Ukraine has turned a Russian Black Sea base into a burning metal. The Ukrainian Navy has reported that it has struck an elite Russian special forces unit stationed on the occupied Sivash drilling platform near annexed Crimea, Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports. 

Ukrainian drones are driving the Russians from the Black Sea towers

In October 2025, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that Russia deployed its naval detachment “Española” to the Boiko Towers.

The group presents itself as Russia’s potential “first maritime private military company” and is reportedly seeking legal status under a future Russian law on private military companies.

According to available information, Española was created under Sergey Aksyonov, the Kremlin-appointed head of occupied Crimea, to strengthen coastal defense.

Along with Russian surveillance and reconnaissance equipment, a Russian anti-tank missile crew was destroyed,” the Ukrainian Navy reported.

Now, Russian propagandists are attempting to portray this strike as a Ukrainian loss, claiming a Ukrainian Navy boat was destroyed by a Lancet loitering munition.

In reality, Ukrainian forces successfully used a kamikaze drone to hit the occupiers' position.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed media reports claiming President Donald Trump authorized military strikes against Venezuelan targets.

"Your 'sources' who claim to 'know about the situation' tricked you into writing a fake article," Rubio wrote on X.

The denial came hours after the Miami Herald reported Friday that the Trump administration had decided to attack military facilities in Venezuela. The newspaper stated the strikes could occur at any moment and would target military sites allegedly used for illegal drug trafficking operations.

Trump also denied approving any strikes on Venezuelan military facilities.

The Miami Herald's report suggested the planned operations would focus on destroying infrastructure connected to narcotics smuggling routes.

Germany has expressed concerns that Trump's anti-drug enforcement measures could push cartels to redirect their operations toward Europe, Yevropeyska Pravda previously reported.

Amid a US military buildup in the Caribbean, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has requested military assistance from Russia, China, and Iran, according to internal US government documents obtained by The Washington Post.

The requests to Moscow were made in a letter intended for Russian President Vladimir Putin, to be delivered by a senior aide during a visit to the Russian capital this month, the documents show.

Maduro asked Russia to help restore several Russian Sukhoi Su-30MK2 aircraft previously purchased by Venezuela, overhaul eight engines and five radars, and acquire 14 sets of what were believed to be Russian missiles. He also requested unspecified "logistical support" and a "medium-term financing plan of three years" through Rostec, the Russian state-owned defense conglomerate, though no specific amount was mentioned.

In the letter, Maduro emphasized that Russian-made Sukhoi fighters "represented the most important deterrent the Venezuelan National Government had when facing the threat of war," according to the US records.

The Venezuelan president also composed a letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping seeking "expanded military cooperation" between their two countries to counter "the escalation between the US and Venezuela." In that missive, he asked the Chinese government to expedite Chinese companies' production of radar detection systems.

"In the missive, Maduro emphasized the seriousness of perceived US aggression in the Caribbean, framing US military action against Venezuela as action against China due to their shared ideology," the US documents state.

Transport Minister Ramón Celestino Velásquez recently coordinated a shipment of military equipment and drones from Iran while planning a visit to that country, the documents say. He told an Iranian official that Venezuela was in need of "passive detection equipment," "GPS scramblers" and "almost certainly drones with 1,000 km [600 mile] range," the documents state.

It remains unclear from the documents how Russia, China and Iran responded to these requests.

Russia's restrained response

On 26 October, an Ilyushin Il-76—one of the Russian aircraft sanctioned in 2023 by the United States for participating in the arms trade and transporting mercenaries—arrived in Caracas after a circuitous route over Africa to avoid Western airspace, according to Flightradar24.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the letter, but on the evening of 31 October, the Foreign Ministry said Moscow supports Venezuela "in defending its national sovereignty" and stands "ready to respond appropriately to the requests of our partners in light of emerging threats."

Moscow also recently ratified a new strategic treaty with Caracas.

However, the official messaging from Moscow on the Trump administration's actions against Venezuela has been relatively restrained. In early October, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov "expressed serious concern over the increasing escalation of Washington's activities in the Caribbean Sea" in a call with his Venezuelan counterpart.

On 29 October, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow "respects Venezuela's sovereignty" and believes the issue should be resolved in accordance with "international law"—a common talking point the Kremlin often employs to sidestep sensitive geopolitical questions.

US military pressure

The US military buildup in the Caribbean is presenting perhaps the greatest challenge to Maduro since he took over the country's leadership in 2013.

