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."
4/ "We received a number of important military developments along with protocols, engineering solutions and approvals from the Russian Ministry of Defence. In addition, we managed to establish the entire chain of enterprises involved in production and supply.
5/ "And it is also important that all the persons involved in the development and creation of these stations were identified. Upon completion of the operation, the RDK had their names, addresses, car numbers, places of work."
6/ RDK announced in a YouTube video that it had obtained data on the following:
🔺 "ANCHAR-K — a polar warfare naval station. An automated station for electronic suppression of satellite communication lines in Arctic conditions. It is installed on icebreaker-class ships.
7/ "Developed as a response to the vulnerability of the Russian Federation in high-latitude areas."
8/ The system is intended to disrupt signals from satellites, aviation radars and ship navigation. However, the documents obtained by the RDK indicate that it is not capable of resisting Arctic conditions, including wind, cold and icing.
9/ According to the RDK, "When the ship maneuvers, the Anchar loses tracking. The guidance time is more than four minutes. In the event of a failure, the entire system is switched off." Its location is exposed when it is in operation.
10/ 🔺 "OZON-MEI — over-the-horizon. Over-the-horizon radar project using the evaporation waveguide effect. It works by forming a plasma channel in the near-surface atmosphere."
11/🔺 "Tirada-2.3 — "Interference". Satellite communications electronic suppression station. Part of the Tirada-2S complex."
According to the RDK, this is a narrow-target system for disabling satellite communications which uses directional antennas to focus on specific targets.
12/ Operating in ranges from 225 MHz to 15 GHz, it is used to temporarily disrupt communications with US and British military satellites (WGS, MUOS, Skynet).
13/ 'Fortuna' says: "Such a complex jams communications and also generates false signals. For example, a drone flying over the Bryansk region may "think" that it is over Ethiopia. Disorientation and substitution of coordinates occur."
14/🔺 "NMS REP DDV — suppression radio brain. Ground-based mobile station for suppressing long-range satellite communications. Controls other electronic warfare systems. Suppresses FleetSatcom, Milstar, MUOS, etc. links."
15/ The RDK desribes this as a key element of Russian signal suppression technology:
“This is a radio brain, everything depends on it: it determines radiation modes, types of interference, phasing."
16/ However, they say that it has serious flaws. It is reported to be extremely sensitive to weather, vibrations, requires complex settings and a stable power supply. The system copes poorly with combat conditions.
17/🔺 "Software modules, OS, CORVETTE. Operating systems and software modules used for protection and work with electronic warfare. We understand the architecture, but will not disclose all the security details."
18/ The hacked documents also reveal that Russia exploits China's satellites, apparently without China's knowledge. "Russia uses civilian Chinese satellites to cover the calibration of its systems."
19/ "That is, Russian electronic warfare systems are posing as terminals of the PRC’s civilian fleet in the Pacific Ocean. China has not been officially notified of this. If a signal is detected, Russia is betting that the responsibility will fall on the Chinese channel.
20/ "This is a risky game. Sooner or later, China will understand this. And we already know which satellites they “hang on to,” which channels they mimic. This is an extremely interesting and unexpected observation."
21/ 'Fortuna' says that Russian strategic electronic warfare systems suffer from the lack of an operational ecosystem. "This is a huge, overloaded structure, not ready for a real war."
22/ Russia has invested heavily in its EW systems to compensate for its relative lack of satellites, compared to the United States or China. The leak is likely to be a considerable setback, as it will enable Ukraine's Western partners to develop countermeasures. /end
1/ Russia's former chief doctor Gennady Onishchenko says that the current fuel crisis is positively beneficial for Russia: it's making the air cleaner, and city residents are becoming fitter by being deprived of their cars. Russian commentators are wondering what he's smoking. ⬇️
2/ The comments were made by Onishchenko, an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, in an interview on Friday with the Moscow Speaks radio station:
3/ "We even stopped walking to the neighbouring [building] entrance and started driving in cars. If we talk about Moscow, it's much more sensible to give up cars. Most people can easily and comfortably ride the metro, and leave cars for trips outside the city.
1/ A Russian general has been arrested by a military court after being accused of 'selling' nearly 90 soldiers to a mercenary leader who is accused of extortion, kidnapping, arms trafficking, torture, and murder. Lt Gen Alexander Dembitsky denies the accusations. ⬇️
2/ The case involves Alexey Marushchenko, the head of the 'Yastreb' private military company, which fought in Ukraine. Yastreb's recruiters are said to have promised those who wished to enlish for military service that they would fight with Yastreb, rather than the regular army.
3/ The prospective contract soldiers were required to pay up front for this privilege. However, Russian criminal investigators found that Yastreb pocketed the recruits' money and they were sent straight to regular military units without any opportunity to serve with Yastreb.
1/ An infamous Russian 'butcher commander' accused of sending his subordinates to their deaths to cover up his own drug-dealing has been promoted to command the 114th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. His many critics aren't impressed by this apparent favouritism. ⬇️
2/ Colonel Igor Puzik, callsign 'Evil,' gained notoriety in 2024 after two drone operators with the callsigns 'Goodwin' and 'Ernest' publicly accused Puzik of drug trafficking in a social media video. He sent them to their deaths in an infantry assault a few days later.
3/ The practice of deliberately killing unwanted subordinates by sending them on suicide missions has since been dubbed 'Puzikism' by Russian warbloggers. Despite their criticism and an official investigation, Puzik seems to have prospered under his superiors' protection.
1/ Soaring fuel prices in Russia are providing an unparalleled opportunity to make a quick profit through price gouging, artificial scarcity, and corruption. A Russian warblogger highlights how gas station owners and operators are exploiting the crisis. ⬇️
2/ The Russian 'Kovpak's Detachment' Telegram channel writes:
"In the case of absolutely any shortage, tension in society is created by those who want to make money on it."
3/ "In the case of fuel – gas station owners and various scum, who, with the tacit permission (obviously, not for free) of the gas station management, hang around them.
1/ Russia's deal with India to supply fuel to alleviate the current shortages involves the Indians selling fuel refined from discounted Russian oil back to Russia at full market prices. As warblogger Yuri Baranchik points out, this is extraordinarily bad value for Russia. ⬇️
2/ Baranchik grumbles:
"Well, gentlemen, it's happened: we're witnessing the birth of a new economic reality, which can safely be called "a cycle of enrichment for the Indian oil refining sector at the expense of the Russian budget and the patience of its citizens."
3/ "Look at the elegant business model that's emerging. We're pumping crude oil to India. A lot, a record amount, sometimes as much as 2.7 million barrels per day. Naturally, we're pumping it at that legendary discount that's become the talk of the town.
1/ Russian warbloggers are warning that despite growing indications of a planned second mobilisation after the Russian legislative elections in September 2026, there are major unresolved practical problems in actually carrying out a new mobilisation. ⬇️
2/ Yesterday the warblogger Vladimir Romanov commented on a rumoured plan to mobilise 1.2 million Russian men in the fall. In response, 'Ghost of Novorossiya' writes:
3/ "It's difficult to comment seriously on rumours, but discussions regarding the likelihood of a second mobilisation have long since transcended the realm of speculation.