/1 A village in the Russian Far East which has sent 62% of its able-bodied men to fight in Ukraine has been recognised by the regional administration as Russia's first-ever "village of military glory". Nearly half of the men have already been killed or gone missing in action. ⬇️ 2/ Sedanka is a tiny village in Kamchatka with a nominal population of 457 registered inhabitants, but only 258 actually live there, of whom only 67 are men of fighting age (18 to 55 years). Its inhabitants are principally members of the indigenous Koryak and Itelmen peoples.

1/ Russians are responding in the traditional way to the plight of their fellow-countrymen trapped in Dubai – by scamming them. Scammers are offering desperate Russians fake $260 car rides and $20,000 private jet flights to neighbouring countries, with a 70% deposit up front. ⬇️
2/ Baza reports:

"Scammers are targeting Russians trying to escape Dubai.

The scammers offer stranded tourists "transfers" to neighbouring countries—most often Oman—from where they can return home. Prices start at $260 (~20,000 roubles) per seat in the car."

1/ Russian tourists trapped in Dubai are complaining that they are being screwed over by their (Russian) tour operator, and are being kicked out of their hotels. They say that the Russian Foreign Ministry has been of little help. ⬇️
2/ The Russian Telegram channel Baza reports:

"Hundreds of Russians are being thrown out of hotels in the UAE—tour operators are not extending their stays, forcing them to pay for inflated room rates amid the escalating military conflict."

1/ Videos of Iranian Shahed drone strikes in the Gulf have been eye-catching, but lack an important nuance: they are less technologically advanced and used differently than Russia's similar Geran-2 drones, as Russian warbloggers point out. ⬇️

https://x.com/Tendar/status/2027788531293122703

2/ The Gulf states, the US and Israel have generally been very effective at shooting down incoming Shaheds, but the few that have got through have caused highly visible localised destruction in US military bases, energy production facilities, and residential buildings.

1/ Russian commentators say that the success of Iranian drones – which are less sophisticated than their own – in hitting US and other targets in the Gulf shows that America and Europe have failed to prepare for the threat of Russian drone attacks. ⬇️
2/ 'Archangel Spetsnaz' writes:

"After observing the Iran-US war for the third day, we came to the following conclusions:

The Americans, who were planting military bases around the enemy, were reckless in failing to provide closer cover for their own troops and allies."

1/ Russians shouldn't help to defend Iran, suggests Russian journalist and politician Andrei Medvedev. He argues that Iran was a long-time enemy of Russia and more recently merely a fair-weather friend that only ever did what it thought would most benefit it at the time. ⬇️ 2/ Medvedev, the Deputy Chairman of the Moscow City Duma and deputy general director of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), writes:

"Dear friends, do you know what the "Shia Eight" is? Well, let me remind you."

1/ With Iran facing disastrous losses in its war with the US and Israel, some Russian commentators are attempting to claim it isn't a big deal for Russia. Russian warblogger Sergei Kolyashnikov disagrees and warns: "We'll be next in line after them". ⬇️ 2/ Kolyashnikov writes:

"It's strange to see people online saying, "This isn't our war," about Iran. Seriously?

By the end of 2024, Russia ranked first in terms of foreign investment in the Iranian economy, according to the Islamic Republic's ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali.

1/ Russia's much-abused mobilised soldiers are no more: they have now reportedly all been forced to sign permanent military contracts, under penalty of death. Russian warbloggers complain that they are being exploited to keep them fighting in Ukraine. ⬇️ 2/ In September-October 2022, Russia mobilised 300,000 men in response to its defeat in the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kharkiv region. Most of them have since been killed, but thousands still remained in Ukraine by the start of this year.

1/ 1st March marks the 26th anniversary of Russia's worst defeat in the Second Chechen War (1999-2009) – the Battle of Height 776, in which nearly an entire Russian paratrooper company was killed: 84 dead, with only 6 survivors. It's been commemorated today in Russia. ⬇️ 2/ The battle took place in early 2000, after the fall of Grozny to Russian federal forces fighting Chechen separatists. Around 1,500 to 2,000 Chechen fighters were retreating through the Argun Gorge, led by commanders including Shamil Basayev and Ibn al-Khattab.

1/ Russian commentators are sounding the alarm over America's use of a new kamikaze drone against Iran, the Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS). They note that it appears to have an integrated Starlink terminal and warn that it's a serious threat to Russia. ⬇️ 2/ The use of LUCAS drones against Iran was announced yesterday by CENTCOM. This is the first time that the drone has been deployed in combat. It is reportedly reverse-engineered from the Iranian Shahed-136, which Russia has also adapted as the Geran-2 to use against Ukraine.

