The Ukrainian defenders of Lyman are outnumbered and outgunned But the waterways around the town prevent the Russians from massing forces The Russians build bridges—and the Ukrainians blow them up from the air The side that works fastest could gain the advantage The battle for Lyman isn’t the biggest orContinue Reading
The main fighting in the east is raging around Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka But the Russians are making their fastest gains south of Pokrovsk Russia’s biggest tank division is redeploying for a renewed push in south Donetsk toward Pokrovske The Ukrainians are preparing fortifications in case the Russians march past PokrovskeContinue Reading
Ukrainian drones struck two Russian Antonov An-26 airlifters at Kacha airfield in occupied Crimea An-26s transport cruise missiles and attack drones from factories to front-line bases—disrupting Russia’s strike capability Satellite imagery confirms one An-26 completely destroyed, debris already cleared from the base Part of coordinated campaign targeting Russian air defenses,Continue Reading
Key facts: The Russians are using tanks again after a long break from mechanized warfare Heavy losses of modern tanks have compelled them to pull older tanks out of storage Roughly 1,000 old T-72As are among the last stored tanks The T-72As aren’t very good tanks—but it might not matterContinue Reading
Key facts: The Russians are using tanks again after a long break from mechanized warfare Heavy losses of modern tanks have compelled them to pull older tanks out of storage Roughly 1,000 old T-72As are among the last stored tanks The T-72As aren’t very good tanks—but it might not matterContinue Reading
Ukrainian forces struck and damaged another ship supporting Russia’s war effort on the Black Sea on Thursday night. Another ship strike isn’t remarkable. In the 43 months since Russia widened its war on Ukraine, the Ukrainians have sunk or damaged roughly a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s threeContinue Reading
Russian reinforcements are surging into Donetsk Oblast, staging for what many observes anticipate will be a major mechanized assault on the fortress city of Pokrovsk. But Ukrainian forces aren’t just sitting around waiting for the attack. They’re positioning their own reinforcements around Pokrovsk. And they’re hitting the newly arriving RussianContinue Reading
Ukraine is about to get more of its best long-range missiles and drones. A lot more, and fast. At a meeting of Ukrainian and allied leaders on London on Tuesday, German and British officials separately announced major investment in Ukraine’s deep-strike capabilities. Germany will spend an additional $350 million onContinue Reading
150,000 Russian troops massing around Pokrovsk 5 Russian brigades redeployed from Sumy front 156th Mechanized Brigade rushing south as reinforcement Russia’s first major tank-led offensive in months The Ukrainian army stood up the 156th Infantry Brigade in the spring of 2024. Not long after, the unit converted into a mechanizedContinue Reading
Tiny first-person-view drones are everywhere all the time over the 1,100-km front line of Russia’s 43-month wider war on Ukraine. But most of them are surveillance and attack assets. They scan for targets over or near the front line—and then zoom in and explode. Now at least one Ukrainian unitContinue Reading
A Ukrainian Neptune cruise missile battery tried to strike targets in southern Russia’s Krasnodar Krai region on Thursday. The strike failed as Russian S-300 air-defense missiles rose to intercept the incoming Neptunes—and then the Russians struck back. A surveillance drone spotted a truck-mounted Neptune launcher, apparently the same launcher thatContinue Reading
Ukraine is escalating its attacks on Russia’s oil refineries, hitting 10 of them in recent days and throttling the Russian oil industry’s refining by more than a million barrels per day. That’s 14% of output. But refineries can be repaired. And Russia’s sprawling oil sector has excess capacity that couldContinue Reading
Escalating drone and missile strikes on Russia’s oil refineries have disrupted 17% of Russian refining. And it’s about to get worse for Russia’s battered oil industry as new, harder-hitting Ukrainian cruise missiles come on-line in greater numbers. Ukrainian forces have struck 10 Russian refineries in recent days, reducing output byContinue Reading