Russia Invades Ukraine. Again
POSTED BY: captaincrunch
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 21:09
VIEWED: 562266
PAGE 1081 of 1104
I'm sure you agree, aye comrade?
T
When Crimea falls to Ukraine, Putin is going to have a huge problem | Ben Hodges
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Got a timeline for that prediction, Ben?
Of course not! 
-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
How Cutting Off Crimea and Southern Ukraine Is Breaking Russia's Offensive Momentum
By Myroslav Liskovych, Kyiv | 24.07.2026 20:00
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4147711-how-cutting-off-crimea-an
d-southern-ukraine-is-breaking-russias-offensive-momentum.html
How Cutting Off Crimea and Southern Ukraine Is Breaking Russia's Offensive Momentum
Destroyed Bridges, a Paralyzed Sea, Fuel Shortages, and Broken Supply Lines: At Last, It's Paying Off.
Analyzing the Situation on the Southern Front
The summer of 2026 on the southern theater of operations has been marked by the systematic attrition of Russian forces. In early June, Ukraine's Defense Forces launched a large-scale campaign officially dubbed "Logistics Lockdown." Rather than relying on costly frontal assaults against heavily fortified positions, the operation aims to methodically and surgically sever the Russian military's logistical lifelines—roads, bridges, railway junctions, and maritime supply routes across the Azov and Black seas.
By mid-July, the campaign had reached an unprecedented scale. During June alone, Ukrainian forces conducted precision strikes on 15 bridges—eight railway bridges and seven road bridges. The attacks spanned virtually the entire occupied south: from Ichky, Rozdolne, Vladyslavivka, and Voinka in Crimea to bridges over the Korsak River in Zaporizhzhia Oblast; from the Henichesk Strait and Chonhar crossings in Kherson Oblast to bridges over the Luhanchyk and Aidar rivers in the east. In July, additional targets included bridges in Donetsk Oblast near Huselnykove and Staromariivka, the railway bridge across the Syvash, and other critical infrastructure near Prymorsk.
Equally significant is the operation bearing the ironic—but devastating for the enemy—codename "MoLoCHKa" ("Moscow Will Fall Through Crimea"), launched on July 6. During its first 15 days alone, Ukrainian forces struck 183 vessels belonging to Russia's shadow fleet in the Azov and Black seas.
These efforts have been complemented by long-range strikes against Russian oil refineries, electronics manufacturing facilities, chemical plants, heavy weapons factories, ammunition depots, and other strategic military-industrial targets deep inside Russia. Taken together, they form a comprehensive campaign aimed at isolating and systematically degrading the enemy's ability to wage war.
How has this unprecedented blockade already reshaped the battlefield in southern Ukraine? Ukrinform examines the situation together with leading military experts.
THE DOMINO EFFECT: HOW ATTACKS ON LOGISTICS ARE PARALYZING THE FRONT
The campaign's most significant achievement on land has been the effective disruption of the M-14 highway—the principal logistical artery connecting Mariupol with the occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts. For years, this route served as the backbone of Russian military logistics, sustaining occupation forces on the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes while also supplying occupied Crimea.
Its degraded transport capacity has triggered a cascade of tactical setbacks for Russian forces, undermining their ability to sustain offensive operations, rotate personnel, and reinforce frontline units.
According to military expert Dmytro Sniehyrov, the blockade has already translated into tangible territorial gains for Ukraine's Defense Forces. Ukrainian units launched a successful counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, pushing Russian troops back around Maliivka, Sichneve, Novoheorhiivka, and Zaporizke, and re-establishing fire control over more than 33 square kilometers of territory. In neighboring Kherson Oblast, Ukrainian forces continue to hold the commanding heights on the west bank of the Dnipro River, while any attempts by Russian troops to establish positions on the islands in the Dnipro Delta are swiftly neutralized by artillery and swarms of FPV drones.
Perhaps the clearest indicator of the success of the "Logistics Lockdown" campaign is the steady decl
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Got a timeline for that prediction, Ben?
