1/4 Another one: last night, Ukraine carried out three additional strikes in russia. What is russia's air defense doing? Update by @joni_askola
2/4 During the night of May 12, the GUR carried out drone attacks targeting three key locations in Russia: the Volgograd Oil Refinery, the Kaluganefteprodukt oil depot in Lyudinove, and the Novolypetsk metallurgical plant.
3/4 These strikes represent Ukraine's most effective means of disrupting russia's war machine. The significant size of russia poses a major challenge, making it nearly impossible for its air defense to protect all key infrastructure.
1/5 Putin's rumored potential successor Dyumin advances in rank and is summoned back to Moscow, while Patrushev assumes an honorary position. Update by @joni_askola
2/5 Tula governor Aleksey Dyumin joins former Security Council chief Nikolay Patrushev as a deputy to Putin’s chief of staff, Estonian-born traitor Anton Vaino.
3/5 Speculation has persisted for years that Putin's former bodyguard, Dyumin, could be a potential successor to Putin. Despite having held a significant role for approximately a decade, his position is now being formalized and institutionalized.
1/10 Belousov, who is replacing Shoigu, will pose a greater threat to Ukraine, but his nomination also serves as a reminder of russia's limited resources. Analysis by @joni_askola
2/10 Since 1991, Shoigu has served as a minister and is a loyalist and friend of Putin. His dismissal would not occur without a valid reason, and in this case, it reflects russia's recognition of the inefficiency of its Ministry of Defense.
3/10 Belousov's appointment demonstrates that russia's resources are not limitless, and underscores the need for russia to conduct an audit of its MoD and improve its efficiency if it intends to endure the consequences of the failed invasion that it initiated.
1/8 Yuriy Butusov's analysis of the situation north of Kharkiv. Update by @joni_askola
2/8 Renowned Ukrainian war journalist Yuriy Butusov provided an evaluation of the situation in the Kharkiv region.
3/8 According to him, the progress of russian forces has decelerated as they encounter defensive positions and experience escalating losses. Nevertheless, he notes that certain existing fortifications were constructed in inappropriate locations.
1/6 A russian KA-52 helicopter was downed, which comes as no surprise. Unless russia alters its approach to air support, further downings can be anticipated. Update by @joni_askola
2/6 The 47th Mechanized Brigade reports that they shot down a russian Ka-52 attack helicopter. A Su-25 was shot down a few days ago too.
3/6 As I mentioned in my thread from May 9th, it is not unexpected that we will see more russian jets, bombers, and helicopters being downed in the coming weeks and months. Link to the thread:
Another emerging problem in Russia is the real estate market. Although in recent years there has been an increase in the Russian real estate market and the volume of new construction projects of apartment buildings has been increasing, this will not last long. After all,
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this growth is also due to war and government subsidies. Developers' revenue is growing for the third year in a row: in 2021 - by 44%, in 2022 - by 7%, in 2023 - by 39%. The same goes for the mortgage portfolio of Russian banks. Already 54% of the total debt of the
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population on loans and 65% of its annual growth is due to mortgages. Mortgage lending is growing thanks to government subsidies. In the segment of multi-apartment buildings there are now almost no other mortgages - subsidized ones provide almost 95% of the total volume.
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1/8 A constant power struggle: the dismissals of Shoigu and Patrushev once again demonstrate that russia is more unstable than it is willing to reveal. Analysis by @joni_askola
2/8 It is not surprising that Shoigu is being dismissed from the role of Minister of Defence, especially after his close ally Timur Ivanov was arrested a few weeks ago.
3/8 russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a colossal failure, and Shoigu is recognized as a corrupt yes-man with more military medals than days served in the armed forces.