1/ Could Dmitri Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, be lying about the current level of recruitment to the Russian army? This appalling and unprecedented scenario is considered by Russian warbloggers, who smell a rat in his claims of success. ⬇️ 2/ 'Artjockey' has spotted something odd about recent claims made by Medvedev, and suspects statistical cheating:

"The day before yesterday, Medvedev announced that the contract recruitment plan was being met, and that talk of mobilisation was an enemy plot."

1/ A massive new mobilisation in Russia this fall is increasingly being forecast by Russian warbloggers. They are, however, cautious about this prospect given the strains on the Russian economy and the chaos that accompanied the 2022 mobilisation. ⬇️ 2/ 'DsHRG Rusich' comments:

1/ With rumours of a new mobilisation in the fall sweeping the Russian blogosphere, one warblogger wonders: what's the point? He points out that the land that Russia has seized is essentially worthless, having been destroyed, depopulated, and strewn with mines. ⬇️ 2/ Roman Alekhin probably isn't doing himself any favours (he's already been declared a 'foreign agent' by the Kremlin), but he is at least willing to go where other warbloggers haven't been willing, and question the purpose of continuing the war:

1/ Russian online marketplaces are reportedly trying to discourage their sellers offering non-lethal military equipment, for which Ukraine has targeted them. According to one such seller, fees of as much as 60% are now being charged on such equipment by the marketplaces. ⬇️ 2/ The 'Forge of Mordor' channel, which makes and sells equipment to soldiers, comments:

1/ Another Wildberries warehouse is on fire, this time in Sarapul, after a Ukrainian drone strike. As the ongoing massacre of Wildberries facilities continues, Russian warbloggers are becoming steadily more irate about air defence failures. ⬇️

https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/2082773302666268709?s=20

2/ 'Combat Reserve' is furious, pointing to the lack of willingness among commanders and officials to take responsibility (a long-running problem; see the thread below).

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2080933841703751709

1/ Russia's mobile fire teams (MOGs), which are the backbone of its defences against Ukrainian drones, are poorly paid and lack the benefits given to soldiers. Despite the dangers – MOGs have been attacked – their members do not get the benefits or pay that soldiers receive. ⬇️ 2/ The authorities in Krasnodar Krai have announced that they will form mobile fire teams from employees of critical infrastructure and enterprises in Kuban to protect these facilities.

1/ The Russian blogosphere is agog with speculation, rumours, claims, and much criticism of the authorities after the Russian government's decision to put Telegram founder Pavel Durov on the wanted list for terrorism. The reasons are murky, as usual for Russia. ⬇️ 2/ Officially, Durov is wanted for 'extremist activities', for allegedly not preventing Ukrainian agents recruiting saboteurs via Telegram. 'Intelligence Diary' notes:

1/ Russia's Navy, Marines, and non-strategic nuclear forces are in a dire state, according to Russian warbloggers. They are angry that the Navy has announced a huge, expensive, and likely useless unmanned surface vessel (USVs) while ignoring many other problems. ⬇️ 2/ The USV announcement by Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev on Sunday has caused widespread confusion and criticism among warbloggers, who point to the more urgent need to develop large numbers of capable USVs to counter those of Ukraine.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2082380445073690987

1/ Recently-announced Russian plans for a giant 500-ton unmanned surface vessel (USV) are being greeted with scepticism, confusion and ridicule by Russian warbloggers. They say that the Navy is wasting money on grandiose schemes while failing to fix its current problems. ⬇️ 2/ The Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, announced the plans on Sunday to mark the occasion of the Russian Navy's 330th anniversary. The vessel will be more than three times the size of the existing Grachonok-class patrol boat.

1/ As Russian progress in Ukraine slows to a crawl, frustration is mounting among warbloggers about why Russia isn't yet 'fighting for real'. One proposes a list of what should be done, from seizing the eastern half of Ukraine to emulating 2022's infamous Hostomel air assault. ⬇️ 2/ Russian warblogger Yuri Kotenok advocates:

"1. Stop playing second fiddle in the war by seizing the initiative. For example, by imposing a pre-emptive blockade on the enemy’s ports and transport links, rather than responding to attacks on ships in the Black Sea and Azov Sea.

1/ Russia has doubled the rate of personal income tax to cover the budget deficits caused by the war in Ukraine. However, as a gloomy Russian commentary notes, it's likely to have dire effects on the economy and the country's already declining demographics. ⬇️ 2/ 'Political Report' writes:

"In 2025, Russian authorities doubled personal income tax collection at rates exceeding 13%, turning citizens' incomes and savings into one of the fastest-growing sources of budget deficit financing."

