1/ The commander of Ukrainian's unmanned air forces, Robert "Madyar" Brovdi, has announced a set of reforms to improve the effectiveness and logistical supply of drones in the Ukrainian armed forces. They are to be implemented over the next three months. ⬇️
2/ As described by the 'Cuckoo's Nest' Telegram channel:
🔺 Immediate implementation of existing collective experience.
3/🔺 Transparent results: 6-7 units of the Unmanned Systems Line of Drones will be included in the TOP-10 according to the existing rating of the effectiveness of the UAV units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
4/ 🔺 Unified SYSTEM: all units of the Unmanned Systems Line of Drones performing combat missions at the front will operate in a single electronic system of planning, analysis, coordination, management, and online reporting with automatic verification of all results (June–July 2025).
5/ 🔺 12 layers of SBS influence on the strip in tactical and operational depth: immediate step-by-step launch or reinforcement in SBS units of the drone line of all 12 layers of influence on the assigned strip (following the example of the use of the 414th Separate Brigade,…
6/ …including SIGINT, EW, radar, enemy UAV fighters, remote mining, echeloned use of anti-Shahid means, anti-pilot action groups, etc.), immediate launch of retraining of the armed forces, competent provision of means, technologies and control systems (June–September 2025)
7/ 🔺 Building up our own existing ammunition production for competent and timely provision, and not according to the final principle of "we fight with what we have left." Ammunition is waiting for pilots, and not vice versa.
8/ 🔺 Single composition of critical components. Creation of a single supply warehouse and timely provision of units with a package of 50 critical means and components (such as StarLink, additional batteries for drones, mobile electronic warfare systems, FPV and bomber customization components, peripherals, power banks, pickups, etc.).
9/ 🔺 Ground robotic complexes - as the main means of logistics of warheads, drones and peripherals to pilots in positions, etc.
10/ 🔺 A single recruiting campaign for the SBS and basic + professional at the same time (analogous to the already introduced training system in the Drone Line), its own network of FPV schools, bombers, wings, electronic warfare, radio-electronic warfare, radars, fighters, NRK, etc.
11/ 🔺 PILOTS FLY, EVERYONE ELSE WORKS TO SUPPORT THE PROCESS. Revision and optimization of the combat and emergency response forces of the SBS, retraining and prompt training of inexperienced or incompetent crews,…
12/ … reprofiling by types of flight activities, revision of dead souls, guest workers, draft dodgers in military uniform, the tired and the dodgy.
13/ 🔺 COUNT-PLAN-RECEIVE-FIGHT. Unified analysis of the capabilities and fact of use, results in the context of drone / ammunition models for the implementation of accurate planning and implementation of support.
14/ 🔺 Separate section - the use of UAVs at strategic depth.
15/🔺 R & D (center for innovation and implementation of developments). Transformation of the current center from the brigade level to the level of support of the branch of the armed forces and more (15 models of already implemented projects and means).
1/ A Russian convict soldier has described the gruelling and deadly experience of serving in a 'Storm V' assault unit, from initial training, to facing swarms of Ukrainian drones, and being the only survivor of a bloody battle against dug-in and determined Ukrainian forces. ⬇️
2/ Russian warblogger 'Maxim Kalashnikov' publishes the account of a Storm V soldier of his acquaintance:
"We weren't trained for long. At the Markovka training ground, the instructors, tired of repeating the same thing over and over again, don't care how you're trained."
3/ "The main thing for them is that there are no injuries or accidental hits on their own during shooting. However, these were rare. What did they teach us? Who knows? How did they teach us? Not at all from the point of view of survivability and combat effectiveness.
1/ Russians who were mobilised in 2022-23 and have survived to the present day may not live much longer, as they are reportedly being formed into assault squads, where they will likely be sent to their deaths. This is forecast to lead to a bribery bonanza for commanders. ⬇️
2/ The 'Vault 8' Telegram channel reports:
"Bad news is coming from two directions—the "North" group and Zaporizhzhia."
3/ "There, the threat of "[sign a] contract or [go to an] assault" for mobilised soldiers has shifted to shady tactics: removing mobilised soldiers from the unit's roster and preparing them for transfer.
1/ Civilians under Russian occupation in the Luhansk region are starving and dying of cold because of a breakdown in essential services under the 'Luhansk People's Republic' (LPR), according to a complaint by a Russian warblogger. ⬇️
2/ A significant number of Ukrainians – many of them elderly people, who grew up under the Soviet Union and often still hold pro-Russian views – still live in the frontline Svatove and Kreminna districts. However, they now have no electricity and conditions are reportedly dire.
3/ 'Veterans' Notes' warns that the region faces 'mass casualties' among the civilian population – who are now regarded by the occupation authorities as Russian citizens – if urgent action is not taken to restore power:
1/ The new US National Security Strategy blames 'undemocratic' European governments for failing to make peace with Russia, takes a pro-Russian position on NATO, reflects white nationalist views on European demographics, and pledges overt support for far-right parties. ⬇️
2/ While the strategy states that "it is a core interest of the United States to negotiate an expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine", it says that "the Trump Administration finds itself at odds with European officials who hold unrealistic expectations for the war…
3/ …perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition."
(This is likely a reference to European regulation of social media and the 2024 annulment of the Romanian election due to Russian interference.)
1/ A group of Russian soldiers say their commanders are "simply driving us to the slaughter" after extorting and brutally beating them: "There's no support, no air force, nothing. You just stomp along and die." They are all now listed as missing in action. ⬇️
2/ The men are from the 328th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment (military unit 01011), which is currently fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region. Heavy fighting is ongoing south of Zaporizhzhia city, where the Russians are trying to open the route to the north.
3/ The soldiers say that they "encountered abusive practices—money collection—and we refused. Yet another money collection. They started collecting money for some company needs, from us, the soldiers. We refused to contribute. The next day, they came and beat us."
1/ An apparent attack on a 'shadow fleet' tanker off the coast of Senegal means that Ukraine may now be able to attack Russian interests worldwide, says Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots. He calls it a new and threatening phase in the war. ⬇️
2/ Kots, who writes for Komsomolskaya Prava, has asked how Russia should respond to the severe damage suffered on 27 November by the oil tanker Mersin. Its Turkish owners report that the vessel was hit by four external explosions while it was in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
3/ The crew is reportedly safe, but videos show the vessel down by the stern after the engine room flooded. The incident is strikingly similar to the confirmed Ukrainian attacks on 28 November against two oil tankers which were travelling to Russian Black Sea ports.