More than a dozen US strikes on alleged drug traffickers, largely departing from Venezuelan shores, have killed at least 61 people since September. The administration has not presented proof that the ships were involved in drug trafficking, and Maduro has denied they were.

The USS Gerald Ford, the Navy's heaviest and most modern aircraft carrier, has been dispatched to the region.

"The fact that we've moved over 10 percent of our naval assets to the Caribbean is already a win, in some regards, for Putin," said James Story, a former US ambassador to Venezuela and founding partner of Global Frontier Advisors. "Our renewed interest in all things Western Hemisphere divides our attention on Ukraine. And that's a good thing for Putin."

Russia's shifting priorities

Defense analysts say Moscow has shifted some of its key Latin American listening posts from Venezuela to Nicaragua, where pro-Russian authoritarian President Daniel Ortega has solidified his grip on power.

"The reality is that Russia has been relatively quiet on Venezuela," said Douglas Farah, president of the national security consulting firm IBI Consultants. "And they've spent very little political capital defending Maduro."

Mired in a war in Ukraine and eyeing closer cooperation with other Latin American partners, Moscow has gradually curtailed its interest in Venezuela in recent years with little sign of a surge in support because of the current crisis.

With its forces tied up in Ukraine, Russia is also less capable of assisting a friendly leader across the Atlantic, even if it wanted to.

"Would Russia do anything [in case of a US operation]? I think it is not in the immediate plans of the Russian authorities," said Victor Jeifets, editor in chief of Russian scientific journal "Latin America."

The cooperation treaty with Venezuela stops short of a real military pledge. Jeifets said the treaty, which covers topics including money laundering and nuclear proliferation, is vague on military cooperation, simply suggesting that the two parties "improve ties in the field of defense."

Questionable military capabilities

Analysts and officials familiar with the Venezuelan military say much of what was purchased from Russia is nonoperational or outdated. One former Venezuelan military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisals, said that by 2018, Venezuela had fewer than five Russian-built Sukhois operating.

"Chávez bought, or Russia sold Venezuela, pure junk," he said.

Maduro this month, however, claimed Venezuela had deployed 5,000 Russian-made Igla-S portable surface-to-air missiles nationwide.

What Russia stands to lose

The political and economic ties between Russia and Venezuela date to Hugo Chavez following his rise to power in 1999. High-profile projects between the two countries continue to roll out, including a Kalashnikov munitions factory that opened in July in the Venezuelan state of Aragua, about 20 years after it was pledged. Moscow also has exploration rights for potentially billions of dollars in untapped natural gas and oil reserves.

Russian state companies have direct investments in three Venezuelan joint ventures that produce 107,000 barrels of crude per day, or about 11 percent of Venezuela's total current production and generate approximately $67 million a month, said Francisco Monaldi, director of the Latin American Energy Program at Rice University.

Russia is still a major player in Venezuelan oil, a thick sludgy crude product requiring substantial processing. The Russians provide essential inputs for processing that crude as well as supplies of gasoline to keep the industry running.

A regime change in Venezuela would be a major blow to Moscow, potentially representing the loss of a major ally while significantly weakening another, Cuba—an even longer-standing ally of Moscow's whose intelligence community is closely intertwined with Maduro's Venezuela.

A Russian marine accused of torturing a Lithuanian citizen in occupied Ukraine has been extradited to Lithuania from Ukraine. This is the first time Ukraine has handed over a Russian suspect to a foreign country for war crimes prosecution since Russia's full-scale invasion began.

Lithuanian court detains Russian soldier over torture of Lithuanian citizen

A Russian soldier suspected of torturing civilians, including a Lithuanian national, in occupied Melitopol has been extradited to Lithuania, Liga and Delfi reported on 31 October. The man, identified as a senior seaman from the 177th Naval Infantry Regiment of Russia’s Caspian flotilla, was transferred on 29 October and placed in pretrial detention in Vilnius for three months by court order the following day.

Lithuanian Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė announced the extradition at a press conference, calling it a landmark moment in international cooperation. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who authorized the transfer, joined her in Vilnius for the announcement.

Authorities say the suspect was directly involved in guarding and abusing detainees. Grunskienė detailed the torture methods allegedly used by the man and his fellow soldiers: beatings, electric shocks, suffocation until unconsciousness, hanging captives by their bound arms, dousing them with freezing water, and confining them in metal safes.

