1/ One of Ukraine's most-feared innovations is the Jonik magnetic-influence fuze, which is used to create proximity-activated booby traps. A Russian source describes in detail how it functions, warning: "do not move, do not touch, do not approach." ⬇️

https://x.com/Saquibpashaa77/status/1873120715412783594

2/ Writing on the Russian social media network VK, 'Warrior' describes how Ukraine uses Jonik fuzes against Russian soldiers:

1/ South Korean workers arrested in Georgia and subsequently deported from the US have been giving more accounts of their experiences. The deportation of over 300 workers has caused political uproar in South Korea and prompted a human rights investigation into their ordeal. ⬇️ 2/ The BBC has interviewed three of those arrested. Cheol-yong, a software engineer, says the unarmed workers were held at gunpoint by federal agents.

"Some people tried to explain that they were not criminals, but some agents pointed guns at their chests.

1/ Questions to ask to annoy Russian soldiers, according to the 'Tears of Autumn' Telegram channel: ⬇️ 🔺 Why haven't you been in the army since 2014?
🔺 Why have you been in the army since 2014, but still haven't won against the Ukies?
🔺 Why haven't you been in the army since 2022?
🔺 Why are you in the rear in the army?
🔺 Why are you in combat, but not in a trench?

1/ The Russian Black Sea Fleet is reportedly in a "systemic crisis" due to manpower problems, a recruitment campaign that is mainly attracting "chronic alcoholics and drug addicts", and ongoing systemic corruption involving stealing repair funds for unseaworthy ships. ⬇️ 2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that, according to a source, "All vacations have been cancelled, units are overcrowded, and newly arrived contract soldiers are being massively appointed to key positions in the crews."

1/ South Korea's government has announced that it is launching an investigation into human rights abuses said to have been carried out by the United States' ICE agency against South Korean workers deported from Georgia, following further damaging testimony from the deportees. ⬇️ 2/ The government said today that it "plans to immediately begin a joint investigation involving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the company regarding the human rights violations against our citizens detained in the US state of Georgia."

1/ Prominent Russian sources are warning that soldiers returning from Ukraine, many of them with PTSD and unable to find jobs, are prime candidates for recruitment into crime and terrorism – especially highly-skilled drone operators. ⬇️ 2/ Former Roscosmos head Dmitry Rogozin notes that in just one Russian drone unit, "there are dozens of highly qualified pilot-operators with hundreds of combat sorties and thousands of flight hours", with more having already returned home after completing their contract.

1/ Russia's Zapad-2025 military exercises have come in for bitter criticism from Russian warbloggers for being a "circus performance" and "dogshit", that ignores the lessons of the war in Ukraine and showcases irrelevant capabilities. ⬇️
2/ The Zapad exercises, which were last held in 2021, are a heavily scripted demonstration of Russian military capabilities. Unlike NATO exercises, they make little contribution to improving military skills, as Russia's failures in 2022 showed vividly.

1/ After nearly three years of war, the few survivors of Russia's September 2022 mobilisation have had enough. A bitter commentary by four 2022-vintage 'mobiks' highlights the war-weariness and frustration being felt. ⬇️ 2/ 'Vokzhak' writes:

"THINGS WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT

This is a difficult topic and not pleasant for everyone, but here I will try to express as correctly as possible the consolidated opinion of my friends, those guys who were called up with me in '22 and who are still alive."

1/ Russia is bogged down in its Sumy pocket in north-eastern Ukraine, a prominent Russian warblogger admits. The 'Two Majors' channel reports that the situation is difficult due to Ukraine's large-scale drone attacks and calls out commanders for lying. ⬇️ 2/ 'Two Majors' writes:

"Sumy direction. Not everything is so easy. Overview:"

1/ Since 2000, the Russian constitution's free speech provisions – its equivalent of the First Amendment – have been systematically nullified by Vladimir Putin with the aid of tame courts and a puppet parliament. It offers a potential road map for other would-be autocrats. ⬇️ 2/ In the late 1990s, it was still possible for Russians to exercise a high degree of free speech. Putin – then only prime minister – was one of many figures to be satirised on the show 'Kukly' ('Puppets'). Now, such commentary would result in many years behind bars.

