Ukrainian drones carried out an attack on a Russian S-400 air defense missile battery near Belgorod, according to the Telegraph. This is at least the third attack on S-400 batteries since August. The outcome of the attack is uncertain. In August and September, two S-400 units in Crimea were destroyed.
In a tragic incident, a missile strike by Russia resulted in the death of at least 49 people attending a memorial service in the village of Hroza, near Kharkiv.
Russian naval units have withdrawn from Sevastopol. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) described this withdrawal as an effort by the Russian military to protect their assets in occupied Crimea from further Ukrainian strikes. Satellite imagery shows that multiple Black Sea Fleet vessels were transferred from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk. The Admiral Makarov, Admiral Essen frigates, three diesel submarines, five landing ships, and several small missile ships were among the vessels moved. A Project 22160 patrol ship was also spotted in the port of Feodosia, suggesting a possible shift of BSF elements away from Sevastopol towards Russian bases.
The Russian port of Novorossiysk has seen the displacement of three submarines, two frigates, and one patrol craft from Sevastopol, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Smaller vessels are being relocated to other Crimean ports. This move is seen as a setback for Russia.
Reports suggest that the ships may ultimately be headed to Abkhazia. Aslan Bzhania, the self-styled president of Russian-backed Abkhazia, announced that an agreement had been reached with the Kremlin to establish a permanent base for the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district. Abkhazia is a Georgian province that Russia detached during a five-day war in 2008 and recognized as an independent state, although this status is largely unrecognized internationally.
To compensate for the withdrawal from Sevastopol, Russia is reportedly considering mining Ukrainian grain ports to disrupt food shipments instead of destroying warships, according to the Guardian.
Russia has been conducting civil defense exercises across the country, which are part of a long-standing tradition. These exercises are based on a scenario of large-scale international armed conflict and have been held annually since 2012. There is no indication that Russia has significantly changed its level of preparedness in recent months.
The ISW also reported what they referred to as an intensification of “digital authoritarianism.” The Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has requested that VKontakte, a social media platform, block posts from relatives of mobilized servicemen calling for their return home. Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has proposed expanding its authority over personal and geolocation data, following earlier proposals to gain complete access to user data from Russian internet, banking, and telecom companies. Russia is reportedly taking inspiration from China in developing a social rating system for Russians.
KillNet affiliate Anonymous Sudan, a Russian hacktivist group, recently carried out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on streaming services. The group targeted Netflix and Hulu, disrupting their services. Anonymous Sudan has previously targeted sites they consider immoral and has used various excuses to legitimize their attacks on Western and European countries.
Efforts to improve cyber resilience and strengthen defenses against Russian cyberattacks have been made. The State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection (SSSCIP) of Ukraine has described how corporations, including Akamai, have contributed to Ukrainian cyber defenses. Though Russian cyberespionage continues to target various sectors, including media and energy, improved resilience has resulted in a reduction in the impact of these attacks.
Deputy Chairman of SSSCIP, Viktor Zhora, praised the collaboration with companies like Akamai in building reliable solutions to protect critical web resources of the Ukrainian government. Improved cloud solutions have helped deal with the increasing volume of cyber threats experienced during the ongoing conflict.