Russian media claims that Ukraine's strikes on civilian infrastructure in the temporarily occupied territories are "another information manipulation," Ukraine's General Staff said. Ukraine targets only military infrastructure and objects used for military purposes in compliance with international humanitarian law, the command said.
On the night of 22 May, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck a series of Russian military targets, including the headquarters of an elite Russian "Rubicon" drone unit in temporarily occupied Starobilsk in Luhansk Oblast. Among other facilities are an oil refinery, ammunition depots, air defense systems, command posts, and personnel concentration areas.
Ukraine strikes elite killers
Pokrovsk defense was like “holiday” for Ukrainian forces before they arrived and turned Ukrainian strongholds into kill zones
The Russian unit Ukraine says it struck was created by Defense Minister Andrey Belousov in August 2024 to specialize in the drone warfare techniques that have included documented attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure as part of its operational role.
The information-warfare claim and the kinetic claim sit together: Russian media accuse Ukraine of conduct in the same direction as the documented conduct of the very Russian unit Ukraine targeted in the same overnight window.
What the General Staff said
The Russian Federation, the General Staff said, is conducting an information campaign that misrepresents the targets of Ukrainian strikes on occupied territories. The Armed Forces of Ukraine "strike exclusively military infrastructure and objects used for military purposes, in compliance with the norms of international humanitarian law."
A documented pattern of Ukrainian strikes on Rubicon facilities
Today's Starobilsk claim adds to a documented pattern.
Ukrainian FP-2 drone carrying 105kg warhead eliminates Rubikon officers in occupied Avdiivka
In November 2025, a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian base in occupied Avdiivka destroyed a Rubicon headquarters, according to Ukrainian Defense Intelligence.
Ukrainian rocket and artillery forces have also destroyed Rubicon control points and ammunition depots in occupied Donetsk Oblast in separate strikes documented by Ukrainian defense outlets. Ukrainian commanders deployed against Rubicon units in occupied territory have described the operational pressure the formation exerts as significant: the unit's deployment north of Kharkiv last fall, with the stated mission of cutting Ukrainian logistics supply routes, was "really painful for us" initially, a Ukrainian soldier identified as Rybka told the outlet UNITED24 in October 2025.
