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Independent military history author and researcher. Coffee tips are appreciated! https://t.co/t1EjNrIZ2c Now also at https://t.co/4qGQ2ffHJJ
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Nov 3 17 tweets 4 min read
1/ THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION, DAY 12

69 years ago today, the Hungarian Revolution was poised on a knife edge. With Soviet troops pouring into the country – but not yet in action – the Hungarian government made last-ditch efforts to avert an imminent attack. Image 2/ On the surface, things seem calm: there is no violence, and Soviet negotiators are present in Budapest to discuss topics such as troop withdrawals, ceremonial farewells for the Soviets, and the preservation and restoration of Soviet war memorials.
Nov 3 13 tweets 3 min read
1/ Pokrovsk and Kupyansk are falsely being portrayed by the Russian media as decisive imminent victories, says Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin. He warns that Russsia is failing to make progress on the Zaporizhzhia front, which he describes as the decisive theatre of the Ukraine war. ⬇️ Image 2/ Writing from the jail where he has been imprisoned since last year on charges of inciting extremism, Girkin dismisses the increasingly bloody battles for Pokrovsk and Kupiansk – which have cost thousands of Russian lives – as irrelevant to the war's main objectives:
Nov 2 24 tweets 7 min read
1/ THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION, DAY 11

69 years ago today, thousands of Soviet troops were entering Hungary to prepare for Operation Whirlwind – the crushing of the Hungarian Revolution. Even as the invasion was being prepared, Hungarians celebrated their last few days of freedom. Image 2/ Twelve more Soviet divisions have joined the five divisions already stationed in Hungary. They are commanded from Szolnok in central Hungary by Marshal Ivan Konev, a Second World War veteran who is now the Supreme Commander of the Warsaw Pact Combined Forces. Image
Nov 1 19 tweets 5 min read
1/ THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION, DAY 10

69 years ago today, Hungary faced a momentous choice as a result of its revolution: would it remain part of the Soviet bloc, or become a neutral socialist state in the style of Yugoslavia? And would the Soviet Union accept such a choice? Image 2/ The government of Imre Nagy had not initially contemplated Hungarian withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, but faces strong pressure from revolutionary activists who want to restore Hungarian sovereignty and remove all Soviet troops from the country. Image
Nov 1 13 tweets 3 min read
1/ Russian hospitals are overflowing with badly injured soldiers, who are lying for days in the hallways without even being treated, due to the doctors being so overworked. The men are not being compensated for their wounds, says one hospitalised soldier. ⬇️ 2/ Vladimir Kazayev, a seriously wounded soldier from the 239th Tank Regiment (military unit 89547) of the 90th Tank Division, is being 'treated' at the War Veterans Hospital No. 2 in Moscow. However, he says, conditions there and at other hospitals are dire.
Nov 1 16 tweets 5 min read
1/ THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION, DAY 9

69 years ago today, Hungary celebrated its newfound freedoms – free speech, free assembly, freedom from oppression, and for thousands of people, their physical freedom from Communist jails. But in Moscow, leaders planned to take it all away. Image 2/ Over 12,000 prisoners are released by the new government of Prime Minister Imre Nagy on the ninth day of the revolution. They include Hungary's most famous political prisoner, Cardinal József Mindszenty, who returns at once to the Archibishop's Palace in Buda. Image
Oct 31 8 tweets 2 min read
1/ The fatal capsizing of a Russian floating crane in Sevastopol has highlighted the inability of the Black Sea Fleet's principal shipyard to build the cranes needed for the construction of new naval vessels, as a critical Russian commentary notes. ⬇️ 2/ The PK-400 "Sevastopol" floating crane capsized at the Sevastopol Marine Shipyard in Sevastopol's South Bay on 28 October 2025. The crane has been under construction since 2017, was launched in October 2019, and its 400-ton lifting boom was installed in August 2021.
Oct 30 18 tweets 5 min read
1/ THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION, DAY 8

69 years ago, the Hungarian Revolution reached a crucial point. With revolutionaries now in control of the country, jubilant crowds hailed a new era of freedom for Hungary. But how far would the Soviet Union let the Hungarians go? Image 2/ On 30 October 1956, the eighth day of the revolution, violence breaks out again in Budapest as a unit of the newly formed National Guard attempts to seize the headquarters of the Hungarian Communist Party in Republic Square. Image
Oct 30 16 tweets 3 min read
1/ The Russian government is to implement what it calls a 'dronification' rating for Russia's regions, in which they will be assessed for their success in producing UAVs. However, as Russian warblogger 'Military Informant' warns, it's ripe for cheating and perverse incentives. ⬇️ Image 2/ "The "dronification" rating of regions developed by the Ministry of Digital Development and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (what a term—it makes you want to spit and wash your mouth out) promises, as usual, unprecedented benefits and prosperity for Russia. In the future.
Oct 30 15 tweets 3 min read
1/ Poor-quality Chinese-made lithium batteries for drones are exploding in frontline dugouts, endangering their occupants, according to a Russian warblogger. He highlights Russia's failure to find viable alternatives to Chinese components of dubious quality. ⬇️ Image 2/ Platon Mamatov writes:

"I won't delve into the depths and abysses of import substitution, the agony of choosing between a "domestic drone that doesn't fly at all" and "something assembled from Chinese components that somehow works," or other pressing issues of our time.
Oct 29 13 tweets 4 min read
1/ THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION, DAY 7