Of course not!
-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
The plan isn’t to storm the peninsula. It’s to make staying impossible. Even Russian officers now call Crimea a front-line region.
T
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
How volunteers with 3D printers make weapons for Ukraine
Jul 24, 2026
Last week, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy dismissed his tech-savvy defense minister. That sparked protests among supporters who credit him with helping transform Ukraine’s defense capabilities. Special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky and producer Katia Patin report on the technologies and policies that helped drive that transformation. A warning: this story includes graphic descriptions of war.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Russian tanks obliterated near Pankivka as new anti-drone system fails. The Russians’ new Arena-M systems shoots tiny projectiles at incoming enemy drones. But it didn’t save a Russian tank assault this week.
When the smoke and dust cleared, the Russians had lost at least 9 tanks.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/07/24/t-72b3a/
Without so-called "active defenses" that can shoot down incoming drones, "it is currently very easy to throw a tank battalion into [an] assault and lose it all without achieving anything," analyst Jakub Janovsky explained. The Arena-M is Russia's answer. It uses a Doppler radar to spot incoming rockets, missiles, and drones, and 12 launchers ringed around the turret fire tiny charges meant to shred the threat a few meters out.
Russian industry has been calling the Arena-M the first system in the world able to protect armor from FPV drones and loitering munitions. Israel's Rafael announced drone-interception upgrades to its Trophy system in January 2025.
What the shield actually did is contested, and the argument is worth following. One Russian armor specialist watching the video saw no reaction at all—countermeasures still sitting in their launchers, no attempt to engage. Observer Matt Drew, watching the same footage, read it the other way: a puff of smoke off the turret in the opening seconds, an explosion to the side, and several drone feeds that cut out before reaching the tank—which is what an interception looks like from the drone's camera. Only after the tanks were disabled and abandoned could the drones close in and linger, and it took bomber drones to finish the hulks. "Probably not the success the Russians were hoping for," Drew wrote, "but it definitely worked for a while."
A while is the problem. Twelve charges is a finite number and Ukrainian drone crews do not attack in twelves. A shield that intercepts the first drones and runs dry against the tenth turns a tank into a slower target, not a surviving one. And the latest push toward Kramatorsk failed.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Ukraine currently holds strategic initiative in war, says Austrian expert
25.07.2026 13:10
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4147859-ukraine-currently-holds-s
trategic-initiative-in-war-says-austrian-expert.html
Following a harsh winter, Ukraine has gained the strategic initiative in the war, successfully thwarting a large-scale Russian summer offensive and inflicting significant damage on Russia through operational and strategic strikes.
This view was expressed in an interview with Ukrinform by Colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces, Head of the Institute for Basic Officer Training at the Theresian Military Academy, Markus Reisner. https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/4147697-markus-rajsner-avstrijskij
-vijskovij-ekspert.html
“In my opinion, Ukraine currently holds the strategic initiative. It emerged from a very difficult winter and was able to carry out preparatory measures in the spring to prevent the Russian summer offensive from unfolding,” Reisner noted.
According to him, Ukraine has so effectively thwarted the expected Russian summer offensive that Russian troops have been unable to make a large-scale advance. “Yes, they are carrying out isolated operations at the tactical level, but not in the form they had anticipated,” the expert noted.
Reisner also highlighted the effectiveness of Ukrainian strikes against Russian targets. “In my opinion, we are also seeing for the first time that Putin can no longer deny it: Ukrainian strikes at the operational and, above all, strategic levels are inflicting enormous damage,” he emphasized.
According to the Austrian military expert, the effectiveness of the parties’ actions in the war should be assessed on the basis of concrete results.
“If Putin convenes a crisis meeting and claims there are problems with fuel supplies, that is a measurable result. It demonstrates the success of Ukrainian forces at the operational-strategic level,” Reisner emphasized.
He characterizes the current period as the tenth phase of the war, the start of which in May was marked by massive Ukrainian strikes using drones and cruise missiles against Russia’s energy infrastructure.
