1/ In a further sign of an economic slump in Russia, the giant vehicle manufacturer AvtoVAZ will shut down production entirely for 17 days due to falling demand and overcrowded warehouses. Its vehicles aren't selling and storage facilities are overflowing. ⬇️
2/ The Russian news outlet Mash reports that AvtoVAZ will shut down its assembly lines for almost the entire period from 27 April to 17 May, with the workforce sent on mandatory leave.
3/ Workers will be sent to do maintenance work between 27-30 April, 12-13 May will be covered by a postponement of vacation days from December, and staff will be paid at two-thirds their normal salary on 14-15 May.
4/ Those who refuse will remain on the job with reduced pay (2,648 rubles ($33) per day instead of 4,000 ($50)).
AvtoVaz has already moved to a four-day week, cut wages, and implement mass lay-offs, but it is still producing too many vehicles to sell.
5/ The company claims that the shutdown is needed to adjust production lines in advance of the new LADA Azimut vehicle, which is scheduled to launch in September 2026. /end
1/ News that Russia's BMPT Terminator, famed for its wobbly autocannons, is to be renamed the Spirodon has attracted criticism from Russian warbloggers. Perhaps not coincidentally, Spirodon also was the first name of Vladimir Putin's paternal grandfather. ⬇️
2/ According to Uralvagonzavod's official channel, "The machine, which replaces an entire unit, no longer bears the nickname of the American destroyer robot. It is our shield and sword."
3/ The official announcement says that the change in name was made "at the request of Uralvagonzavod workers (part of Rostec) and combat vehicle crews ... in honour of courage, resilience, and strength of spirit."
"Why "Spiridon"? This is a rare but revered name in Russia."
1/ Russia may be forced back to its 1991 borders as the Ukraine war turns against it, a Russian warblogger warns in a gloomy commentary. The prospects of a ceasefire on the current line of contact are slipping away and the threat to Russia itself is increasing. ⬇️
2/ 'Tulenkov', a Russian former soldier who fought in Ukraine, writes:
"As far as I can tell from my understanding of the situation on the battlefields of the Special Military Operaion, we've already lost sight of the option of freezing the line of contact."
3/ "Currently, it's of no interest to the enemy and its masters.
Until they fully exploit the capabilities of Palantir and other Karpov-like ideas, no one will put the war on hold.
Therefore, the next stage of real negotiations will be the 1991 borders.
1/ Russian soldiers in Ukraine are unhappy that army health and safety inspectors have ordered them to tear down their camouflage nets because they are too flammable. They've been told to put up bright red fire safety equipment instead. ⬇️
2/ 'Unofficial Bezsonov' complains:
"A commission from Moscow visited some of our units' temporary deployment locations. They ordered us to remove camouflage nets, as they violate fire safety regulations, and to hang up red signs like these."
3/ "Friends, these are frontline zones where our soldiers are trying to deploy secretly.
The war is five years old, but the number of differently-talented people serving on these commissions hasn't decreased.
1/ A fuel shortage is expanding across Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine due to Ukraine's drone strikes. The Russian warblogger 'Two Majors' reports that it is degrading Russian combat capabilities across the Donbas front lines, as well as in the south. ⬇️
"The problem is broader than just the land corridor to Crimea.
The destruction of our logistics to an operational depth of up to 200 km creates problems not only with the fuel supply to Crimea, as esteemed Comrade Rybar writes."
3/ "The operations of Ukrainian drones over the roads of the long-suffering Donbas are no less serious, although less publicised. This is understandable, as people don't go to Donetsk for summer vacations.
1/ The Russian occupation in Ukraine faces a "catastrophic" situation, according to alarmed Russian warbloggers. "Total drone terror" is now taking place across the entire occupied region, with no place being safe any more. ⬇️
2/ 'Donetsk MartynoVa' warns that all of Russia's gains in Ukraine are now at risk due to a "summer of bloody terror" being wrought by Ukraine's seeming air supremacy:
3/ "The saddest thing is that it's not just the facts that are frightening, but the incredible dynamics that threaten to easily wipe out all the achievements, sacrifices, and plans of a war that has been going on for 12 years.
1/ Ukraine has effectively done to Crimea what Iran has done to the Strait of Hormuz: it has reportedly scared Russian insurers into blocking all civilian-hauled oil supplies to the peninsula and occupied southern Ukraine for fear of drone strikes.
"So, to summarise the explanatory team's responses regarding the fuel shortage in Crimea, I'll sum up:
3/ "- Fuel transport by rail is permitted across the bridge in exceptional cases following a terrorist attack. Plus, owners of railway tanker cars are reluctant to provide them, as no one insures them.