The Under Reported War Issue 35
Relentless attacks on Russian oil / Leak warns of Russian banking collapse / Middle Zone havoc / Nuclear reactor parts disguised as “manhole covers” / Russia lays traps for air defence crews
Welcome to a weekly roundup of news from the war in Ukraine that I came across in the last week, but you probably did not hear about. All reports are linked to their sources so you can read the original if you’d like to. If you have any questions, detect errors and omissions, or need more detail, just let me know.
By the way, today is Day 1,551 of Putin’s 3-Day Special Military Operation.
Here are some of the things you probably did not hear about for the week covering Sunday 17th to Saturday 23rd May 2026:
HEADLINES THAT NEVER WERE
(BUT SHOULD HAVE BEEN)
RELENTLESS UKRAINE ATTACKS RUSSIA DAY AND NIGHT
Increasingly, the Western media has picked up on Ukraine’s strategic campaign against Russian oil industry and weapons manufacture. However, it continues to play down the sheer scale of these attacks.
In comparison, Russia’s drone and missile attacks get frequent coverage. Because of navigation spoofing by the Lima Line, their accuracy has dropped significantly and so mostly inflict indiscriminate damage.
So why the disparity? Could it be that Western reporters live in cities that endure this haphazard bombing? That this is the war they experience and matters most to them?
Perish the thought. But welcome to the Under-Reported War anyway.
Unmanned Systems Forces Strike 46 Russian Targets in 48-Hour Drone Blitz
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“Major Robert “Madyar” Brovdi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, announced that his specialized drone units successfully struck 46 strategic Russian military targets over the consecutive nights of May 16 and 17. Executing a total of 186 precision impacts, the multi-vector air campaign hit high-value assets across occupied Ukrainian territories and deep inside mainland Russia.”
UKRAINIAN DRONES WIN NATO EXERCISE (AGAIN)
A year ago, a small team of Ukrainian FPV (First Person View) drone pilots trounced a joint Estonian-British mechanised force in a NATO exercise. The same thing happened this year with Swedish troops in a similar NATO exercise.
Ukrainian Drone Teams ‘Demolish’ NATO Troops in Swedish Exercise
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“Ukrainian drone teams flying as OPFOR “demolished” NATO units in Sweden’s Aurora 2026 exercise (Apr 27–May 13), repeatedly destroying large numbers of vehicles/troops and forcing training resets.
Ukrainian drone operators in the Hedgehog 2025 exercises in Estonia achieved the exact same result against British (1 Mercian) and Estonian forces. This was the second time Ukrainian pilots did this in NATO training.”
Militaries worldwide are institutionally conservative. Think of the resistance to the introduction of tanks by cavalry generals in World War One. The same attitudes persist today. A similar French Army exercise in March produced the same result, and the French pilots were using obsolete FPV drones that would be un-flyable in the dense soup of electronic jamming on the front in Ukraine.
French army combat exercise highlights drone warfare shortcomings
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“On the Ukrainian front, these systems are now obsolete given the saturation of the radio spectrum, the diversification of control modes and the use of wire-guided drones. However, the exercise saw no credible confrontation between sensors, jammers and operators simulated.”
I hope Ukrainian drone pilots continue to pound NATO troops until the lessons sink in. Regular readers will know that a lot of militaries are absorbing the lessons. It clearly takes time before those lessons convert into doctrine.
INTERNAL RUSSIAN REPORT WARNS OF BANKING COLLAPSE
For years, Western media has accepted Russian financial data at face value. This leaked report shows the danger of doing so.
Russia Faces Latent Banking Crisis as Bad Assets Breach Critical 10% Threshold
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“The Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine has highlighted a critical report from Moscow’s pro-Kremlin Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMACP) revealing that toxic and non-performing assets in the Russian banking sector have exceeded 10%.
Under International Monetary Fund (IMF) methodology, breaching this 10% threshold for three consecutive months marks the definitive boundary of a systemic banking crisis. Analysts note that the crisis remains latent because state-dominated banks are masking defaults through artificial loan restructuring.”
SINGLE ROBOT FOUGHT OFF INVADERS FOR SIX WEEKS
It happened last summer, but the story has only come out now. Similar feats will have been repeated many times since then. Note that the operator was safe and secure 10km away. When you hear about handfuls of Ukrainian soldiers manning large stretches of the frontline, this report one reason is why that is not as alarming as it sounds. The main reason is, of course, The Drone Wall.