Ukrainian forces captured the suspect in August 2023 near the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Kravchenko says. He has since been charged in Lithuania under articles relating to war crimes against civilians and prisoners of war, torture, unlawful imprisonment, and violations of the Geneva Conventions. If convicted, he faces 10 to 20 years or a life sentence.

Kyiv and Vilnius stress message to war criminals

Kravchenko emphasized that the transfer of the suspect was not only a legal step but also a warning.

“This is a clear message to every war criminal: you will not escape responsibility in any country of the free world. Justice will be served,” he said, as cited by Liga.

Marauder's thumbs make micro-adjustments on the FPV controller, keeping the racing drone steady at 5 km above ground. On his screen: a speck against gray sky—the Russian reconnaissance drone. Its camera swivels, scanning for threats.

Too late. The pilot presses the button. Bang.

Both drones—Ukrainian interceptor and Russian spy—disappear in the detonation. The freeze frame on the screen shows the enemy's rearview camera catching its killer in the final millisecond. The team in the underground bunker cheers, but waits for confirmation. Minutes later, radar confirms: target down.

Around him in the underground bunker, two teammates have been managing their own screens: one tracking the target's coordinates across three monitors, another radioing compass directions to the sapper above, who's swiveling a directional antenna to keep their interceptor connected.

They've been doing this for months now—hunting Russian drones with drones, from positions the enemy can't see.

Teams like these have shattered Russia's air supremacy—saving countless Ukrainian military targets. Now they're Moscow's most wanted. Just one problem: you can't kill what you can't see underground.

It's a reversal that could reshape Ukraine's air defense calculus: instead of expensive missiles chasing cheap drones, cheap drones are now hunting expensive ones.

In this exclusive, I am granted the world’s first look inside the inner workings of an anti-aircraft team of the 113th Separate Kharkiv Territorial Defense anti-aircraft battery and the Volunteer unit “Phoenix” as they pioneered this underground drone warfare.

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Eyes in the sky: How Ukraine is battling Russia’s drone intelligence network

Russian eyes from above meet their match

Big Russian reconnaissance drones like the Orlan-10, Zala, and Supercam slip through Ukrainian defenses and patrol for hours deep in Ukrainian territory, guiding Iskander missiles and Lancet drones to devastate Ukrainian training grounds, logistical hubs, and civilian targets.

Until recently, Ukraine was powerless against these spy drones. Flying at altitudes of 4-5 km, above the range of MANPADs and anti-aircraft guns, demanding expensive anti-air missiles, the feared recon UAVs could loiter for hours, unhindered, spotting targets that Russian ballistic missiles would slam into minutes later.

Even if the Russian scouts got into range, Ukraine’s air defense teams were prohibited from attempting to shoot them down during the day, lest they themselves become a target.

Then came Ukraine's $600 interceptor drones—now hunting the $30,000-120,000 reconnaissance UAVs from underground bunkers the Russians can't target.

Best known for being the most promising solution to Russia’s Shahed drones swarms, they are now launched by air defense units from underground bunkers to down the recon drones that once traveled Ukrainian airspace with impunity.

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Drone dogfights: Ukraine’s novel strategy to counter Russian reconnaissance UAVs

Anti-aircraft positions like the 113th and Phoenix defend more than military assets. According to Ukrainian emergency service officials in the region, 90% of Russian airstrike targets are civilian—and these anti-aircraft (AA) teams are the only thing standing in the way.

Attack drones such as Shahed drones are pre-programmed with a route and target in mind. Prior to the drone launch, someone in Russia chooses a target they deem a priority.

Illya, a volunteer soldier of the Phoenix unit, callsign “Artist,” sees the pattern:

“Potentially, the target is something that they think is very important, but normally, they just hit civilians for some reason. Maybe that's the goal; in fact, I'm pretty sure it is."

A war of drones, they say

Russian tactics are evolving as fast as Ukraine’s defenses. “The enemy is not dumb; he's adjusting as well as we are to modern combat,” the Artist says. Russians now fly higher routes beyond gun ranges and deploy dummy drones—unarmed decoys that mimic real threats to distract AA teams, while armed drones threaten anyone who goes after them.

Furthermore, as soon as the Russian recon drone spots the AA team, an artillery strike may follow. "Currently, it is quite difficult to work from the ground."

