F-16s launch low-altitude surprise strikes against Russia; the 'Ukrainian ATACMS' emerges out of nowhere

In a recent exclusive interview with Western media, President Zelenskyy revealed a shocking piece of intelligence: In early September, Putin directly issued the highest-level order to Russian military command—'There are no rules left!' This means Putin has completely lifted all prior restrictions on aerial bombardment operations. Russian forces have now turned their firepower toward any and all civilian infrastructure. On the evening of October 1, Russia launched a new large-scale air raid against Ukraine! Within a single night, it fired over 100 attack drones—including nearly 50 high-speed jet-powered models! Although Ukrainian air defense forces engaged aggressively and destroyed the vast majority of targets, some drones still penetrated the air defense network, causing casualties and infrastructure damage. Notably, Shahed drones struck the South Bridge—the critical crossing linking both banks of the Dnipro River—multiple times directly, at different times from evening to dawn. A dashcam happened to capture the moment the bridge was hit in the evening. On the morning of October 2, a residential high-rise building in Kyiv was struck by a missile, killing one person; a school was also attacked. Fortunately, more than 100 students and over 60 teachers had already taken shelter in a bomb shelter at the time. Zelenskyy exposed one of Putin’s key objectives behind the relentless bombing of Kyiv. War operates on reciprocity: if you strike us, we strike back. Ukraine swiftly retaliated with an air strike against Russia. On October 3, Zelenskyy stated: 'Within the past 24 hours, our long-range strikes effectively hit targets serving the aggressor’s war machine—reaching the Samara region and striking Iskander missile system positions operating in the Bryansk region. New achievements have also emerged in the Black Sea.' The Samara region Zelenskyy referenced is home to one of Russia’s largest—and Europe’s largest—petroleum storage facilities: the Samara Oil Pumping Station. Spanning over 216 hectares, it houses 71 massive oil storage tanks with a total capacity exceeding 1.6 million cubic meters! It also serves as the junction point for four of Russia’s major oil pipelines. After Ukrainian drones precisely struck the Samara pumping station, a catastrophic fire erupted, igniting eight giant storage tanks simultaneously, with a fire area exceeding 15,000 square meters. Russia’s petroleum exports and military fuel supply chain suffered devastating damage. Within the past week alone, Ukraine’s long-range drone forces have delivered crippling blows to three critical energy facilities deep inside Russia: besides the Samara Oil Pumping Station, these include the Volgograd Refinery—which specifically supplies high-octane fuel to frontline Russian military vehicles—and the Samara Petrochemical Plant, a core facility producing explosives precursors for the Russian military. Putin originally launched the war with the stated aim of 'demilitarizing Ukraine.' Yet, four and a half years later, Ukraine has not only avoided demilitarization but transformed itself into Europe’s—and arguably the world’s—most powerful military technology innovation hub. According to official data released by Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense: since the start of this year, the ministry has approved 1,678 new types of weapons and equipment for service, of which 1,530 were entirely domestically manufactured. In 2022—the year the Russia-Ukraine war began—that number stood at just 60. The share of domestically produced Ukrainian weapons surged from 54.5% to 91.2%; another figure is even more staggering: Ukraine now produces more large-caliber artillery shells than the combined output of all 32 NATO countries; furthermore, Ukraine has become the world’s largest producer of FPV drones, a pioneer in combat unmanned surface vessels, and the inventor of intercepting drones.

Nine heavy bombs strike a Ukrainian school! Kyiv erupts in controversy over a 'secret prison' incident; Budanov is sprayed with pepper spray

In the early hours of November 2 local time, Ukrainian drones struck the Samara-based Oil Pipeline Production and Dispatch Station (LPDS) operated by Russia’s Transneft company. Satellite imagery, photographs, and videos have confirmed this attack. The Samara LPDS is one of Russia’s most vital industrial hubs—and also hosts one of Europe’s largest oil tank farms: its 71 storage tanks hold over 1.6 million cubic meters of oil collectively, handling receipt, blending, and pipeline transportation of various grades of crude oil. This LPDS has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian forces; in October alone, it sustained at least three separate attacks. The latest Russian energy infrastructure struck is the Yaroslavl Refinery. Earlier, following the resumption of Ukrainian strikes, three Russian refineries were sequentially attacked. An open-source intelligence organization claimed that the combined production capacity of these three refineries accounts for 10% of Russia’s total refining capacity. Regarding Ukraine’s renewed campaign targeting Russian energy infrastructure—particularly Russian refineries—there has been no visible response from the Trump administration to date: no anticipated anger or pressure. Perhaps Trump is preoccupied with the midterm elections. A senior U.S. official told Ukrainian media: 'Washington’s reaction to Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil infrastructure is essentially a shrug—and the CIA continues providing intelligence supporting these operations.' Previously, after Trump announced easing of sanctions on Russia—including permitting Russian diesel exports to the U.S. and globally—as well as restricting missile-warning intelligence sharing and Starlink access with Ukraine, The Atlantic reported: 'Despite Trump’s exhaustive efforts to curry favor with the Kremlin, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency continues to support Ukraine.' It is reported that John Ratcliffe-led CIA persists in supplying Ukraine with intelligence for striking Russian targets—and shares real-time information on approaching Russian missiles and drones. 'The CIA is acting contrary to Trump’s stance.' Representatives from European intelligence agencies noted that the CIA’s operations against Russia have 'become more active.' Under Trump’s leadership, this U.S. administration is broadly pro-Russian—even unprecedentedly so—but even so, certain institutions have not overlooked the fact that Russia remains one of America’s foremost potential strategic adversaries. For instance, the CIA: for most of the past half-century, Russians have been the CIA’s primary adversary. On the morning of November 2 local time, a school in Komishuvakha, Zaporizhzhia Oblast—used both as a civilian shelter and a humanitarian aid distribution point—was subjected to a large-scale Russian air raid. According to the Ukrainian government, after the first wave of bombing, Russian forces dropped nine modified FAB-3000 heavy glide-guided bombs on the school. At the time of the attack, civilians were receiving humanitarian aid there. As of this writing, according to data released by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, this war crime targeting civilians has claimed 26 lives—including two rescue workers and four police officers—with five others injured, among them two rescue workers. Search-and-rescue operations remain ongoing, though they face extremely difficult conditions.

Ukraine Says It Hit Oil-Pumping Station in Russia’s Samara

21 hours ago

Ukraine claimed a drone strike on a major crude-pipeline hub in Russia’s Samara region, damaging storage tanks with over 1.6 million cubic meters capacity. The attack aims to curb Russia’s war financing by targeting its oil infrastructure.

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Ukraine Says It Hit Oil-Pumping Station in Russia’s Samara

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