Russia now calls Leningrad Oblast a “front-line region” after Ukrainian strikes reached ~1,000 km from the border.
Governor Drozdenko says oil terminals and ports became primary targets, hitting core infrastructure behind the front, The Kyiv Independent. 1/
Ust-Luga and Primorsk — Russia’s main Baltic oil ports — handle 60M tons annually and generate major budget revenues, now struck since March 22. 2/
Ukraine's long-range strikes hit fuel tanks, piers, and tankers far from the battlefield. 343 drones were intercepted in the region in just the first 3 months of 2026. 3/
AI will soon decide who dies on the battlefield. In 2002 the US MQ-1 Predator drone carried out one of the first targeted strikes in Afghanistan. In 2026 Ukrainian ground robots capture Russian soldiers without a single human soldier present — Al Jazeera. 1/
In January Ukrainian defense company DevDroid released footage of three Russian soldiers surrendering to a ground robot armed with a machinegun. In April Zelenskyy confirmed: for the first time in the war, a position was captured exclusively by unmanned platforms. 2/
Ground robotic systems conducted over 22,000 missions on the front in three months. Some brigades report that up to 70% of front-line supplies are now delivered by robots. These machines transport ammunition, food and medical supplies and evacuate wounded troops. 3/
"Ukraine's lack of Western weapons forced it to invent a different kind of warfare — civilian technology and business practices brought directly into combat.
NATO is now studying this." — Gen. Kaspars Pudāns, commander of the Latvian Armed Forces for Kyiv Post. 1/
Pudāns: "What has been surprising is the ability of Ukrainian soldiers and leaders at all levels to innovate and develop new approaches so quickly.
This was partly driven by a lack of support from the West, which forced Ukraine to adapt by using civilian technologies. 2/
Pudāns: "What is surprising is how quickly these ideas were implemented in practice and delivered results. It was practical and effective.
This is something we will definitely learn from, particularly the role of industry and its ability to deliver new solutions." 3/
Budanov: “You have one chance to stay alive — come out into the open and surrender. If you don’t decide in five minutes, I will order an assault.”
That’s how he spoke to Russian border guards during a raid inside Russia in summer 2023. 5 minutes later, they surrendered, Babel.1/
Artan unit commander Viktor Torkotiuk: the operation was planned two months in advance.
They gathered human intel, ran drone reconnaissance, sent teams deep inside to map routes. Budanov personally adjusted the final plan. Goal: disrupt Russia’s planned offensive on Kharkiv. 2/
Ukrainian units advanced tens of kilometers into Belgorod region, secured Nova Tavolzhanka, and began destroying Russian troops and equipment.
Russia threw wave after wave of assaults — and failed to push them out. 3/
NATO Admiral Dragone: The next war won’t look like today’s in Ukraine. We must balance traditional weapons with new systems — drones, cyber, and cognitive warfare.
Russia alone spends about $2B a year on disinformation.
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Dragone: The outcome of Russia-Ukraine war is unlikely to be decided only on the battlefield. Russia’s economy will play a key role.
Sanctions and economic pressure should be restored and strengthened once the Gulf conflict ends.
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Dragone: The battlefield is at a stalemate — no major territorial gains.
Russia is taking heavy losses, while Ukraine is holding the line. It’s a “frozen” phase, but the key point is that Ukraine maintains its positions.