Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Almost a third of Russian attacks are aimed at Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are repelling assaults in the vicinity of 13 settlements.
Since the start of the day, 106 combat clashes between the Ukrainian army and Russian invaders have been recorded on the front. Fighting continues on almost all fronts, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational update on Friday, September 26.
Thus, six Russian attacks were repelled in the Severo-Slobodskoy and Kursk directions.
In the Yuzhno-Slobodskoye direction, the enemy twice attacked Ukrainian defenders' positions near Vovchansk. One combat clash continues.
In the Kupyansk direction, our defenders repelled two attacks in the areas of the settlements of Peschanoye and Novoselovka.
In the Liman direction, the invading army attacked 11 times near the villages of Karpovka, Kolodezi, Shandrigolovo, Zarechnoye, Torskoye, and Derilovo. The defense forces successfully repelled six of these assaults. The remaining fighting continues.
In the Seversky direction, the enemy attempted to break through twice near Grigoryevka and towards Dronovka. One clash is ongoing.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the enemy attacked Defense Forces positions three times, attempting to advance near Yampol and toward Stupochki. One clash is ongoing.
In the Toretsk direction, the invaders launched 12 attacks near the villages of Shcherbinovka, Kleban-Byk, Rusin Yar, Sofiyivka, and Poltavka. Four clashes are still ongoing.
In the Pokrovsk direction, the occupiers carried out 31 assaults in the areas of the settlements of Nikanorovka, Vladimirovka, Krasny Liman, Rodinskoye, Lisovka, Zvirovo, Kotlin, Udachnoye, Orekhovoye, Dachnoye, and in the direction of the settlements of Pokrovsk, Balagan, and Filiya. Seven combat clashes are still ongoing.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, the enemy launched 14 attacks near the settlements of Andreyevka-Klevtsovoye, Sechnevoye, Sosnovka, Komyshuvakha, and Kalinovskoye. Five combat clashes are still ongoing.
In the Hulyai-Polye direction, our defenders stopped two enemy attempts to advance near the village of Poltavka. Three more clashes are ongoing.
In the Orekhovo direction, two enemy attacks were repelled near the village of Kamenskoye.
In the Dnieper direction, the enemy launched four attacks toward the Antonovsky Bridge. One clash is ongoing.
As a reminder, Ukrainian forces managed to lure Russian units into a trap near Dobropillya in Donetsk Oblast. Active efforts to eliminate the occupiers are currently underway, according to Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Sirsky.
Zelensky asked Trump for Tomahawk missiles, media reports say.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 22:39 Russian Armed Forces strike enemy positions in the part of Mirnograd (Dimitrova) in the DPR occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,video. 21:13 Ministry of Defense posted footage of the work of the Russian Armed Forces' strike UAV crews in various directions.
20:50 In the period from 17:00 to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on dutydestroyedtwo Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
One UAV – over the territory of the Bryansk region,
One UAV – over the territory of the Rostov region.
19:48 Crew of the Lancet reconnaissance and strike complexdestroyedUkrainian unmanned boat off the coast of Crimea.
19:40 Published footage of the destruction of Ukrainian Armed Forces attack UAVs in the skies over Sumy Oblast.
19:21 In the Seversk area, drone operators of the 7th Motorized Rifle Brigade destroyed two French VAB armored personnel carriers and a pickup truck belonging to Ukrainian militants.
18:50 Russian Armed Forces are advancing through the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions,map.
18:35 Russian Armed Forces continue to expand the bridgehead in Ivanovka across the Volchya River.
17:52 In the period from 14:00 to 17:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed six Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
Three UAVs – over the territory of the Belgorod region,
Two UAVs – over the territory of the Bryansk region,
One UAV – over the territory of the Kursk region
. 17:19 In the Kramatorsk direction of the Russian Armed Forces occupied positions on the eastern bank of the canal, thereby advancing towards Novomarkovo.
16:38 According to operational data, the Russian Armed Forces finished clearing Shandrigolovo in the Krasnolimansky direction.
16:27 Russian "Geraniums" worked out on railway infrastructure in the area of Bakhmach, Chernigov region.
