Russo-Ukrainian war, day 1312: Ukraine’s drone wall inflicts devastating 20:1 casualty rate

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Russia's last 1,000 tanks are 50 years old—but Ukraine should still worry. In a war where drones rule and tanks function as glorified artillery pieces, 50-year-old steel kills just as effectively as billion-dollar armor.

Russia made supporting Ukraine toxic to Moldovan voters—now Putin may get his new Belarus. Moldova's Sunday election will decide whether Putin gets his next Belarus—a new platform for destabilizing NATO's border just as Ukraine fights for its survival.

From outsourcing to powerhouse: Ukraine's tech bets big amid war. U-Nation is turning wartime grit into tomorrow's innovation.

Putin is not the disease — he's a symptom: Hoping Putin's death will bring peace is irresponsible, Ukrainian diplomat says. Ukraine's deputy FM Serhii Kyslytsia says Putinism is so entrenched in Russia that removing the man won't fix the machine.

Military

Frontline report: Ukraine's drone wall defense inflicts devastating 20:1 Russian casualty rate in Pokrovsk offensive. The staggering toll means twenty Russian soldiers die for every single meter of territory gained, while some surviving Russians now use social media platforms to desperately warn potential recruits against joining what they call "not their war." Russia unleashes mobile squads for soldiers who suddenly decided not to kill Ukrainians, forcing them into death fights. Every soldier has a choice: join the slaughter in Ukraine or stay home. Frontline report: Ukrainian drones systematically dismantle Russian oil infrastructure in sustained campaign. Ukraine's long-range drone campaign has achieved phenomenal results, effectively dismantling a fifth of Russia's oil refining system through sustained attacks that have damaged or disabled over 21% of the country's total refining capacity in just two months. Crimean fuel shortages expose reach of Ukraine's refinery-targeting campaign. Half of Crimean gas stations have stopped fuel sales entirely as Russian-appointed officials struggle to manage cascading effects of Ukraine's oil infrastructure campaign.

Intelligence and technology

Traditional military defenses fail against new type of warfare waging on Europe in historic shift. Russian drone swarm tactics have exposed a fundamental gap in global military capabilities, with no clear protection yet against these revolutionary warfare methods. Zelenskyy says he knows exact target of Hungarian spy drones in Ukraine. Hungary's drone surveillance of Ukrainian industrial facilities follows the 2025 discovery of a Hungarian military intelligence network in Zakarpattia. Mysterious drones disrupt flights at Lithuania airport, fly near Swedish naval base and Finnish power plant amid escalating Europe airspace violations. The incidents follow a series of Russian military aircraft violations across Europe since the early September, including MiG-31 fighters entering Estonian airspace and drones crossing into Polish territory during Moscow's attacks on Ukraine.

International

Paralympics restores Russia and Belarus full membership rights suspended since 2022 invasion. International Paralympic Committee voted decisively against maintaining any restrictions on Russian and Belarusian Paralympic teams, marking a significant setback for Kyiv's campaign to isolate Moscow through international sports.

Humanitarian and social impact

Russia forces Europe's largest nuclear plant into unprecedented 3-day blackout as safety fears mount. Emergency diesel generators are keeping cooling systems running at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after its last external power line was cut, with experts warning the record outage heightens the risk of a nuclear accident. If there are blackouts in Kyiv, there will be blackouts in Moscow, Zelenskyy suggests. Zelenskyy warned that Moscow should not underestimate Ukraine's response to attacks on civilian infrastructure, saying blackouts in Ukrainian cities could be met with similar measures in Russian cities. Russia stages prisoner inspections by concealing tortured Ukrainian POWs, OSCE experts reveal. The independent expert mission concluded that Russian authorities deliberately hide evidence of torture by showing international monitors only prisoners in relatively good physical condition, while over 90% of returning POWs report abuse in captivity. Russia targets energy and railway infrastructure in frontline regions leaving thousands civilians without electricity and delaying trains. Russian drone strikes on 27 September also hit residential areas and shops. One woman was injured in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Read our earlier daily review here.