Will Putin Invade Ukraine?

[Gawdzilla Sama]

In that case, it reveals poor maintenance.  With how little they have left, you'd think they'd get plenty of TLC.

Poor maintenance is a result of poor resources, poor training and poor morale. This is a good thing.

[Hydra009]

Russia lost another plane - a Su-24 crashed due to sandstorm in Mali.  Not directly related to Ukraine, but it's fun to watch them fall out of the sky (the crew are okay, btw)

Russia has been using its "Africa Corps" (yes, it's really named that) to expand its influence in Africa in general and Mali in specific.  Sometimes, the locals - equipped in their tactical sandals - kill Russian mercenaries.  But it seems that Russia gains overall or else they would pull out.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

But it seems that Russia gains overall or else they would pull out.

Not a given. For instance, Japan invaded China in 1937 and by 1941 they still hadn't dominated the Chinese.

[Hydra009]

Difficult to find a link for this story that isn't nsfw/nsfl, so I'll just post the text of the telegram post and leave the details to the imagination:

🇺🇦 Ukrainian intel partisans have eliminated Mykhailo Hrytsai, a collaborator and war criminal, in temporarily occupied Berdyansk on June 18, 2025. After joining Russian forces in 2022, Hrytsai served as acting mayor and was involved in persecuting pro-Ukrainian citizens and organizing torture sites.

As a vichy mayor, he reportedly seized assets of Ukrainians unlucky enough to be living in occupied territory.  Suffice it to say that he oversaw lots of theft and torture.  And very recently, an assassin found him.

[Hydra009]

There is a lot of slang on telegram, so allow me to clarify:

Russian drone operators are complaining that the Ukrainian drone operators target them.  They're just now figuring out that they need to target Ukrainian drone operators - most combat deaths are caused by drones, iirc - but they're having difficulty procuring ballistic missiles or glide bombs to target Ukrainian drone operators.  So basically, they're getting their teeth punched in and these geniuses are saying that they should punch back so that they're the one punching instead of being punched.

These are the correct conclusions, but they're painfully slow in getting there.  You shouldn't be figuring out this stuff 3 years into the war.  If you're not anticipating the enemy and working proactively, you've already lost the war.

[Hydra009]

Soylent cubenik:

Aww Jeez.  I've heard that some Russian units have certainly struggled with supplies, but I didn't think it was quite that bad.  Or maybe they just have an unusually curious gourmand very interested in "lasagna".  Definitely a strange story.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

As a vichy mayor,

Hasn't seen "Vichy" used like that. Works.

[Nobody]

I've only heard of vichyssoise. 🤣

No soup for you! 🧐

[the_antithesis]

So instead of borscht they have Borrischt

[Cassia]

The xtian family vloggers who left Texas for Russia (to get away from all the LGBTQ) just announced the husband joined the Russian army to get fast tracked citizenship. Welp, he has been sent to the front after just 2-weeks of training. It's a pretty rapey army. He better watch his bunghole out there, LOL.

[Hydra009]

The xtian family vloggers who left Texas for Russia (to get away from all the LGBTQ) just announced the husband joined the Russian army to get fast tracked citizenship. Welp, he has been sent to the front after just 2-weeks of training. It's a pretty rapey army. He better watch his bunghole out there, LOL.

Probably the worst country in the world to serve in the military.  One fallen soldier's dad got a ~$80 microwave in exchange for his son's life.  And a lot get nothing - they're simply counted as MIA unless people can prove otherwise.  Helps alleviate ballooning war payouts.  And the worst part is that Ukrainians say that such "gifts" are actually resented, but it's a sort of show of power - you can't refuse and you have to be all smiles and say how wonderful it all is even as you choke on the words.  It's similar to kissing the ring or licking the boot.

Dulce et Decorum Est

[Gawdzilla Sama]

"Dulce et Decorum Est" a pro patria mori.

[Hydra009]

Assassination attempt on Zelenskyy in Poland at the airport

Zelenskyy is unharmed.

The would-be assassin was a Polish pensioner who had been recruited by the Kremlin decades ago and a firm believer in Soviet ideology.  The attack was foiled by a joint effort by Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Polish internal security service (ABW)

[Hydra009]

Several exciting new developments:

* Ongoing prisoner exchanges
* In Crimea, Russian s-400 air defenses go boom (specifically, 2 fire control radars, 2 long-range surveillance radars, and one launcher)
* Bayraktars are back, baby!

You might wonder why there has not been almost any new Bayraktar footage for almost two years.  Essentially, the reason is that Russian air defense and jamming increased a lot and became more organized from 2022 to 2023, when Putin went all in on Ukraine.  In that sort of environment, the risk was too great.  But, over the years, Russia has steadily lost air defense and holes have started to appear in its air defense coverage.  So now it's possible to use Bayraktars in a limited role, albeit with moderately high risk.  As this war progresses, and Russian AA thins out even further, we might see Bayraktars start to operate much more frequently and aggressively.

Between this, fpv, "footcrusher" drone drops, minefield-planting drones, "dragon" drones, drones with grenade launchers, ground drones, and various naval drones (now in kamikaze, machine gun, and AA missile variants!), Russian mobniks certainly know the sweet kiss of the Ukrainian welcome wagon.

[Hydra009]

Ukraine blows up fully-loaded North Korean MRLS in Ukraine

And I think it's gonna be a long, long time
Till they salvage anything still working from that wreck
This isn't the war they think it is at home.
Oh no no no
Not my rockets, man!