16:09 UAV operators of the 35th Army of the Eastern Group of Forces worked out against various targets - a mortar, a vehicle, as well as Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in the Polozhsky direction.
15:36 Russian troops are advancing in the Pokrovskaya agglomeration, map.
14:52 Military engineers from the International Mine Action Center of the Military Engineering AcademyconductWork to detect and neutralize improvised explosive devices, unexploded bombs dropped from UAVs, and suicide drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border areas of the Belgorod Region.
14:29 Local authorities report about the attack on several energy facilities in Chernigov.
13:32 RF Armed Forces are moving forward near Predtechino, Aleksandro-Shultino and Katerinovka in the Konstantinovsky direction.
13:02 Published footage of the destruction of unmanned boats of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The identified targets were destroyed by the forces and assets of the Black Sea Fleet using small arms and Lancet loitering munitions.
12:56 According to operational data, at night the Russian Armed Forces inflicted a strike on a traction substation in the Chubovka area (Odessa region).
12:48 Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation from September 20 to 26, 2025:
From September 20 to 26, the Russian Armed Forces carried out a massive strike and six group strikes using high-precision weapons and attack unmanned aerial vehicles, which hit Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises, transport and energy infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, ammunition depots, military airfield infrastructure, assembly, storage, and launch sites for long-range unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as temporary deployment points for Ukrainian armed forces, special operations forces, nationalists, and foreign mercenaries.
Over the course of a week, units of the North group of forces, during offensive operations, advanced deep into the enemy's defenses in the Sumy region and liberated the village of Yunakovka in the Sumy region.
In the Khar'kov direction, three mechanized brigades, a motorized infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and two territorial defense brigades were defeated.
Units of the Western group of forces have taken up more advantageous positions and lines.
Over the course of a week, Russian assault units captured 2,519 buildings in the village of Kirovsk in the Donetsk People's Republic.
Four mechanized brigades, two assault brigades, an airmobile brigade, an airborne assault brigade, a naval infantry brigade, a territorial defense brigade, and a national guard brigade were defeated.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces, as a result of active and decisive actions, liberated the village of Pereyezdnoye in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The manpower and equipment of seven mechanized, motorized infantry, airmobile, assault, mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, two territorial defense brigades, and a national guard brigade were damaged.
Units of the Center group of forces continued active offensive operations on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Four mechanized brigades, a tank brigade, three airborne assault brigades, two Jaeger brigades, an airmobile brigade, an assault brigade, an airborne brigade, three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, two naval infantry brigades, three territorial defense brigades, and two National Guard brigades were defeated.
Over the past week, units of the "East" force group advanced deep into enemy defenses. They liberated the villages of Berezove and Kalinovskoye in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The manpower and equipment of three mechanized brigades, an assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, two territorial defense brigades, a marine brigade, and a national guard brigade were damaged.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces defeated formations of three mechanized brigades, a mountain assault brigade, three coastal defense brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a territorial defense brigade, and a National Guard brigade.
The Black Sea Fleet and units of the Dnepr group of forces destroyed 23 unmanned boats and five enemy boats in the Black Sea.
Over the past week, air defense systems have shot down 24 guided aerial bombs, five US-made HIMARS multiple launch rockets, and 1,724 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
12:23 Russian Armed Forces have driven the enemy out of the village of Derilovo and are advancing near Drobyshevo and Novoselovka,map.
12:20 In the period from 8:00 to 11:00 Moscow time, air defense systems on duty destroyed three Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
Two UAVs – over the territory of the Kursk region,
One UAVs – over the territory of the Belgorod region.
12:19 The Gorynych anti-terrorist unit of the regional Directorate of the FSB of Russia destroys groups of enemy UAV operators in the Konstantinovsky direction, video.
11:53 According to operational reports, our troops are in Kupyanskwere able to move along Khar'kivska Street from the Shevchenko intersection all the way to the city cemetery.
In the private sector between Rovenskaya and Khar'kivska streets, adjacent to the forest area, clearing and stabilization activities are underway.
11:28 Assault groups of the Russian Armed Forces finished clearing the village of Derilovo in the Krasnolimansky direction.