A Ukrainian ground robot defended a position from Russian assault for six weeks
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“UGVs [Unmanned Ground Vehicles] are beginning to replace infantry on Ukraine’s front lines.”
A single remote-controlled Ukrainian ground combat vehicle defended a “key intersection under constant adversary attack” for 45 days last summer, according to a 3rd Army Corps spokesperson who called it “Ukraine’s first fully robotic defensive operation of a position.
The robot—a Droid TW 12.7 armed with a machine gun—and its operator, some 10 kilometers away, “disrupted every attempted breakthrough and prevented enemy infiltration,” with no loss of Ukrainian life, the spokesperson said in a recent interview.“
ARE ’SLAUGHTERBOTS’ TERRORISING RUSSIAN SOLDIERS?
Are Ukrainian FPV drones auto-guided with infrared, facial contour targeting? Some Russian milbloggers think so. As David Hambling warns in this Forbes story, the evidence of the surveillance video is not enough to generalise. Yet. But it will certainly happen
Russians Fear Ukraine ‘Slaughterbot’ Drones Are Head-Hunting Them
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“Russian military bloggers are warning of a new type of Ukrainian FPV drone with thermal imaging and AI which detects the target’s face and fires a high-velocity projectile at them…”
…Ukraine has begun using updated tactical FPV drones with combat AI, citing signs of auto-guidance on facial contours and a matching thermal trace loaded into the UAV’s onboard memory. “
Hambling goes on to describe how the video more likely showcases advanced drone pilot skills and specialised warhead design. Rocket-propelled grenade warheads have been used on FPV drones since the early days of the war. They fragment on impact. In this case, it looks like an advanced Explosively Formed Projectile (EPP) was used instead. An EPP is a shaped charge that focuses a slug of metal into a tight trajectory. It can hit targets tens of metres away. He writes:
“Drones with EFP warheads are an obvious countermeasure to netting, wire cages and other forms of protection including “turtle tanks” as the drone can attack from some distance and the slug will go right through such protection. However, this type of warhead needs to be aimed and detonated at the right moment which requires a higher level of operator skill.”
This Russian foot-slogger most likely came across a highly-skilled pilot flying a drone with a EPP warhead and he still needed to get a little lucky.
REPORTING THE UNDER-REPORTED WAR
It’s not solely that this war does not get the news coverage it deserves from western media, but that so often when it is reported upon, the reporting is wrong-headed, lacks context, or is unwittingly seeded with Russian information war talking points.
Obviously, the frontline is dangerous for reporters, very few venture forwards on the Ukrainian side but they can report freely if they do. When, as a few gullible reporters found out last year, the Russians permit the same kind of access, the end product is embarrassing. ‘Potemkin Village’ does not even begin to describe how Russia controls what reporters see.
There are ways of reporting this war fairly that are not being used. It’s perhaps too wonky to list them for non-reporters, but the main reason they are not tapped for material is that most nebulous of things: what is considered ‘newsworthy’ by news editors. The only way I can explain it is that something becomes newsworthy if other editors consider it so. This is a classic example of groupthink.
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RUSSIA, OIL, AND REPORTING
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Everyday, there new strikes on Russian oil refineries, depots, petrochemical plants, and oil pipeline hubs. They do, occasionally, get reported upon. But why only occasionally? It does not communicate the incessant strategic damage done to Russia. Considering there are usually videos of the subsequent blazes (exempt from copyright btw if in the public interest which they most certainly are), it is baffling that such powerful imagery is not repeated. Most days, we see the aftermath of attacks on Ukraine’s cities. Why doesn’t the campaign against Russian oil get the same treatment?
Last week, Reuters reported this:
Reuters: Ukrainian Strikes Halt Nearly All Central Russian Oil Refineries
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“According to the report, the refineries affected, either fully or partially, have a combined processing capacity of more than 83 million metric tons per year, or about 238,000 tons per day.
That accounts for roughly one-quarter of Russia’s total oil refining capacity. Together, these plants alone produce more than 30% of Russia’s gasoline and about 25% of its diesel fuel.”
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Ukraine has struck 24 of 33 major refineries since the invasion began
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“Only two major Russian refineries remain outside Ukrainian drone range - Omsk and Angarsk beyond the Urals, media reports. Ukraine has struck 24 of 33 major refineries since the invasion began, with Russia’s fourth-largest refinery shutting down after May 20 drone attacks.”
Hardly any of the major news outlets I check reported any of this.
Sigh… Once again, welcome to the Under-Reported War.
