1/ Starving Russian soldiers in Ukraine have been eating their comrades and Ukrainians, according to intercepted Russian communications. Audio and photographic evidence indicates that several incidents of cannibalism likely occured in 2025. ⬇️

https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1936019069590716435

2/ The UK's Sunday Times newspaper has published evidence of what Ukrainian intelligence sources say were at least five instances where Russian soldiers were said by their fellow soldiers and commanders to have engaged in cannibalism.

1/ Russia's attempts at import substitution have "completely failed" and the corrupt state procurement system is effectively killing off domestic factories, warns a Russian factory head. He says the system makes some rich, but will lead to a domestic economic collapse. ⬇️ 2/ Kubanzheldormash JSC is a large engineering company in Southern Russia. It is one of the few domestic manufacturers of mechanised track tools for railway construction and maintenance, as well as agricultural machinery and hydraulic equipment.

1/ The Russian Ministry of Defence has announced that it will not allow drone operators to be sent to assault units without their consent, in a bid to prevent them being sent to their deaths as a punishment. However, a Russian warblogger warns this will be hard to enforce. ⬇️ 2/ 'Rybar' reports:

"On the front lines, some commanders sometimes mismanaged the personnel entrusted to them, sending drone operators, engineers, and medics to assault units for the slightest infraction."

1/ The arrival of Ukrainian drones over the Urals for the first time has left Russian scrambling to explain why Russia's air defences seem to be unable to cope. Russian conspiracy theorists claim the drones are actually being flown from Kazakhstan. ⬇️

https://x.com/nexta_tv/status/2047935706387869941

2/ Writing on his 'Ramsay' Telegram channel, Russian journalist Vladislav Shurygin says:

"I'll answer all the questions about how Ukrainian drones reached Chelyabinsk, 1,800 km from the Ukrainian border, very briefly, and probably for the hundredth time."

1/ Lithuania is to open a €100m military training ground in the strategic Suwałki Gap between Belarus and Russia's Kaliningrad enclave. In response, the prominent Russian 'Two Majors' Telegram channel calls for all three Baltic states to be eradicated. ⬇️

https://x.com/Lithuanian_MoD/status/2047241802642530779

2/ The Lithuanian MOD has announced that a new training ground will be built near the village of Kapčiamiestis in southern Lithuania's Lazdijai district. With an area of ​​approximately 146 km², it will be located only about 11 km from the border with Belarus.

1/ Today's British newspaper headlines show a unified wall of outrage against Donald Trump, across the political spectrum. It's a sign of how a reported plan to punish the UK by 'reassessing the status of the Falkland Islands' has crossed a line that's redder than red. ⬇️


2/ Reuters reported yesterday that an internal Pentagon memo, said to have been written by Under Secretary of War [sic] for Policy Elbridge Colby, suggests reviewing US support for Britain's claim to the Falkland Islands.

https://x.com/phildstewart/status/2047541403379454247

1/ With the quality of life in Russia steadily deteriorating, Russian warblogger Alex Kartavykh is keen to raise morale. He has asked his followers on Telegram: "What's good in our country?" The answers have an element of clutching at straws. ⬇️ 2/ – They allow you to put square number plates on the front of your car. Since about three years ago.

– There’s loads of snow in winter; it crunches poetically underfoot.

1/ The news that Ukrainian drones are now reaching the Urals – as far away from Ukraine as England – has been met with dismay by Russian warbloggers. They say that Russia's air defence system is chronically disunited and coordinated action is difficult. ⬇️

https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2047944437121036320

2/ 'Fighterbomber' appears to have realised that the strike shows, in spite of claims to the contrary from many Russian propagandists, that the Ukrainians don't need to use the Baltic States' airspace to attack Russia's Baltic ports:

1/ A new Russian anti-drug law is leading to drug warnings being added to classic works of Russian literature by Gogol, Pushkin, Bulgakov and other classic authors, due to mentions of drug use. It's a sign of how censorship is reaching increasingly deeply into Russian life. ⬇️ 2/ Verstka reports that Russian online bookshops are adding warnings to both the text and audiobook versions of classic works such as Gogol's stories "The Nose" and "Viy," children's stories by Tolstoy, and works by Bulgakov such as "The Master and Margarita".

1/ Growing discontent about Russian government policies is reflected in an increasing willingness by Russian commentators to directly attack Vladimir Putin – still a very risky move. Warblogger Egor Guzenko calls Putin a liar over Internet shutdowns. ⬇️

https://x.com/Mike_Eckel/status/2047310880170197432

2/ Writing on his channel 'Thirteenth', Guzenko – a veteran Russian nationalist who has been fighting in Ukraine from 2014 onwards – ignores the ever-present threat of the FSB and gives Putin both barrels:

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. ⬇️

https://x.com/sambendett/status/1891958218492178774

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.

