With Kostiantynivka down, the battle for the Donbass enters a new phase. Artillery now hits Kramatorsk, and driving any roads in the area is highly risky Full article in reply

Maybe some are, but the most public participant of these events, Denis Kapustin "White Rex", is today commander of the "Russian Volunteer Corps", which fights for Ukraine

Kapustin defended his participation in a 2026 interview, even though people were killed during the events

Comparison of effectiveness between Russia and Ukraine's best drone operators I chose the largest sample sizes with detailed data. This is Russia's Rubicon centre and Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF). Both regularly post videos of destroyed targets and monthly statistical breakdowns. Rubicon has ~5000 operators, and the USF has around 27,000. Rubicon is Russia's best drone unit (it is much more than just a frontline unit), and the USF contains all of Ukraine's best specialized drone units. In May, the Russian OSINT group Lost Armour counted 4458 enemy drones destroyed by Rubicon. Ukraine’s USF recorded destroying 9912 Russian drones. Given that Ukraine’s USF is more than 5 times larger than Rubicon, this makes Rubicon 2.4 times more effective. Next, tanks. This is a resource that both sides use increasingly rarely, though Russia seems to have more of them. Rubicon destroyed 8 tanks, and the USF destroyed 4. This makes Rubicon more than 10 times more effective. Now, armored vehicles. Rubicon destroyed 203 and Ukraine’s USF, 15. This makes Rubicon 73 times more effective (!). This is particularly interesting, since Russia being on the offensive and Ukraine’s lack of industrial capacities would seemingly indicate that more Russian vehicles should be vulnerable to attack. However, Ukraine's endless counterattack operations are probably partly to blame. The Russians are also more effective in targeting the strategic asset of radar and electronic warfare systems. Rubicon destroyed 181 such targets and the USF, 206. This makes Rubicon 4.7 times more effective. Rubicon is also targeting enemy drone operators far more consistently. Ukraine’s USF destroyed 57 drone operators bases, and Rubicon destroyed 388. That made Rubicon 36 times more effective in this field. Finally, manpower. This is probably a relatively even metric for comparison. Given the Ukrainian propaganda, one would expect them to kill far more Russians than vice versa. However, while Rubicon destroyed 838 enemy servicemen, the USF reported destroying 4619. Taking the size of the two units into consideration, this makes Ukraine’s USF only about 2% more effective than Rubicon. This is also likely due to the well-known fact that Ukraine’s drone operators are incentivized to target manpower, unlike the Russians, who target enemy drones and other important equipment. In short, Rubicon is much more effective than its Ukrainian counterparts.

Though Ukrainian drones have been striking targets deeper in the Russian rear, the situation is the same at the frontlines - Russian domination of the air through drones, artillery, and glide bombs That's why the Russian army is still moving forward Full article in reply

Ukrainian officers tell the media that even with the best fortifications, losses for stationary defenders are higher than when advancing There have also been increasing sightings of effective, experienced Russian drone units from the newly-formed Unmanned Systems Forces New 5,000 word article in reply

New article on three strategic arenas of drone competition: Outer space Performance Production Link in reply

Three broader ways to frame Ukrainian-Russian drone competition: Connection, Performance, Production CONNECTION: Ukraine uses Starlink, which is banned from Russian users. However, Russia has now successfully launched its first 'Rassvet' satellites into orbit, its alternative to Starlink PERFORMANCE: Russia's Rubicon Drone Centre is far more effective than its Ukrainian counterparts. In May, adjusting for differences in personnel numbers, Russia's drone operators were 73 times more effective in destroying armored vehicles, and 2.4 times more effective in destroying enemy drones. Both destroyed the same number of enemy infantry. However, less is known about Russia's broader Unmanned Systems Forces. PRODUCTION: Ukraine seems to produce more long-range strike drones, but they change little for the frontline. Both countries make similar numbers of short/mid-range drones. However, Russian drone operators have been complaining about excessive regulation and standardization in the military sector, jealous of Ukraine's more anarchic, free market approach. Over the past year, however, many American and Ukrainian military analysts had the opposite complaint, noting the advantages of Russia's standardization at scale approach Link in reply to read more

Zionists became close with Ukrainian nationalists in Soviet gulags, and published their literature in the west They then moved to Israel and became government ministers responsible for evicting Palestinians The purest distillation of the neocons Full article in reply