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STRAIGHT FROM THE ACTIVE MEASURES PLAYBOOK
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News editors appear to be in complete denial about Russian information warfare AKA ‘active measures’. Why? I get the impression they think they’re smart enough to spot it when it crosses their news desks. The evidence is that they are not. I have observed over the years that the Dunning-Kruger Effect runs rampant through the editorial profession. They think they know all about active measures, but they simply do not. Dunning-Kruger may be about to strike again.
Russia is preparing new campaign through 15+ Western “proxy outlets”
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“EU media monitors have documented one of the named outlets calling Ukraine “a puppet state founded and run by the CIA…”
…The campaign methods include developing fake documents purporting to come from Ukrainian state authorities and seeding them publicly, the creation of “puppet-symbols” for the campaign, and the recruitment of former Ukrainian officials, politicians, and experts.”
This is a classic info war method, used by Russia even back to in times of the Okhrana, the Czar’s secret police. The Russians are the most sophisticated users of active measures the world has ever seen. The way this ploy works is to seed something that smears your enemy inside obscure, little-read outlets. When unwary reporters further up the journalistic food chain hear of this story, they find multiple, lesser rivals have already published it. This weakens their skepticism. They publish it too. And bit by bit the lie becomes established as accepted wisdom. It is pure catnip for news editors who want the reassurance that everyone else believes it to be true too. You might think this unlikely, but it has worked time and again (see below).
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THEY CAN’T KILL HIM, SO THEY SMEAR HIM
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Ukraine Warns of New Kremlin Campaign Against Zelensky
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“Ukraine’s Foreign Intel Service said Russia is preparing a new disinformation campaign aimed at destabilizing Ukraine and undermining Western support for Kyiv. According to documents the agency obtained, the Kremlin plans to intensify narratives targeting Ukraine’s mobilization efforts, President Zelensky, and Presidential Office head Yermak, while expanding propaganda ops across Europe.”
Zelensky has problems, no doubt about it, including corruption in his inner circle but these are openly reported upon in Ukraine. In contrast, you are likely to see these themes introduced without balance in numerous opinion pieces and reporting outside Ukraine.
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ONE-SIDED REPORTING… YET AGAIN
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Last week, ‘The Economist’ recycled a Russian info war talking point. This week it was the turn of ‘BBC News’ to deliver a context-free report on the suffering of some of Ukraine’s infantrymen.
Inside the ‘kill-zone’ on Ukraine’s front line, where new weapons have transformed war
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“After 225 days stuck in a front-line foxhole, the Ukrainian infantryman’s muscles were so weak he could barely walk.”
What happened is a genuine problem and it is not the only time something like this has been reported this year. Yet, as regular readers will recognise, yet again this is a report that turns a blind eye to what is happening on the other side. Without that context, it is simply yet another example of bad under-reporting.
The missing context is that not only have drone attacks left small groups of Russian infantry isolated without supplies too, but that it happens far more often to them. In Ukraine this is a scandal which led to senior officers being dismissed. In the Russian army, the soldiers are simply left to die by their commanders.
There is not one mention that this is endemic on the Russian side. It is shameful if unwitting bias.
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WHAT BBC NEWS COULD HAVE REPORTED BUT DIDN’T
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Russian warblogger Lev Vershinin wonders how Russia has managed to revert to 18th century standards of brutal military discipline
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“How did it “become so savage in just one generation?”, he asks… The video shows a commander (almost certainly Russian, despite Vershinin’s disingenuous uncertainty in the post ) savagely beating several men. They have apparently retreated (”rolled back”) without authorisation from a mission or frontline position.”
There’s plenty of present-day open-source video of Russian NCOs and officers beating and torturing their soldiers.
NEWS FROM THE DRONE WALL
MARCH OF THE ROBOTS
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I tend to get over-excited about the use of UGVs and their transformational potential on the battlefield. The day Ukraine launches a combined robot and aerial drone offensive without human life being put in extreme risk is coming. I just do not know when. Last week, we were warned there are still practical problems to be overcome: for example, UGVs losing contact with their drivers when they enter dead ground.
This week, news emerges that Ukraine has a solution to that issue already. The Pliushch [Ivy] UGV is designed to at as a repeater station so that dead ground is eliminated. It also means UGV controllers are not exposed to Russian drones attack if an offensive is successful and they have to emerge from cover before their robots advance out of range.
Ukraine adds mast-equipped relay and recce robot to official arms inventory
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“Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense has codified the Robotic Complexes Pliushch UGV, a 1,000 kg platform with a 10-meter mast and 40 km range. The system supports communications relay, electronic warfare, and reconnaissance, and can operate autonomously for four days in ambush mode.”