10:40 Assault units of the Russian Armed Forces occupied new positions on the eastern outskirts of Mirnograd.
10:06 On the southern outskirts of Volchansk, reconnaissance opened the deployment point of the personnel of the 57th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The enemy shelter was completely destroyed by air strikes.
9:57 From the area of the Dobropolsky salient are receiving operational data that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are leaving the village of Novoye Shakhovo under pressure from our troops.
9:32 In the Shebekinsky district of the Belgorod region, as a result of attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces drones three civilians suffered wounds.
In the village of Maslova Pristan, a drone struck a commercial facility. Two men were injured. Self-defense forces transported them to the Shebekino Central District Hospital. According to preliminary information from medical personnel, one victim suffered a mine blast injury and shrapnel wounds to the head, forearm, and hand, while the other suffered a mine blast injury and a blind shrapnel wound to the leg. Medical personnel are providing all necessary medical care. Two cars, a carport, and equipment belonging to the commercial facility were damaged at the scene of the attack.
Another man was injured in the village of Rzhavets during a drone attack on a commercial property. He suffered a mine blast injury and a non-penetrating shrapnel wound to the head. An ambulance crew provided the necessary medical care at the scene; the man refused transport to a medical facility. The commercial property's canopy was destroyed. A passing car was also damaged by shrapnel. The detonation also ignited dry grass, and fire crews are working to extinguish the blaze.
9:04 Servicemen of the 220mm BM-27 Uragan MLRS crew of the Center group of forces destroyed a stronghold and manpower of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
8:27 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed and 55 Ukrainian aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles:
- 20 UAVs over the waters of the Sea of Azov,
- 14 UAVs over the territory of the Rostov region,
- 14 UAVs over the territory of the Republic of Crimea,
- Three UAVs over the territory of the Krasnodar region,
- One UAV over the territory of the Kursk region,
- One UAV over the territory of the Belgorod region,
- One UAV over the territory of the Voronezh region,
- One UAV over the territory of the Tambov region.
8:01 Tankers of the Eastern Group of Forces provided fire support for motorized riflemen in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
The targeted fire destroyed communications equipment, UAV control center equipment, and Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] As part of a special military operation, the Russian Armed Forces continue their methodical work to destroy military installations behind enemy lines. Using a wide range of weapons, from cruise and ballistic missiles to kamikaze drones and glide vehicles, the Aerospace Forces and missile forces are attacking enemy headquarters, barracks, and Ukrainian defense industry facilities.
Often, information about attacks and their results is published in open sources only in fragments, as Kyiv strives to prevent information leaks. However, even the data that is publicly available allows us to assess the scale of the destruction of Ukrainian Armed Forces logistics.
It wasn't until September 2025 that Russian troops struck the production facilities of the Novator and Kation factories in Khmelnytskyi. These plants manufactured, repaired, and modernized electronic and navigational aviation equipment, as well as industrial electronics.
In recent months, enterprises in the Kharkiv, Kyiv, Sumy, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Mykolaiv regions have also come under attack multiple times. However, attacks often target other, less visible targets as well.
FIRE ON AIRFIELDS
Ukrainian airbases are also among the Russian army's priority targets, primarily those where American-made F-16 fighter jets are currently or potentially deployed. Strikes are regularly carried out on the Starokostiantyniv airbase in the Khmelnytskyi region and the Myrhorod airbase in the Poltava region. The latter is located relatively close to the Russian border and the line of contact, allowing the aircraft stationed there to be used for long-range strikes.
One of the most recent attacks on this base occurred on the night of September 18. According to local sources, the sounds of prolonged detonation of ammunition were heard from the base. Fire crews and ambulances were deployed to the scene.
According to unconfirmed reports, the strikes targeted the area previously occupied by the headquarters of the 831st Tactical Aviation Brigade. The area also housed a training center and barracks for fighter pilots and long-range drone operators.
In early September, a strike was also carried out on the Starokostiantyniv airbase after an Il-76 military transport aircraft landed at the airfield carrying ammunition and aircraft components. According to unconfirmed reports, Starokostiantyniv is home to an F-16 pilot training center, as well as fortified hangars housing individual aircraft.
