1/ The developers of the Russian heavy bomber drone 'Kukushka' have been sent to their deaths en masse, according to the father of one of the men. He says they were deliberately killed as they were regarded as 'inconveniences' by their commanders. ⬇️
2/ Alexander Igorevich Anorin has recorded a video accusing commanders in the 102nd Motorised Rifle Regiment (military unit 91706) of sending a group of UAV developers to their deaths in assaults against Ukrainian positions.
3/ He says the commander of the regiment's 2nd Batallion, Boris Borisovich Kravchenko, call sign "Azak," and the regiment's deputy political officer, Samvel Karapetyan, sent the drone developers to die in an assault near Poltavka in the Zaporizhzhia region in July 2025.
4/ Almost all of the men were killed, including the lead developer, Junior Lieutenant Alexey Olegovich Glazkov, call sign "Azimuth." This was despite another unit seeking to transfer Glazkov to its ranks to that he could develop his drones further there.
5/ According to Anorin, Kravchenko ignored Glazkov's transfer requests, leading to conflict between the two men. On 28 June, he sent Glazkov on a combat mission, and on 23 July, Glazkov was declared missing near Poltavka.
6/ At the time, Poltavka was a frontline village under intense assault from Russian forces. It finally fell in October 2025 after months of fighting.
Anorin speculates that this decision was made deliberately to get rid of 'inconvenient' soldiers. He says:
7/ "There can only be two explanations for this action. Either [Kravchenko and] Karapetyan are working for the enemy, or they were asked to remove an inconvenient group of developers, since the Ministry of Defence has allocated funds for the development of heavy drones,…
8/ …and these funds should be going to the right people in Moscow."
He also accuses the battalion commanders of "extortion, torture, beatings, lynchings, as well as [causing] the monstrous losses in the regiment and battalion with no results whatsoever."
9/ Anorin asks whether the actions of the high command constitute sabotage and treason, and accuses them (including Putin, rather dangerously) of causing enormous losses of manpower:
10/ "Questions arise not only for Boris Borisovich Kravchenko and Samvel Karapetyan, but also for [Chief of Staff] Gerasimov and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Mr. Putin.
11/ "Perhaps these people should have no place in the army—from the last battalion commander to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief? Because their negligence, brainlessness, and hysterical actions are leading to enormous losses among our soldiers."
12/ Glazkov's likely death illustrates a frequent cause of complaint among Russian warbloggers: instead of protecting specialists, commanders often send them into fatal assaults when they are short of numbers, as they often are. /end
1/ Could Yevgeny Prigozhin have become Russia's equivalent of Ukraine's Robert 'Madyar' Brovdi if he had been allowed to live? A provocative Russian commentary suggests that Wagner's 'civilian-controlled military' operating model could have been applied more widely by Russia. ⬇️
2/ 'Russian Engineer' writes:
"The answers to the questions are about what changes allowed the enemy to halt the downward trend in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which was clearly evident throughout 2025."
3/ "And now they're striking along the Novorossiya highway, and simultaneously in Moscow and Sevastopol.
1/ Ukraine's massive penetration of Moscow's air defences is sparking a great deal of gloomy and angry commentary from Russian warbloggers. The military-technical Telegram channel 'Atomic Cherry' warns of an escalating trend of Ukrainian capabilities. ⬇️
2/ "As an interim observation, I will note that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for the first time in years of the conflict, have succeeded in destroying a number of targets in the Moscow region:
There are a number of statements and testimonies about hits on other targets as well, but listing them all makes no sense. The trend is clear without this.
1/ The Russian government is warning that the Ukrainians are trying to buy Russian Telegram channels that are now unprofitable after the government's blocking of the app. Russian commentators say it's an inevitable result of the government's restrictive policies. ⬇️
2/ Russia has been severely restricting Telegram since the start of April, as well as making it retrospectively illegal to use Telegram for advertising. This has been a disaster for Russian businesses, for which Telegram was an essential marketing tool.
3/ Individual Telegram bloggers have also faced a collapse in their income from Telegram, both because of the advertising ban and due to the blocking reducing their user bases (though many Russians continue to access it through VPNs). Some are now trying to sell their channels.
1/ Russia's anti-drone defences are said to be severely hampered by bureaucracy, such as bans on interceptor drones with explosive warheads, and legal liability, which makes mobile fire teams liable for damage caused by shot-down enemy drones. ⬇️
2/ Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev looks for answers to the eternal question of "where air defence?". He highlights legal and bureaucratic obstacles that he says are major obstacles to the effective protection of facilities that are being targeted by Ukrainian drones:
3/ "A few thoughts on counter-drone defence of rear-area facilities.
1. The very fact that we have legally limited the ability to use explosives to combat drones in the rear leads to an increase, not a decrease, in collateral losses.
1/ The Poseidon intercontinental nuclear torpedo is a very stupid idea, says Russian writer and blogger Maxim Kalashnikov. He lambasts it as a huge waste of Russia's resources which is likely to be highly vulnerable to interception and wholly ineffective in practice. ⬇️
2/ Recent reports that the much-hyped Poseidon will soon be undergoing sea trials on a purpose-built carrier submarine have attracted a scathing response from Kalashnikov. He bluntly dismisses it as a very expensive and militarily pointless propaganda exercise:
3/ "I look upon the cult of the “Poseidon” torpedo with disdain. Is it aimed at complete idiots whose minds have been shaped by Hollywood and who’ve forgotten their high school physics? Or at impressionable retirees?
1/ Russia's shrunken Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9th May has been a TV ratings flop, reflecting a lack of public interest and its exceptionally short duration. Russian broadcasters report 25% fewer people tuning in this year. ⬇️
2/ The Russian news outlet 'We can explain' reports that the combined rating for the Victory Day Parade broadcast across the three main broadcasters (Channel One, Rossiya 1, and NTV) this year was only 16%. This is a near-25% drop from the 20.5% rating recorded in 2025.
3/ The parade was overtaken in the ratings by the wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 'We can explain' suggests that this "may be due to the show's shortening and watering down."