Another point to consider is that each UGV needs a human driver. If you launch an offensive with 10,000 robots and drones, you also need 10,000 highly-trained operators. That is quite a challenge.
The Pliushch (Ivy) is now available to all units on Ukraine’s online internal marketplace.
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MORE ROBOT NEWS
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After proving themselves in the intense warfare of the Kursk operation, the Legit S1 and L1 UGVs have entered mass production.
Ground Robots Tested in Kursk Enter Mass Production in Ukraine
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“Ukraine has begun mass production of the “Legit” unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), which has already been deployed during operations in Russia’s Kursk region.
Due to their low production costs and high manufacturing volume, the loss of these machines on the front line is considered by Ukrainian military commanders and defense planners expendable”
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DRONE WAR TACTIC, DRONE WAR COUNTER-TACTIC
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Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov is a Ukrainian expert on drone communications and electronic warfare. When “Flash” warns of something, it is worth paying attention. Russia does. It tried to assassinate him recently when four Shahed drones destroyed his home.
How Russia Is Changing Lancet Drone Tactics on the Battlefield
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“Russian troops have started using Lancet loitering munitions while maintaining radio silence to maximize concealment during approach to targets.
This was reported by Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, adviser to Ukraine’s Minister of Defense on his Telegram channel. Russian updated tactics are designed to prevent Ukrainian signals intelligence units from detecting the threat in time…” The absence of a radio signal makes it impossible to quickly determine the UAV’s flight path before it begins its dive.
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OLD SCHOOL STORY OF THE WEEK
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Weeks late, but never mind; I only came across this recently.
Barrett M82 Rifle in Action: Ukrainian Sniper Burns Two IFVs in Ambush (Video)
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“Operating from 750 meters, a single [sniper] disabled two armored vehicles with precision fire.”
Now that many FPV drones have thermal imaging cameras and night vision, the life of a sniper on the frontline is challenging. It looks like this occurred on a relatively quiet part of the front. Operating behind enemy lines might even be an advantage because you’d expect to encounter fewer FPV and surveillance drones.
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BIGGEST NEWS OF THE WEEK FOR UKRAINE
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In the last two years, Russian glide bombs have taken over from its depleted artillery as its main method of providing long-range precision fire. Until the Lima Line started jamming their guidance system, glide bombs have been very effective.
Ukraine has received very limited numbers of glide bombs from France and the US. It has now developed its own GAB glide bomb kit. It is cheap and delivers independence from America’s former ability to control when and where such bombs were used. France has not applied any restrictions that I know of.
Ukraine’s Homegrown Glide Bomb Breaks Cover
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“Ukraine is in urgent need of additional air-launched standoff munitions, especially ones free of foreign supply chains and use restrictions…[at a] third of [the] US JDAM-ER cost. Until now Ukraine had no domestic precision glide bomb, relying on scarce Western donations, such as JDAM-ER kits, ATACMS, Storm Shadow, and SCALP-EG.”
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RUSSIA HAS ITS OWN ‘DRONE WALL’
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‘Hide-and-seek with death’ — Ukraine details grim situation in Pokrovsk
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“Ukrainian troops are holding several positions in northern Pokrovsk that are “almost cut off” as Russian forces increasingly dominate the skies, logistics routes, and high ground around the embattled Donetsk Oblast city, Ukraine’s 7th Rapid Response Corps said in a detailed battlefield assessment published on X[Twitter] on May 18.”
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BELARUS THREAT
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Much sabre-rattling from Belarus with troop movements near Ukraine’s border and joint nuclear exercises with Russia.
Ukraine Implements Unprecedented Security Measures Near the Border with Belarus
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“The measures cover the Chernihiv, Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Volyn, and Rivne regions.”
The threat might be real, but it is more likely a bluff to force Ukraine to move units needed elsewhere to the Belarus border. This happens most years whenever the latest Russian offensive grinds to a halt.
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RUSSIAN MILBLOGGER LAMENTS THE DRONE WALL
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Russian warbloggers increasingly admit Russia is suffering steady attrition from endless swarms of drones
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“ ‘13 Tactical’ posts a lament about Russia’s strategic dilemma as it faces escalating costs in its war in Ukraine.”
RUSSIA’S ‘INVINCIBLE’ WAR MACHINE
MOST WRONG-HEADED HEADLINE OF THE WEEK
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Forget any image you might now have of a massed armoured assault from Russia, it turns out this is a load of tank crews forced to fight as infantry. Actual tanks would be massacred if they dared breach the Drone Wall. Most likely the tank crews will be too.
