A top-secret drone unit within Ukraine’s covert operations intelligence directorate, dubbed “ghost,” is systematically dismantling Russia’s ability to defend its military and industry.
Ukraine’s elite “ghost” unit has destroyed two major Russian radar stations and a launch pad for Moscow’s anti-aircraft missile system in eastern Donbas, the Mirror can reveal. The covert spy drone team, nicknamed “ghost” because Russia never sees them, infiltrated behind enemy lines and targeted two low-altitude Podlet radars and a 9A82 missile launcher, in an attempt to slow Russian advances in the region.
The destruction of the air defense system will also open opportunities for Ukraine to launch more devastating attacks against Russia’s industrial and energy complexes. A Russian truck carrying troops was also destroyed in a drone strike called by special forces units trying to divert Moscow’s troops from their attacks on the front.
Ukrainian intelligence agencies have called the destruction of the troop transport an “advantage” as it was only seen when they launched the drone attack on the weapons sites. It comes as hundreds of Russian troops are believed to have entered the besieged eastern city of Pokrovsk and as kyiv criticizes claims that its troops are “surrounded” as “lies”.
If invaded, the city could serve as a hub for Russia to make deeper inroads into Ukraine as Putin insists on pushing the assault amid U.S. calls for a peace deal. At least 200 Russian soldiers are inside the city as fierce fighting rages and sabotage teams from Moscow are believed to have infiltrated the community.
It comes as a wide-ranging UN report says Russian drone teams are pursuing civilians in a bid to force them from their homes in the east. The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine (HUR) of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense confirmed that its special operations unit Prymary (“Phantoms”) launched the attack.
The exact location of the latest attack by the “ghost” unit has not been revealed, but it took place in the occupied Donbas region. The destroyed anti-aircraft system, called S-300V, is a long-range anti-ballistic and surface-to-air missile system that protects military and industrial sites from aircraft, missiles and drones.
In recent months, Ukraine has prioritized dismantling Russia’s air and ground defense missile systems in a bid to effectively attack Moscow’s industrial base. Ukraine’s long-range attacks on refineries inside Russia have reduced Moscow’s oil refining capacity by 20%, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday.
According to Zelenskyy, more than 90% of these deep attacks on Russian soil were carried out with Ukrainian-made long-range weapons. He said Ukraine needs additional foreign financial help to produce more, adding: “We just have to work on this every day.”
Oil exports play a key role in financing Russia’s invasion of its neighbor Ukraine. While Ukrainian weapons are aimed at refineries, new sanctions from the United States and the European Union aim to reduce Moscow’s oil and gas export revenues. Despite renewed peace efforts led by the United States, the war shows no signs of ending after nearly four years.
With the Kremlin showing no willingness to compromise, US President Donald Trump raised the stakes by announcing sanctions against Russian oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil last week. Those sanctions will go into effect on November 21, and Zelenskyy says Trump will “probably use this as a tool of pressure or dialogue with the Russians.”
China and India are the largest customers of Russian oil. Zelenskyy said India “has definitely given every signal that it will reduce imports of energy resources” from Russia. He said he is hopeful that Trump’s planned meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in South Korea on Thursday will bring further reductions in Russian crude purchases.
A source told the Daily Mirror: “Targeting Russia’s energy economy is at the heart of Ukraine’s military thinking – trying to dismantle Putin’s ability to pay for this war and it is very effective. Targeting Putin’s energy export capacity will seriously erode his reserve and his ability to fuel the military machine is weakening.”
“Western allies are imposing sanctions that are hitting Russia’s war economy, but Ukraine is doing more than its bit to hit Putin’s finances and logistics.” Over the past month, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence and armed forces destroyed a number of high-value Russian radar and missile systems in occupied regions and inside Russia. Recently, Ukrainian “ghosts” destroyed three Crimean radar stations.
The unit’s drones destroyed two more radars in southern Ukraine in their attempt to attack Russia’s ability to defend ground military positions. They have celebrated increasing successes against Russian infrastructure in recent weeks.