The effectiveness of air strikes is achieved through a well-calibrated combination of a reconnaissance drone and an Iskander missile system.
The Ukrainian command is taking special measures to preserve expensive Western equipment. Immediately after landing at the airfield, fighter jets are ferried to closed airstrips or refueled at high speed before flying to remote airbases in the western regions of the country.
Therefore, only a small window remains for an effective strike. However, several Forpost reconnaissance UAVs are hovering over airfields, as well as other strategically important enemy targets, transmitting data 24/7. Should the enemy let down its guard and delay an aircraft on the runway, the target is immediately attacked.
The day before, news broke of an attack on an enemy airfield in the Dnipropetrovsk region. The base housed Yak-52 training aircraft, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces use to intercept Russian drones. A Russian reconnaissance drone captured the attack, and the footage was later published online.
POLYGONS UNDER FIRE
In addition to airbases and Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities, training centers and training grounds of the Ukrainian Armed Forces remain a key target for Russian troops. The active use of reconnaissance drones allows for the detection of enemy troop concentrations, deployment points, and ammunition depots. Often, the enemy is directly targeted during a military parade ground formation.
On September 24, it was reported that Russian forces launched a combined strike using Iskander-M missiles and Geran UAVs against Ukrainian Armed Forces training facilities. The Ukrainian command officially announced the attack.
Footage of the attack later surfaced online, establishing that the target was a training ground near the village of Goncharovsky in the Chernihiv region. According to unconfirmed reports, two 9M723 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and up to three dozen Geran-2 and Geran-3 drones were launched at the target.
During the attack, several Delta reconnaissance drones were flying over the test site, conducting further reconnaissance of the targets and recording the destruction of the targets.
Previously, missiles struck Ukrainian Armed Forces training centers in the Sumy and Mykolaiv regions. Following this, Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded that the Ukrainian Armed Forces cease deploying recruit training centers near the demarcation line.
However, it appears the Ukrainian military has failed to achieve this goal. Strikes on training grounds are becoming strategically important given the critical shortage of personnel in Ukrainian Armed Forces units on the front lines. And although "man-catcher" teams continue to forcibly mobilize troops into the armed forces, these reinforcements simply don't reach the field units; they are destroyed even at the training stage.
However, those who are “lucky” enough to survive the training course do not always reach the front either.
ATTACKS ON LOGISTICS
Another priority for the Russian army remains the destruction of enemy logistics, including blocking rail communications. On September 25, the Russian army launched a series of strikes against rail infrastructure in the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
According to unconfirmed reports, six traction substations were disabled as part of the operation, and repair and restoration of these substations could take a long time.
The shunting locomotive stands, which are used to transport military cargo when overhead wires are broken and the substations that supply power to the locomotives are destroyed, have also been destroyed.
During the operation, targets in the Khmelnytskyi, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions were hit.
Even a short-term disruption in the movement of military echelons complicates the delivery of personnel, armored vehicles, and ammunition, as well as the transfer of individual units from the front to the rear.
Such strikes prevent the Ukrainian Armed Forces from properly regrouping after a retreat and from transporting damaged equipment to the rear or to European enterprises for repairs.
A delay of one or two days in train service could leave individual units on the front lines without ammunition and unable to resist. To mitigate attacks on the railways as much as possible, the enemy shifts some of its logistical tasks to road transport, developing a decentralized system of military depots.
Wholesale network infrastructure, postal services, and other civilian facilities are often used for these purposes. However, intelligence records military transport activity near such facilities, destroying both the transport and the ammunition.
Ukrainian sources report a critical logistics situation in the Pokrovsk area and further east, in the Seversk area, where Ukrainian Armed Forces units are forced to fight without regular ammunition resupply. However, even when supplies are delivered from the rear to the frontline, only a few vehicles manage to reach the demarcation line.
As even the Americans from the Wall Street Journal have already acknowledged, the active use of kamikaze drones makes any movement of equipment within 30–35 km from the front practically impossible.