“Who could have imagined that some bird [drone] would become one of the main offensive weapons five years ago?” asks Commander “Makhno,” a veteran of the 2014 Donetsk airport battle. When I interviewed him five months ago, he sat on a stationary ZU-23-3 autocannon, as part of an AA battery of the 113th Territorial Defense Brigade. That gun is now mobile.

This position? Home to the next evolution in anti-aircraft warfare—FPV interceptor drones.

First Sergeant Yuriy, callsign “Fly,” watched drone warfare evolve firsthand.

• In early 2022, using drones was unprecedented.
• By mid-2022, it was standard—Fly flew a commercial Mavic 3 for scouting missions.
• Since then, drones have spread across every sector of warfare: FPV strikes, logistics runs, even ground-based operations.
• Anti-aircraft interceptor drones only emerged in mid-2024 and became scalable in early 2025.

Where does it go next? Fly predicts that by 2026, we'll see full drone-on-drone air warfare.

But the system has growing pains. The 113th is still experimenting with ways to cut costs and improve operations. If an interceptor misses its target, the pilot must return it to base so someone can manually disarm the explosive charge.

If it hits? They need to buy a replacement drone. Each interception burns through equipment one way or another.

A Truck, a Docent, and an Artist walk into a bunker

An interceptor drone team runs on three roles: pilot, navigator, and sapper. The Phoenix soldiers training here today—Truck, Docent, and Artist—are cross-training across all three positions, giving me a complete view of how the system works.

Sapper

Truck is learning the sapper role. He assembles the interceptor step-by-step: wires zip-tied to a ten-inch carbon fiber drone, four propellers tightened onto motors, a large capacity battery velcroed into position.

Finally, the explosive charge mounts to the underside, its detachable detonator dangling loose. Truck and his trainer Snake carry the drone to a launch point away from the bunker and wait for the command to arm it.

When command gives the order, Truck attaches the battery, confirms connection to the bunker, and arms the charge by inserting the detonator.

But the sapper’s job does not end there. Truck also operates the directional antenna on top of the bunker—critical for maintaining the drone’s connection. The signal projects in a narrow beam, and the farther the drone flies, the more precise Truck’s aim must be.

He relies on constant radio updates from the navigator below, adjusting the antenna based on compass directions alone.

Navigator

First Sergeant Fly trains Docent on the navigator role.

Three screens sit in front of them: a live map tracking all aerial targets above a certain altitude, a Ukrainian radar feed, and a zoomed-in satellite map. All are required to accurately guide the pilot sitting right next to him.

The radar feed catches launches from Russian soil and tracks their general position as they enter Ukrainian airspace. The aerial target map displays airspeed, altitude, and signal emissions—helping identify the drone model.

The satellite map guides the intercept itself The FPV interceptor carries a swivel camera that can instantly point groundward.

Docent must match the landscape from the satellite image to what the drone’s camera sees, navigating purely by visual landmarks. A complicated task given that he must also relay the compass direction to the sapper above, so he could maintain a connection with the drone.

Pilot

The pilot’s job seems simpler—until the dogfight starts. When Ukrainian and Russian drones meet in the air, the pilot must pull off precise maneuvers with highly finicky drones. Marauder, the unit’s main pilot, moved from infantry to drone operations after combat injuries. The navigator guides him to the target area, but Marauder makes the final visual contact.

Finding the speck is just the start. Marauder learned FPV flying by striking virtual ground targets—and those same precision skills translate to hunting drones.

"It is vital to actually learn to work as you are hitting ground units because all these micrometrics in maneuvering, slowing down, and making a perfect angle to attack—that's what makes a successful interception."

Marauder trains Artist on the pilot role—the most demanding session I witness. The physical work is easier than handling explosives or juggling three screens, but mastering the precision flying takes far longer. FPV drones crash easily. The controls are unintuitive. And for a volunteer unit funding most of its own equipment, every crashed training drone is money lost.

So they start with video games. Artist boots up Liftoff, an FPV flight simulator from LuGus Studios. The program's realistic physics engine lets pilots practice the tiny adjustments—speed changes, approach angles, attack runs—without destroying real equipment. Ukrainian armed forces units have widely adopted it for drone training.

War games

What does an actual intercept look like? Ukrainian radar tracks the Russian drone from launch. The team gathers around their monitors as the sapper carries the interceptor to a launch point far away from the bunker.

He connects the battery, arms the explosive, and moves to the directional antenna. The navigator radios command for clearance. Approved. The pilot fires up the drone—FPV propellers whirring to life.

