No fortress of the Russian occupier is beyond reach. The Ukrainian Defense Intelligence, also known as HUR, has reported its soldiers discovered the base of Russian invaders belonging to the most elite and secretive drone Rubikon center in Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast. The city fell under Russian control in 2014.

The Rubikon unit specializes in the use of unmanned systems, including combat drones, during Russia’s genocidal war against Ukraine. It is considered one of the most effective and combat-ready structures of the Russian army.

How Rubikon hunts skies over Ukraine

The unit has a clear internal structure, with individual teams specializing in different tasks:

• countering night bombers
• combating Ukrainian reconnaissance drones
• using FPV and Molniya strike drones
• conducting electronic reconnaissance to locate Ukrainian UAVs and their operators.

Experts note that Rubikon’s distinctive feature is its advanced electronic reconnaissance capability, allowing it to effectively detect Ukrainian drones and their operators, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 

Ukraine's HUR itself is also calling the unit one of the most capable structures of the Russian occupation forces, one on which the aggressor state spends significant resources.

The FP-2 drone turns Russian stronghold into smoking crater

Using precise coordinates of Russia's position, Ukrainian intelligence operators skillfully directed an FP-2 unmanned aerial vehicle, equipped with a 105-kilogram warhead, toward the Russian target amid dense urban terrain.

Structurally, the FP-2 is similar to its predecessor, the long-range FP-1, which Ukrainian forces have already used for strikes deep in Russian territory. However, the FP-2 has a shorter range of 200 kilometers, compared to 1,400 for the FP-1, but carries a much heavier warhead.

As a result of the strike, Ukrainian intelligence eliminated Russian officers and drone operators from the Rubikon unit who were inside the headquarters.

Russian soldiers are refusing to go on assaults in Donetsk Oblast. Agents of the partisan movement Atesh from Russia’s 115th Motor Rifle Brigade, stationed near Avdiivka, set fire to their own military truck after learning they were being sent on suicidal attacks near Pokrovsk, the group reports. 

“With this act, the agents delayed the unit’s deployment and saved their lives. Soldiers see that command is sending personnel to certain death — without rest, evacuation, or regard for survival,” the partisans reveal.

According to Atesh, the sabotage not only saved the perpetrators’ lives but also delayed the redeployment of their unit to the front line, forcing commanders to reconsider their plans.

Soldiers at the breaking point

The Atesh movement stresses that the assaults near Pokrovsk have turned into a “meat grinder,” where Russian command ruthlessly throws in exhausted troops.

Soldiers reportedly receive no rest, the wounded are left behind, and the dead are listed as “missing” to conceal real losses.

Sabotage as the last weapon

“Every Russian soldier can fight for his life without leaving his base! Sabotage is the most effective way to avoid being sent to die,” the agents declared. 

They believe internal resistance has become the only means of survival in an army where a soldier’s life is worthless.

Wave of desertions in the 74th Brigade

Earlier, Atesh reported mass desertions within Russia’s 74th Brigade fighting near Pokrovsk, which continues to suffer catastrophic losses.

“Command, obsessed with capturing Pokrovsk as fast as possible, keeps throwing personnel into suicide assaults without pause or rest,” they said.

Over the past week alone, 38 soldiers abandoned their positions despite rear security groups being deployed to track down deserters.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Defense Forces carried out a unique airborne operation — a successful parachute-free airdrop in the Pokrovsk area, according to the 7th Corps of the Air Assault Forces.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s monitoring project DeepState reports that Russian forces from the 170,000 grouping continue infiltrating the city in Donetsk Oblast. The occupation groups are being tracked or eliminated in multiple districts, expanding the “gray zone” of Russian reconnaissance and sabotage activity.

Women are also being used for infiltration. If an assault fails, they are ordered to change into civilian clothes to pass as civilians while conducting reconnaissance and reporting the movements of Ukraine’s Defense Forces.