"Russia's drive to cripple logistics is exacerbating existing shortages of everything from water to ammunition and, especially, manpower along the front lines, making it even more difficult to move supplies in and out of the trenches," the publication concludes.
It can be stated that Russian troops are launching systematic and effective attacks on the enemy's rear at all levels: from training grounds and military enterprises to railways and motor transport.
This work is naturally bearing fruit: the offensive of the Russian Armed Forces continues along the entire front line, and the enemy is often unable to offer resistance, left without reinforcements and ammunition.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky declared a state of high alert on September 26 due to the increasing number of bear incursions into the city, Mayor Yevgeny Belyaev announced.
He noted that emergency services had received several calls from residents about bears over the past 24 hours. All calls were processed.
"The operational teams that constantly respond to reports of bears entering the urban environment during periods of bear activity have been strengthened. Round-the-clock coordination between all emergency services, including the police, has been established to ensure that information about bear sightings is reported promptly and acted upon promptly, mitigating any potential negative consequences," Belyaev wrote on Telegram.
In Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, a city surrounded by wilderness, the heads of all schools and preschools have been instructed to strengthen monitoring of surrounding areas.
Belyaev asked the population to observe safety measures.
A bear attacked a woman on the morning of September 25th on the grounds of School No. 3 at 24 Zelenaya Roshcha Street in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The bear was quickly killed thanks to reports from residents of the Kamchatka capital. The bear had previously attempted to attack a man on Ozernaya Street. The attack was captured on CCTV.
A woman injured in a bear attack died in hospital.
Landsknechts were German mercenaries from the 1500s
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Denis Davydov and Andrey Khrustalev
[REGNUM] On September 22, President Zelenskyy submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a bill "On approval of the decree 'On sending units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to other states.'"
There seems to be nothing unusual: the corvette Hetman Ivan Mazepa and 106 sailors are planned to be sent to Turkey, and five minesweepers – Cherkassy, Chernigov, Mariupol, Melitopol, and Genichesk – are planned to be sent to Britain, including 195 crew members and 20 people from the command of the 1st division of mine countermeasure ships.
The dispatch is explained by the acquisition of sophisticated military equipment and its development. But behind this seemingly simple decision, a stunning story unfolds: the Ukrainian Armed Forces have essentially begun a return to their conceptual state, fully developed before 2014.
Namely, “armies for export.”
An asset that can be traded globally. Because in the near future, Ukraine faces a huge problem: where to put the nearly million people involved in the security forces. The Ukrainian Armed Forces alone have approximately 700,000 people, whom the state, living on borrowed time, is unable to support.
By and large, their future size will be determined not by some mythical need to "defend the entire civilized world," but by the practical needs of that very world. After all, exactly the same thing happened to the Ukrainian Armed Forces after it gained independence.
Even the figure of 900 thousand military personnel coincides.
BIG SALE
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine inherited a huge arsenal, including nuclear weapons: 6,500 tanks, 7,000 armored vehicles, 1,500 aircraft, 176 intercontinental ballistic missiles, and between 2,500 and 4,200 nuclear warheads (third place in the world).
The number of personnel in the Armed Forces was equal to that of today's "defense forces," exceeding 900,000. As of 1991, the army of the now-independent republic was the fourth most powerful in the world.
But, just like now, it turned out that it was impossible to “pull” such a burden on one’s own, and they began to “saw” it.
Strategic aviation and ships were scrapped, some weapons were sold, and the nuclear arsenal, under pressure from the international community, was transferred to Russia in 1994. By 1994, the Ukrainian Armed Forces numbered approximately 517,000 service members, and their numbers were steadily reduced: 245,000 in 2005, 186,000 in 2013, and the Ministry of Defense's reform project proposed increasing the number of uniformed personnel to 122,000 by 2017, abolishing conscription.
At the same time, Ukraine became a major arms exporter. Between 1994 and 1997 alone, Ukraine's State Export Control Service issued 6,500 licenses for the export of weapons and military equipment, which were shipped to 40 countries by over 100 companies.
