Ukraine's @Textyorgua_Eng on the gray zone in the war - an area that stretches 25-30 km, and as much as 40km, "a chaotic kill zone riddled with trenches, dugouts, mines and rubble, constantly monitored and hit by drones, with both sides using a wide range of weapons." texty.org.ua/projects/11592… The rotation in this gray zone is a difficult and dangerous: "Pickup trucks take the infantry 1–7 km to the trenches/dugouts. Then the guys walk the rest of the way, carrying 20–40 kg of stuff: ammo, gear, water, food, and tactical electronic warfare equipment."

1/ QUICK TAKE by a Rus mil blogger on dispelling the myths that frontline drone operator job is "prestigious" and "safe" - main points translated as follows: "Money? 210,000 rubles per month? Yes, you get paid. But then the lion's share goes (to purchasing) own equipment." t.me/russoturisto_n… 2/ "(You buy) a new drone camera. Batteries. Chargers. Communications. And also repairs. You buy a new drone to replace the one that hasn't returned. Wires, connectors, fasteners. In fact, you're always "in the red." Just staying alive, for now."

1/ QUICK TAKE on the lagging Russian military education that is behind the current combat trends in Ukraine, from a Rus military commentator: "I attended a lecture at one of the military training centers in the Samara region, and excuse my French..." t.me/voickokipchaka… 2/ "...dear teachers of this center, but I have never heard so much nonsense from anyone. Of course, out of respect for their shoulder straps, I tried to smooth things over, but it got to the point where the lecturer said that 75% of all tactical targets were hit by "artillery".

1/ Rus state media reports that the Sukhoi Design Bureau (that built S-70 Okhotnik UCAV) is "actively developing eight distinct UAV types. Next step in tactical aviation is transitioning from viewing it as a mere collection of individual high-tech aircraft to developing integrated aviation systems." tass.com/defense/2015511 2/ Okhotnik took years to go through testing and evaluation, and was shot down by Russia's own forces in 2024 when it went out of control over Ukraine. It was not seen in Ukraine combat, is expensive and in very few numbers, and would likely not survive Ukrainian air defenses.

1/ THREAD: On September 6-7, 2025, the fourth annual "DRONNITSA" meet-up took place in Russia's Novgorod region, organized by KCPN (Coordination Center for Assistance to Novorossiya) and Ushkuynik Enterprise (that builds KVN fiber-optic drones), with assistance from Novgorod region government. t.me/dronnitsa/554 2/ This year, the event theme was "learning from mistakes" - what the larger Russian volunteer and start up community learned after years of assisting the Rus military and what gaps still remain. See this link for previous DRONNITSA threads.

https://x.com/sambendett/status/1942230969181749382

1/QUCK TAKE: Rus commentators on the impact of FPV strikes on Ukrainian logistics: "Until recently, the Slavyansk-Izyum section of the highway was considered relatively safe for enemy movement. Drone strikes here were extremely rare and episodic. Now the situation has changed." t.me/VictoryDrones/…
2/ "Today, systematic work of FPV crews has been noted in this direction, and the result is immediately visible. From a military point of view, this is a turning point. FPV drones allow firing at a range of up to 25-30 km, which makes it possible to strike a target even before it enters the immediate frontline zone."

1/ QUICK TAKE: Russia's Aleksei Chadaev, co-founder of the annual "Dronnitsa" meet up that will take place on Sept 6-7, and a key figure behind the "KVN" fiber-optic drone, on some of his own lessons and mistakes as a tech volunteer and developer - summary below: t.me/chadayevru/4072 2/ "The most difficult development for me (since 2022) is the demand to pour new wine ("military innovations") into old wineskins ("development institutes", aka "venture model"). In short, it did not turn out very well. Two main reasons behind this failure are..."

Russian DefMin Belousov at the latest Miliary Commission meeting: "Starting this September, three military academies will begin training military personnel in 11 new specialties, including in the use of UAVs and robotic systems." t.me/tass_agency/33… "We have significantly increased the volume of deliveries of tactical UAVs to the troops. This has certainly had a positive impact on the course of military operations. It is necessary to complete the work on creating an effective system for providing UAV troops with logistics and repairs."

1/ Russian MOD officially engaging with volunteer community: First, Kalashnikov Enterprise struck a deal with Ushkuynik, a parent company of the "KVN" fiber-optic drone. Now, it has an agreement with "Project Archangel", one of the largest efforts in the country. t.me/projectArchang… 2/ "The joint project should become a driver for the development of advanced technologies and the training of professional personnel to counter enemy drones. Project Archangel is required to do the following: open a training center in Zaporizhie region..."

1/ From Russia's Rybar, one of the top pro-Kremlin Telegram channels, on the possibility of delivering Geran drones to Venezuela as a deterrent against US: "How will the situation change if Russian Geran UAVs are delivered to Venezuela?" t.me/rybar/73048 2/ "Let's imagine that, say, 2,000 Gerans are delivered to the Bolivarian Republic. Then the Venezuelans will be able to reach American bases in the Caribbean region, and under certain conditions, even facilities on the US mainland. What can the Gerans hit when launched from Caracas?"

