Russ Leverenz

🔥Russians are panicking over Ukraine’s new refinery strike tactics. Drones reportedly switch targets mid-flight, and Trump can no longer simply pull the plug. The Russian Telegram channel *Дневник Разведчика* (Intelligence Officer’s Diary, 147,800 subscribers) describes a major shift in Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign following the strikes on Kstovo, Samara and Yaroslavl. Previously, Ukrainian drones were sent toward predetermined targets. If the first drones successfully hit a refinery unit, the rest continued toward the same target. Now, according to the Russian channel, Ukrainian operators can monitor strikes in real time and redirect incoming drones while they are still in flight. Once a primary distillation unit is hit, subsequent drones can be redirected toward storage tanks, cracking units, electrical substations or other critical equipment. Instead of concentrating an entire wave on one target, Ukraine can distribute the damage across multiple parts of the refinery. The Russians are describing something far more dangerous for their oil industry than simply larger drone attacks: the ability to adapt an entire strike while it is happening. The channel attributes this capability to Israeli HiSKY SmartLight satellite communications terminals, which it says Ukraine is using as an alternative to Starlink. It claims the terminals allow two-way communication over Russian territory, making it possible to adjust flight paths, identify air-defence positions and redirect drones around interception zones. And then comes the most revealing part. The Russian channel argues that American restrictions on Starlink have backfired spectacularly. Its conclusion: "Trump has simply lost his leverage over Kyiv’s long-range strikes." And: "Ukraine has slipped off the American leash and found a commercial alternative that the White House cannot switch off with a phone call." That is coming from a Russian military channel, not Ukrainian propaganda. Moscow is now discussing a scenario in which Ukraine can strike multiple critical refinery units in a single operation, adapt to Russian air defences in real time and continue its campaign without depending on American-controlled communications. Putin has been trying to get Trump to restrain Ukraine’s refinery strikes. Now Russian military commentators are warning that even American pressure may no longer be enough. The irony is extraordinary. Washington reportedly tried to limit Ukraine’s options. The Russians are now complaining that Ukraine has found a way around those limits. The HiSKY deployment, electronic-warfare resistance and real-time retargeting capabilities are claims made by the Russian channel, not independently established technical facts. The attribution in the draft matters, especially for the claims about Trump’s leverage.