Tokayev to Putin: Russia-Ukraine conflict should be frozen.

Kazakhstan does not understand the nature of Russia’s war against Ukraine, — FT. 1/ Kazakhstan is one of Russia’s few close partners and shares a 7,600 km border with it. Tokayev has avoided direct condemnation of Putin, but repeatedly refused to recognize Russian-backed separatists and recognized Ukraine as sovereign. 2/

Interceptor drones allow Ukraine to destroy up to 90–95% of aerial targets at a very low cost. They are a genuine game changer. Every interceptor can save lives, making it vital for Ukraine’s future.

WSJ with Lasar’s Group, a Ukrainian drone unit. 1/ «AI works in two stages. First, it identifies a likely target and alerts the crew. After the pilot confirms it, autonomous mode takes over. The drone’s computer controls the motors, accelerates and closes in on the target». 2/

Boris Johnson spent 90 minutes inside Ukraine’s “kill zone” for a new documentary.

He stayed in a town under Russian drone attacks, met troops making explosives from plastic toilet pipe, and said Britain should send Ukraine more advanced weapons. 1/ Johnson’s first night near the front: drone strikes hit a nearby apartment block similar to the one where he was staying.

At a shop still open in the “kill zone,” an elderly woman shouted: “What would you do if they started bombing? Look around!” 2/

Krotevych, former Azov officer: Syrskyi would never admit a mistake. He would probably say his only mistake was being too soft. That is dangerous. In my view, he has repeatedly lied to Zelenskyy. 1/ Krotevych: Drapatyi will face an extremely difficult job. If allowed to build a strong team, he can succeed. Syrskyi placed loyalists throughout the army and pressured principled commanders. One man cannot change everything; reform requires honest reporting. 2/

Russia will fund children conceived from the very soldiers it already sent to die in Ukraine.

The State Duma passed a bill giving their widows fully state-funded IVF and artificial insemination, drawn from the biomaterial these men banked before they deployed — United24. 1/ A widow can claim the state benefit for five years after her husband dies, and she keeps it only if she does not remarry.

She also needs a notarized consent form for the storage and use of his biomaterial, one the soldier had to sign in person while he was still alive. 2/

CNN: Russian hackers spent a year targeting nuclear scientists, defense firms, governments, police, schools and energy.

They tested tools on Ukrainians first, then used them against NATO to seek Western military, logistics and policy intelligence. 1/ The campaign focused on email servers used by nuclear installations and the U.S. defense industrial base. Researchers say the hackers appeared interested in nuclear fusion and intelligence useful to Russia’s war against Ukraine. 2/

Laura Loomer: I said I didn’t care if Putin conquered Ukraine, had no problem with Putin, and mocked Zelenskyy for not wearing a suit.

People urged me to delete those posts, but I left them online so people could see what I said before and how I feel now. 1/ Loomer: We joked that after receiving billions, Zelenskyy could buy the most expensive Italian suit. I later realized it was much more serious than joking around.

I had been consuming a lot of Russian media and was influenced by Russian propaganda. 2/

Laura Loomer: I apologize to Ukrainians for what I said about their country. People here were kind to me.

I doubt Putin would sit down with me or Moscow would welcome me if I criticized its government. Zelenskyy answered every question I asked. 1/ Loomer: I expected Kyiv to have far more destruction and rubble.

Instead, people were living their lives. Nobody was hiding. They were smiling, walking their dogs, and the city looked far more put together than I expected. 2/

Volker: There will never be a real peace agreement with Putin. That requires him to accept Ukraine as sovereign, Zelenskyy as its legitimate leader, and a real border.

He'll never agree to that. The best we'll get is a ceasefire, made as durable as we can. 1/ Volker: Putin isn't motivated by peace, lifted sanctions, or money.

He's motivated by rebuilding the Russian empire and subjugating Ukraine. Trump didn't fully grasp that at first, but the more he's dealt with Putin, the more he's realized Putin is lying to him. 2/

Former Ukrainian FM Kuleba: We're heading toward drone and ballistic-missile parity with Russia, but neither side will have enough air defense.

2026 and 2027's decisive battles get fought in the air, not on the ground. 1/ Kuleba: There are no Patriot interceptors, and there won't be enough soon. I've heard an optimistic end-2026 date for our own licensed production, but I don't believe it — even running, we're missing components.

We'd be an assembly shop, not a real manufacturer. 2/

Snyder: Putin's real soft spot is his conviction that Russia has a thousand-year history in which it and Ukraine 'have always been together'.

Meaning Ukraine never truly existed as its own country, and any idea to the contrary is just his enemies' conspiracy. 1/ Snyder: Putin talks about Ukraine in a completely different register than anything else.

