1/ Citizens of the puppet 'Donetsk People's Republic' (DNR) are complaining en masse that they are not being paid their promised compensation for deaths and injuries caused to local residents by the war. The DNR itself admits that it owes more than 38 billion rubles ($467m). ⬇️
2/ Relatives and soldiers of the DNR's armed forces – which have been decimated due to being used as so-called 'meat waves' against Ukrainian positions – have been posting numerous videos complaining about the lack of compensation payments and appealing to Putin for help.
3/ In one video, a wife says: "Starting from September 2022, funding for lump-sum compensation for wounded and killed DNR servicemen for 2022 was terminated. We submitted documents to the commission of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the DNR.
4/ "There are a lot of us. We applied to all authorities. From the presidential administration to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation.
5/ "All our appeals are forwarded to the government of the DNR, which redirects them to the Ministry of Labour, and the answers come from there that there is no funding. We write to the deputies and there are no results."
6/ According to the wife of one wounded soldier, his unit "collected all the necessary documents promptly, the medical examiner issued a conclusion of a severe injury.
7/ "In November we submitted all the documents for payment, and for seven months there have been no payments, the allowance during treatment is 30,000 rubles ($371). The answer is the same, there is no funding."
8/ People seeking compensation have complained to the DNR state prosecutor's office, which admitted that an audit had "established the fact of lack of funding for this type of payment, which requires an amount of more than 38 billion rubles."
9/ It's very unlikely that the DNR will be able to pay the sums it owes, as its finances are precarious, its economy is a mess and it's kept afloat only by Russian government funding.
10/ The Russian government has shown little concern previously for the welfare of DNR soldiers and their families, so there seems to be little likelihood that the relatives' video appeals will achieve much. /end
1/ Ukraine's landing last week of an armed unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) on the occupied Kinburn Spit is being viewed with concern by Russian warbloggers. They warn that it shows Ukraine overtaking Russia technologically. ⬇️
2/ 'Archangel of Special Forces' writes with evident dismay:
"The "troublemakers," who previously gained notoriety for hanging a cloth on the Kinburn Peninsula using a drone and claiming control, have posted footage showing the use of an unmanned robotic vehicle (URV)."
3/ "And not just its use, but the deployment of the URV via an unmanned boat, which approached the shore, and the robotic complex then disembarked.
1/ Officials in the southwestern Russian city of Stavropol have been told to ditch their cars amidst the ongoing fuel shortage, and use bicycles instead. The move is the latest Russian attempt to save increasingly scarce fuel after Ukraine's destruction of Russian refineries. ⬇️
2/ The Governor of Stavropol, Vladimir Vladimirov, has urged officials to switch to bicycles to save fuel. He said:
"Let's start saving by ourselves. Dear heads [of departments], I urge you all. Within the city, you can get around on foot or by bicycle."
3/ "Within the district, I believe you can adjust your work plans in such a way as to minimize the consumption of gasoline and diesel fuel. Therefore, starting tomorrow, please leave your cars at home, and stop wasting the already scarce gasoline and diesel fuel."
1/ Ukraine's relentless drone campaign in the Sea of Azov and Crimea is having increasingly serious effects on Russian military operations and daily life. A gloomy report from the region highlights the impacts of the campaign.
"Over a week ago, the enemy intensified UAV attacks in Russia's internal waters of the Sea of Azov—an area where Russia’s sovereignty fully applies, meaning these events must legally be viewed as attacks on any part of our country's land territory.
3/ "After repeatedly striking tankers and other civilian vessels with drones flying at high altitudes (1–1.2 km) from the Zaporizhzhia region, the enemy launched an assault on the area of the Crimean Bridge.
1/ Russian military logistics in Ukraine are breaking down due to Ukrainian drone attacks and a critical lack of fuel for 'humanitarian aid' volunteers. This is likely to have a severe effect on the front line, because troops in the field depend heavily on donated supplies. ⬇️
2/ The fuel shortages currently affecting Russia are having a dire effect on volunteer groups. The Russian MOD does not provide soldiers with much more than the basics, leaving volunteers to provide everything from clothes to drones to body bags.
3/ The Krasnodar-based 'Volunteers' group describes how drones and fuels are affecting operations:
"Unfortunately, delivering humanitarian aid to soldiers in the SVO [Special Military Operation] zone has become even more difficult since June 2026 – for those who don't know:
1/ The frequently shifting goals of the war in Ukraine have presented a consistent problem with motivating Russian soldiers to fight. One Russian warblogger has a modest proposal: reframe the war around the concept that "Kyiv must be destroyed." ⬇️
2/ The Russian government has advanced several objectives for the war in Ukraine, none of which have been achieved. They include 'denazification' (i.e. removing the democratically elected Ukrainian government), demilitarisation, and securing Russia's conquests in Ukraine.
3/ Outside the relatively small ultranationalist community (and the Russian government), these have only attracted lukewarm public support. Russian soldiers have often complained that they do not understand why they are fighting.
1/ The Ukrainian drone strike campaign against Russian oil refineries is impacting daily life in Russia to an unprecedented extent. Drivers are being forced into desperate measures, such as buying diesel siphoned off from locomotives and resold by corrupt railway employees. ⬇️
2/ The Russian news outlet 'We can explain' notes that "there are now regions where there isn't a single accessible gas station." The channel's subscribers have shared how the gasoline shortage is changing their daily lives:
3/👨🦱 Mikhail, a tourist bus driver:
"Every week, new limits come out of the blue. What do you do when you and your passengers have no fuel at night, or they don't give you fuel because of restrictions? Our typical fill-up is 300-400 litres.