The interceptor could climb over 2,000 meters, but the pilot keeps it low. The navigator needs to match ground features on screen to the satellite map, guiding the drone toward the target zone. Approaching the intercept area, the pilot scans his screen repeatedly, hunting for a tiny speck against the open sky.

Visual contact. Now it becomes a dance between two pilots. Russian reconnaissance drones often don’t notice the small Ukrainian interceptor approaching—but not always. Marauder says Zala reconnaissance drones now carry rearview cameras to spot pursuers. During the chase, the navigator coordinates with the sapper topside, calling out quick antenna adjustments to keep the signal strong while the pilot maneuvers unimpeded by signal lag.

When the pilot closes in, he flicks a switch on the controller. Boom. Detonation. Artist jokes they’ll start marking their controllers the way pilots mark their fuselages—one kill at a time.

This is just the beginning

"That's the reality; welcome to it. Right now, potentially, anyone can be a lethal weapon with a drone, right? That's drone warfare, unfortunately,” Artist says.

The technology has opened new paths for wounded soldiers. Marauder, Fly, and Snake can no longer fight as infantry—but they can hunt Russian drones from below. Interceptor drones won’t replace gun batteries.

“A bullet is a bullet,” Fly says. But the interceptors save lives, stretch manpower, and force Russia into a calculation: spend more money sending drones, or accept surveillance gaps.

Cross-training between gun crews and drone operators creates another advantage. "It gives you perspective," Artist says. "You learn how the different systems operate."

The advantage is practical: understanding both gun operations and drone piloting means you can predict what the other side will do. Drone pilots who've worked gun crews know the evasion tactics. Gun crews who've flown drones know where pilots are vulnerable.

The two systems complement each other, Fly says. Gun teams can't operate during daylight when Russian reconnaissance drones patrol overhead. Interceptor drones struggle at night when spotting targets becomes nearly impossible. Together, they cover the gaps—protecting both military positions and the civilians Russia increasingly targets.

This is just the beginning for interceptor drones. The 113th and Phoenix innovators are already experimenting with improvements—better range, faster interception, lower costs. Now it's a race to scale the technology before Russia adapts—because every drone they down is a missile strike that never happens.

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Ukraine’s Navy doesn’t exist—except it kind of does, and it’s brilliant

Russian officials are escalating nuclear threats toward the United States while President Vladimir Putin touts new nuclear systems. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that a senior Russian lawmaker suggested Moscow could deploy nuclear-capable missiles to Venezuela and Cuba, invoking Cold War fears just as Putin unveils new underwater and airborne nuclear weapons.

Russia threatens to send nukes to Latin America

On 29 October, Russian State Duma Defense Committee Deputy Chairperson Alexei Zhuravlyov said Moscow could deliver nuclear-capable missiles to “Venezuela or Cuba,” emphasizing their proximity to what he called Russia’s “main geopolitical adversary” — the United States. Zhuravlyov declared that the US is “not a friend or partner” but an “enemy.”

Putin boasts of new nuclear weapons 

Putin announced on 29 October that Russia tested its Poseidon nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle a day earlier. 

"Putin is detailing the alleged attributes of the weapons to add weight and urgency to his nuclear threats to enact concessions from the United States on Ukraine," ISW wrote.

The timing of Putin’s remarks directly followed US President Donald Trump’s 27 October call for the Kremlin to focus on ending the war in Ukraine instead of testing missiles. Putin’s announcements appear aimed at demonstrating defiance and projecting strength. According to ISW, the Russian leader is using nuclear rhetoric to force concessions from Trump and European governments "that his army cannot achieve on the battlefield."

Belarus to deploy Oreshnik missile system

Russia is also using Belarus to threaten Europe. Belarusian Presidential Press Secretary Natalya Eismont told Kremlin newswire TASS on 28 October that the Oreshnik missile system will go on combat duty in December 2025. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the move was a response to what he called “Russophobic statements” and “militaristic hysteria” from Europe.

Peskov pointed to officials in the Baltics, Poland, France, and the United Kingdom as justification for the deployment, calling the system “dear” to both Belarus and Russia. Putin had previously announced that Russian and Belarusian specialists would decide on new deployment sites for Oreshnik by the end of 2025.

"Russia is leveraging the Oreshnik system as part of a reflexive control campaign aimed at undermining Western resolve to militarily support Ukraine," ISW wrote.