[Mentalist]

The orcs launched about 30 ballistic missiles at Kyiv and oblast last night. Strikes on multiple warehouses- Nova Poshta (biggest delivery service), Rozetka (biggest electronics e-retailer), Epicenter, Silpo (hardware/material hypermarket chains), and foreign businesses- Puma, Toyota, etc. around 20 people dead and tens of wounded.

Maritime traffic to Greater Odessa ports has basically halted due to ongoing enemy strikes. The naval war cuts both ways, and Ukrainian grain export shipments are also in jeopardy- which is gonna be even more bad news for global food prices.

A drone with explosives was spotted in Leipzig next to a Ukrainian cargo plane.

The admin of a big Z-channel and designer of drones used by the muscovites was seriously wounded by a car bomb in Yekaterinburg. Hospitalized, unclear if he'll survive.

Regarding the restaurant explosion Moscow- confirmed that General Chayko's son-in-law-to-be has died; his daughter was reported to be one of the wounded. Unclear as to what happened to Chayko himself. Since Ukraine's not really talking about it, I'm guessing the operation wasn't as successful as they'd hoped (or maybe it really was something more local; there's a lot of moneyed interests surrounding the war and the army)

One of RosKosmos' central hubs in Korolev, Moscow Oblast is on fire.

[Werthead]

Some Wildberries facilities not destroyed by drones have basically declared open season, with management, staff and, in some cases, members of the public raiding logistics buildings and making off with goods, which are then written off by management as "destroyed by drones." Obviously this works better if the facility has been hit by drones, but apparently some logistics hubs that haven't been are still trying it on.

[Werthead]

Serbia and Ukraine have signed various trade agreements and agreements to support Ukraine's energy sector. A significant thawing of relations after years of nothing much happening there.

An American farmer who moved to Russia 20 years ago and is a frequent guest on Russian talk shows is being deported and his farm confiscated by the state.

Owch, a Ukrainian fire team located a Russian Shahed launcher and destroyed it. The drone detonated inside the launch, neutralising the launcher and the entire fire team.

Ukrainian agents have conducted close-range reconnaissance of the Kerch Strait Bridge, photographing the structure whilst driving across it.

Ukraine and Kazakhstan have struck a deal to spare Kazakh oil tankers and freighters on the Black and Caspian Seas, as long as they are carrying Kazakh oil only and are not crewed by Russian personnel.

Two Russian refineries, one at Syzran and one at Ilsky have taken very heavy hits. Half the Syzran refinery is ablaze.

Musk has refused a request to use Starlink to target Russian ballistic missile launchers when deployed against civilian targets. Musk instead told Ukrainian authorities to "strike a deal." Ukraine is pursuing other means to halt ballistic missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.

A single Ukrainian Hind MI-24 helicopter has shot down over 100 Russian drones.

Footage shows a Ukrainian drone avoiding 3 Pantsir air defence missiles to hit a Russian target on the Black Sea coast.

[the broken]

"Strike a deal" is such a weird demand. It's like... you do understand they have to offer good terms, right? I can't strike a deal by myself.

This post has been edited by the broken: 08 August 2026 - 10:26 PM

[Werthead]

Ukraine is prosecuting Russian servicemen responsible for the Buch massacre in absentia, and in some cases after they were killed (in battle or by Ukrainian intelligence).

Ukraine has regained control of both Myrne and Voskresenka on the Komar front. Ukrainian forces are advancing south of Voskresenka and are advancing on Komar from the west. Filiia, Tolstoi and parts of Zirka are also under Ukrainian control. Around 27 square kilometres gained in this attack so far.

The Russian 133rd Logistics Brigade's main storage facility in Crimea appears to have been levelled. This is a key strike because a lot of ammunition for the Russian forces operating in Kherson Oblast behind the Dnipro is shipped through and from here. Its destruction creates a logistical bottleneck further back from the front.

Ukraine has destroyed the Russian 14K-33 road bridge at Urazovo, creating logistical problems with supplying the Kupyansk front. The bridge was dropped last month but footage only emerged this week.

Some Wildberries pickup points in Crimea have not received any deliveries for over two weeks. Their owners are struggling to keep the lights on without going out of business.

[Werthead]

Ukraine hit the Russian naval base in Novorossiysk hard in the largest attack on the port in the entire war, scoring direct hits on two Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates (the Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen) and the Vasily Bykov patrol ship from the Black Sea Fleet, as well as an oil tanker and a Buyan-M class corvette. Unconfirmed reports of additional hits on a third frigate. A grain storage facility at the port was also damaged. The attack involved scores of drones and multiple varieties of cruise missile.

Ukrainian drone units defeated an American brigade-sized formation with drones during an exercise earlier this year. The American units performed poorly against the Ukrainians, even when allowed to "respawn" as reinforcements. The American units did improve over two weeks, and showed greater success when on the offensive.

The Orsk refinery halted all operations after additional Ukrainian drone hits yesterday.