“The front line has stalled. Although the Russians are attacking, they cannot make any real progress. The Ukrainians are defending themselves, but they also cannot recapture territory on any significant scale,” the expert noted.
According to Reisner’s assessment, a new phase of the war could be triggered either by further escalation on Russia’s part or by a significant impact from Ukrainian strikes.
“On the other hand, a new phase could also be initiated by Ukraine—for example, if its strikes at the strategic or operational level have such a tangible effect that they force Russia to the negotiating table to discuss a ceasefire. That, too, could usher in a new phase,” he emphasized.
As reported by Ukrinform, Christopher Coates, former Deputy Commander of NORAD and Commander of the Canadian Joint Operations Command, believes that in the war with Russia, Ukraine has managed to gain a technical advantage and seize the initiative.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Markus Reisner, Austrian military expert
Ukraine now has the strategic initiative in the war
Google translation from Ukrainian | 07/25/2026 09:00
https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/4147697-markus-rajsner-avstrijskij
-vijskovij-ekspert.html
Russia's war against Ukraine, according to Austrian military expert Markus Reisner, has entered its tenth phase and, to use his boxing metaphor, the tenth round of a grueling duel. The larger and formally stronger Russian opponent is trying to "clinch" Ukraine, impose a traditional war of attrition on it, and use its advantage in resources. Ukraine succeeds when it keeps its distance, acts unconventionally, and strikes where the enemy does not expect them.
For now, according to Reisner, the strategic initiative belongs to Ukraine. It managed to survive a difficult winter and thwart the deployment of a large-scale Russian summer offensive, while simultaneously intensifying attacks on Russian logistics, energy infrastructure and strategic depth. At the same time, missile defense remains its main vulnerability, and the coming months before winter could be decisive.
In an interview with Ukrinform, the head of the Theresienstadt Military Academy's Officer Training Institute, Colonel of the Austrian Armed Forces Markus Reisner, commented on the current phase of the war and the struggle for strategic initiative, the role of drones and long-range strikes, the prospects of the Russian offensive, and the conditions under which Moscow may be forced to agree to a ceasefire.
WE ARE IN THE TENTH PHASE OF THIS WAR
- Colonel, you analyze the Russian war against Ukraine through the prism of successive phases. In your opinion, which phase are we in now and what is its defining feature?
For the first time, we saw very specific threats from Russia against Europe.
- In my opinion, we are now in the 10th phase of this war. Its beginning was marked primarily by massive and powerful Ukrainian drone and cruise missile strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure. It began in May of this year and continues to this day, in the summer.
This is also the phase in which we first saw very specific Russian threats to Europe – Russia is threatening European companies involved in the Ukrainian long-range drone program. Furthermore, right now – back in May – we saw the US attempt to mediate to achieve some kind of ceasefire. However, this attempt has not yet been successful.
The front itself is frozen. The Russians, although attacking, cannot really advance. The Ukrainians are defending, but also cannot retake territory on any significant scale.
Further escalation is taking place at the operational-strategic level. The air war is increasingly moving the conflict to the strategic level, while Ukraine is attempting to attack Russian frontline logistics at the operational level.
In this phase, we again saw very specific Russian threats. For example, the test of the Sarmat nuclear missile on May 12, large-scale nuclear exercises, and the third use of the Oreshnik medium-range missile – also in May – as a message to Europe.
It is also interesting how actively the so-called Tech-Bros – the heads of leading American technology companies – support Ukraine. Palantir plays an important role thanks to the MAVEN and PRISMA systems. MAVEN helps Ukraine, using target data, to launch pinpoint strikes on Russia, and PRISMA allows for the most effective use of limited air defense capabilities. To this we can add Elon Musk with Starlink.
For this phase, in my opinion, it is also indicative that on July 5, Peskov publicly called the "special operation" a war for the first time. In the well-known Russian gradation of escalation levels, this is, in my opinion, another step - from a local war towards a so-called regional war.
