1/ Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin warns that Ukraine's drone offensive is setting the conditions for a direct attack on Crimea, by chopping Russian forces in the south of Ukraine into isolated fragments with limited manoeuvrability caused by a lack of fuel. ⬇️
2/ In a new message on his Telegram channel, the imprisoned Girkin writes:
3/ "In principle, the situation is STILL developing STRICTLY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE ENEMY'S STRATEGIC PLAN: our troops continue to exhaust themselves with any attacks in secondary (for the enemy) directions (especially since the Donetsk fortified region – or rather,…
4/ …the network of fortified regions – was originally intended for this kind of strategic defence – it has MANY TIMES EXCEEDED the tasks assigned to it by the enemy and is STILL FULFILLING THEM!).
5/ "At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have begun implementing long-prepared and, thanks to the launch of mass production, finally implementing plans to gain air superiority and inflict damage on strategic targets deep in Russia.
6/ "At this point, the enemy has succeeded in achieving both the first (including isolating our southern flank from normal supplies for both troops and the population) and the second: THE ENEMY HAS ALREADY INCREASED SEVERE, TARGETED DAMAGE TO OUR FUEL PRODUCTION AND IS WORKING…
7/ …TO FINISH OFF EVERYTHING IT CAN REACH. Now (with the strike on Voronezh and Dubna, among others), the enemy has begun the methodical destruction of our most important military industrial facilities, communications, and so on.
8/ "Moreover, their plans have not failed, but have completely succeeded... Now (right now), the enemy has an opportunity they have never seen before in the war: to attempt a major offensive operation with, if not complete, then partial air superiority.
9/ "Naturally, this superiority is not everywhere, but the enemy has achieved it precisely in the strategically crucial Dnipro-Crimean direction.
10/ "Our air defence and air defence assets in Crimea are, by all appearances, battered; much of this theatre of operations is under the umbrella of medium-range UAVs, which (due to their numbers and skilled use) allow for cutting off the front from the rear,…
11/ …while the rear itself is fragmented in such a way that rapid manoeuvring of reserves/forces/assets is greatly hampered (and in some places, downright impossible, given the knocked out bridges and ferries).
12/ "This situation, of course, will not last forever—our command (I mean the Aerospace Forces and Air Defence) will, of course, find an antidote to mitigate the damage from enemy influence.
13/ "Therefore, the conclusion is: the enemy (likely) has several weeks to conduct its own active offensive (including amphibious) operations.
14/ "If, of course, they have the forces and resources to do so (I personally suspect they have both, but I can't be certain they have enough for a "guaranteed" success, or even close to it).
15/ "In any case, the threat to our left flank is very great. And no further head-on attacks in the Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy directions will prevent the enemy from actively operating in the south, if they are able or willing to do so. /end
1/ Russian warbloggers are warning that despite growing indications of a planned second mobilisation after the Russian legislative elections in September 2026, there are major unresolved practical problems in actually carrying out a new mobilisation. ⬇️
2/ Yesterday the warblogger Vladimir Romanov commented on a rumoured plan to mobilise 1.2 million Russian men in the fall. In response, 'Ghost of Novorossiya' writes:
3/ "It's difficult to comment seriously on rumours, but discussions regarding the likelihood of a second mobilisation have long since transcended the realm of speculation.
1/ Russian soldiers are reported to be refusing en masse to attack across the border west of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region. Meanwhile, Russian army units are said to have run out of fuel amidst the ongoing fuel crisis. ⬇️
2/ The Russians are currently trying to link up two pockets on the border in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, to the east and west of the Russian village of Sereda, by attacking to the south. However, Ukrainian drones are reportedly making this unbearably bloody.
3/ 'Northern Channel' reports:
"There's a forest on the approach to Ternova, nicknamed "the Magic Forest"... As you can tell from the introduction, there's nothing good there."
1/ Russia should deter Europe and ensure Ukraine's defeat by destroying 20 industrial centres in an arc from London to Bologna, says a prominent Russian Telegram channel. 'Extract' says this could be done "relatively easily and with virtually guaranteed success". ⬇️
2/ Reiterating a common theme among Russian warbloggers that Russia needs to make Europe fear it again, 'Extract' highlights how Europe's industrial production – and ability to support Ukraine – is concentrated in a "blue banana" across the centre of western Europe:
3/ "If Russia really wanted to defeat Europe or completely disarm and destroy its military industry, Moscow would be able to do so relatively easily and with virtually guaranteed success.
1/ Russia is preparing for its borders to be closed in the fall of 2026, according to a Russian source. If confirmed, the report potentially adds credence to indications that Russia is preparing for a fresh mobilisation after the Russian legislative elections in September. ⬇️
2/ There have recently been persistent but unconfirmed claims that the Kremlin is planning to carry out a large-scale mobilisation to swamp Ukrainian forces with fresh troops in order to achieve Vladimir Putin's goal of capturing all of the Donetsk region by the end of 2026.
3/ 'Intelligence Diary' writes:"According to a source, the Kremlin has held closed consultations with the leadership of several neighbouring countries (primarily Kazakhstan, to a lesser extent Georgia, possibly Azerbaijan and others) about temporarily closing entry/exit…
1/ Russian sources say that Kazakhstan will provide 50,000 tons of gasoline to Russia in July and August as 'humanitarian aid'. However, as this amounts to only slightly more than 1.6% of Russia's monthly gasoline consumption, it's little more than a token effort. ⬇️
2/ According to Reuters, Russian sources say that Al-95 and Al-92 gasoline will be provided from the Pavlodar oil refinery and the "Condensate" oil refinery, which processes Russian raw materials. However, the Kazakh Ministry of Energy is more equivocal:
3/ The ministry says: “The possibility of supplying automobile gasoline produced by LLP "Condensate" to Russia in the near future will depend on the level of supply of petroleum products to the domestic market of Kazakhstan."
1/ Female Russian convict soldiers are complaining that the Russian military has reneged on their contracts. Instead of being pardoned after completing their military service, they say, they will now be sent back to jail.
2/ 39-year-old Lyudmila Leonidovna Poltarakova was recruited from a Russian prison along with more than 80 other women. She is part of the 370th Separate Medical Battalion (military unit 57062) of the 2nd Guards Taman Motor Rifle Division.
3/ The women work as medics for an evacuation group, removing the wounded and dead from the battlefield. This is highly dangerous work, carried out under constant threat of drone and artillery attack.