A Russian Tank Division Is Heading North To Help The Russians Break Out Of Pokrovsk
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“The 90th Tank Division is on the move, but without its tanks.”
Should Russia need those tanks at a later date, they won’t have any more trained, veteran crews for them. So much for this ‘invincible war machine’ that is such a present threat to the rest of Europe.
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ANYTHING BUT FULL MOBILISATION
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Putin is notoriously bad at delaying decisions. Rationally, Russia would be in a far better position in this war if Putin had announced a full mobilisation after the defeats of late 2022. He feared the domestic political problems of doing so and, by his inaction, he guaranteed Russia would lose this war of attrition. Its army no longer has the capacity to train and equip a million plus ‘mobiks’.
The prisons and gulags have been sucked dry. Instead, crypto-mobilisation of smaller numbers from remote rural provinces, plus the ‘recruitment’ of foreign workers tricked into signing contracts provide an inadequate supply. Consequently, Russia is looking to its diaspora in the hope they can make up the numbers there.
Putin’s new Transnistria citizenship decree is about finding more soldiers for war against Ukraine — Moldova’s president
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“Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on 15 May that fast-tracks Russian citizenship for residents of Transnistria. Moldova’s President Maia Sandu reads it as a manpower move for the war against Ukraine.”
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THE TRUE VALUE OF RUSSIAN SOLDIERS ON THE FRONTLINE
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Russian soldier says that he and his comrades were told by their commander that “a single shell is worth more than all your lives”
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“The men were sent on suicidal missions without artillery support, without supplies, and had to scavenge for weapons on the battlefield.”
I can’t argue with that. I see the evidence of it every day in FPV drone videos.
NEWS OF THE MIDDLE STRIKE
CALAMITOUS RUSSIAN SUPPLY TRUCK LOSSES
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I have counted how many Russian trucks, vans, & fuel tankers are confirmed destroyed by video footage between last Sunday 17th May and, yesterday, Saturday 23rd May.
The total is one thousand six hundred and ninety four. That is in just seven days, despite Russia strangling its own supply lines by restricting travel on critical logistics route because of the drone threat.
This is how armies lose wars of attrition.
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AIR DEFENSES TORN TO SHREDS
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The effectiveness of the Middle Strike campaign is enabled by the continued destruction of Russian radars and air defence systems.
Another Russian Tor air defense system falling victim to Ukrainian FP-2 (VIDEO)
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“The first drone disables the vehicle, while the second finishes it off.”
Elsewhere, another Tor-M2 was taken out, plus a high-value radar.
Ukrainian Drones Strike Russian S-300V Radar, Tor System, and Russian Command Posts (Video)
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“Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces carried out a series of coordinated drone strikes on May 20-21 targeting russian air defense systems, command posts, logistics infrastructure, and UAV-related facilities across temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.”
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BUK GOES BOOM
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No ‘Buk Boom’ last week, but we’re back on track now. These loathed mobile radar and missile systems continue to be destroyed faster than they can be replaced.
Russian Buk-M2 System Goes Up in Flames Under Ukrainian Surveillance (Video)
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“Operators from Ukraine’s 15th Brigade tracked Russian Buk-M2 system after a strike, capturing the moment the air defense system finally burned out completely.”
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NAVAL FPV DRONE CARRIERS NOW CARRY ROCKETS
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Magura unmanned surface vessels (USVs) were maybe the first to conduct effective Middle Strike attacks three years ago. Now they have become drone carriers, launching FPV drones for pinpoint attacks, but also unguided rockets to, I assume, spread shock and awe.
Ukraine Arms USVs with Thermobaric Rockets
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“Russians report Ukraine is using unmanned boats armed with Shmel flamethrowers to attack Russian positions on Kinburn Peninsula in Kherson region.”
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CRIMEA - DEATH BY A THOUSAND STRIKES
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The Crimean Peninsula is heavily militarised, so it is no surprise that there are constant Middle Strike attacks across it. Here are a few of the more interesting reports including of Maguras launching rocket attacks here too, Middle Strike attack drones now firing unguided rockets, plus recently released video that confirms the complete destruction oil storage tanks at the Crimean oil refinery in Feodosia after an attack last month.
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Ukraine using USVs each carrying 6-8 FPVs & Thermobaric rockets
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“Ukraine is reportedly using large ‘drone carrier’ unmanned surface vessels (USVs), each carrying between six to eight FPV drones as well as themobaric rockets, to attack multiple targets on the strategic Kinburn Peninsula in Crimea.”
