General Budanov, Chief of Ukrainian Presidential Office:

I am not a fan of the idea that drones will win this war for us. Wars are not won without people. They can be lost without people — that happens. But winning without people is simply not possible. 1/6 The Russians are not complaining about deep strikes. This is a standard approach to conducting negotiations, as doing so would amount to admitting weakness. They will not make it easy for us to reach any agreement. 2/6

Hero of Ukraine Pavlo Rozlach, Deputy Commander of Ukraine's 8th Air Assault Corps:

We have beat the Americans [during exercise]. They are restricted by standards, so it cannot be said that everything “NATO” is automatically good. We are fighting a real, powerful enemy. 1/15 The entire spectrum of weaponry and ammunition has been deployed against us, excluding only nuclear weapons: missiles, aviation, KABs (guided aerial bombs), and the latest technologies. 2/15

Very insightful points by Colonel Janno Märk, Chief of Staff of the Estonian Division:

In a broader sense, the Russia-Ukraine war remains in a state of a static war of attrition, where neither side has achieved a decisive success and is unlikely to do so in the near term. 1/9 However, over the past three to four months, certain positive shifts have emerged on Ukraine’s side.
The recent Ukrainian success is a combination of several factors. 2/9

General Kyrylo Budanov, Head of Ukrainian Presidential Office:

The Middle Eastern crisis, like any crisis, presents both advantages and disadvantages. Much depends on how different actors choose to position themselves. 1/12 On the downside, the impact is already evident, for example in rising fuel prices, which are being felt across the board.
On the upside, however, this creates a window of opportunity, one that can either be utilized or missed. 2/12

Important points by General Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of Zelenskyy's Office:

The ratio of strike drone usage along the frontline currently stands at approximately 1.3 to 1 in our favor, meaning we are deploying around 30% more strike drones than Russia. 1/7 Despite ongoing challenges related to materials, procurement, and contracting, the daily share of fiber-optic drones in our total strike drone usage has reached about 32%, compared to roughly 24% on the Russian side. 2/7

Russia’s GRU operatives have been caught attempting to stage a covert false-flag attack to frame Ukraine and disrupt Hungary’s elections through a bombing campaign. 1/9 If they had succeeded Hungary’s Euro-sceptic government could impose emergency laws to stop forthcoming elections which they could lose to a pro-European party. 2/9

WaPo: Ukrainian forces operating in Libya have attacked a Russian tanker

Ukrainian forces are operating in western Libya under a covert deal endorsed by the West, and they used the country’s territory to strike a Russian tanker in the Mediterranean last month. 1/7 The Russian-flagged Arctic Metagaz, carrying 61,000 tons of liquefied natural gas, was badly damaged in a suspected sea drone attack near Maltese waters early in March. It has since drifted off Libya. 2/7

Ukraine's Fire Point targets 'game changer' air defense system by 2027:

Fire Point, is in talks with European companies to launch a new air defence system by next year, creating a low-cost alternative to the increasingly hard-to-get ​Patriot system. 1/5 With governments seeking to defend their skies as the wars in Ukraine and Iran sow global instability, Fire Point's co-founder and chief designer Denys Shtilierman said it aimed to slash the cost of intercepting ‌a ballistic missile to below $1 million. 2/5

Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service:

A systemic deterioration of data center infrastructure is unfolding in Russia. 1/9 Aging equipment is failing at scale, while sanctions and the financial burden of the war against Ukraine have significantly reduced the country’s ability to replace it quickly and effectively. 2/9

Ukrainian soldiers often showed far greater tactical imagination than their Western trainers, a former British trainer said. 1/8 The Ukrainians "have a much greater tactical imagination than we do," Maj. Maguire, a British military officer who led the training for Ukrainian soldiers. 2/8

Zelenskyy offers Ukraine’s help to unblock Hormuz:

Ukraine’s success in breaking Russia’s Black Sea blockade has given it vital expertise to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz. 1/6 “We raised this issue, because it is a painful and urgent one — as we can all see, for the entire world. There is an energy crisis. They know they can rely on our expertise in this area, and we discussed it in detail,” Zelenskyy told journalists 2/6