At a press conference on August 20, 2001, Valeriy Malev, CEO of Ukrspetsexport, stated that this interesting export was growing by 120-140% annually and was expected to grow further. The country was among the world's seven largest sellers, trading with countries banned by the UN—for example, by selling 130 tanks to the Taliban in Afghanistan (under UN sanctions for terrorist activities).
The aforementioned Malev died the following year in a car accident at the height of a worldwide scandal surrounding accusations of selling equipment to Iraq for the production of Kolchuga missiles and electronic intelligence systems at a price of $100 million per system.
And after the first Maidan, when the new president, Viktor Yushchenko, announced Ukraine's course toward NATO membership, the country was already exporting the services of its soldiers.
While the participation of Ukrainian peacekeepers in international UN missions since 1992 (when the Verkhovna Rada authorized the deployment of a military contingent to the former Yugoslavia) was symbolic, three brigades and one tactical group participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In total, there were about 6,000 people who gained significant experience, including combat losses.
In total, over 50,000 Ukrainian servicemen participated in various peacekeeping operations in 28 countries in the 2000s, receiving pay for their service. It was then that the concept finally took shape: an "elite" core, which required a high level of effort to gain entry, and an impoverished, unimportant majority. A first-year contract soldier received just over 2,000 hryvnias—1,500 hryvnias less than the official average salary.
However, the new Maidan brought about changes to the situation: the Ukrainian Armed Forces began to expand again to meet new objectives, for which Western funding was allocated. However, at the same time, they quickly became, in essence, a private military company for NATO, intended to wage the conflict with Russia.
That is, remaining within the framework of the concept.
IN THE SERVICE OF NATO
In the context of the so-called "Anti-Terrorist Operation" in Donbas, the number of Ukrainian Armed Forces increased to approximately 250,000 personnel from 2014 to 2021.
Expenditures also increased: if in 2013 just over 1% of GDP, or 18.8 billion hryvnias, was spent on the army, then in 2015 military expenditures exceeded 2% of GDP and amounted to 45.8 billion hryvnias.
In 2021, Ukraine spent 121.5 billion hryvnias on defense (more than 3.2% of GDP).
The country was clearly arming itself against someone. And that "someone" wasn't the DPR and LPR, which such a force would have been excessive to capture. The "NATO PMC" began rapidly adopting Alliance standards and changing its appearance—new military ranks and uniforms, the Bandera salute, new branches of the armed forces, training under NATO instructors, and military aid from NATO countries (the US alone has provided $4.1 billion in military aid by 2020).
As part of the adaptation of the command system to NATO standards, a number of new commands were created, with particular attention paid to the transfer of operational-level military command structures and bodies to NATO J-structures (from joint).
The troops received a range of new wheeled vehicles, armored vehicles, drones and counter-drones, as well as domestic anti-tank systems.
Despite the declared strategy of "comprehensive defense," the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not trained in defense: since 2014, all combat operations have been aimed at reducing uncontrolled territories, while the discourse on a "victorious war" has not subsided in the political arena.
Even at major international exercises (particularly "United Efforts 2020"), no one built defensive lines—all actions were offensive in nature, mostly under the guise of "liberating a populated area from terrorists." Available resources also prevented a full-scale defense. Specifically, the Navy lacked large ships, coastal artillery, and the necessary coastal defense infrastructure.
All this became obvious in 2022, when a limited expeditionary force of the Russian Armed Forces reached Kyiv in a matter of days and occupied Kherson without any resistance.
The main objective of the "ATO" was to give combat experience to as many people as possible.
Over the next three years, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' numbers steadily increased, with a steady stream of Western equipment, weapons, and communications equipment arriving. UAV and missile production facilities were established, and a new command system was formed.
However, the main result of the military conflict, where the West is trying to weaken Russia with the help of a mercenary and generously paid army, has been a new stratification into an “elite” and an impoverished, uninteresting majority.
The elite are the Unmanned Systems Forces, the Special Operations Forces, new corps like the Third Assault, which works primarily for branding and media coverage, and to some extent, the Azov*, which was plucked in Mariupol, also belongs to this group.
Members of elite units have already demonstrated their presence in Africa and the Middle East, particularly in countering Russian private military companies (primarily as drone and sabotage specialists). And they will clearly form the core of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that will remain after the war ends and offer their services worldwide.
