Ukrainian partisans say they "completely destroyed" a Russian communication station vehicle during a sabotage attack on a military airbase in Rostov-on-Don, according to the Ukrainian partisan movement Atesh. The group posted a video showing fuel burning under the cabin of a Kamaz-based relay truck and stated it was part of their latest operation against Russian military infrastructure. Southern Russia's Rostov Oblast is adjacent to the occupied eastern Ukraine, and Russian aircraft operating near the frontline are often launched from this region. 

Atesh claims deep-rear strike on Russian airbase

Atesh reported that its agents infiltrated the 229th aviation base in Rostov-on-Don and set fire to a vehicle equipped with the R-417 Baget radio relay station. The base belongs to the 4th Air and Air Defense Army of Russia’s Southern Military District. The group said the equipment was destroyed in the operation.

Atesh described the targeted vehicle as a “critically important" node of communication and command.

A short video posted by Atesh shows flames under the Kamaz truck, with what appears to be a pool of burning fuel under the cabin. A plastic bottle is visible on the ground near the fire. The group did not specify the time of the operation and didn't show the consequences of the attack.

The group wrote in its Telegram post:

“Our agents carried out a successful operation at an enemy military airfield in Rostov-on-Don, part of the 229th Aviation Base of the 4th Air and Air Defense Army of the Southern Military District. The antenna vehicle of the R-417 “Baget” radio relay communication station, mounted on a KamAZ-4310 chassis, was completely destroyed.”

According to Atesh, this vehicle was a critical communication and command node, "providing coordination of aviation operations and data transmission between military units within the Southern Military District. Its destruction dealt a serious blow to the enemy’s ability to manage flights in real time, coordinate bomber missions, and ensure the airfield’s security."

In its latest disinformation effort, the Kremlin launched a staged narrative claiming Russian forces had seized a strategic bridgehead in Kherson Oblast. But geolocated footage published by Ukrainian troops shows otherwise. Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports the operation is part of Moscow’s broader cognitive warfare campaign aimed at making Ukraine submit and discouraging Western support by convincing the US and EU that a Russian victory is inevitable.

Russia stages false bridgehead in Kherson

Russian-installed Kherson occupation head Vladimir Saldo published footage on 22 October showing a Russian soldier raising a flag on Karantynnyi Island in the 5th Selyshche Microraion in southwestern Kherson City. Saldo claimed Russian reconnaissance and airborne units had crossed the Dnipro River, repelled Ukrainian counterattacks, secured a bridgehead, mined access routes, and begun organizing logistics for a sustained presence.

Some Russian milbloggers echoed Saldo’s narrative, crediting drone operators of the 31st VDV Brigade with establishing air superiority and artillery units of the 18th Combined Arms Army with striking Ukrainian targets on the island and nearby bridges. One milblogger also alleged Russian sabotage groups were preparing to hunt Ukrainian forces in the Korabelnyi Microraion on the northeastern part of the island.

Ukrainian forces bust Russian claims

On 23 October, a Ukrainian brigade released a geolocated video showing its troops moving freely through Ostriv Microraion—part of Karantynnyi Island—directly contradicting Russian claims of an active military presence. The brigade stated that Karantynnyi Island, as well as the areas of Antonivka and Sadove east of Kherson City, remain “silent,” with no sign of Russian forces on the west bank of the Dnipro River.

A Russian milblogger focused on the Kherson front had claimed Russian troops had pushed Ukrainian forces out of Sadove and conducted sabotage near Antonivka. ISW assessed that no available evidence supports these assertions.

"The Kremlin is attempting to falsely portray Russian forces as having established a bridgehead in west (right) bank Kherson Oblast – a new Russian cognitive warfare effort against Ukraine and its partners," ISW wrote, adding: "Available evidence continues to indicate that Russian forces have not established a bridgehead or begun an offensive in west bank Kherson Oblast."

According to ISW, this information operation fits within a larger pattern: the Kremlin wants to project inevitability of victory to the European Union, the US, and Ukraine itself, encouraging submission to Moscow’s demands and eroding foreign support for Ukraine. ISW notes this narrative undermines Russia’s own occasional signals of willingness to negotiate territorial matters in southern Ukraine.

"ISW continues to assess that this Russian cognitive warfare effort is incompatible with any claim that Russia is willing to make territorial concessions in southern Ukraine," the think tank concluded.

Update: Russian propaganda outlet retracts its report on the island capture that never happened