1/ QUICK TAKE: For a long time, many Rus commentators and bloggers decried the lack of enough SIGNIT (radio electronic reconnaissance, or RER in Rus) at the front to identify and go after Ukr drones. In a translated post from a Ukr commentator Serg Marco, Rus bloggers note the following. t.me/RVvoenkor/97984
2/ Serg Marco explained some of the reasons for the Ukrainian military's difficult situation in the Pokrovsky direction. According to Marco, the problems began at the end of spring 2025, when the greenery bloomed, and the Russian army had the opportunity to actively use...

1/ QUICK TAKE by a Rus mil commentator on the importance of going after Ukrainian small tactical radars: "Why is it important to knock them out first? Many have wondered why there are fewer videos of strikes on airfields and air defense systems in the enemy rear?" t.me/rybar/72883 2/ "The answer is simple - since last year, the Ukrainian forces have been actively shooting down our recon fixed-wing drones with their interceptor UAVs, and it is no longer possible to fly there freely."

1/ THREAD: Rus TG channels on flying and operating drones in bad weather - when there is rain, snow, fog, wind and frost: "Key battlefield scenarios for using UAVs are collecting information and physical destruction of targets. For both, we depend on the viewing range..." t.me/Notes_of_the_J…


2/ "...for which the camera is responsible. Also, recon drones and FPVs have electronics that require moisture protection and power elements, the energy of which is spent not only on movement, but also on stabilizing the drone in flight. We will therefore consider..."

1/ Russia's Rubicon Center, where most experienced drone operators are using radio-controlled and fiber-optic UAVs with devastating success, is officially a year old. A few observations from TG: "Rubicon's main achievement is not a quantitative or technical improvement, but an organizational one." t.me/VictoryDrones/… 2/ "Previously, a Russian UAV operator was simultaneously an operator, an engineer, a sapper, and a reconnaissance officer (while being some kind of grenade launcher according to the documents), but in Rubicon all these functions are separated."

1/ THREAD: What do Russia-based military experts think of the impact of drone warfare in Ukraine? In an analysis translated below, Director of Moscow-based CAST (Center for Analysis of Strategies and Tech) sounds off on the key battlefield changes. rg.ru/2025/07/09/dro… 2/ "It is obvious that as the element base becomes miniaturized and cheaper, combat operations will increasingly take the form of actions by incredible hordes of drones of the most diverse types, shapes, sizes and purposes (but mostly smaller and cheaper)..."

1/ QUICK TAKE by a Russ mil blogger on how to avoid and protect from "zhduns", ambush drones that wait by the road to quickly pounce on target with minimal warning: "Protection from such a drone should begin before leaving (your position)..." t.me/russian_fpv/867 2/ "...in this sense, additional reconnaissance of the route becomes critical: we recommend analyzing the route using available UAVs, paying special attention to potential ambush sites - roadsides, bushes with good visibility, roofs, power lines..."

1/5 QUICK TAKE from Rus mil bloggers on the importance of FPVs in combat: "In recent years, it has become clear: the front has changed. FPV drones have proven themselves to be at their best, literally and figuratively. They are cheap, accessible, adaptable. They..." t.me/MariaBerlinska… 2/5 "They fly where traditional means are powerless. They fight 24/7, without sleep, fear or fatigue. Behind every operator is the art of control, behind every drone is astonishing efficiency. More and more resources - personnel, technology, financial - are now concentrated here."

1/ QUICK TAKE by Rus mil bloggers on the technical aspects of today's Ukrainian drone strike: "FPV control was carried out via mobile networks (4G, LTE and the like). The bandwidth of modern mobile networks is more than enough to perform such tasks." t.me/ZarodinuVmeste… x.com/United24media/… 2/ "There were no ground control stations and, especially, no saboteur operators nearby. The truck driver in particular and the logistics chain in general are another story that our special services will have to figure out."

1/ QUICK TAKE by Rus commentators on the consequences of today's strike: "Reinforcement of air defense will be necessary - not only from fixed-wing (Ukr) drones, but also from FPV drones, specially since there has already been an experience of such an attack in Machulishchi, where (our) A-50 was damaged. Obviously, the security at the airfield was not prepared for this type of attack." t.me/boris_rozhin/1… 2/ "Strengthening counter-intelligence and counter-terrorist measures. The enemy was able to prepare and carry out a complex operation on our territory. This is a clear failure of the special services that allowed this to happen."

1/ QUICK THREAD on the key military tech seen during Russia's May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow. Since 2022, such parades have been getting smaller in scale as more and more mil tech was used in the ongoing Ukraine invasion. Was this year different? 2/ The parade was opened by a T-34 WW2 tank, just like last year. This year, multiple T-34s went through the Red Square, compared to a single tank in 2024.

1/5 What will the future tank look like? Russa's Uralvagonzavod, the main manufacturer of Rus tanks, offered the following ideas: The prospective tanks will receive echeloned protection and more powerful guns, will receive standard radars and UAVs... ria.ru/20250328/tank-… 2/5 ...will be designed according to the modular principle and have an optional crew. "To date, (we) have already developed a significant portion of these technologies, and are working on the implementation of this scientific and technical potential."