1/ Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin is, perhaps unsurprisingly, gloomy about the prospects for Russia's push into the Sumy region. He says that the war is turning into a "grand mess" which may become "tragically analogous" to the course of events in World War I. ⬇️
2/ Girkin writes on his Telegram channel:
"'As of now' - apparently, our offensive on Sumy has finally stalled - the fighting is still going on in the same Yunakivka, the northern outskirts of which our stormtroopers broke into on MAY 28-29!"
3/ "This is even worse, perhaps, than last year's May-June offensive on Vovchansk-Kharkiv. Well: it's sad, but expected.
4/ "I don't know - does the Kremlin understand that the "semi-war" situation has exhausted itself so much that it is becoming completely impossible even for "stagnation" and that we are "on the eve of a grand mess"?
5/ "Perhaps - "yes", but maybe also "no" (Again - at what level is this understanding?
6/ "After all, if literally everyone knows about this, but only one person ("lulled by optimistic reports") - our National Leader - does not guess - what significance does this knowledge have for further strategic planning? - Absolutely none!).
7/ "If we are not "beaten hard anywhere" this summer, then perhaps we will somehow "hold out" until autumn in our current state, but what will happen next?
8/ "So far, the situation is too similar to the “patterns” of World War I and the result may be, if not completely, then in many ways tragically analogous. (Again, it is not a fact that understanding (knowledge of this is present among VIP officials) is not a fact.
9/ "A very alarming precedent, in fact, is the suicide (self-?) of Starovoit : when a federal minister of the “first echelon of importance” (and the connection is exactly this – “first echelon”), who has just been removed from office, shoots himself on the eve of his arrest,…
10/ …this is too unpleasant a symptom of the “shaking” of the previous “power consensus”, indicating (again) the impossibility of further maintaining the “status quo” unchanged..." /end
1/ FOOL'S GOLD IN UKRAINE, PART 3: The Russian government promises bonuses to soldiers who destroy Ukrainian tanks and seize positions – but it's unlikely that they will long enjoy the benefits. Former Russian soldier Igor S. explains more about the illusory riches of the war. ⬇️
1/ FOOL'S GOLD IN UKRAINE, PART 2: Former Russian soldier Igor S. from Chuvashia was invalided out of the Russian army after sustaining injuries at Chasiv Yar. This thread continues his account of how the riches promised to Russians fighting in Ukraine are illusory. ⬇️
"How did our "Ministry of Finance" work? Very simple: we handed over cards with a PIN code, they were at the base in Berdiansk [in the occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region]."
1/ Russian warbloggers say that the message from Donald Trump is clear: Russia is free to do anything it wants in Ukraine over the next 50 days. They advise the Russian government to "wreck Ukraine" in "the promised, bloodiest period" ahead. ⬇️
2/ 'Military Informant' asks, "Where did the unusual 50 days come from for Trump, who previously liked to measure everything in two weeks?" It comes up with the same answer as many Western commentators – that it matches Putin's timeframe for completing his conquests:
3/ "▪️Today, Axios published an article stating that Vladimir Putin, during a phone call with Trump, said that Russia would attempt to establish control over all entities included in the Russian constitution [i.e. taking control of all annexed regions] within the next 60 days.
1/ Most Russian soldiers go to Ukraine hoping to earn life-changing amounts of money. As one ex-soldier from Chuvashia describes, however, the reality is very different: the only things that are free are "ammunition and body bags", and soldiers have to buy everything else. ⬇️
2/ 46-year-old Igor S. from Chuvashia survived the Ukraine war at the cost of an eye and many fragmentation injuries. He has described his experiences with the Russian army from his mobilisation in September 2022 to his discharge following injuries sustained in January 2024.
3/ A participant in the Chechen wars, he went to Ukraine "not because I am a super-patriot or because I want to conquer Ukraine. It’s just that there is no one to take to war from our village – young people and old people. The men left because there is no work or prospects."
1/ A Russian soldier with cancer and two broken legs was sent to the front lines in Ukraine to fight in a wheelchair, even though his chronic condition meant that he was ineligible to serve. After his cancer was deemed terminal, he was sent home to die. ⬇️
2/ 42-year-old Vitaly Anisimov suffered from a rare and usually fatal condition, gastric arteriovenous malformation, for which he had a complex operation in 2019. Despite still being chronically unwell, in 2022 he was abruptly mobilised into the Russian army.
3/ His daughter Anastasia said that despite the family's protests, the recruitment officers told him, "We don't care about your diagnoses - according to our papers, you are suitable." He fell a few days later and broke both his legs. Despite this he was declared fit.
1/ A Polish man who is fighting for Russia is urging fellow Poles to join Putin's war against Ukraine. He wants to see the 'Banderite' Ukrainians defeated, for Russian troops to "put Poland in order" and for the "traitors" in power in Warsaw to be dealt with. ⬇️
2/ A Polish man who calls himself 'Polak na Donbasie' has been posting to TikTok since April 2025. He appears to be named Jacek and to have previously served with the 6th Logistics Battalion of the Polish Army in Krakow.
3/ The man says he is serving on the Zaporizhzhia-Donbas front, apparently around the village of Velyka Novosilka, some way behind the front line. He says that he first joined the 'Pyatnashka' battalion for foreigners, then signed a contract with Russia's Ministry of Defence.