1/ Russian soldiers with HIV and hepatatis are pleading to be released from military service and allowed to undergo treatment. Instead, many are being sent back to the front lines without any treatment, and some are being sent into suicidal assaults as an apparent punishment. ⬇️ 2/ The Russian army is experiencing an ongoing epidemic of HIV, hepatatis C and other infectious diseases, largely due to a lack of screening and treatment, and a widespread lack of sterile medical supplies.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1962590570158669960

1/ South Korean workers who have been deported from the US have spoken of enduring squalid conditions in ICE custody, including being chained, handcuffed and zip-tied, being made to lick up water rather than drink it, and having to menstruate and use the toilet in public. ⬇️ 2/ The South Korean daily newspaper Hankoryeh has published accounts from the workers deported last week for alleged visa violations while they were working on installing equipment in a new factory in Georgia. The translation below highlights some of what they have said.

1/ MEMOIRS OF A MOBIK, PART 4: Mobilised Russian soldier 'Ukol' continues his recollections of working as a medical orderly on the front line. In this final part, he describes how he participated in the torture and execution of Ukrainian POWs before having a mental breakdown. ⬇️ 2/ Part 1, covering his initial mobilisation and transportation to Ukraine, is here:

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1966409619175092479

1/ MEMOIRS OF A MOBIK, PART 3: 'Ukol', a Russian soldier who is a rare survivor of the original September 2022 mobilisation, continues his recollections of his service on the front lines in Ukraine. He speaks of his experiences as a medical orderly under Ukrainian bombardment. ⬇️ 2/ Part 1, covering his initial mobilisation and transportation to Ukraine, is here:

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1966409619175092479

1/ MEMOIRS OF A MOBIK, PART 2: Three years after he was mobilised, a Russian medical orderly with the callsign 'Ukol' talks with a fellow 'mobik' about his experiences. He describes the chaos and carnage he found when he was sent to fight in Ukraine. ⬇️ 2/ For the first part, in which Ukol describes how he was mobilised and transported to Ukraine in a train filled with wildly drunken men and officers who were preparing to die, see below:

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1966409619175092479

1/ Three years ago, in September 2022, Russia began mobilising 300,000 men to fight in Ukraine. Most are now dead or disabled, but two survivors have been discussing their experiences of mobilisation, enduring Ukrainian attacks, surviving "meat waves," and murdering POWs. ⬇️ 2/ The author of the 'Vault No. 8' Telegram channel is a serving frontline Russian soldier and one of the original September 2022 'mobiks'. He says that he is the only one of his cohort to have lasted this long without being killed or taken out of the war through disablement.

1/ A prominent Russian political scientist has proposed sending Russian veterans of the war in Ukraine to Siberia, as a way of securing a new Asian destiny for Russia. This has received a frosty response from Russian warbloggers. ⬇️ 2/ The proposal was made by Sergey Karaganov, the scientific director of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, and Honorary Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy.

1/ Russia's mass drone incursion in Poland is only the latest episode in a long-running series of incursions in nine other European countries, as far away as Croatia, since 2022. There have been at least 56 instances of Russian drones and missiles landing outside Ukraine. ⬇️ 2/ The Russian independent news outlet Verstka reports that Russian drone and missile debris was found in countries other than Ukraine seven times in 2022, 16 times in 2023, 17 times in 2024 and 16 times in 2025 prior to 10 September.

1/ The assassination of Charlie Kirk has prompted some to make comparisons with the death in 1934 of Sergei Kirov – a pivotal event in Soviet history. Who was Kirov, and what lessons can be drawn from his demise? ⬇️ 2/ Kirov was a veteran revolutionary – an 'Old Bolshevik' – who, at the time of his death, was the head of the Communist Party in Leningrad and a member of the Politburo. He was assassinated on 1 December 1934 by Leonid Nikolaev, an expelled party member with a grudge.

1/ Russia is lagging far behind Ukraine in the production and use of drones, according to a commander of the Chechen Akhmat unit. He provides a lengthy critique of Russian efforts and an explanation of how Ukrainian drone tactics are impacting Russia's attempts to advance. ⬇️ 2/ The man, who uses the callsign 'Hades', says that it's a huge mistake to underestimate Ukraine, and cites his experiences of the faltering Russian campaign in the Sumy region on the border of north-eastern Ukraine.

1/ Russia is fighting a PR campaign rather than a war, a Russian warblogger complains. He says that Russia commanders are falsifying localised victories and painting an unduly rosy picture of success, while Ukrainian drones continue to dominate the battlefield. ⬇️ 2/ Anatoly Radov (blogging as 'motopatriot78') writes:

"Unfortunately, predictably, everything has long since descended into a situation where the main thing is not to win, but to declare victory.