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."

1/ Russia is "entangled in too many sins" for it to have succeeded in Ukraine over the past four years, argues Russian warblogger Yuri Podolyaka. He sees the war as a "salvation plan" for Russia that went badly wrong and "laid bare" the country's problems. ⬇️ 2/ "Four years ago, a special military operation began...

It obviously didn't go according to plan. Or rather, not according to the plan our military and political leadership had originally.

As a result, the country changed irreversibly.

1/ Four years on from the start of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian warbloggers are reflecting on the changes that the war has wrought in Russia. Some Russian soldiers are wondering what it was all for. ⬇️ 2/ Nikita Tretyakov writes:

"Our varied thoughts and questions converge on one thing: what is going on out there, in the rear, while we are here, far from our families, loved ones, and past lives, defending the Motherland as best we can and seemingly honourably as possible?"

1/ With manpower increasingly in short supply, Russia is reportedly turning instead to womanpower. Women, particularly convicts and migrants – some still only teenagers – are being forced to join the army, in some cases to serve in frontline combat roles. ⬇️ 2/ Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that the Russian prison service is putting female convicts under intense pressure, including through starvation, to sign contracts to join the army. Hundreds of women – both Russians and foreigners – are thought to have signed up.

1/ It's generally been assumed that the Russian government wants to force its soldiers off Telegram and onto the government-approved MAX app. However, it seems that MAX may also be banned for military use, and an unnamed specialised military messenger may be imposed instead. ⬇️ 2/ The generally reliable Fighterbomber Telegram channel reports on a possible ban of both MAX and Telegram in the military (referring to "Laos" as a commonly-utilised euphemism for Russia, to evade the censors):

1/ The Starlink shutdown has reportedly made 'flag-sticking' – one of the most suicidally dangerous and militarily useless Russian combat missions – even more lethal. Deprived of high-speed Internet, Russian soldiers now have to courier drone videos on USB sticks. ⬇️ 2/ 'Flag-sticking' is the practice of sending a small group of soldiers to carry a Russian flag to a Ukrainian-held settlement and unfurl it prominently, to be videoed by a Russian drone for a commander's video report to his superiors, so that he can falsely claim a capture.

1/ Who are Russian army Major General Roman Geradotovich Demurchiev and his sexologist wife Alexandra, to whom he promised a garland of severed Ukrainian ears? Ukrainian sources paint a detailed picture of the Russian general currently at the centre of war crimes allegations. ⬇️
2/ Gigabytes of text and voice messages apparently hacked from Demurchiev's phone show that he was likely responsible for war crimes against Ukrainian POWs between 2022 and 2024, including murder, torture, and mutilation.

https://x.com/twitter/status/2024604972696903892

1/ A huge cache of messages from the phone of Russian Major General Roman Demurchiev provides a unique insight into the inner workings of the Russian army. It reveals a force riven by feuds between generals, plagued by corruption, and full of contempt for superiors and peers. ⬇️ 2/ Ukrainian sources have provided Radio Liberty with gigabytes of text and voice messages to and from Demurchiev, most likely as the result of a hack of his mobile phone or instant messenger account. They implicate him directly in numerous war crimes.

https://x.com/twitter/status/2024604972696903892

1/ Leaked messages and photographs from a senior Russian general show his role in the murder, torture and abuse of captured Ukrainians, some of whom had their ears cut off. The messages illustrate how routine extreme brutality is in the Russian army, even at senior levels. ⬇️ 2/ Major General Roman Demurchiev, Deputy Commander of the 20th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation, has been commanding Russian forces in Ukraine since 2022. He has been given awards and promotions for his service.

1/ The barrel of Russia's troubled AK-12 assault rifle bends after intensive use and its trigger mechanism often breaks, according to a Russian warblogger. He says that AK-12s are frequently issued in defective condition, requiring soldiers to buy expensive parts to fix them. ⬇️ 2/ The AK-12 has had a troubled history since its launch in 2018 as a replacement for the AK-74M. Described by some as "the worst AK", it has had multiple design, reliability, and functional deficiencies, which led Kalashnikov to issue a simpler "de-modernised" version in 2023.

1/ The near-simultaneous shutdown of Starlink and Telegram are having a massive impact on Russian forces in Ukraine, according to Russian warbloggers. They say that recent Ukrainian advances are a direct consequence of the problems that are being caused. ⬇️ 2/ 'Two Majors' writes:

"[W]e can say that it was precisely the combined communication problems that have led to the localized Ukrainian Armed Forces offensives in the south of Kupyansk and in the Zaporizhzhia direction in recent days.

