1/ Iran is using a unique type of loitering, self-targeting surface to air missile to shoot down US MQ-9 Reaper drones. 11 Reapers costing over $330 million have so far been reported destroyed in the war with Iran. ⬇️
2/ The "358" missile, also known by NATO as the SA-67 and in Yemen as the Saqr-1, is a unique type of surface-to-air missile that is launched with a rocket booster and then loiters in a target area using a turbojet engine, scanning with an infrared sensor for airborne targets.

1/ Fundraising for the Russian army has been declining steeply for some time, leaving soldiers without essential equipment and supplies. A Russian warblogger explains that it's because soldiers are now seen as being recruited from the ranks of Russia's unwanted underclasses. ⬇️ 2/ Russia's professional army was decimated in the first months of the war in Ukraine. Losses were replaced by mobilising 300,000 men from September-October 2022 onwards. They were recruited from across society and were widely supported by the Russian public.

1/ Vladimir Putin's popularity ratings, as measured by a state-aligned pollster, are at their lowest point for years. Russian commentators blame the 'bad boyars' around Putin and say that "there's complete degradation all around" in Russia. ⬇️⬇️

https://x.com/JayinKyiv/status/2031028009570824447

2/ The pollster VTsIOM has recorded Putin's popularity at 32.1%, the lowest seen during the war so far (though still some way off his pre-war nadir of 24%, recorded in 2021). Russian bloggers are not surprised, though few blame Putin himself and instead blame his advisors:

1/ Messages hacked from a Russian general's phone illustrate the sweeping scale of corruption at all levels of the Russian army. They highlight a top-to-bottom pyramid of extortion and bribery to obtain promotions and influence, plus scams and theft of military resources. ⬇️ 2/ Last month, it emerged that gigabytes of messages spanning 2022-2024 had been obtained by Ukrainian sources from the phone of Major General Roman Demurchiev, most likely as the result of a successful hack.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2024926999102283944

1/ Russia military policemen are engaged in another crackdown on privately owned vehicles operated by soldiers. Unfortunately for the soldiers, this is reported to be effectively lining them up for Ukrainian drone strikes. ⬇️ 2/ The Military Automobile Inspectorate (VAI) and Military Police (VP) have made themselves hugely unpopular among Russian soldiers for their attempts to stop Russian soldiers using privately owned vehicles.

1/ Iran's Kharg Island is reportedly under consideration as a target for capture by the Trump Administration. However, declassified US government documents show that the same thing was considered in 1979 but was rejected because it was too difficult and risky. ⬇️ 2/ President Jimmy Carter and his National Security Council met in the afternoon of November 6, 1979 to discuss the ongoing Iranian hostage crisis. The discussion involved options for putting pressure on the Khomenei regime, including targeting Kharg Island.

1/ The Russian government has dealt another body blow to Telegram by suddenly declaring all advertising on the app to have been illegal since 1 September 2025. Thousands of Russian bloggers and advertisers now face retroactive fines of up to 500,000 rubles ($6,308) per advert. ⬇️ 2/ The Russian legal news outlet Pravo. ru reports that Russia's Federal Antimonopoly Service and the communications regulator Roskomnadzor have declared Telegram advertising to be illegal in a case involving beauty blogger Maria Loskutova.

1/ Civilian donations to the Russian army are said to have have collapsed ahead of the imminent ban on Telegram. It's a consequence, predicted by warbloggers, of the Russian government's apparent decision to ban the app. The impact on the front line is likely to be severe. ⬇️ 2/ As the thread below highlights, the Russian army is dependent on volunteer donations for a huge amount of equipment, ranging from medicines, to generators, to vehicles. However, donations have been steadily dwindling as the economy has worsened.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1951588719544152070

1/ A Russian army officer who briefed Vladimir Putin yesterday on the evils of Telegram has been exposed as being a premium Telegram user who doesn't even have an account on the state-approved messenger MAX. Russian warbloggers have erupted in outrage. ⬇️

https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2029641084725285090

2/ During the briefing, Lt Col Irina Godunova, a Russian army communications specialist, told Putin that Telegram was "considered a hostile means of communication" and that work was ongoing to "refine MAX" so that "everything will work well on the front line".

1/ Russian bloggers are waking up to the fact that they live in an oppressive dictatorship with declining living standards. 14 years after Vladimir Putin was reelected as "a strong leader for a great country," commentators are asking: what has Putin ever done for us? ⬇️ 2/ Lara Rzhondovskaya, the editor of Novoe Media who writes on Telegram as 'Dear Persimmon', has a plaintive series of complaints six months ahead of Russia's forthcoming presidential elections:

1/ Did Ukraine recreate a January 2024 attack which sank a Russian corvette in the Black Sea with the sinking of the Russian LNG tanker Arctic Metagaz on 3 March 2026? A Russian source says that the tanker was sunk off Libya by four UAVs and two USVs attacking as a swarm. ⬇️ 2/ 'Fighterbomber', which proclaimes itself to be the "chronicles of a retired fighter-bomber [pilot]", often posts information from apparent insider sources within the Russian Air Force, such as news of Russian military aircraft shootdowns and crashes.

1/ Iran and Russia have a partnership treaty, but that doesn't mean Russia should help China in any way, says a Russian commentator. He argues that Iran is merely a "Chinese gas station" and a "situational partner", and Russian support should be limited to "likes and reposts". ⬇️ 2/ Opinion on the US/Israel/Iran war among Russian commentators and warbloggers has been mixed in recent days, with some arguing for Russia to support Iran, some saying it should condemn Iran for 'going crazy', and others saying Russia should stay out of it.

1/ Russian forces are being driven back in parts of Ukraine, following the Starlink shutdown and degradation of Telegram. This has prompted one Russian warblogger who is fighting in Ukraine to post a blistering denunciation of the leadership in Moscow. ⬇️ 2/ One of the administrators of the 'Management Speaks' Telegram channel, a serving Russian soldier fighting on the front line in Ukraine, wants everyone to know that he has had enough:

1/ Images showing that America's new LUCAS kamikaze drone is equipped with an integrated Starshield terminal have prompted a call from a prominent Russian warblogger for Russia to find "a means to destroy thousands of Starlink satellites now." ⬇️ 2/ Photos released by US Central Command show Starshield-equipped Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) drones being launched against Iran. The disclosure has caused widespread alarm among Russian military commentators.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2028208056803217826

/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.