The final culmination, if I may say so, was the dismissal of the Ukrainian Minister of Defense . In my opinion, he was one of the main drivers of innovative ideas and their implementation at the operational-strategic level, in particular rega
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
Thanks for posting the latest propaganda, SECOND.
I know that Russia is succeeding militarily because the west is now going "all in" (as much as it dares) attacking Russian civilian targets.
Seems like we've given up on the front line and are shifting to terror attacks i.e. using violence to attempt swinging Russia's upcoming vote. A typical CIA approach.
-----------
"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME
What’s behind Maga influencer Laura Loomer’s about-face on Ukraine?
After a Kyiv visit, rightwing firebrand now supports Ukraine – but perhaps it’s just because Trump favors a winner
By James Risen | Sat 25 Jul 2026
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/25/laura-loomers-ukraine-
visit
Laura Loomer, the online Maga provocateur, has never worked in the White House or anywhere else in the government, but her sudden conversion to the Ukrainian cause this week is significant because her social media posts often have real policy implications in the second Trump administration.
The rightwing commentator has spent the last few days in Kyiv, where she announced a newfound sympathy for Ukraine in its long war with Russia, and admitted that she had previously fallen for Russian propaganda.
Loomer – who has previously echoed Kremlin talking points to her 2 million followers on social media – has enjoyed direct access to Trump since the 2024 presidential campaign. During the early months after Trump returned to office, Loomer used her online presence to push for ideological purges of government personnel, including many in the national security arena.
For a time, her power to break careers among foreign policy officials made her seem as if she were Trump’s de facto national security adviser.
It is unclear whether she still has that kind of pull inside the White House, but Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, certainly took her seriously when she arrived this week, holding a private meeting with her on Thursday.
Three days earlier, Loomer posted about experiencing her first air raid, as Russian missiles pounded the Ukrainian capital
“This is everyday for every Ukrainian,” she posting, adding she felt that she had been “an asshole for minimizing the struggle of Ukrainians for the last 5 years”.
“I often said I don’t care. Looking back, that wasn’t very nice of me to say. There are people in Ukraine who have to run to a bomb shelter everyday and some of us had the audacity to say Russia wasn’t wrong because we believed the lie that Ukraine is a country full of Nazi sympathizers. We have been so propagandized by Russia and we don’t even realize it.”
Before their meeting on Thursday, Zelenskyy’s office posted a statement saying: “It is really important that @LauraLoomer is in Ukraine and sees things with her own eyes as they are.”
Loomer’s change of heart is potentially important not only because she is close to Trump, but also because she has long served as a reliable barometer of Maga attitudes.
Loomer has long been disdainful of Ukraine, adopting what could only be described as a pro-Russian perspective. Many in Maga circles have for years held positive views of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, thanks to Russian propaganda that portrayed him as a bulwark against homosexuality and a defender of fundamentalist Christianity. They became convinced that the Russia-Ukraine war was a proxy fight between Russia’s fundamentalist Christianity and the EU’s western secularism.
Loomer’s shift comes at a critical moment for Ukraine, which recently lost one of its strongest supporters in Washington with the death this month of Lindsey Graham, the Republican senator from South Carolina who had consistently pushed for increased sanctions on Russia to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
But Loomer’s change also coincides with what appears to be an important recent shift in Trump’s own views on Ukraine.
Trump returned to office openly hating Ukraine, at least in part because of the 2019 impeachment over his attempt to hold up aid to Ukraine in exchange for dirt on Joe Biden. Early in his second term, Trump humiliated Zelenskyy in an Oval Office meeting, cut off direct the supply of US weapons and forced Ukraine’s European allies to buy American weapons for Kyiv instead.
But Trump likes winners, and even without full support from Washington, Ukraine has been able to slow Russia’s advance. Kyiv has become a global leader in drone technology, and it has taken the war to Russia it
NOTIFY: Y | REPLY | REPLY WITH QUOTE | PERMALINK | TOP | HOME