Notable insights from Ukrainian defense companies on exports:

Ihor Fedirko, CEO of the Ukrainian Council of Defence Industry, estimated that Ukraine could export about $2 billion worth of weapons as a whole this year, excluding ​joint production ventures with allies. 1/8 He predicted that in a best-case scenario, annual defence exports could reach as much as $10 billion in five years. 2/8

Estonia's Military Intelligence:

Ukraine’s strikes on Russian ports in the Baltic Sea have halted oil exports through these hubs.

This represents a significant blow to Russia, as an estimated 40–50% of its crude oil exports pass through Ust-Luga and Primorsk. 1/6 As a result, at least in the short term, Russia’s revenues will decline substantially. This comes at a time when improved ice conditions and higher oil prices would otherwise have allowed these ports to be used more actively and profitably. 2/6

European allies are publicly and privately telling American diplomats that Russia is directly and materially helping Iran's war efforts beyond what the U.S. will publicly acknowledge. 1/4 The Europeans are also continuing to argue that the war in Ukraine, the largest land war in Europe since World War II, is intertwined with the war in Iran due to the cooperation between Russia and Iran. 2/4

Pentagon considers diverting Ukraine military aid to the Middle East.

The Pentagon is considering whether to divert weapons intended for Ukraine to the Middle East as the war in Iran depletes some of the U.S. military’s most critical munitions. 1/6 Although a final decision to redirect the equipment has not yet been made, the shift would highlight the growing trade-offs required to sustain the U.S. war against Iran, where U.S. Central Command has hit more than 9,000 targets in just under four weeks of fighting. 2/6

Maksym Zhorin, Deputy Commander of Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps:

A reduction in Russian manpower is unlikely. Losses will be offset through continued recruitment and mobilization, and this process is expected to persist. 1/12 Even the prospect of internal strain or a domestic crisis is unlikely to alter this trajectory. As long as they achieve any tangible results on the battlefield—even minimal territorial gains—they will continue to feed additional manpower into the war. 2/12

General Andriy Biletskyi, Commander of Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps:

If current trends continue, by the end of the year units that actively integrate ground robotic systems could reduce the number of infantry required on the front line by up to 30%. 1/10 This year is likely to become a true breakthrough year for ground robotic systems.
The expanded use of UAVs, sensor networks, surveillance systems, and ground robotic platforms can substantially decrease the number of personnel required on the line of contact. 2/10

Ukraine has pursued a strategy of bringing the war back to Russia, aiming to erode the perception that the full-scale invasion is distant and cost-free for Russian society.

An analysis suggests that strategy is beginning to reshape how the war is felt across Russia. 1/13 The strategy was explicitly articulated by President Volodymyr Zelensky in 2025, as Ukraine significantly expanded its deep-strike campaign inside Russia. 2/13

Robert Brovdi, Commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces:

Soldiers are ordered to target [Russian] personnel, rather than armour or other equipment, at least 30% of the time. 1/6 “If a battalion has no infantry left, the Russians don’t disband it but throw desk officers to the front. They are the easiest targets, because they can’t fight.” 2/6

General Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's Ambassador to the UK:

According to traditional textbooks, the war in Iran should have only two strategies. These are the strategy of defeat and the strategy of attrition. 1/6 With the first strategy, everything is clear, as with “Kyiv in three days”. Probably someone thought that this was also possible in Iran. But if the defending side switches to a strategy of attrition, the attacking side will definitely have big problems. 2/6

Kyrylo Veres, the Commander of Ukraine's 20th Separate Brigade of Unmanned Systems K-2:

Russia recruits roughly 30,000–40,000 soldiers per month. If the Ukrainian side eliminates only 20,000 of them monthly, the enemy still gains a surplus of around 20,000 personnel. 1/12 Over the course of a year, that becomes roughly 200,000 troops—a very large reserve that could be used to launch offensives on multiple fronts. 2/12