1/ Russia may be preparing to announce a mass mobilisation, a bad peace deal with the US, or confiscate people's savings to fund the war effort, according to Russian warbloggers. They suspect that the government wants to ban Telegram to block public dissent over such moves. ⬇️ 2/ Russian officials have hinted strongly that Telegram, which is currently being slowed down and partly blocked by the government, faces a total ban by 1 April 2026. 'Alex Parker Returns' writes (in a since-deleted post) that the government faces a dilemma:

1/ An ongoing epidemic of murder and extortion in the Russian army has reached such a level that Russian warbloggers say the army has become a "gangster supermarket". "Extortion under the threat of death has become an entire shadow industry", says one Russian blogger. ⬇️ 2/ Fresh reports of men being "zeroed out" by their commanders are published almost daily. Recently leaked data from the Russian human rights commissioner records over 6,000 complaints in 6 months from soldiers and their relatives about abuses in the army.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2007089653653135768

1/ Why are Russian soldiers so ill-equipped that they are forced to rely on combat donkeys? Russian warbloggers draw a direct connection to cases of egregious military corruption, such as the recent conviction of Rear Admiral Nikolai Kovalenko for stealing 592 million rubles. ⬇️ 2/ Kovalenko's case – for which he was fined just 500,000 rubles ($6,519) and spared jail – has attracted outrage from many Russian commentators. As they point out, it is merely one of many similar cases over the past three decades.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2023681228168388979

1/ Ukraine's rapid advances in recent days have revealed that many Russian claims of capturing settlements along the length of the front were false or tenous. Russian warbloggers complain that this has exposed more lies by their side's commanders. 📷

https://x.com/front_ukrainian/status/2023657876099678455

2/ Rybar provides a gloomy assessment of Ukraine's progress:

"The situation on the western flank of the Zaporizhzhia front has deteriorated sharply over the past 24 hours."

1/ A retired Russian rear admiral has been convicted of stealing over half a billion rubles allocated to repairing anti-aircraft missile systems. He was fined 500,000 rubles and immediately released from custody. ⬇️ 2/ Rear Admiral Nikolai Kovalenko was found guilty yesterday in the Moscow Region Garrison Court of organising a large-scale embezzlement of Russian Ministry of Defence funds allocated to four contracts for the repair of anti-aircraft missile systems between 2013 and 2017.

1/ The Russian army is continuing to send grossly unfit men to fight in Ukraine. They include a crippled elderly pensioner, a man with a withered arm, and a legless man who has been designated an assault machine gunner. ⬇️ 2/ The pensioner is – or now most likely was – 59-year-old Sergei Zuikov from Salavat, who was forced by his employer to sign a military contract in March 2025 despite having a spinal injury. He was not given a medical fitness review before being sent to Ukraine.

1/ Russian casualty ratios in Ukraine are in places as high as 25 to every 1 Ukrainian defender, according to the UK Defence Secretary John Healey. A newly published account by warblogger 'Bch3' of the lives of Russian convict stormtroopers helps to illustrate why. ⬇️ 2/ "Different people. Different faces. Someone with a hoarse convict's voice, twisted by life like a Karelian birch; another simple, without his own opinion, just tagging along with fate. Mice with petty souls and predatory wolves; team players and loners.

1/ Simply travelling to and from the front line in Ukraine is a deadly task, due to the wide-ranging presence of drones. Many soldiers are killed before they even get near a frontline position. An account from a Russian warblogger highlights the work of "killzone runners". ⬇️ 2/ 'Voenkor Kotenok' writes:

"On the front lines, they're often called "runners." They're supposedly special forces/semi-combatants on errands. They're supposedly as nimble as sperm, evading even drones."

1/ Telegram will not be restored in Russia, and tighter restrictions will be imposed on mobile phone ownership, says Sergey Boyarsky, head of the State Duma IT Committee. He cites scammers, pro-Ukrainian sabotage, and drone attacks as the reasons behind these moves. ⬇️ 2/ In a wide-ranging interview with the St Petersburg online newspaper Fontanka, Boyarsky has explained the thinking behind the government's new restrictions on Telegram. He says that "Telegram doesn't comply with Russian Federation law, and hasn't done so for many years."