Ukraine has been using groups of drones with sensors as makeshift early warning systems for incoming missiles and aircraft. Apparently Iran had studied this technique and used a similar approach to shoot down an F-15E.

Ukraine is refining anti-drone countermeasures, including arming their own drones with bats and knocking enemy drones out of the sky without firing a single shot.

Russian drone operators terrorising civilians in Kherson were tracked to a building across the river. Ukrainian aircraft then saturated the area with glide bombs and heavy fire. No survivors were reported. This came just after a Russian drone strike on Kherson killed 15 people, including destroying two civilian houses.

A Wildberries site in Voronezh appears to have been hit and caught fire.

The Russian refinery at Komsomolsk Oil Refinery in Khabarovsk Krai burst into flames overnight. Apparently this was not a Ukrainian strike - the Komsomolsk is just over 4,000 miles or 6,500km from Ukrainian territory - but a result of the refinery being overworked and stressed by picking up the slack for other, destroyed facilities.

Russia's largest petrochemical facility in Tobolsk has been hit as well.

Ukraine has recently claimed the liberation of around 40 square kilometres of territory in the Oleksandrivka sector, including the retaking of Yalta (not that one), Maliivka, Ternove, Zaporizke, Zlahoda, Krasnohirs'ke, Rybe and Pryvillne. In total, since January, around 750 square km on this front has been liberated and 26 settlements retaken.

Ukrainian UAV forces now confirm their mid-range strike campaign has expanded into Luhansk Oblast, striking targets over 100km behind the lines. Nine heavy and five light cargo and fuel vehicles destroyed in a short period of time.

Russia is allegedly testing Chinese-made Starlink jammers on the battlefield. Effectiveness so far unclear. Ukraine has been concerned about this for some time, so has been incorporated autonomous-mode AI in some of their drones.

The Russians have mounted a cross-border incursion at Anyshchyne on the Kharkiv Oblast - Russia international border. Russian units infiltrated through a thick forest area between Ukrainian units. Ukraine has launched a counter-attack, effectiveness at this point unclear. 

Chinese workers at the Baltic Chemical Complex construction site near Ust-Luga, Leningrad Region, launched a protest when a Chinese worker was arrested after complaining about not being paid for months. More than 1,000 Chinese workers surrounded the police and they backed down pretty quickly. Apparently China has raised a concern over the incident with Moscow.

Some reports in Russia that the autumn mobilisation may call up 800,000 people. Allegedly, some young Russian men have already left the country.

[Cause]

Werthead, on 12 August 2026 - 07:14 PM, said:

Ukrainian drone units defeated an American brigade-sized formation with drones during an exercise earlier this year. The American units performed poorly against the Ukrainians, even when allowed to "respawn" as reinforcements. The American units did improve over two weeks, and showed greater success when on the offensive.

I always question stuff like that. Ukraine is not going to announce that they embarressed the US in the war games.

I worry about the US sometimes, I think they have a glass door. They can bomb anythign, anywhere and if it was a war of survival and the gloves came off yes they would be devestating. However the country seems incapable of dealing with the losses, or coming together the way Ukraine had to for example. Maybe thats only becuase all their recent wars have been complete waste of times but they make me think of the Spartans. A reputation as the greatest warriors but they win only half the time and dont want to ever have that reputation truly tested because the reputation is more valuable than fighting.

[Mentalist]

US doctrine relies on very heavy, very precise, and very expensive weaponry.

While the age of cheap drones seems to be upon us, the American MIC is very much in love with the idea of getting trillions to make small quantity of very expensive hardware. Until the US gets its nose seriously bloodied, leading to a wave of public sentiment and calls for modernization, I don't think there's gonna be a lot of reluctance from the executive to push against the lobbying of the weapons manufacturers.

That actually gives the EU an opening to jump ahead of the US, since they seem more willing to shift focus to high-volume weapon systems.

[Werthead]

Woah.

Quote

Two assault troops from Ukraine’s 475th Code 9.2 Regiment captured Russian positions but were badly wounded by Molniya drones on the way back. A ground robotic platform sent to evacuate them was also hit. Company commander Vladyslav Polskyi then drove a civilian pickup into the strike zone without body armor, reached the disabled robot, loaded both wounded troops himself and evacuated them to cover.

One of the largest Wildberries logistics centres, located at Koledino in the outskirts of the Moscow metropolitan area, was hit by drones and started a fire so fierce it burned down the entire warehouse and damaged surrounding buildings. The ferocity of the blaze was impressive.

Ukraine has deployed British-built Nyan jet drones against Russian targets, possibly for the first time. A second UK design has also been field-tested, though reports this might by Nightfall - which is actually a ballistic missile project - seem premature.

Two Spanish F/A-18s, operating under NATO authority, engaged and destroyed a Russian drone that entered Romanian airspace. The drone appears to have launched from Transnistria and overflown Moldova.

The Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara was hit yesterday by Ukrainian FP-5 Flamingos.

[Werthead]

Ukraine has recaptured Andriivka-Klevtsove in Donetsk. The combat was especially fierce and the Ukrainians captured over 30 Russian servicemen, eliminating those who refused to surrender.

