1/ Ukraine has copied Russia's Lancet loitering munition – but, Russian warbloggers say with dismay, the new Ukrainian Bulava munition is a significant improvement on the Russian original.
3/ "The Ukrainian analogue of the Lancet — the Bulava kamikaze drone:
🔺 Warhead: 3.6 kg
🔺 Range: up to 60 km
🔺 Flight time: about 1 hour
🔺 Maximum altitude: about 2 km
🔺 Speed: up to 100 km/h
🔺 Targets: Buk-M3 air defense, Tor SAM, Pole-21 electronic warfare, heavy equipment
🔺 Resistance to electronic warfare and communications: higher than that of the Lancet
🔺 Works in conjunction with the Aist 100 M2 reconnaissance drone for precise target search"
5/ 'Reporter Filatov' writes:
"We have been very happy for a long time about how successfully the Lancets are working. Almost a weapon of victory...
But have you thought about what to do when the Ukrainian analogue appears?"
6/ "I will not put up a video yet, but they are flying very actively.
And we are not very good at countering them. Or rather, not at all.
7/ "And judging by how Ukraine chooses targets, they are again outplaying us in control.
Their analogues are flying at targets that we would not approve." /end
1/ The short and potentially tragic journey of American émigré Derek Huffman, who moved with his family from Texas to Russia to escape gays and pornography, joined the Russian army and was sent to the front in Ukraine, is documented by his YouTube channel. ⬇️
2/ Until recently, Huffman has vlogged his migration to Russia on his family's YouTube channel, 'Huffman Time'. He described his reasons for the move in a video of March 4, 2025:
3/ "We were motivated by our concerns over LGBT indoctrination in the American schools, unhealthy food, and a desire for a safer environment that is aligned with our Christian values.
1/ At least 226 million rubles ($2.88 million) is reported to have been stolen during the construction of border fortifications in Russia's Bryansk region. The deputy governor, Nikolai Simonenko, has been been raided by investigators pursuing a criminal case. ⬇️
2/ Bryansk has become the third Russian region bordering Ukraine to become the focus of a scandal over corruption in the fortification programme, after Kursk and Belgorod. Kursk's governor and deputy governor are currently detained and awaiting trial.
3/ The corruption scandal in the Kursk region is reportedly the reason why another former governor, Roman Starovoit, shot himself on 7 July. He was said to have been about to face charges over a $190 million fraud.
1/ Residents of the Russian-occupied Donetsk region of Ukraine have issued a desperate appeal to Vladimir Putin to resolve a disastrous shortage of water. A Russian warblogger admits that the region was better off before the Russian takeover. ⬇️
2/ The entirety of Russian-occupied Ukraine is experiencing a severe and worsening lack of water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use. War, neglect, faulty infrastructure and corruption are widely blamed for the problems.
3/ The 'Blue Z Beard' Telegram channel has published the text of an "appeal to the Tsar" which residents of Donetsk have made to Vladimir Putin. It's unlikely to have much effect, as similar appeals have simply been referred to the local authorities.
1/ Russian convicts are being violently press-ganged into the Russian army, according to relatives. They say that hundreds of prisoners have been beaten en masse until they have agreed to sign a military contract. The army "really needs meat", says one relative. ⬇️
2/ At least 50,000 Russian convicts were voluntarily recruited by the Wagner Group and subsequently the Russian Ministry of Defence, with promises of pardons and lucrative payouts. However, many remained behind, particularly after reports of huge numbers of casualties emerged.
3/ As the mother of one man who resisted recruitment says of her son, "He said that he was not a fool to go to his death. Even after the Wagnerites returned six months later (not all of them, of course) with medals and millions."
1/ Corrupt Russian officers often extort large bribes for not sending men into what are likely to be suicidal assaults. Men are hidden from inspectors to prevent exposure. A Russian soldier explains how the scam works; "the attitude is like towards cattle," he says. ⬇️
2/ A video recorded by Viktor Aleksandrovich Zhuravlev, a member of a 'Storm V' stormtrooper squad in the Russian 26th Tank Regiment (military unit 52562), describes an extortion racket in his unit. It's similar to such rackets reported elsewhere.
3/ Zhuravlev says he was badly wounded in November 2024 when a bullet hit his right forearm, shattering the ulna. Two operations were unsuccessful – the bone has not healed and he cannot move the arm or use his fingers. He went AWOL to consult a civilian doctor.
1/ 'Anti-woke' American Derek Huffman is the third Texan to move to Russian-held territory to fight against Ukraine. As his predecessors were kidnapped, tortured to death, blown to pieces and killed by Ukrainian forces, it seems unlikely that his fate will be any better. ⬇️
2/ Huffman is a 45-year-old former welder who moved with his family to Russia in May 2025 to "escape LGBT propaganda" in America. He joined the Russian army to get fast-track citizenship, but to his family's dismay, he has been sent to the front lines.
3/ Huffman is the third person from Texas to have joined Russian forces. His two predecessors, both self-declared communists, were killed – one by his own side, the other by Ukrainian attacks during an assault.