First footage showing the use of unguided rockets from the FP-1/FP-2 (VIDEO)
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“Ukrainian FP-1/FP-2 guided strike drone launching a salvo of unguided air-to-ground rockets against a strategic Black Sea Fleet communications node in Crimea.”
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I count at least nine separate drones in this co-ordinated, high-precision attack on a FSB secret police HQ.
Drone Strike Destroys FSB Headquarters with Dozens of Invaders on the Arabat Spit (VIDEO)
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“Along with the headquarters, a Russian Pantsir-S1 self-propelled anti-aircraft missile and gun system was destroyed.
The headquarters consisted of nine buildings, each of which was targeted by Ukrainian drones.”
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NASA’s global fire detection satellites confirmed the effectiveness of these attacks.
NASA FIRMS detects a large-scale fire on Arabat Spit
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“FIRMS detected a large-scale fire on the Arabat Spit in occupied Crimea. The area is known to host Russian troop concentrations and many storage sites…”
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New footage shows the Feodosia oil depot in occupied Crimea after repeated Ukrainian strikes.
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“The marine oil terminal has burned at least 6 times from autumn 2024 to spring 2026, with the latest attack on April 23 involving 5 hits and a fire.”
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AIM UPSTREAM OF THE BOOM
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Don’t wait for weapons to be used against you, go after the infrastructure that allows them to be pointed at you in the first place.
Here’s another relentless high-precision attack inside the war zone. This its time on a drone assembly and pilot training facility. Considering the fuss the Russians made, this must have hurt them badly.
Drones Destroy Russian UAV Operator Training Center
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“The target was a facility used as a pilot training school for the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences.
According to available information, the facility also produced ammunition and components for enemy unmanned system”
Footage of USF drones striking the “Akhmat” operator training center in occupied Snizhne (VIDEO)
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“The building was hit 11 times by drones carrying 100 kg warheads. Preliminary reports indicate that 65 cadets and the head of the training center were eliminated.”
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NEW STRIKE DRONE ENTERS UKRAINIAN SERVICE
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When a good photo is published, I will post it.
Behemoth strike drone
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“Domestic Shahed-type system with range up to 300 km, 75 kg payload, speed up to 200 km/h, 90-300 m operating altitude, FPV and autonomous modes, Starlink link and a tandem warhead with shaped-charge and thermobaric effects.”
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HIGH-VOLTAGE SUBSTATION CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
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This attack disabled supply train route.
Another substation destroyed
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“Ukraine struck an electrical substation near Chonhar in occupied Kherson Oblast on May 19, using five strike drones. The attack fully stopped the substation’s operation, cutting another Russian-controlled energy node near occupied Crimea”
UKRAINE’S LONG-RANGE WAR
IT COULD ONLY HAPPEN IN RUSSIA
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Russian legal liability makes mobile fire teams liable for damage caused by shot-down drones
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“Russia’s anti-drone defences are said to be severely hampered by bureaucracy, such as bans on interceptor drones with explosive warheads, and legal liability, which makes mobile fire teams liable for damage caused by shot-down enemy drones.
“Scenario: a drone flies toward an oil refinery, is shot down, crashes into a five-storey building, there’s an explosion, someone dies—most likely, the person who shot it down will face criminal charges.
Everyone knows this, and there are frequent cases of mobile task forces deliberately missing the target—like, “Well, they tried, but they missed.”“
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THAT MOSCOW ATTACK
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Ukraine Carries Out Largest Strike on Moscow Since Invasion Began, Targeting Several Facilities
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“Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense confirms strikes on several targets in Moscow and the Moscow region, including an oil refinery, an oil depot, and electronics manufacturing facilities.
“Moscow never sleeps now,” Ukraine’s drone commander Madyar said after the Moscow region attack. “One-sided subscription to peaceful life is cancelled. Important to enter the right conversation, but even more important is the art of exiting it,” he added.”
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MORE CASPIAN SEA CHAOS
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Ukraine hits its fourth Russian ship of the month in Caspian Sea
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“The Svetlyak was struck near Kaspiysk in Russia’s Republic of Dagestan”…. Overnight on 7 May, Ukrainian forces hit a Project 22800 Karakurt small missile ship, and overnight on 15 May they struck a small missile ship and a minesweeper. All were near Russia’s Caspian Flotilla’s main base in Kaspiysk since 2020.