He presents it as metaphysical truth, not politics. And I think he believes it, rather than just using it as propaganda. 2/

Politico: The lesson from Ukraine is that drones do not replace armies.

Drones expose weak systems when they plug into a real force. If Europe turns drone success into an excuse to dodge ships, air defense and missiles, Russia benefits. 1/ Ukraine’s drone record is why the hype exists. Kyiv has hit Russian shadow vessels, refineries, Baltic oil terminals, military sites in Crimea and even an oil refinery in Siberia. 2/

After refineries, Ukraine is now hitting Russia’s “Amazon”.

Wildberries has 80M users, 1M sellers, 52% of Russia’s e-commerce and 200+ sites.

Its network moves dual-use army gear, from radios and body armor to drone components, — The Telegraph. 1/ In recent days, Ukrainian drones have hit at least seven Wildberries facilities, plus smaller storage sites used by other e-commerce firms. The attacks have wiped out up to 15% of the company’s warehouse space. 2/

Italy's Defence Minister Crosetto asked Fedorov to be his advisor.

He called Fedorov the day after his dismissal: "When do you want to come to Rome and work with me as an adviser?"

Fedorov was "moved" and saw it as "a demonstration of esteem and friendship." — Reuters.

1/ Crosetto: Fedorov completely rewrote the rules of the game on the battlefield.

Helping Ukraine first resist Russia's invasion, then regain the initiative through new technologies. Fedorov's dismissal sparked rare wartime protests in Ukraine.

2/

Poland’s remaining MiG-29s now have another NATO suitor. Warsaw: Ukraine still comes first.

MiG-29s are Soviet-designed fighter jets Ukrainian pilots and maintenance teams already know, United24. 1/ Zalewski [Polish deputy DM]: “We received an offer from one of our NATO allies.”

He refused to name the country.

Defense Express: Bulgaria looks like the most plausible candidate because it already operates Soviet-designed aircraft. 2/

Russia is choking Ukraine’s Black Sea export corridor, the sea route that keeps Ukrainian grain moving to world markets.

On Wednesday, for the first time since the corridor opened in 2023, zero ships entered Ukraine’s 3 Odesa ports, Politico. 1/ Sybiha [Ukraine’s FM]: “Russia is holding global food security hostage.”

At peak harvest, he called the shutdown deliberate economic and humanitarian terror that could mean higher prices and hunger for families in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. 2/

Ukraine will make Patriot interceptor missiles with Raytheon, the US producer of the Patriot system.

Patriots are crucial for stopping Russian ballistic and aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities, United24. 1/ Zelenskyy: “Ukraine will jointly produce one of the most important air defense assets — interceptors for Patriots — together with Raytheon.”

The talks followed earlier discussions with Trump in Ankara and focused on non-offensive military hardware. 2/

Browder: Ukraine has created a drone kill zone along the front.

Anyone who enters it can be targeted. One operator can control 100 drones searching for heat and killing anyone inside the zone. 1/ Browder: Putin can draft more men and send them to the front, where they will be killed.

Russia has ten times the personnel and resources, but Ukrainian strikes keep degrading its economy and reducing the resources Putin can use to continue the war. 2/

Zelenskyy: The Soviet Union was the most dangerous enemy for the United States, not only for your democracy or way of life, but for 70 years.

Putin’s global idea is to take everything back: the Soviet Union, former Soviet republics, and Europe too.

1/ Zelenskyy: If Russia becomes the Soviet Union again, this becomes a global war. Then you get China and a restored Soviet empire with the biggest army in the world.

They would be bigger than the United States, and that would be dangerous for America.

2/

Keane: Ukraine can put 10,000 drones in the air in a single day.

The entire US Army does not have 10,000 drones. Ukraine’s defense industry gets new technology into soldiers’ hands at a speed that is nothing short of remarkable. 1/ Keane: Ukraine will manufacture 8 million drones this year — aerial drones and unmanned ground vehicles.

Ukrainian forces pushed Russians off a position defended by troops with no humans in the fight. It was the first time this had happened in warfare. 2/

More than 70% of Crimea's 2.5 million residents have lost power, many now going days with no electricity or running water.

Cheap Ukrainian drones did in one month what Russia swore for 12 years could never happen, handing Kyiv leverage over any peace talks — The Guardian. 1/ Marina runs a guesthouse in Yevpatoria. First the Russian tourists cancelled, then petrol ran short, now power and water vanish for much of the day.

Marina: For 12 years they told us Crimea was 100% protected. Within a month we've been thrown back into the Stone Age. 2/