity, with NASA’s satellite based fire detection systems confirming major thermal anomalies at multiple impact sites overnight.

A renewed attack on the Fidosia oil depot in occupied Crimea triggered explosions and fresh fires. The facility had already lost more than half its fuel storage tanks in previous strikes. A local observer noted that the oil terminal is now mostly destroyed, writing that Russian authorities failed to take protective measures after the initial attack in October 2024. The observer stated that the cumulative cost of the damage could finance the construction of two modern replacement facilities and questioned when officials would demolish what little remains.

In Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region, drones struck the Gorki oil pumping station, a critical junction in the Transneft Upper Volga system that forms a vital link in Russia’s oil transportation network. Preliminary assessments indicated three storage tanks were damaged and a major fire engulfed an area of roughly 20,000 square metres. Footage from the scene showed thick columns of smoke visible from a considerable distance.

The Tuapse refinery on Russia’s Black Sea coast remained ablaze days after a separate drone strike. Russian residents in the area reported being covered in a toxic oily residue that settles on skin, buildings, vehicles and animals. A chemist cited by the independent Novy Novachuk outlet warned that the fumes contain dangerous carcinogenic polyaromatic compounds, which accumulate in the body and cannot be expelled. Air quality readings reportedly exceeded safe levels by up to three times. Municipal authorities advised residents to remain indoors, seal windows and wear masks. Social media footage showed animals exhibiting signs of poisoning, while black particulate matter coated surfaces across parts of the city centre.

Additional Ukrainian strikes were verified against military targets. The Unmanned Systems Forces of the Ukrainian Army said it hit a command post belonging to Russia’s FSB mobile operations directorate in central Donetsk. The precision strike, carried out in coordination with the Osint agency Deep Strike Centre, involved eight FPV drones that struck the multi story building at 8:00 a.m. local time. A subsequent assessment reported 12 Russian officers killed and 15 personnel wounded. A munitions depot near Sartana in the Donetsk region and a fuel train near Vonets Ganifa in the Luhansk region were also hit, along with a P18 radar system near Yevpatoria in Crimea and a UAV command post in the Kharkiv region.

While Ukraine focused on military and dual use infrastructure, the Russian military continued its campaign of drone terror against Ukrainian residential areas. A Russian strike drone hit an apartment block in the city of Dnipro, killing two people and injuring ten others, including children, according to emergency services. Yevan, a rapid response volunteer who lived on the eighth floor, discovered his flat had been destroyed when he was dispatched to his own address.

“Until tonight I lived here. This was my courtyard. These are my neighbours. I had a flat here. Today I became homeless. I have no documents, no home, no clothes,” he said. A 77 year old woman was killed in a strike on Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and a woman died when railway infrastructure in Zhytomyr Oblast was hit.

Power outages were reported across seven regions. Ukraine’s air defences intercepted or suppressed 139 of the 155 drones launched, though President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that stocks of critical anti-ballistic missile systems could be depleted within weeks due to the sustained intensity of Russian raids. He noted that counter drone capabilities remained adequate but stressed that ballistic missile interception remains a serious challenge.

On the ground, Russian forces registered a marginal net territorial gain of 60 square kilometres, the first change recorded since 15 April. However, Russian equipment losses stayed unusually high, with three tanks, five armoured fighting vehicles, 58 artillery systems, 202 logistics vehicles and fuel tanks, and 1,941 drones destroyed in a 24 hour window.

Casualty rates remained above the long term average despite a lower than usual number of recorded combat engagements, which stood at 159 by 8:00 a.m. Thursday, down from over 200 the previous day. The most intense clashes were concentrated on the Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka and Yulivka axes, which together accounted for 60 attacks.

An audio intercept publicised by Ukraine’s defence intelligence agency suggested the Russian military is coercing foreign recruits into near suicidal frontal assaults. A prominent Russian Z blogger known as Rybar openly described a scheme in which African nationals are promised high paying jobs and expedited visas. Upon arrival in Moscow, their passports are confiscated. They are then informed the job does not exist and their visa is void, leaving them with a choice between mounting debts and signing a Ministry of Defence contract they cannot read due to language barriers.

The military pressure on Russia coincides with a landmark fiscal development. The European Union officially unblocked a EUR 90 billion (USD 97.7 billion) support package for Ukraine. President Zelenskyy confirmed the deal, which analysts say provides Ukraine with predictable financial staying power for at least another year or two.

Bill Browder, a prominent financier and campaigner, assessed that Russia is now in an untenable position. He said Russian territorial progress has stalled, with Ukraine finding effective methods to halt advances while inflicting between 1,000 and 1,500 casualties per day. He argued that the systematic destruction of Russian oil assets will increasingly constrain Moscow’s economic capacity to sustain the war.

The overnight operations were attributed to the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces and the Army Deep Strike Centre.