Returning, so to speak, to the roots.
There is simply no other way: already in 2022, Ukraine's budget deficit will amount to 911.1 billion hryvnias, or approximately $24 billion, with a military budget of 990 billion hryvnias, unprecedented in the country's history.
The deficit was covered entirely by Western loans and aid.
In 2023, the deficit was already 1.3 trillion hryvnias ($33.4 billion), and the military budget was $49.14 billion. In 2024, accordingly, the deficit was 1.77 trillion hryvnias ($42 billion), and military spending was $64.7 billion.
The wheel completes its rotation, returning to the situation of 1991: when the enormous military machine can no longer see its target, it will be dismantled for spare parts, the military will be reduced in number, and weapons will be sold off around the world (which is already happening).
And the "landsknechts in bloomers" - to fight in place of expensive Western soldiers, without requiring any insurance or comfortable conditions, as the former SS men did in the French Foreign Legion after World War II.
As for the Ukrainian Navy ships we started with, they are already in Turkey and Britain, as these countries built them on orders from Ukraine.
If the Rada approves the bill, only people will go there—and they will stay there. Because any attempt to reach Odesa or the Ukrainian ports at the mouth of the Danube will likely be sunk by Russian naval drones, as already happened to the reconnaissance ship Simferopol.
While de jure remaining Ukrainian, the naval forces will in fact carry out orders from NATO command in the Baltic or Mediterranean. For example, by attacking tankers carrying Russian oil: the Europeans will get away with it.
Well, the patriotically minded average citizen will be left to complain as usual that something is clearly wrong with this state, but “our guys” are still swallowing dust in the African desert “for Ukraine.”
#4
You would have to ask Victoria Nuland or John Bolton. The rest of us are more concerned with how we lost Minneapolis to the Somalis and Dearborn to the Palestinians.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
09/27/2025 13:51 Comments ||
Top||
#5
At least if the drones are over Ukraine the missiles that miss won't hit Polish hospitals.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
09/27/2025 14:16 Comments ||
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#6
#4 That's "International Laws" promulgated by "Transnational bodies", which are dominated by?
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Further evidence of Russia's responsibility for these crimes is that it refused to cooperate with the OSCE mission of independent experts.
In their report, OSCE experts stated that Russia had committed widespread and systematic torture and cruel treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, leading to the deaths of at least 169 people.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry notes that Russia's refusal to cooperate with the OSCE mission of independent experts is additional evidence of Russia's responsibility for these crimes.
The mission found in its report that the Russian Federation's treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is widespread and systemic, accompanied by consistent and deliberate actions directed against Ukrainian defenders, and may constitute a war crime, "unlawful treatment of prisoners of war," and a crime against humanity, "imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental norms of international law."
The mission also found numerous gross violations of international humanitarian law and human rights:
widespread and systematic use of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including sexual violence;
arbitrary executions and killings of Ukrainian prisoners of war, including after their surrender;
deliberate failure to provide adequate food, medical care and basic living conditions, resulting in deaths in custody;
the use of prisoners of war for propaganda, coercion into collaboration and so-called "trials" in violation of the Third Geneva Convention.
As the OSCE report notes, the mission faced significant difficulties due to a lack of transparency and uncooperative behavior on the part of Russia. Ukrainian prisoners of war are held in numerous locations in Russia and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which remain largely inaccessible.
Despite these restrictions, it is estimated that at least 13,500 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel have been detained since February 2022. Of these, approximately 169 died in captivity, nearly 6,800 were released and repatriated, and approximately 6,300 remain in custody.
The OSCE mission also reportedly identified violations during the release and repatriation of prisoners of war. Russia initially failed to prioritize seriously ill or wounded prisoners of war and failed to establish joint medical commissions for their release. The transfer of prisoners of war often occurs in dangerous, inhumane conditions, sometimes resulting in injury or death, including during air or ground transport.