69 years ago today, the Hungarian Revolution was entering its seventh day, with a new government in power, official acceptance of the revolutionaries' demands, and Soviet troops leaving Budapest. But tensions were soon rising again. Image 2/ After days of fierce fighting in Budapest and massacres elsewhere in Hungary, the Soviets finally complete their withdrawal from Budapest after fresh clashes in the city centre. The police, military and insurgent leaders meet for negotiations. Image
Oct 29 12 tweets 2 min read
1/ A step-by-step guide to how a false Russian claim of the capture of a settlement emerges, according to Russian warblogger Vladimir Romanov: ⬇️
2/ "Given [this scenario]:

'Three soldiers penetrated a two-storey house on the outskirts of a populated area and engaged the enemy in this building.'
Oct 29 6 tweets 2 min read
1/ Anti-drone technicals seen outside the Kremlin recently are said to be a hastily improvised response to Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb. However, many are said to have been redirected away from strategic targets to protect Russian generals' dachas. ⬇️ Image 2/ Commenting on the recent viral photo of Russian soldiers manning a machine gun mounted on the back of a Toyota truck in central Moscow, the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel comments on the back story according to a source:
Oct 29 16 tweets 5 min read
[Held over from yesterday – apologies!]

1/ THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION, DAY 6

69 years ago today, Hungary's six-day old revolution appeared to be poised on the verge of success, with a ceasefire and political reform planned. But hardline Communist forces still remained strong. ⬇️ Image 2/ Despite the previous day's agreement on a ceasefire plan, on the morning of 28 October Soviet tanks attack the revolutionary stronghold of Corvin Square in a final attempt to defeat the insurgents. It fails badly, with the revolutionaries destroying the tanks with Molotovs. Image
Oct 28 12 tweets 3 min read
1/ A Russian soldier fighting in Chasiv Yar says that new recruits sent to the front die almost immediately, with his own unit taking over 90% casualties. The fields are strewn with rotting corpses. To avoid having to pay compensation to relatives, collecting IDs is banned. ⬇️ 2/ A soldier of the 88th Reconnaissance and Sabotage Brigade "Espanyola", called Ruslan, with the callsign "Rukha", has described conditions in the fighting for Chasiv Yar over the summer of 2025, in which thousands of Russians were killed and injured. Image
Oct 28 24 tweets 5 min read
1/ A US-built luxury cruiser boat stolen from Crimea has somehow turned up at St Petersburg's Naval Military Scientific Centre as an official Russian Navy vessel. In reality it's for the commanding admiral's personal use, a fact that the FSB is being urged to investigate. ⬇️ Image 2/ 'Evil Sailor' writes about the "Saga of the Admiral's Boat", a stirring tale of egregious Russian military corruption on the high seas:
Oct 28 26 tweets 5 min read
1/ The disgraced and jailed Russian general Timur Ivanov wants to go back to Ukraine to fight as a stormtrooper, according to his lawyer. The news has angered many Russian warbloggers, who suspect that he intends to bribe a unit to let him serve in safety in the rear. ⬇️ Image 2/ Ivanov's lawyer Denis Baluev says that his client has been working out hard while in pre-trial detention to get himself combat-ready: "That's why he's healthy. A fighter like him certainly wouldn't be out of place in the Special Military Operation!"
Oct 28 13 tweets 4 min read
1/ THE HUNGARIAN REVOLUTION, DAY 5

69 years ago today, Hungary was convulsed by a nationwide revolution against the Communist Party's dictatorial rule. Burned-out Soviet tanks littered the streets of Budapest as efforts continued to find a political solution to the uprising. Image 2/ By the fifth day of the Hungarian Revolution, the Hungarian Communist Party is in a dire situation. Violent measures taken by Party hardliners, the ÁVH secret police, and Soviet troops have failed to quell the revolution, and have only hardened the resolve of the insurgents. Image
Oct 27 9 tweets 2 min read
1/ The battle for Pokrovsk is very different to the infamously bloody battle for Bakhmut two years ago, due to the presence of swarms of kamikaze and cargo drones. A commentary by a Russian warblogger highlights how urban warfare has changed. ⬇️
2/ 'Military Informant' comments on how "the current phase of military operations has also led to a significant change in the nature of urban warfare", which is the case for both sides in the ongoing battle:
Oct 27 13 tweets 3 min read
1/ A French-Russian man said to be of interest to French investigators has denied any involvement in the Louvre jewellery heist and in previous antiquities thefts. He says that the FSB has warned him that France wants to put him on the wanted list for the Louvre theft. ⬇️ Image 2/ As previously reported, Pierre Malinowski is said to be a person of interest following the robbery on 18 October, in which eight pieces of the French Crown Jewels valued at €88 million were stolen from the Louvre's Galerie d'Apollon.
Oct 27 31 tweets 6 min read
1/ Russian warbloggers are angrily denouncing General Valery Gerasimov for blatantly lying to President Vladimir Putin about Russia's military progress in Ukraine during a televised briefing. They note that the incident highlights the persistent problem of false reporting. ⬇️ Image 2/ A few weeks ago, some observant commentators noticed that a map of the front lines seen in the background of a Russian Ministry of Defence video showed Russian positions kilometers further west than Russian or Ukrainian OSINT analysts had independently assessed them to be.