1/ As Ukrainian forces advance in the Kursk region, law and order in frontline Russian-held areas is reported to have collapsed completely. "Rampant looting" is said have broken out – being done by the Russians themselves – while local residents say they feel abandoned. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that "in the border areas of the Kursk region, where fighting has been going on all week, there are no police, no firefighters, no doctors, no representatives of the administration.
3/ "According to official information, more than 76,000 people left the settlements (most of them left on their own, since there was no organized evacuation, despite the statements of the authorities), but there are still people there, mostly elderly."
4/ The channel says that "the desertion of villages and towns has become a catalyst for rampant looting". The disorder is being carried out by the Russians themselves, though it isn't clear if opportunistic civilians or indisciplined soldiers are responsible.
5/ A local resident says: "They are robbing stores, there is a collapse in Korenevo, the “Magnit” [supermarket, pictured below] was simply destroyed. There is no water, no gas, no electricity.
6/ "There was no organized evacuation, and if there was, then why didn’t we hear anything about it in Lobanovka [an outlying area of Korenevo]?"
According to VChK-OGPU, "a similar situation exists in other border municipalities."
7/ It reports that "Kursk residents are sure that representatives of the [regional] administration, having abandoned people to their fate, themselves provoked the collapse in the border areas.
8/ "Currently, it is impossible to get through to the administration of the Korenevsky district of the Kursk region. People are forced to self-organise in order to protect themselves and their property and essentially perform the functions of state and law enforcement agencies."
Addendum: The Ukrainians have now published a video which shows soldiers, possibly from the Rosgvardia, looting an abandoned Russian house in the Kursk region. New thread here:
1/ Foreign-made components in Russian Kilo-class submarines in the Black Sea Fleet have reportedly been systematically stripped out and replaced with Russian or Chinese components. However, this is said to have resulted in corruption and significant problems with reliability. ⬇️
2/ In the mid-2010s, Russia undertook a major project to upgrade the design of its Kilo-class submarines with new systems. 11 new Project 636.3 ("Improved Kilo II") boats were launched between 2013 and 2024, with another 5 currently either on order or under construction.
3/ According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, the new systems incorporated foreign components, presumably imported from Western countries. This practice ceased in 2022 when technology sanctions were imposed following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
1/ Russia's use of frontline 'combat donkeys' is backfiring, according to Russian warbloggers. They say that the animals' large thermal signature is allowing the Ukrainians to track them easily and expose hidden Russian positions. ⬇️
2/ The Russian army has been using donkeys to replace vehicles in frontline logistics since at least the start of 2025. The thread below is a compilation of reports of donkey use on the front in Ukraine.
3/ A recent appearance by General Andrey Kartapolov on the 'Solovyov Live' show on the Russia 1 TV channel has attracted ridicule from warbloggers due to the general's claim that the donkeys don't get noticed because Ukrainian operators mistake them for roe deer.
1/ The Russian Air Force's inability to protect its aircraft against Ukrainian drones is symptomatic of its neglected status within the Russian armed forces, according to a prominent milblogger linked to the air force. He says it is afflicted by "desperation and poverty". ⬇️
2/ The Fighterbomber Telegram channel, which is believed to be run by a former Russian Air Force captain, comments that "the [Aerospace Forces] Commander-in-Chief could not do anything in the current situation" because of a chronic lack of resources.
3/ "The Aerospace Forces Commander-in-Chief cannot even get themselves normal "Pantsirs" [anti-aircraft missile systems] in the required quantity to protect combat airfields. Which are subordinate to them.
1/ A Russian military journalist says that Russian manufacturers won't produce electronic warfare drones because "the more UAVs shot down at the front, the more orders they have". It's said to illustrate how they treat the war as a get-rich-quick scheme. ⬇️
2/ Alexey Sukonkin quotes a correspondent on how the developers of a flying electronic warfare system, created in 2023, have found a complete lack of interest from Russian drone manufacturers despite the increasing threat from Ukrainian drones:
3/ "Our subscriber saw full-scale exhibits and heard a speech by the authors of the development at the Army-2023 exhibition – an unmanned aerial system for electronic suppression of FPV drones.
1/ Russian Black Sea Fleet submarines based in Novorossiysk are reportedly suffering from constant mechanical breakdowns, which are being blamed on sabotage. The suspected culprits, however, are not Ukrainians but the fleet's own personnel. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that according to a source, "since the beginning of 2024, constant breakdowns have been occurring on submarines of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation."
3/ "Because of this, all ships of the Black Sea Fleet were sent for inspection. More interesting is the reason for what happened. It is not [Ukrainian] saboteurs who are under suspicion, but the personnel of the fleet.
1/ Russian coast guard sailors are being sent to Ukraine to serve as stormtroopers, according to relatives of the men. It's unclear whether this is a new policy to make up for manpower shortages, or is being done to punish the individual men in question. ⬇️
2/ The mother of one of the men, a sailor named Ivan Krinichny, has recorded a video message to the Russian authorities appealing for her son to be returned to his normal duty with the Coast Guard.
3/ Natalia Krinichnaya says that Ivan and about 15 other men were transferred to assault units without warning, without official documents and explanations.