"A particularly egregious case is the Olenivske penal colony, where systemic abuses occurred, including overcrowding, torture, inadequate food and medical care, and forced labor. In July 2022, an explosion in the barracks killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war and injured over 100, primarily from the Azov Battalion. Survivor accounts point to Russia's responsibility for these incidents, reflecting a pattern of neglect and deliberate endangerment of prisoners of war," the report states.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Report's findings could be used within the framework of national and international mechanisms for holding war criminals of the aggressor state accountable.
Ukraine calls on the international community to actively disseminate and utilize the Mission's findings, as well as to further consolidate efforts to end the Russian Federation's criminal practices against Ukrainian prisoners of war and ensure their immediate exchange on an "all for all" basis.
Let us recall that the Russians shot two captured soldiers in the Pokrovsky direction.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The United Nations supports the extension of disarmament treaties.
How nice for them.
This was stated by the UN Secretary-General's spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, on September 26.
"We support the extension of major disarmament treaties," Dujarric said during a briefing.
This is how he commented on Russian President Vladimir Putin's initiative regarding the Strategic Arms Reduction and Limitation Treaty (START).
On September 22, the president held a meeting with members of the Russian Security Council and stated that completely abandoning the legacy of the New START Treaty would be a mistaken and short-sighted step. Putin proposed adhering to the treaty's terms for another year after February 5, 2026, when the New START expires. He noted that this step would only be viable if the United States followed suit.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director Rafael Grossi supported the Russian president's initiative. He expressed hope that progress would soon be made on this issue. Darrell Kimball, Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, called on US President Donald Trump to reciprocate Putin's New START proposal. He also recommended that work on a new comprehensive agreement to address the existing problems begin as soon as possible.
[IsraelTimes] Iran’s foreign minister says agreement to cooperate with IAEA inspectors will be void if snapback sanctions from 2015 nuclear deal are reimposed, as expected, on Saturday night
Iran ...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate JewsZionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol... and Russia signed a $25 billion deal to build nuclear power plants in the Islamic Theocratic Republic, Iranian state media reported Friday, just hours ahead of the likely return of sweeping UN sanctions on Iran.
"A deal for the construction of four nuclear power plants with a value of $25 billion in Sirik, Hormozgan was signed between the Iran Hormoz company and Rosatom," state television ... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
said.
Iran has just one operational nuclear power plant in Bushehr in the south, with a capacity of 1,000 megawatts — just a fraction of the country’s energy needs.
According to state news agency IRNA, each plant will have a capacity of 1,255 megawatts, though no details were provided on the timeline.
Iran had previously signed with Russia a nuclear energy deal in 1993, allowing for the construction of the Bushehr plant, after Germany had abandoned it in the wake of the Islamic revolution of 1979.
The latest move comes as so-called snapback sanctions triggered by the European parties to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with Iran are set to return by the end of Saturday.
Britannia, La Belle France and Germany triggered the sanctions last month, accusing of Iran of failing to adhere to its commitments under the agreement.
CHINA AND RUSSIA PROPOSE EXTENDING TALKS, BUT IT’S A LONG SHOT
At a Security Council session on Friday, China and Russia put forward a draft resolution to allow another half year for talks, but it is unlikely to garner enough support to pass.
Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, but it has also enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel has also said that Iran, shortly before the June war, took steps toward weaponization.
The United States in 2018 unilaterally pulled out of the Obama-era nuclear accord with Iran, after which Tehran began walking back its commitments.
Talks between Washington and Tehran to strike a new deal were underway, but ended when Israeli strikes in June began a 12-day war that the US briefly joined, striking three underground nuclear sites, before brokering a ceasefire.
Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Theocratic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.
Iran retaliated to Israel’s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel. The attacks killed 31 people and maimed over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.
TEHRAN: IAEA COOPERATION OVER IF SANCTIONS REINSTATED
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Tehran will scrap an agreement to let the UN watchdog inspect its nuclear sites if Western powers reinstate the sanctions on Saturday.
In a post on Telegram, Araghchi said a deal signed in Egypt this month "will remain valid as long as no hostile action is taken against Iran, including the reinstatement of United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... Security Council resolutions that have been annulled."
He added: "Otherwise, the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran will consider its practical commitments terminated."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for 