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DRONES & SANCTIONS TAKE THEIR TOLL
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Largest Russian Manufacturer of Optoelectronics Sapphires Files for Bankruptcy Amid Ukrainian Strikes and Market Losses
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“One of the world’s largest manufacturers of synthetic sapphires—Russia’s Monocrystal, whose products are used in optoelectronics for equipping missiles and drones—has declared bankruptcy amid Ukrainian strikes and the loss of markets.
As of the end of 2022, Monocrystal held a third of the global market for synthetic sapphires. Synthetic sapphire is used in optical systems, protective elements for sensors and lasers, missile electronics, satellites, and high-precision guidance systems. It is also used in components for the aerospace, instrument-making, and other high-tech industries.”
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NUCLEAR REACTOR COMPONENTS DISGUISED AS “MANHOLE COVERS”
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Russian Ship Ursa Major Possibly Hit by Barracuda Torpedo
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“A possible attack using a Barracuda torpedo may have caused the sinking of the Russian cargo ship Ursa Major in the Mediterranean Sea on December 23, 2024.
This is according to a CNN investigation based on reports from Spanish maritime authorities, data from the national seismic network, and crew testimony.”
There is no evidence that Ukraine has ever received this unique torpedo. It sounds more like propaganda to cover-up a covert limpet mine operation. Considering the vessel was; “transporting nuclear reactor components disguised as “manhole covers”” to North Korea, it is just as likely South Korea carried out the attack.
RUSSIA’S LONG-RANGE WAR
As ever, Russia’s indiscriminate campaign against Ukrainian cities is the one aspect of this war that you are likely to have heard of so I won’t repeat what you can read elsewhere.
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FLASH WARNING - RUSSIA TARGETS AIR DEFENCE CREWS
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More from Serhii ‘Flash’ Beskrestnov:
‘Flash ‘warns air defense crews not to wait for orders, as Russia is now hunting them with real-time-piloted Shaheds
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“He also warned crews not to fire carelessly and reveal their location….
First, a passing Shahed or Gerbera conducts reconnaissance, checking whether the air defense position is in place and how often it relocates. Then comes a double strike: one target draws the crew’s fire onto itself while a second drone attacks the position in the moment the crew is engaged.
The significance is what the drone was hunting. Russia is increasingly piloting Shaheds in real time from its own territory, controlled like FPV drones rather than flown on a fixed pre-programmed route. It is now turning that capability against the air defense crews meant to shoot them down… “Please camouflage, change positions, watch for reconnaissance UAV flights,” [warns ‘Flash’”
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TINY INTERCEPTOR TAKES OUT BIG SHAHED
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Interceptor drone captures the moment another interceptor strikes a Russian Shahed drone
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“This math works to drain Russia’s financial/war machine. At about $2500 per Sting (developed by the Ukrainian startup Wild Hornets), this first-person-view (FPV) interceptor is a 3D-printed quadcopter that reaches speeds of over 300 km/h to hunt down Russian Shahed drones. Vs. $20,000-50,000 per Shahed”
WAR CRIMES
WAR CRIMES TRIBUNAL - DECISIVE STEP TAKEN
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First the funding was secured. This week, the structure of the tribunal based in Den Haag began to take shape.
“Point of no return”
link
“Special tribunal for Russia’s war targeting leadership moves forward after 37-country agreement.
The agreement lays groundwork for a court expected to handle prosecutions tied to the decision to launch the war.”
GRIMLY HILARIOUS MOMENTS OF THE WEEK
CRIMEA’S ‘NEW’ TOURIST ATTRACTION
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Russian complains about Dragon’s Teeth spoiling her beach
link
“”These were the best beaches”… Russian tourist [complains that] “dragon’s teeth” are on Crimea’s beaches for the upcoming tourist season.”
I think these teeth were put in place in early 2023. The tourist’s reaction to their presence may say a lot about how poorly Russian civilians understand this war.
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RUSSIA ORDERED TO PAY UKRAINE COMPENSATION
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Kazakh court authorizes forced collection of $1.4 billion from Gazprom for Ukraine’s Naftogaz
link
“A Zurich-seated tribunal ordered Gazprom to pay $1.37 billion in principal for unpaid transit services in June 2025.”
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UNFORTUNATE COINCIDENCE OF THE WEEK
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Surprising Honesty of Bus Stop Recruiting Ad
link
“Geniuses of Russian marketing. An ad for the Russian military contract reads: “A job for real men.”
The name of the bus stop: ‘Meat Processing Plant’.”