The Russians made another significant push on Kupyansk with an ill-advised ground assault. Ukrainian forces destroyed 43 Russian vehicles and ground assets in several days of heavy combat before the Russian attack was defeated. 

The Wildberries’ Kolyodino logistics hub appears to have been totally razed to the ground, the entire facility. The fire that burned after the attack was extraordinary.

The Ukrainian Air Force has begun mass-adoption of the Vyrivnyach domestic glide bomb after a series of successful tests under combat conditions. The weapon compares favourably to the American JDAM and costs less than a third of the price.

Ukrainian counter-attacks on the Russian attempt to cross the border of Kharkiv Oblast (again) have gained intensity, with some Ukrainian strike groups entering Russian territory to attack the flanks of the offensive.

Ukrainian drone units have targeted Russian ballistic missile launch sites at range from the Ukrainian border. This may be a reference to more successful hits beyond Samara, and some speculation that Flamingoes are being deployed in a anti-ballistic battery mode using European satellite imaging (since Musk refused to let them use Starlink for deep-range strikes in Russian territory).

Ukraine launched a large-scale attack on the Kombinat Kamensky solid rocket fuel production plant in Rostov. Ukraine used decoys, dummies and radar spoofing to distract AA defences and then hit the defences, destroying Pantsir systems and possibly S-300 elements before landing five direct hits on the facility, causing significant damage. The facility is crucial to the production of solid fuel for Russian missile systems, and there's been more than a few complaints about production not being moved to somewhere that's not half an hour's drive from the Ukrainian border.

Ukrainian drone units attached to 1st Azov Corps have confirmed the completion of Operation Hell-2, which successfully destroyed dozens of fuel storage depots across occupied Donetsk Oblast in under one month, leading to significant front-line shortages.

Russia has built new drone launch sites right along the border with Belarus, to maximise their strike range from Russian territory. Some concerns that these sites make more sense for strikes against Poland or the Baltics than Ukraine.

A Russian drone seems to have penetrated 20km into Moldovan territory before falling out of the sky and being destroyed.

The Rosatom El Daab nuclear power plant under construction in Egypt has a serious scandal brewing, after Egyptian authorities found serious structural issues in the plant and Rosatom took over a year to address them. Rosatom employees were accused of breaking laws over alcohol and drug use. There are now concerns over the Paks II nuclear plant under construction in Hungary, also by Rosatom.

The Japanese ambassador refused a summon to the Kremlin following Putin's visit to the disputed Kuril Islands.

Three aircraft destroyed, five damaged and two oil engines depots partially destroyed in an attack on the Savasleyka military airbase. MiG-31s are known to be based at the airbase.

Respected Russian senior economist Andrey Klepach was fired from the VEB bank after predicting a social crisis and Russia's loss in the "war of attrition" with the West.

[Werthead]

Ukraine nearly succeeded in eliminating Colonel Dmitry Shabaev, commander of Russia's 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. His vehicle was hit by a drone about 80 km from the frontline near Huliaipole. Shabaev was seriously wounded and evacuated. The brigade took part in atrocities in Bucha in 2022.

Fire Point has completed field trials of the FP-9 ballistic missile and says it will make its combat debut shortly. Construction has also begun on Fire Point's new factory in Denmark.

Russia hit a shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih with a double-tap drone strike, killing 14 people in total (including first responders in the second strike) and wounding over 100, including 11 children.

The Perm refinery is ablaze, again.

The Alexa Spatium jet-powered drone interceptor is now in active use by the Ukrainian military. The Spatium is also effective against helicopters.

Gelendzhik in Russia's Krasnodar region completely ran out of petrol overnight, causing chaos. St. Petersburg region has also seen its worst shortages to date, with the longest queues.

8,500 North Korean troops have arrived in Russia in recent days, with the expectation they will be deployed to border areas to free up Russian troops for frontline combat.

Ukraine has started hitting Ozon logistics hubs in addition to Wildberries. Ozon is the second-largest online retailer in Russia (though I believe it's older).

This post has been edited by Werthead: 22 August 2026 - 07:23 PM

[Werthead]

Ukraine has fought its way back into Zapadne on the Kupyansk front and is trying to retake the whole settlement.

Reportedly CIA officials including John Ratcliffe are in Moscow for talks with the Russian government. One rumour is that the US government is reaffirming its commitment to Article V after Russia threatened attacks on Finland, the Baltics, Poland and the UK in recent weeks.

Ukraine is reportedly sitting on dozens, if not hundreds, of tanks that have not seen combat operations for months or even a couple of years. Some Leopards may be test-refurbished to be used as unmanned systems.

A small delivery of Patriot missiles has arrived in Ukraine. Zelensky estimates they need around 300 to defend against ballistic attacks during the winter.

The Amur Gas Chemical Complex construction site has exploded due to a massive gas leak. Apparently the site directors were alerted to gas smells two weeks ago but did nothing about it.

A Russian MiG-29 has been destroyed on the ground.