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
1/ The Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Mikhail Gudkov, may have inadvertently revealed his position in an insecure radio call, enabling Ukraine to kill him on Wednesday. Ukraine may also have tried to assassinated him on 30 May near Vladivostok. ⬇️
2/ Gudkov was reported to have been killed on 2 July at Korenevo in the Kursk region by a Ukrainian missile strike. The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that the general may have inadvertently given away his own position to Ukrainian signals interception.
3/ The channel reports that according to an account that is circulating, on 2 May "Vladivostok celebrated its City Day. The military, including Mikhail Gudkov, while in the Kursk region, could call each other and exchange congratulations over an unprotected connection."
1/ Russian prisoners of war are being sent straight into to front line assault squads after being released from Ukrainian captivity. They are denied family reunions, interrogated by the FSB, and in some cases prosecuted. Many have attempted suicide. ⬇️
2/ Relatives of released Russian POWs have appealed to the Russian authorities to allow their loved ones to return home. Instead, they say, the men are being sent straight back into combat without even being able to see their families.
3/ In one video appeal published last month, the wife of captured Russian soldier Alexey Frolov says that he is awaiting his turn to be exchanged after a year in captivity. She asks the authorities to let him come home, rather than being sent straight back.
1/ Russian Railways is facing a worsening crisis. 300,000 disused railway wagons are congesting the network, entire freight trains have been abandoned for months, there are critical shortages of locomotives and workers, and a major drop in loading across the network. ⬇️
2/ Russian Railways (RZD) has been in trouble for several years. It is facing an extremely severe shortage of staff, with some divisions of the company reportedly as much as 60% understaffed.
3/ RZD's problems have a huge impact on Russia's economy. It handles 47% of all cargo transport in Russia, and as much as 87% if pipelines are excluded. It's vital to the economy and the Russian military alike, as Russia's roads can't accomodate all the freight carried by rail.
1/ Economic distress in Russia is being reflected in a sharp increase from 1 July 2025 in tariffs for housing and municipal services – by up to 40% in some regions. This comes on top of steadily higher tariffs in 2023 and 2024, with an accelerating yearly level of price rises. ⬇️
2/ ASTRA reports that tariffs in the regions will increase by between 8.6% in Amur to 21.1% in Perm. Moscow's tariffs will rise by 15%, the surrounding Moscow Region by 13.3% and St. Petersburg by 14.6%.
3/ Some local authorities can impose their own increases independently of the framework established by the central government. Thus Omsk is increasing its tariffs by 39.6%, and Izhevsk by 38%.
1/ Russians who have lost arms, legs or eyes are being sent into assaults in Ukraine, with little chance of survival. Despite severe injuries, they are either being denied a fitness assessment or are arbitrarily being rated fit. The men call themselves "meat on crutches". ⬇️
2/ A Russian soldier has spoken of his experiences with a so-called 'cripple battalion' – a unit comprised of injured soldiers, which rather than recuperating or being allowed to heal or get treatment, is sent to the front line to take part in fresh assaults.
3/ 37-year-old Anton Savchenko from Tyumen – an ethnic Ukrainian with many relatives in Ukraine – volunteered to go to war in October 2024, saying that he "had to help". However, he soon regretted it, according to his relatives. Within less than a month, he had lost his left eye.
1/ Tens of gigabytes of secret data on Russia's strategic electronic warfare systems has been hacked by the pro-Ukrainian Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK). They say that Russia's EW shield is "not just fragile - it's full of holes" due to multiple flaws and vulnerabilities. ⬇️
2/ Two weeks ago, the RDK announced that it had obtained a large quantity of data on Russia's EW systems, including technical specifications, diagrams, official correspondence, equipment setup methods, drawings, test reports, and functional information.
3/ RDK commander 'Fortuna' says that "We got more than just the external appearance. We see the internal logic, architecture, connections between nodes, we know who designed it, which companies supplied the units, which research institutes are responsible for the developments."