1/ A Russian drone developer looks back on four years of war in Ukraine with "shame and disappointment". He complains that rival Russian UAV developers constantly lie and sabotage each other's projects for profit, with state-run enterprises undermining private developers. ⬇️ 2/ 'UAV Developer' writes:

"Alas, we have no goal of winning, and what's happening can be described as anarchy, where one hand doesn't know what the other is doing and even gets in the way."

1/ Russia has wasted the last four years by failing to develop its own satellite Internet system, say many Russian warbloggers, which led to its ultimately disastrous dependency on Starlink. The 'Vostok Battalion' Telegram channel laments the missed opportunities. ⬇️ 2/ "Those who were serious about providing their units with adequate communications quickly realized how far Russia lags behind the West in this regard. Purchasing Chinese junk and then slapping on new labels didn't bring us a millimeter closer to solving the problem.

1/ Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 with the expectation that it would be a quick intervention lasting only a few weeks. Its soldiers went to war lacking a wide range of what turned out to be essential skills. ⬇️ 2/ 'Vault No. 8', a serving Russian soldier warblogging on Telegram, recalls the lack of preparedness for an extended conflict among pre-war contract (professional) soldiers when the invasion was launched on 24 February 2022:

1/ Russia appears all but certain to fully block Telegram on 1 April 2026, on the grounds that it promotes frauds, disinformation, and violence. The Russian army has many similar problems; one Russian warblogger asks if the government should consider blocking the army instead. ⬇️ 2/ Svatoslav Golikov writes:

"In the light of Roskomnadzor's latest attack on Telegram, it's time to explore some new ideas.

Let me remind you of a recent TASS report (I quote):

"Telegram blocked over 235,000 channels in one day, but the problem is systemic.

1/ The AI boom is leading to drastically higher prices and possible shortages of the Chinese-made fibre-optic cables used by many Russian kamikaze drones. Prices have nearly quadrupled due to a massive increase in demand for fibre optics by data centres. ⬇️ 2/ According to Russian media reports, Russian buyers are having to pay between 2.5 to 4 times more for fibre optic cable per kilometre than last year. By 2025, Russia was purchasing about 10.5% of all fibre optic cable produced globally – equivalent to 60 million kilometres.

1/ Former Russian foreign ministry spokesman Mikhail Demurin is very gloomy about Russia's prospects after four years of full-scale war in Ukraine. He criticises the country's "feudal-capitalist regime of revenge" and asks whether Vladimir Putin will "lead it to its decline". ⬇️ 2/ Writing on his Telegram channel, Demurin – whose views reflect an ultra-nationalist constituency that has been disappointed by Putin's perceived lacklustre approach to the war – is explicitly critical of Putin's leadership:

1/ Russian warbloggers continue to reflect on the war in Ukraine entering its fifth year. The 'hurrah-patriotism' of 2022 is now long gone and the mood is bleak. Nikita Tretyakov says there is "nothing left to hope for; all hopes and illusions have been shattered". ⬇️ 2/ In comments that illustrate the political dangers which the Putin regime will face when the war ends, Tretyakov – a mobilised paratrooper, military correspondent, and volunteer – writes on his Telegram channel:

1/ Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin is marking the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine – after eight years of war in Donbas, which he did much to start – but he isn't celebrating. He sees a "bleak" outlook of mutual exhaustion, caused by poor leadership. ⬇️ 2/ Girkin writes from the prison where he is now half-way through a sentence for "inciting extremism" (i.e. criticising the Russian government's mismanagement of the war):

1/ Russians who have never served in the Russian army and have never signed a military contract are nonetheless being rounded up as deserters and sent to their deaths in assault squads. It's the result of an ongoing and still unresolved bureaucratic blunder by Russia's MOD. ⬇️ 2/ During the war in Donbas, between 2014 and the full-scale Russian invasion of February 2022, thousands of Russian nationalists volunteered to fight for the militias of the Luhansk and Donetsk 'People's Republics'. Many were subsequently discharged.

1/ What is the war in Ukraine even for?, asks a Russian warblogger and paramilitary leader. After four years, the shifting goals of the Russian government have left many of its citizens confused about what its aims are in Ukraine, making it unclear what victory actually means. ⬇️ 2/ Zakhar Prilepin sums up the complaints of many warbloggers about the vagueness of Russia's objectives:

"Yesterday, I received a lot of congratulations, and the phrase "I wish you victory!" was a common one.

I hope people say it ritualistically, not seriously."

1/ The results of Russia's war have been "mediocre", says a Russian warblogger who is fighting in Ukraine. The army is beset by "corruption, scheming, and collusion", and by the mass intimidation and coercion of soldiers by commanders. He sees tough challenges still to come. ⬇️ 2/ 'Vault No. 8' writes:

"The war was not easy from the outset.

The enemy still retains counterattack capabilities; over time, the enemy has become capable of targeting the economy of pre-war Russia and conducting mass terror and sabotage, including in Moscow."