Malazan Empire: Werthead - Viewing Profile - Malazan Empire

I was starting a new round of mapping, but held fire because of some interesting news: the next Broken Binding sets going out (fairly soon) will apparently have a brand-new world map created at Ian Esslemont's direction, with some oversight from Steven Erikson. This should be the first canonical world map.

The map in the previous set was based on the fanon maps as an optional extra, it was not meant to be canon in itself. This new one sounds like a bigger deal.

The Lukoil operations in western Iraq have been terminated due to the Iraqi government moving to avoid secondary sanctions.

Ukrainian forces are dummying human heat signatures using heated irons and fake uniforms. When Russian forces fire on them, Ukrainian snipers identify the attackers and eliminate them.

A Russian war blogger has said that Russia has lost at least 80-100,000 dead just to take Bakhmut and Pokrovsk (noting that fully taking Pokrovsk may take another fortnight and thousands more dead). He also says that most Russians are unaware of the true cost of the war, and he is no longer going to cover it up. He points out that Germany lost fewer dead to occupy Poland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway during WWII.

Tuapse has taken another major hit overnight.

Ukrainian analysis of the Pokrovsk front is that the intensity of Russian attacks has decreased slightly in the last 24 hours. Ukraine has reinforced its supply corridors to Pokrovsk and stabilised the Myrnohrad front. Russian attacks are continuing, with around 50,000 troops concentrated in a relatively small area (possibly the highest troop-to-area ratio in the war to date), but Ukrainian elite reinforcements have arrived and drone strikes are eliminating Russian positions.

Some analysts saying that Russia's effort could be culminating and leave Ukraine holding most of the town, but others believing that Russia will make another very large push over the weekend that will likely start dislodging Ukrainian positions in the centre of town.

Ukraine is offering to buy 27 Patriot missile batteries from the United States.

The position along the eastern Zaporizhzhia front is starting to look questionable, with some Russian units advancing to more favourable positions north-east of Hulyaipole. This town presents a significant blockage to Russian advances from the south and south-east, but if they can push to attack from the north and north-east they could have an easier time of it. Taking the town would mean opening up additional lines of attack towards Zaporizhzhia city. Getting within artillery range of the city is a major Russian goal, as having to evacuate a city of over 700,000 would present formidable logistical challenges. However, it's still quite some distance away, and the situation may yet stabilise.

Ukraine has claimed over 25,000 Russian soldiers KIA in October, the largest one-month tally for the entire war to date. This appears credible given the hugely intense level of combat we've seen along multiple fronts. Zelensky has praised Mavic-type small drones for inflicting the largest number of casualties.

There appear to be multiple miles' worth of fibre-optic cables strung back and forth across the Pokrovsk sector. Clean-up of fibre-optic cable after the war is going to be a significant logistical effort.

Ground-based anti-drone units have now been deployed to Romania and Poland's borders with Russia and Belarus.

Kirill Grekov, Deputy Prosecutor General of the Luhansk People's Republic, has been found hanged. He was wanted by Ukraine.

Polish analysis (from Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski) that Putin may prefer a "bad war" in Ukraine to a "bad peace" in Russia afterwards, that exposes the stupidity of the decision to invade.

Some Russian commentators suggesting that former prisoners-turned-soldiers have caused big problems on returning to Russia, so those still fighting on the front should be sent to Africa after the war ends or, "face the sledgehammer."

Ukraine will be integrated into the EU's Defence Fund. This will allow European states to buy equipment from Ukraine at a reasonable cost, and will allow Ukraine to join EU research and development programmes.

Sweden is saying its first Gripens could be delivered to Ukraine in 2026, ahead of previous estimates.

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Ukraine hit the Lukoil facility in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod (Russia's fifth-largest) with over 50 drones, causing some huge explosions and damaging the rectification column (again). The Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant in Bashkortostan was also hit.

Ukraine has deployed STING, an interceptor drone. During field trials it already took down over 1,000 Shaheds.

Russia is to switch to year-around conscriptions. From January 1st, conscripts can be called up at any time, for any reason.

Ukraine has retaken the island of Velyki Kuchuhury in the Dnipro, near Styepnohirsk.

Russia's elite Rubikon drone unit had a regional headquarters in Avdiivka destroyed, killing officers and several drone operators.

Extremely heavy fighting in Pokrovsk continues. Ukraine's 79th Air Assault Brigade destroyed a building using a mine to collapse it on top off Russian occupiers. Several were eliminated, several more captured. 

Another Russian S-400 disabled in Crimea.

A Duma defence official has said that Russia should supply Kalibrs and even Oreshniks to Venezuela, so the USA will have some "surprises." Another Duma member has suggested destroying the orbital Starlink satellite network.

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Ukraine has blown up a large drone launch facility at Donetsk Airport. Over 1,000 Geran drones were there. Fuel storage facilities, ammunition stores and the communication centre were destroyed in a combined missile and drone strike.

Russian partisans have widened their attacks on Russian railways to include entire locomotives, with some reports that over a dozen have been destroyed in the last few months.

Lavrov has apparently been rebuked for being too harsh in shutting down negotiations with the United States.

NATO has assessed that that alliance and allied nations are now out-producing Russia in terms of artillery ammunition, even before some production lines come on-stream.

Ukrainian interceptor rocket drones are making a strong impression on attacking Shaheds, hitting them at very high speed.

The more reliable OSINT sources are being cautious, some of the more excitable ones are saying that Ukraine has regained control of the hospital district in Kupyansk and pushed Russian forces further north. Some isolated Russian units are stuck behind the lines. But even they note the situation remains precarious with Russia trying to push in from the north.