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Ukraine has undertaken another secretive operation in the small part of Sumy Oblast under Russian control. 29 Russian soldiers were captured, 108 killed in a seven-week operation that cleared over 600 hectares.

Trump's current rant on the conflict is the most unhinged load of bollocks I think he's ever uttered, and it's a competitive field.

Romanian F-16s engaged and destroyed two Russian drones that were overflying Romanian territorial waters. Apparently both Romania and Bulgaria may deploy fighters to destroy anything that enters their airspace or territorial waters.

Ukraine has hit a depot of the online retailer Ozon in St. Petersburg, setting fire to the entire facility. Ukrainian drones simultaneously hit more oil production facilities and at least one data centre belonging to the IT company VK.

Ukraine recovered a Russian glide bomb intact after it hit an apartment building in Sumy and bounced off into a nearby reservoir. If it had detonated, it would have likely killed or severely wounded many civilians.

Ukraine has recaptured the village of Pavlivka on the western Zaporizhzhia front. This sector was highly active at the start of the year and has been quieter since the start of summer.

The ISW assessment is that Ukraine has retaken an amount of territory equal to all Russian gains since the end of February. We are very close to the crossover point where Ukraine liberates more territory in 2026 than it lost, for the very first time in the war.

Russian and Ukrainian units are increasingly engaging one another in the forested, formerly waterlogged lands created by the destruction of the Kakhovka Reservoir.

Russian use of helicopters as artillery gunships, already on the wane, may be terminated altogether after multiple Mi-28s over Belgorod Oblast were shot down by drones. This tactic has been credited with multiple Russian campaign victories in 2023 and 2024 before the practice became too dangerous.

Israel has, for the first time, accused Russian bot farms of working for Iran and against Israeli interests, citing the drop of such traffic after Ukrainian strikes on Russian data centres.

Blatant Russian lying over its battlefield position is escalating. The Kremlin claims its forces have taken Malokaterynivka and advanced to within 5km of Zaporizhzhia City. Ukraine remains in firm control of Malokaterynivka.

The BARS jet-powered drone has been shown in action intercepting multiple jet-powered Gerans. The number of successful jet Geran strikes on Ukraine has dropped somewhat in the last couple of weeks, though this may also be down to new tactics by existing AA systems.

Lypove, Zelena Dolyna and Kolodiazi on the Lyman front have all been confirmed as liberated by Ukrainian forces. Apparently Operation Vivaldi was supposed to have ended some time ago but because the Russian defences have proven so ineffectual and the reinforcements so lacklustre, Ukraine is still rolling forwards where it is supported by logistics.

Zakharivka on the Vovchansk front has been liberated, with surprisingly the Russian defenders agreeing to surrender rather than fighting on. Ukraine appears to have launched a moderate counter-offensive on this front which has regained some ground, but it is being under-reported for OPSEC.

As many as six Su-34M aircraft were damaged in a Ukrainian attack on the Borisoglebsk military airfield in Voronezh Oblast. Some of the aircraft may have been effectively destroyed, others crippled but may be eventually repairable.

Late-breaking, iffily-sourced story, so take with a pinch of salt. But some sources are saying that Mohammed bin Salman has spoken to Russian representatives and told them to stop supplying Iran and the Houthis with missiles and other weapons, or Saudi Arabia will turn its taps to full capacity and flood the market with cheap oil like it did during the Reagan era.

Take with a pinch of salt, especially with Saudi outlets for that oil crippled by the Iranian blockade and Houthi strikes, but that would rob Russia of its main income stream, would make Trump happy and probably loosen off on his criticisms of Ukraine.

After Russia launched missiles at Kyiv tonight and the USA did not provide any warning, allowing the missiles to hit Kyiv's main power plants, Ukraine responded with over 500 drones targeting the Valukyi oil depot in Kursk, the Novoshakhtinsk plant in Rostov and multiple energy substations in Donetsk (plunging Donetsk city into darkness). Additional drone launches have been reported recently, presumabling looking for more energy targets across Russia and occupied territories.