1/ Ukrainian operatives inside Russia are reportedly acting as forward air controllers, according to a Russian source, using infrared laser beams – invisible to the naked eye – to guide drones to targets. This is likely being done to defeat Russian electronic warfare. ⬇️
2/ 'UAV developer' writes that "in many cities (probably all of them), there are pigs that illuminate targets with infrared lasers. These lasers are invisible to the naked eye, but cameras can see them."
3/ "A drone flying into the area sees these lasers (the beams and "spots" from them) and targets them even in complete darkness.
These lasers have been recorded in Crimea, Cheboksary, and Ryazan. I'm sure they've been seen in other places as well.
4/ "The typical setup is from the window of a rental apartment rented with a fake ID (the window is always open, as the glass interferes with the illumination). Or from an attic or roof.
5/ "Typically, this involves a photo tripod with a powerful laser pointer attached, activated via a Wi-Fi relay with Ozone or some other remote control. The tripod is pre-positioned on the target.
6/ "In rare cases, there was a controlled motor that could be used to change the target.
By the time the authorities arrive, the people are gone.
7/ "That's my point. The flashing lights are very visible on CCTV cameras, but somewhat less so on cell phone cameras. If you see such a beam on your cameras, report it to the police.
8/ "If you're working in security, install a good night-vision night-vision camera at your site and regularly monitor the area. If you're being flashed, get out of there and call the police.
Flashing lights often run continuously for several days.
9/ "I have a video of these flashing lights in action, but I can't post it because the targets weren't hit, as they were identified early and the saboteurs were caught while they were still alive." /end
1/ Russian-occupied Donetsk now exists under a state of "drone terror", says a local Russian inhabitant. Local influencer 'Donetsk MartynoVa' describes how normal life is grinding to a halt under relentless Ukrainian mid-range strikes. ⬇️
2/ As the thread below highlights, Ukraine's 'drone siege' of the occupied regions of the country ramped up quickly during May 2026 and has come to threaten Russia's control over the area through the decimation of Russian logistics.
1/ The Russian authorities are threatening to charge people who photograph military cemeteries with treason. It highlights how the Kremlin has become sensitive to cemeteries representing a potent symbol of Russia's huge losses in Ukriane. ⬇️
2/ 'Mobilization News' reports:
"Treason charges have been threatened for photographs of military graves in Yekaterinburg cemeteries."
3/ "Local cemetery administrations, in conjunction with the FSB, are preparing information signs that will be placed "on information boards at cemetery entrances and along visitor routes."
1/ A fuel crisis is growing in Russia, with soaring costs for gasoline, quotas on how much can be bought, and long queues at the pumps. Miroslava Reginskaya, wife of the imprisoned Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin, highlights how shortages have become widespread and severe. ⬇️
2/ Reginskaya writes:
"The fuel crisis is steadily spreading across the country: reports of gasoline shortages at gas stations are already coming in from many regions."
3/ "In some places, this is a genuine fuel shortage, while in others, it's a result of retailers trying to profit from the difficult situation.
1/ The hot debate of the moment among Russian commentators is whether and how Russia will begin "fighting for real". Russia's former president openly calls for war crimes while others advocate striking the West, destroying Kyiv, killing Zelenskyy, and nuking Starlink. ⬇️
2/ Former Russian president and current Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev says on his channel on the Russian 'state messenger app' MAX that the laws of war no longer apply after Ukraine's drone attack on the Moscow Oil Refinery.
3/ "Given the enemy's massive terrorist attacks on our cities, the intensity of which is growing and will obviously continue to grow, it is time to openly declare that there are no longer, and cannot be, any rules regarding neo-Nazi Kyiv," he writes.
1/ Russian warbloggers have identified a new enemy in the aftermath of the Ukrainian drone attacks in Moscow: migrants, who have appeared in many videos of the strikes. They are calling for severe punishments of those who have violated the government's censorship regulations. ⬇️
2/ One of the most iconic videos from the attack, showing a fuel storage tank's lid being thrown high in the air by an explosion, was filmed by a Chinese migrant worker and posted on his TikTok channel.
"Migrants from fraternal China published a video of a surface-to-air missile (or a MANPADS missile) hitting a storage tank at a Moscow oil refinery. Now the footage is spreading across Chinese and global social media."
1/ Why do Russian anti-drone units fail shoot down drones? Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev says they have numerous deficiencies, including bad communications, coordination, training, and drunkenness, that are undermining Russia's drone defences. ⬇️
"You can surround yourself with all sorts of equipment – radars, machine guns, state-of-the-art interceptors – and still miss an incoming aircraft simply because of a problem with the ‘padding between the steering wheel and the seat’.
3/ "– When mobile fire teams are afraid to shoot down drones (what if there's another one after them? What if it crashes somewhere wrong and gets called in?).
– When observers on duty are asleep or even drinking at their posts.