1/ Recent satellite images showing dozens of Iranian fast boats in formation in the Strait of Hormuz illustrate Iran's ability to lay naval mines in the strait. An Iranian export catalogue highlights its many indigenously produced mine types. ⬇️ 2/ Iran is said to possess a huge stockpile of naval mines, potentially as many as 5,000-6,000. It has systematically made preparations over decades to mine the Strait of Hormuz, which it can do using small boats, aircraft, or even rockets.

1/ Russia's growing economic and social problems, exacerbated by the government's own policies, are causing even loyal pro-Putin commentators to warn of a looming crisis. Yuri Baranchik warns that people are increasingly blaming the government for making their lives worse. ⬇️ 2/ Baranchik comments in an analysis on his Telegram channel that "the system is increasingly struggling to cope with its own weight", and says that Russians are increasingly unhappy that growing state repression is now affecting them personally.

1/ Complaints about Internet blocks from Russian Instagram celebrities are obscuring a host of other problems, many caused by the Ukraine war, argues journalist Anastasia Kashevarova. Her long list highlights the increasingly severe difficulties faced by Russia's population. ⬇️ 2/ Kashevarova writes:

"About the women's rebellion. I am against gender rebellions and any others, since they are destructive and distract from solving real problems towards confrontation between the sexes, redistribution of spheres of influence, struggle of individuals."

1/ Russia's economic crisis is deepening, with mass layoffs at public sector organisations and heavily indebted state corporations. It's a further sign of the severe strain on the Russian government's finances caused by the Ukraine war, and is a major political risk for Putin. ⬇️ 2/ The 'Political Report' Telegram channel highlights the growing scale of the crisis in Russia's state-run bodies. It also notes the political risks that this is creating for the Russian government, which faces growing public hostility towards its policies:

1/ Average gasoline prices in the US could rise to an all-time record of $5.50, and much higher in some states, if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen by the end of June. Citigroup warns that the world's oil inventories risk falling to record low levels. ⬇️ 2/ A new report published by Citi sets out scenarios for the current impasse in the Strait of Hormuz, while other analysts say it could take nine months for things to return to normal even if a peace agreement is signed. Citi's analysts predict three possible outcomes:

1/ Russia's premier drone unit, Rubikon, has published statistics on the Ukrainian targets it has hit to date. To the concern of some Russian warbloggers, they reveal a strikingly different targeting strategy from that used by Ukraine. ⬇️ 2/ Boris Rozhin reports on his 'Colonelcassad' Telegram channel:

"The Rubikon Center's official channel has published over 24,000 episodes of enemy target destruction.

Structure and dynamics of hit targets by type:

1/ Russian companies are blocking foreign IP addresses in a bid to block VPNs, stranding thousands of Russians abroad without access to money, flight details, or taxes. Major Russian apps are also being repurposed to scan users' phones for VPNs and secretly obtain user data. ⬇️ 2/ While apps such as Telegram, Instagram, and WhatsApp have been blocked in Russia, millions of Russians still access them daily using VPNs. However, the Russian government is working hard to choke off this access by deterring VPN use (while not yet banning them).

1/ Russia is entering a full-scale debt crisis, according to newly published official figures. Non-payments have reached an all-time high equivalent to nearly 4% of GDP or a fifth of the entire federal budget. It's a fresh sign of a deepening economic crisis worsened by war. ⬇️ 2/ Russian media is reporting today that data from Rosstat, the official statistics agency, says that as of the end of January 2026 unpaid business debt has reached a record 8.2 trillion rubles ($109.3 billion). Non-payments have nearly tripled since 2022.

1/ Russia's Ministry of Defence has hailed its first "airborne religious procession" – a fly-by of an icon of the Archangel Michael in a Mi-8 transport helicopter over Russian units in eastern Ukraine. However, it has received a sour response from those on the ground. ⬇️ 2/ According to the Russian MOD, "an Mi-8 helicopter carrying an icon of the Archangel Michael flew along the operational zone of the 27th Motorised Rifle Brigade and the 68th Motorised Rifle Division of the "West" group of forces.

A Ka-52 helicopter provided escort."

1/ Russia's continuing difficulties in the war in Ukraine is leading to multiple warbloggers admitting that the war effort is failing. The latest entry in the genre comes from Alexander Karchenko, who says that ordinary Russians are more concerned about the "price of a latte". ⬇️ 2/ Writing on his Telegram channel 'Witnesses of Bayraktar', Karchenko admits:

"Yes, we’re struggling. We’re all in this together. Me, you, and everyone reading this. For four years, we’ve been living in limbo."