1/ The powerful AI-driven Palantir platform is becoming Ukraine's 'operating system' for the war with Russia. Belarusian-Russian journalist journalist Alex Zimovsky warns that it's "heading towards the point where Palantir will soon become a scary name for children in Russia." ⬇️ 2/ Zimovsky has been assessing how Ukraine uses Palantir. He writes:

"As of May 2026, the American company Palantir Technologies has become a key element of Ukraine's AI- and big data-based war management architecture."

1/ After mobilised Russian troops were threatened with being sent to their deaths if they didn't sign contracts making them permanent soldiers, they were promised a big cash bonus if they did so. There's just one problem: they've now been scammed out of the payments. ⬇️ 2/ 'Vault No. 8,' a serving Russian soldier, writes that the mobilised residents of the Moscow region who are serving in his unit are now complaining bitterly that they have been scammed:

1/ Russia actually won the war in Ukraine in 2023 – but the Ukrainians changed the paradigm in 2025 and have turned the tables on the Russian army since. So claims RT journalist Alexander Kharchenko, who calls for Russia to change its approach fundamentally. ⬇️ 2/ Writing on the 'Witnesses of Bayraktar' Telegram channel, Karchenko says:

"We won! You heard right. In a war of "will and steel," the Russian military machine crushed Western proxy forces in Ukraine."

1/ Over four years into the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian commanders have still not beaten their deadliest enemy – the cumbersome centralised bureaucracy of the Russian military. 'Two Majors' gives a flavour of how badly Russian commanders are swamped with paperwork. ⬇️ 2/ In an essay titled "On the Need for a Radical Overhaul of the Management System for Security Forces Involved in the Special Military Operation. Thoughts on the Topic, with Some Profanity", one of the contributors to the prominent 'Two Majors' Telegram channel writes:

1/ The Ukrainians have developed AI-guided hunter-killer drones which can identify humans on the battlefield and attack them, according to a prominent Russian source. Another Russian warblogger warns that it's only the start of a full automation of war. ⬇️

https://x.com/Archer83Able/status/2056356146911309828

2/ 'Two Majors' writes:

"❗️Attention:

The enemy has begun using upgraded tactical drones with combat artificial intelligence. There are signs of facial auto-targeting and a corresponding heat signature loaded into the drone's "brains."

1/ The steadily increasing number of Ukrainian drones being flown into Russia is a major cause for concern among Russian warbloggers reflecting on the weekend's attack on Moscow. 'Older than Edda' sees Russia's air defences being progressively worn down and overwhelmed. ⬇️ 2/ "When assessing the prospects of a "drone war," it's important to understand that massive attacks using a couple thousand or more UAVs per night are just around the corner.

1/ Could Yevgeny Prigozhin have become Russia's equivalent of Ukraine's Robert 'Madyar' Brovdi if he had been allowed to live? A provocative Russian commentary suggests that Wagner's 'civilian-controlled military' operating model could have been applied more widely by Russia. ⬇️
2/ 'Russian Engineer' writes:

"The answers to the questions are about what changes allowed the enemy to halt the downward trend in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which was clearly evident throughout 2025."

1/ Ukraine's massive penetration of Moscow's air defences is sparking a great deal of gloomy and angry commentary from Russian warbloggers. The military-technical Telegram channel 'Atomic Cherry' warns of an escalating trend of Ukrainian capabilities. ⬇️

https://x.com/GirkinGirkin/status/2055885044011409723

2/ "As an interim observation, I will note that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, for the first time in years of the conflict, have succeeded in destroying a number of targets in the Moscow region:

1) Solnechnogorsk loading station;
2) Angstrem JSC enterprise;
3) Elma Technopark;

1/ The Russian government is warning that the Ukrainians are trying to buy Russian Telegram channels that are now unprofitable after the government's blocking of the app. Russian commentators say it's an inevitable result of the government's restrictive policies. ⬇️ 2/ Russia has been severely restricting Telegram since the start of April, as well as making it retrospectively illegal to use Telegram for advertising. This has been a disaster for Russian businesses, for which Telegram was an essential marketing tool.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/2030278263260553242

1/ Russia's anti-drone defences are said to be severely hampered by bureaucracy, such as bans on interceptor drones with explosive warheads, and legal liability, which makes mobile fire teams liable for damage caused by shot-down enemy drones. ⬇️

https://x.com/Osinttechnical/status/2055483659482964206

2/ Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev looks for answers to the eternal question of "where air defence?". He highlights legal and bureaucratic obstacles that he says are major obstacles to the effective protection of facilities that are being targeted by Ukrainian drones:

1/ The Poseidon intercontinental nuclear torpedo is a very stupid idea, says Russian writer and blogger Maxim Kalashnikov. He lambasts it as a huge waste of Russia's resources which is likely to be highly vulnerable to interception and wholly ineffective in practice. ⬇️ 2/ Recent reports that the much-hyped Poseidon will soon be undergoing sea trials on a purpose-built carrier submarine have attracted a scathing response from Kalashnikov. He bluntly dismisses it as a very expensive and militarily pointless propaganda exercise:

