1/ Despite searing temperatures of up to 40°C (104°F), Russian fighter pilots in Ukraine and southern Russia are reportedly being issued with only 1 litre (36 oz) of water per day. In between sorties, they are said to be driving around nearby villages begging for water. ⬇️
2/ The Fighterbomber Telegram channel has published a despairing post complaining about a chronic shortage of drinking water for Russian pilots stationed at forward airfields. The author writes:
3/ "The guys have been fighting from forward airfields for several months and for several months everything has been bad with food.
You can say it doesn't exist.
If with dry rations everything was solved after a time, then with water everything turned out to be difficult.
4/ "It turns out that pilots are not allowed water.
None.
5/ "After the intervention of those who don't give a fuck, within a day the issue with rations was essentially resolved, and the water issue was partially resolved. A water standard has appeared.
One
Litre
Of
Water
Per day
Per person.
6/ "When not flying combat missions, pilots are forced to drive around the surrounding villages in search of water."
7/ It should be noted that the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has determined that an adequate daily fluid intake is about 3.7 litres (130 oz) of fluids a day. In very hot temperatures, more water is likely to be needed or dehydration will result.
8/ The channel appeals to Russian bottled water manufacturers to "deliver water to the nearest military airfield. Preliminary, this is Voronezh, Rostov, and any military airfield in Crimea. Wherever is more convenient for you.
9/ Water in one-and-a-half-litre bottles is more convenient, but we'll take any."
The south of Ukraine and Russia are currently experiencing very high temperatures and severe drought. The Kakhovka dam's destruction in June 2023 has cut off most of the water supply to Crimea.
10/ Ukrainian attacks on Russian supply chains are also likely to be a factor in causing shortages of food and water. Russian troops have recently filmed themselves having to drink nettle soup for lack of food supplies. /end
69 years ago today, Hungary rose up against a tyrannical Communist government backed by the Soviet Union. With Hungary currently under another pro-Russian leader, the story of the Hungarian Revolution is still strongly relevant.
2/ Immediately prior to the revolution, Hungary's Stalinist regime was deeply unpopular. Hungary's economy was struggling, Communist leader Mátyás Rákosi had been deposed by the Soviets over destalinisation, and the many past abuses of the regime were becoming public knowledge.
3/ A student protest sparked the revolution, followed by the Hungarian Writers' Union declaring its support for anti-communist reformers in Poland and laying a symbolic wreath at the statue of General Józef Zachariasz Bem, a hero of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.
1/ A Russian city is literally drowning in human waste due to the failure of its sewage system. It's worn out but hasn't been replaced or repaired due to a lack of funding. It's a vivid illustration of the costs imposed by Russia's money being redirected to the war in Ukraine. ⬇️
2/ Balakhna is an historic city of around 51,000 people, founded in 1474 on the banks of the Volga River about 32 kilometers (20 mi) north of Nizhny Novgorod. However, its underfunded sewage system has collapsed, with the result that "the city is literally flooded with shit".
3/ Balakhna native Alexander Kartavykh – a Russian warblogger – has been highlighting the city's problems in a series of posts on Telegram. He says that "the pumps aren't working, everything's broken, it's a complete and utter disaster."
1/ Russian forces are making extensive use of infiltration tactics in place of the notorious 'meat assaults', according to a new report by @jack_watling. However, a Russian warblogger says that this is costing 2 or 3 times as many cumulative casualties as massed assaults. ⬇️
2/ The DShRG Rusich Telegram channel has published a video taken by a Russian soldier on an infiltration mission. He follows a path along a treeline which was used by many other Russian soldiers on similar missions – dozens of whom can be seen lying dead along the way.
3/ The channel's author writes:
"The tactic of infiltrating small groups (2-3 people), unfortunately, often results in greater losses than a single massive assault. Yes, on video, it looks tragic from the enemy side, with several units of equipment being destroyed."
1/ A Russian colonel reportedly died of cardiac arrest after it was discovered during a rotation that he had been lying to his superiors about his division's control of territory in the Kherson region. ⬇️
2/ Colonel Alexey Vladlenovich Plisov, callsign 'Ryazan', was the commander of the Russian 70th Motor Rifle Division of the 18th Combined Arms Army. The division was located on the left bank of the Dnipro river.
3/ Plisov is said to have repeatedly reported to his superiors that most of the islands in the Kherson region were under Russian control. However, Ukrainian reports and independent assessments have consistently assigned the islands to the 'grey zone' controlled by neither side.
1/ Russia is said to be lagging far behind Ukraine in drone production, with as many as 40 to 100 Ukrainian drones for every Russian one. An angry commentary from a Russian warblogger complains of an ongoing failure by Russia to produce enough drones for the front. ⬇️
2/ 'Voenkor Kotenok' writes: "For those infinitely removed from the front line and who understand the war as a stream of official media reports, let me explain: at the moment, full-scale counter-attacks are taking place in many directions and sectors of the…
3/ …Special Military Operation, involving small units/groups/detachments. The fighting is fierce, with varying success, with individual terrain, positions, strongholds, and the ruins of populated areas changing hands four or five times.
1/ Russian convicts are refusing en masse to join the army, according to the jailed Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin. In contrast to Yevgeny Prigozhin's recruitment campaigns in 2022-23, which attracted tens of thousands of recruits, distrust of the army is now said to be universal. ⬇️
2/ Girkin, who was jailed last year, is reportedly being held in the IK-5 penal colony in Kirovo-Chepetsk in the Kirov region. The facility specialises in holding ex-security officials (Girkin is ex-FSB). As such it might normally be expected to provide plenty of army recruits.
3/ The reality is very different though, according to Girkin. Interestingly, he says that the imprisonment of deserters is causing the wider prison population to become more aware of how the army treats its men and makes them more resistent to recruitment efforts: