Russia Invades Ukraine. Again
POSTED BY: captaincrunch
UPDATED: Sunday, September 6, 2026 21:09
VIEWED: 562266
PAGE 969 of 1104
Quote:
Originally posted by THG:Quote:
Originally posted by second:
Dull reality is slowly seeping into Putin's mind. He expresses no hope that his war will end this year or in the next, but perhaps in 2028.
Putin's New Year speech lauds Russia's war, makes no mention of peace in Ukraine.
Putin's speech avoided any mention of Ukraine, peace talks, or plans to bring the war to an end in 2026.
https://kyivindependent.com/we-believe-in-our-victory-putins-new-year-
speech-shows-no-intention-to-end-the-war-in-2026/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
I hope Russia collapses tomorrow.
T
tick tock tick tock...
T
Russian banks just went into crisis mode! Collapse possible.
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Inside the fight for Ukraine's river islands
By Olena Zashko, Francis Farrell
Jan 2, 2026
Along the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, the front line has remained largely static, but fighting continues every day. The Kyiv Independent’s Francis Farrell and Olena Zashko embedded with Ukraine’s forces in Kherson Oblast, following FPV drone and night bomber teams tasked with defending river islands. The two also joined river operations training to see how such missions differ from those on land. From daytime drone flights to nighttime logistics missions, the report shows how the war on the Dnipro River is fought — and how soldiers endure it.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Belarus says it’s working with Russia to put nuclear warheads on its 290-kilometer range Polonez missile systems.
The announcement appears to be part of Russia’s continuous strategy of nuclear blackmail, which has intensified since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
Russia has already transferred Oreshnik intermediate range ballistic missiles into Belarusian territory — these weapons are able to mount both conventional and nuclear warheads.
However, these actions don't mean that the Kremlin will have the guts to hit the launch button.
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/02/belarus-boasts-of-tactical-nuke
s-that-can-reach-four-european-capitals/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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The Russian Strategy Would Normally Be Seen As A Failure
It was a year that in terms of the front line saw approximately the same changes as in 2024—and that means minimal. Russian territorial gains in Ukraine remained at less than 1 percent for the year, yet their casualties were enormous, so much so that maintaining present strength seems to be the best the Russians can do. This kind of strategy would, historically, be seen as a strategy of failure. It is doing little in the way of strategic damage to Ukraine, costing a great deal and gaining little territory. Yet the narrative, too much controlled by Washington, is that the Russian strategy is inexorably rolling to victory. That needs a reset.
At the end of 2025 many different groups, analysts did a calculation of all the territory that Russia had seized during the year. The best, by the way, was from the Institute for the Study of War, which is linked to here. In these different reports there were charts, discussions of trends, etc. However the key one was sometimes overlooked. During all of 2025, and at vast cost, the Russians seized less than 1 percent of Ukrainian territory. The ISW calculated that they took 0.8 of 1 percent.
And that territory was of no strategic value. Most of it was empty fields that the Russians seized using their infiltration tactics—often troops running forward, or on motorcycles or horses, just to the next tree line or structure and hoping to reach it before being killed. Most of the time they are killed or wounded, but sometimes they reach cover—and huzzah the map line shifts incrementally. No wonder that sensible analysts, such as in this CSIS report, understand that Russian battlefield performance has major weaknesses.
At the same time, the Ukrainians seem to be reducing their casualties and replacing manpower in the front line with machine (I refer you to my discussion with General Havrylov).
This in almost all historical cases would be considered a Russian strategy of failure. They are wasting their military resources for tiny gains, not taking any territory that effects Ukrainian force generation, and will, eventually see a declining military efficiency. As long as Ukraine can keep casualties down, the Russians will find themselves in the mother of all quagmires.
And yet that is not the portrayal. Mostly because of the narrative in Washington, but as much because Europeans are afraid to act on their own, the general portrayal of the war is that Ukraine is the one withering (we have had more than 2 years of manpower crisis stories which hint darkly that Ukraine is about to collapse—and yet amazingly Russian advances have flatlined). Naturally Donald Trump has been key in spreading this idea. He even reinforced it in front of President Zelensky just the other day. Trump claimed that Ukraine needs to take the bad deal he wants to force on them, because Russia is going to seize Ukrainian territory anyway. Here was the exact quote.
“well I think uh the land you're talking about some of that land has been taken some of that land is maybe up for grabs, but it may be taken over the next period of a number of months and you're better off making a deal.”
Phillips P. OBrien
Jan 04, 2026
More at https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-166-the-russian-
strategy
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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US will get back all money spent on Ukraine, Trump says
Mon, January 05, 2026 - 08:30
Author: Kateryna Danishevska
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/us-will-get-back-all-money-spent-on-uk
raine-1767594199.html
US President Donald Trump said he believes Washington will be able to recover all the money that was spent on Ukraine during the Trump administration, the White House reports.
While speaking to the press, Trump said the war in Ukraine currently costs the United States nothing. According to him, Washington is making money instead.
"In fact, we make money because, unlike Biden (former US President Joe Biden - ed.), Biden gave $350 billion, gave it away," the US president said.
He added that, thanks to a rare earth deal, Ukraine has already returned a significant portion of the funds spent to the United States. At the same time, Trump believes there will be even more returns.
"Now, I got a lot of it back because we did a rare earth deal going into rare earth. And we're going to get a lot of that money back. Maybe all of the money, maybe more than all of the money," the White House chief concluded.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Poland: For a fair peace in Ukraine, the Russian elite has to accept invasion was a mistake
Jan 5, 2026
https://www.dagens.com/news/poland-for-a-fair-peace-in-ukraine-the-rus
sian-elite-has-to-accept-invasion-was-a-mistake
We will get a fair solution only once Russian elites have concluded that the original invasion was a mistake and that the aim of rebuilding the Russian empire is unachievable.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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When will Ukraine start receiving €90 billion EU loan? European Commission responds
Author: Kateryna Shkarlat | Mon, January 05, 2026 - 17:02
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/when-ukraine-will-start-receiving-90-b
illion-1767625370.html
The European Union is currently working on the final adoption of the legal framework needed to provide Ukraine with the promised €90 billion loan over the next two years. Kyiv may receive the first tranche in the second quarter of 2026, according to a statement by European Commission spokesperson Maciej Berestecki during a briefing on January 5.
According to Berestecki, the European Commission’s proposal to provide Ukraine with a €90 billion loan under the mechanism of "enhanced cooperation" is currently before the Council of the European Union. It still needs to be approved there, but blocking it will not be possible, as only a qualified majority is required.
In addition, approval of the decision on enhanced cooperation requires the consent of the European Parliament. It is planned that both of these steps will be completed "within the next few weeks."
The European Commission is also currently drafting a proposal for a regulation that will set out the terms of the loan for Ukraine. It is expected to be adopted as early as January, along with proposals to amend the EU’s multiannual budget through 2027, which are necessary to provide the loan.
"We are, of course, aware of the urgency of the financing needs of Ukraine. We are planning to issue a first disbursement to Ukraine, the latest in the second quarter of 2026," Berestecki noted.
In December, during a summit in Brussels, EU member state leaders agreed to allocate €90 billion in support for Ukraine in 2026–2027. This involves a concessional loan that was considered a fallback option in case the mechanism for using frozen Russian assets is not implemented.
According to Ukraine’s Finance Minister Serhii Marchenko, these funds are effectively interest-free and conditionally non-repayable for Kyiv: repayment would only be possible after Russia compensates Ukraine for the damages caused by its full-scale war.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Analysis: Why effective use of manpower will define who is winning the war in Ukraine in 2026
Manpower determines whether Ukraine loses the war
By Francis Farrell | January 6, 2026 4:53 pm
https://kyivindependent.com/analysis-effective-use-of-manpower-will-de
fine-whether-ukraine-loses-the-war-in-2026/
Over 2025, the regiment has gained attention as one of the military's top "firefighter" units, responding rapidly across the front line to quickly localize and liquidate Russian breakthroughs.
But with that attention has also come notoriety for its reckless use of mobilized soldiers in costly assault operations, leading to consistently high losses, while standard mechanized brigades are starved of reinforcements.
. . .
In areas well covered by crack Ukrainian drone teams, and with a well-manned, competent brigade holding the sector, Russia remains unable to achieve anything close to a true operational breakthrough.
If this could remain the case across the entire front line going forward, Kyiv would be well placed to resist outside pressure to accept a capitulatory peace deal for years to come, as Russian costs incurred for each kilometre, treeline, and village would simply be too high to sustain.
In some front-line hotpots, this continues to be the norm, especially in areas where the defense is led by top brigades and drone units under the umbrella of a respected corps command.
But elsewhere, the trend over 2025 has been in the other direction, in worrying signs for the future direction of the war.
The strain on the army is being felt in the form of larger and larger weak points opening along the front line, while sectors that for years had been locked down with a stable defense are now becoming the sites of fresh Russian advances.
This is most evident on the southern front line, near the town of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, which was overrun by Russian forces over the Christmas period.
Here, despite the area’s strategic importance, chaotic Ukrainian withdrawals over the past month put the entire defense of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in jeopardy, and the defense of Huliaipole was still being led by the undermanned, poorly equipped, and poorly commanded 102nd Territorial Defense Brigade.
In late December, the unit made headlines for all the wrong reasons after one of its battalion-level command posts was captured by Russian forces, hastily abandoned with computers, maps, and other sensitive communications equipment still intact.
Around the same time, the city of Siversk, which had served as a key bastion for Ukraine’s defense of northern Donetsk Oblast for years, was taken by Russian forces in the space of weeks.
The brigades defending this area were battle-hardened and combat-effective.
But after the ranks of their infantry were degraded for too long without proper replenishment, and as their drone teams were increasingly targeted by Russian fire, these veteran units simply could not hold the line in the way they once did.
Meanwhile, along the state border in Sumy Oblast, Russia's entry into the village of Hrabovske — in an area that until now had not seen any movement but was also defended by a thinly-spread Territorial Defense unit — exposed the growing threat of new front lines being opened, creating further strategic dilemmas for Kyiv.
Much more at https://kyivindependent.com/analysis-effective-use-of-manpower-will-de
fine-whether-ukraine-loses-the-war-in-2026/
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Soon, Putin will have failed to do to Ukraine what Stalin did to the Nazis
By Jens Asbjørn Bøgen | Jan 6, 2026
https://www.dagens.com/news/soon-putin-will-have-failed-to-do-to-ukrai
ne-what-stalin-did-to-the-nazis
3 years, 10 months, one week, and three days. Or 1412 days.
That is how long the war in Ukraine has been raging, if we start the count from the 2022 invasion and not the annexation of Crimea.
Now compare those numbers to this: 3 years, 10 months, and two weeks. Or 1418 days,
That is the time it took the Soviet Union to defeat Hitler's Nazi Germany, when looking at the timeline made by the Holocaust Encyclopedia.
This means that by next week, Putin will have fought longer in Ukraine than the time it took Stalin to defeat Hitler in World War II.
Humiliating gains comparison
In an analysis by the Kyiv Post, the numbers become even more embarrassing for Putin.
According to the analysis, the Soviets conquered 1.1 million square kilometers (445,999 square miles) in 1944, and that was not even the Red Army's most successful year.
In comparison, Russia is estimated to have captured approximately 28,500 square kilometers (11,004 square miles) since the initial push into Ukraine was halted in 2022.
New push for peace
According to Euronews, the coalition of willing is meeting this week to try and re-spark the peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but there is little hope that it will actually bring anything substantial to the table, as the Kremlin continues to stand firm on its demands.
Additionally, both Putin and the Kremlin have repeatedly declared that Russia can, and will, win in Ukraine, with Putin stating on Nov. 27. 2025, “if Ukrainian troops leave the territories, they occupy (referring to the parts of Eastern Ukraine still not under Russian control), then we will stop fighting. If they don’t, we will achieve our aims militarily.”
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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Syrskyi: Ukraine’s drones now destroy Russian troops faster than Putin can replace them
December marks turning point as losses match monthly recruitment.
By Benjamin Murdoch | Jan 6, 2026
https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/06/december-first-month-russian-lo
sses-matched-recruitment/
December 2025 was the first month in which Russian battlefield losses roughly matched the number of troops Moscow was able to recruit in the same period, according to a statement by Ukraine’s armed forces commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.
Syrskyi said the results were linked to the expanded use of unmanned systems by Ukraine’s forces. Over the past year, drone operations have become a central part of combat activity across the front.
33,000 neutralized in December
More than 33,000 Russian soldiers were neutralised during the month, Syrskyi said. The figure includes only cases confirmed by video footage, while actual losses are likely higher.
In December, units operating unmanned aerial systems reportedly carried out about 339,000 missions, while ground-based robotic systems completed nearly 2,100 tasks. Overall, the number of targets hit or destroyed by drones increased by 31%, and the number of Russian personnel hit rose by more than a quarter, he said.
According to Syrskyi, Ukraine significantly expanded its drone capabilities in 2025 and plans further growth in 2026, including the formation of specialised units.
The expansion builds on the rapid growth of the Unmanned Systems Forces, which Ukraine established in June 2025 as the world's first dedicated military drone branch. Despite comprising just 2.2% of Ukraine's total military personnel, the unit has emerged as one of the most effective forces on the battlefield.
Moscow scaling its own drone force
He also said Russia is building up its own unmanned systems forces. Based on Ukrainian military intelligence, Syrskyi said Moscow has created separate drone troops numbering about 80,000 personnel, with plans to expand them to 165,500 in 2026 and nearly 210,000 by 2030.
Syrskyi said Russia has exceeded its annual state order for long-range drone production and is now producing more than 400 such drones per day.
The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two
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