1/ Russia's shrunken Victory Day parade in Moscow on 9th May has been a TV ratings flop, reflecting a lack of public interest and its exceptionally short duration. Russian broadcasters report 25% fewer people tuning in this year. ⬇️

https://x.com/BRICSinfo/status/2053153683890684311

2/ The Russian news outlet 'We can explain' reports that the combined rating for the Victory Day Parade broadcast across the three main broadcasters (Channel One, Rossiya 1, and NTV) this year was only 16%. This is a near-25% drop from the 20.5% rating recorded in 2025.

1/ Russian warbloggers are mystified and angry at a recruitment advert for the Russian army posted on the Facebook-like social network VK. Unlike the usual ads, which show Russian soldiers as muscular supermen, it's attracting attention for being a lot more realistic. ⬇️
2/ Sergei Moskalkov, who spotted the advert, declares angrily:

"This isn't a fake, not a disinformation-like collage, but a genuine advertisement for contract service in the Russian Armed Forces.

This is a VK ad.

#fifthcolumn
#lawlessness"

1/ Russian propagandists see their anti-Ukrainian conspiracy theories about secret bioweapons being vindicated by the news that the Trump Administration is to probe previous US Administrations' funding of biological research laboratories worldwide. ⬇️ 2/ Since 2022, the Russians have promoted claims that the US was operating dozens of secret laboratories in Ukraine to research bioweapons, including novel diseases and so-called "combat mosquitos". Propagandists claimed that Ukraine was under US "military biological occupation".

1/ Ukraine is reportedly using large 'drone carrier' unmanned surface vessels (USVs), each carrying between six to eight FPV drones as well as themobaric rockets, to attack multiple targets on the strategic Kinburn Peninsula in Crimea. ⬇️ 2/ The Russian Telegram channel 'Archangel of Special Forces' posts footage apparently taken by a Russian UAV of what it says is a Ukrainian USV off Kinburn. According to the channel, the Ukrainians have been launching an increasing number of attacks against Russian positions:

1/ The stress of Russia's worsening economic problems, Internet shutdowns, and the war in Ukraine is reportedly causing a huge decrease in Russian citizens' happiness, and a corresponding surge in antidepressant prescriptions and morbidity. ⬇️ 2/ The Russian 'Political Report' Telegram channel reports that antidepressant sales in Russia are setting new all-time records year-on-year, alongside opinion polls suggesting substantially worsening levels of unhappiness:

1/ The notorious Russian colonel Igor 'Evil' Puzik is once again making news for the wrong reasons. His regiment's political officer is reported to have confessed to the FSB that he and the colonel were imprisoning and torturing their own men to extract money from them. ⬇️ 2/ Colonel Puzik, the commander of the 87th Motorised Rifle Regiment, is widely detested by Russian warbloggers, his own men, and their relatives, for his alleged corruption, brutality, and willingness to send men to their deaths or shoot them himself to shut them up.

1/ Why can't Russia have n̶i̶c̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶s̶ interceptor drones that work, unlike Ukraine? The answer, says one warblogger, is that Russia's military-industrial complex has been captured by big vested interests who've made it into a "gravy train". ⬇️

https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/2038587540672794975

2/ '¡No Pasaràn!' compares Ukraine's P1-SUN with Russia's Yolka interceptor drone:

"The Ukrainians also made a "Yolka." How is it different from ours?

P1-SUN.
Acceleration up to 450 km/h.
Interception altitude up to 5000 m.

1/ The Russian army's response to the threat of Ukraine's drones is to give its soldiers prayer cards appealing for divine help against "demonic drones". Incredulous Russian warbloggers are demanding something a bit more tangible. ⬇️ 2/ The text of the "Prayer against demonic drones" says: "O, Saint Barbara, the great martyr and patroness, look upon us who grieve and suffer from the demonic drones, that sow death and destruction."

1/ The Russian government's claims that it isn't blocking GitHub are widely disbelieved by Russian commentators, who continue to protest about the severe impact that the apparent restrictions on accessing it will have on military-industrial software development. ⬇️ 2/ The military-technical Telegram channel 'Atomic Cherry' is one of many to note that Russian software developers – like developers everywhere – are functionally dependent on the open-source code libraries provided by GitHub:

1/ The Russian Navy now appears to be covering entire submarines in anti-drone nets. A satellite photograph published by a Russian warblogger shows two net-covered Pacific Fleet submarines anchored alongside quays. ⬇️ 2/ According to the Russian warblogger 'Ramsay', the photo "shows the Pacific Fleet's submarine command attempting to prevent a repeat of Operation Spiderweb." The location in question is the Rybachiy Naval Base in Kamchatka, over 7,300 km from Ukraine.