1/ Gas prices were lowered, restrictions were lifted, and queues vanished temporarily for a visit to Irkutsk by Vladimir Putin. Russians are calling it a modern-day Potemkin village, but it appears to show how hard Putin's underlings try to hide Russia's problems from him. ⬇️ 2/ The original Potemkin villages were said to be fakeside river towns built by Grigory Potemkin to fool Empress Catherine the Great in 1787 (though it appears to be a myth). However, it was an attempt to fake success, rather than hiding failure from a leader inhabiting a bubble.

1/ Russia isn't winning in Ukraine and it's all the fault of Russian society, says an angry Russian warblogger. Seeking an explanation for why (in the eyes of warbloggers) Russia has not yet started "fighting for real", he blames ordinary Russians for apathy and cowardice. ⬇️ 2/ Russian society has been massively atomised under the rule of Vladimir Putin, with the near-destruction of most civil society organisations (apart from a limited number approved of or tolerated by the state). Passive subservience is welcomed; collective action is discouraged.

1/ Wildberries sellers are generally blaming the Russian government, rather than Ukraine, for their losses. It's an interesting and striking dynamic, which Russian warbloggers say the Russian government itself has created through its suppression of bad news. ⬇️ 2/ Over the last couple of weeks, Russian social media has been flooded with videos of distraught Wildberries sellers weeping over their huge losses as a result of Ukrainian drone strikes against warehouses across Russia.

https://x.com/JayinKyiv/status/2079817351017464207

1/ A rare Russian armoured assault on 22 June ended in disaster, with the loss of numerous vehicles and the reported deaths of scores of Russians. Russian warbloggers are scathing about the losses, seeing the attack as incompetent. ⬇️

https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/2080974342960062822?s=20

2/ FT military correspondent Andrey Filatov is highly critical, using a standard euphemism for the Russian army to evade censorship:

1/ Vladimir Putin has strongly hinted that Russia should claim the entire eastern half of Ukraine, going far beyond the existing annexation of the Donbas and southern Ukraine. He foresees a future in which western Ukraine is also annexed by its neighbours. ⬇️ 2/ In a meeting with sailors in St Petersburg to mark Navy Day today, Putin extensively discussed Russia's historical rights over Ukraine, highlighting in the process his obsession with Russian and Ukrainian history and his dubious reading of it.

1/ Vladimir Putin is today celebrating the 330th anniversary of the Russian Navy. However, it's a muted, shrunken event held under the shadow of Ukrainian drone strikes and with the Black Sea Fleet blockaded in Novorossiysk. Russian commentators fear for the Navy's future. ⬇️ 2/ Putin has today been at the Main Admiralty of the Russian Navy in St. Petersburg for Navy Day to mark the Navy's 330th anniversary since its foundation under Peter the Great. He spoke of the Navy and Marines' "important role in the Special Military Operation."

1/ A Russian commander has reportedly come up with a novel form of 'flag-sticking', the practice of planting flags in Ukrainian-held territory to falsely report advances. He was reportedly caught using AI to fake flag-sticking events to conceal his territorial losses. ⬇️ 2/ 'Donetsk Infantry' has posted an insight into the problems that the Russian command is continuing to have. with false reports from the ground. These have led to the war being fought on the basis of grossly inaccurate control of terrain maps.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2059978511880687645

1/ Russian soldiers say they are facing a "catastrophic shortage" of fuel at the front lines due to Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries. Far less is available now, it's more expensive, and it's only being issued for vehicles owned by the army – excluding vast numbers in use. ⬇️ 2/ Soldiers interviewed by the independent Russian news site Verska says that a "catastrophic shortage" has made the situation "a complete mess". Just like civilians, the military is now being rationed to only 20 litres of gasoline per vehicle per day.

1/ The energy situation in Crimea is steadily worsening as Ukrainian drones systematically destroy power facilities across the peninsula. Russian warblogger 'Two Majors' says that Russia's air defences are being crippled by a lack of coordination. ⬇️

https://x.com/414magyarbirds/status/2080621383336308845

2/ Recent attacks by Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces have hit dozens of electricity substations and other energy facilities across Crimea in recent weeks, as well as logistics hubs and road transportation. 'Two Majors' says the situation is still deteriorating:

1/ Ukraine's systematic destruction of Wildberries warehouses across Russia should be understood as an act of psychological warfare intended to remind Russians of the ruinous 1990s, argues RIA Novosti correspondent Sergei Shilov in a lengthy commentary. ⬇️

https://x.com/bayraktar_1love/status/2080941622955549142?s=20

2/ Writing on the 'Witnesses of Bayraktar' Telegram channel that Shilov co-manages with RT correspondent Alexander Karchenko, Shilov says that Ukraine aims "to "flood" Russia with chaos" by striking at "a more vulnerable target: the public psyche."