FOREIGN AID & INVESTMENT IN UKRAINE
MERZ WANTS TO SPEED UKRAINE’S EU MEMBERSHIP
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Remember when this was nuclear red line for Putin? When Trump said this was impossible? Maybe, just maybe, neither is the genius he thinks he is.
Reuters says German Chancellor Merz proposed giving Ukraine EU associate member status without voting rights
link
“Reuters says German Chancellor Merz proposed giving Ukraine EU associate member status without voting rights. Ukrainian officials could join EU summits and ministerial meetings, while member states would politically commit to applying the bloc’s mutual aid clause.”
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PUTIN’S HENCHMAN STRIKES BACK
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Fico Rejects Merz Plan for Ukraine’s EU Status
link
“Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico rejected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s proposal to grant Ukraine associate European Union membership without voting rights while accession talks continue. Fico argued the EU should prioritize other candidate countries, while Kyiv fears temporary arrangements could slow its path toward full membership.”
EUROPE REARMS
PIRANIA PROTOTYPE SWIMS
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Poles Test Pirania Underwater Drone Prototype in Baltic Sea
link
“The prototype of the Polish Pirania underwater drone successfully passed the first tests in the Baltic Sea in conditions close to combat....
This underwater drone is modular and its payload can vary depending on the need to perform a particular mission – it can be various sonars, cameras, sensors, manipulators, etc.”
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SKYLANCE PROTOTYPE FLIES
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British Low-Cost Long-Range Kamikaze Drone SkyLance Completes First Tests
link
“The platform was designed as a relatively low-cost kamikaze drone. It is intended to engage targets at long ranges under conditions of dense air defense and electronic warfare”.
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ONE IN THE EYE FOR SAURON (AKA PETER THIEL)
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It is very worrying that Ukraine is using Thiel’s Palantir system. Germany, at least, has seen sense.
German Intelligence Agency Selects French Software ChapsVision for Data Analysis Over American Palantir
link
“The system uses artificial intelligence to process large volumes of information, including OSINT data and materials from various classified databases.
The publication notes that this decision sends a political signal regarding Berlin’s efforts to reduce its dependence on American security technologies.”
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GERMANY STOCKS UP ON CRUISE MISSILES
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Germany’s Second JSM Order Brings Total to €928M, Filling the Long-Range Strike Gap Until Taurus Is Ready
link
“Germany places its second order for Norwegian JSM cruise missiles, enabling long-range conventional strikes from the F-35 at up to 555 km.”
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NEW CIVIL DEFENCE MEASURES IN GERMANY
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Germany wants to invest billions to strengthen civil defense
link2
link2
“Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Germany has spent massively on its military. But critics warn the country is still not ready for war at home. Its Interior Minister is now pushing to ramp up civil defense measures… The NINA alert app will be able to show users the shortest route to the nearest available shelter based on their location.”
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GERMANY ORDERS MORE TRUCKS FOR BUNDESWEHR
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Logistics win wars.
Germany Orders 610 RMMV HX Military Trucks in €1B Bundeswehr Logistics Upgrade
link
“Over the past several years, Germany has already acquired thousands of these platforms, steadily modernizing its logistics backbone as part of broader efforts to improve military readiness and mobility.
HX trucks have also been widely supplied to Ukraine, where they have been used extensively in frontline logistics roles, including as heavy transporters and recovery vehicles.”
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NATO STANDS UP FOR LATVIA
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With British, American, and German mechanised forces already stationed in Estonia and Lithuania, the new multinational brigade in Latvia has taken shape.
NATO’s Multinational Brigade in Latvia Achieves Full Operational Readiness
link
“ In total, the brigade currently comprises units from 14 countries.
The target strength is 3,500 troops, of whom the lead nation, Canada, provides approximately 2,200, including a helicopter battalion with four CH-146 Griffon (Bell 412) and two CH-147 Chinook helicopters, as well as a reconnaissance squadron.
In addition, Sweden’s Scandinavian neighbors—Denmark and Sweden—take turns providing a second battalion each year, while Italy, Poland, and Spain provide mechanized companies”
That’s all for now. See you next week.
Loved the rolling pin in the regimental patch. Don't expect our vaunted "free press" to fulfill their critical role in a free society. Which we ain't. Money talks and big money distorts and silences. Keep up your great work.
My goodness, that droid TW 12.7 is a game changer! And those Slaughterbot drones are super scary! And the Polish underwater drone? Wow! And the RMMV HX truck? Your report is just remarkable, frankly; where is the media news on this? Ukraine is doing beautifully and is going to win! Thanks for all of your reporting.