Elvira Barry has a number of highly informative videos about Putin, Russian culture, society, etc. Definitely worth checking out.
The Ukraine War
Huge Ukrainian drone strike on Russia causes Putin to SHUT all four major Moscow airports
A HUGE Ukrainian drone strike has forced Russia to shut all four of its major airports in a dramatic show of force against Moscow.
In the second consecutive night of aerial assaults on the capital, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia confirmed the airports were closed “to ensure safety” and only reopened hours later.
Ukrainian strikes overnight reached within just six miles of the Kremlin and Red Square, ahead of the vast 80th anniversary commemoration of the defeat of Hitler.
All four major Moscow airports - Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky - were closed as the drones targeted the capital, with multiple diversions of incoming aircraft.
At least nine other airports were also disrupted.
Russian tourists complained about being trapped in a Nesma Airlines plane from Egyptian resort Hurghada to Moscow for ten hours after it was diverted to St Petersburg due to the drone strikes amid air chaos.
Click on the link for the full article
A HUGE Ukrainian drone strike has forced Russia to shut all four of its major airports in a dramatic show of force against Moscow.
In the second consecutive night of aerial assaults on the capital, Russia’s aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia confirmed the airports were closed “to ensure safety” and only reopened hours later.
Ukrainian strikes overnight reached within just six miles of the Kremlin and Red Square, ahead of the vast 80th anniversary commemoration of the defeat of Hitler.
All four major Moscow airports - Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo and Zhukovsky - were closed as the drones targeted the capital, with multiple diversions of incoming aircraft.
At least nine other airports were also disrupted.
Russian tourists complained about being trapped in a Nesma Airlines plane from Egyptian resort Hurghada to Moscow for ten hours after it was diverted to St Petersburg due to the drone strikes amid air chaos.
Click on the link for the full article
Ukraine relies on secret weapon in its drone attacks on Russia: gamers
They’re playing the long game.
Xbox has given the Ukrainian military a deadly advantage in its war against Russia, officials said — with ordinary geeks proving to be deft drone pilots on the frontlines.
Foreigners with “a lot of gaming experience” have become a secret weapon for Ukraine in the battle that’s become increasingly reliant on drones, said Oleg Grabovyy, a New Yorker and course coordinator for enlistees at Ukraine’s 25th Airborne Brigade.
“The dexterity you get with an Xbox controller is directly transferable to flying drones,” Grabovyy, of Syracuse, told The Independent. “The best FPV pilot I ever met was a relentless gamer.”
The enlistees come from America, Britain, Canada, Australia and France, many of whom flooded the 25th Airborne Brigade since the war began in 2022 and in recent months after Western support for Ukraine slowed down.
The unit quickly saw the influx of young, video game-savvy volunteers as an opportunity to open a three-week selection course aimed at transforming the enlistees into the ace drone pilots plaguing Russia’s invasion force.
One American who identified himself as Sam, a 20-year-old from Charleston, Georgia, said he was eager to prove his skills after competing in drone-racing tournaments across the US.
“Competing, you fly through 5-foot gates at 100mph, making tight turns. It’s all about precision and reflexes. I’m planning to use everything I’ve learned to help Ukraine,” he told The Independent.
“My mom and dad aren’t thrilled, but they understand. I’ve decided to stay until victory or death — whichever comes first,” he added.
Grabovyy described Sam as the latest batch of young Americans who came in recent months following the tumultuous period where President Trump appeared to be pulling support from Kyiv.
“You’d be surprised how many are coming – hundreds and hundreds from all over the world. We’re getting a lot of young Americans, 18, 19, 20 years old,” Grabovvy said. “They think their government has abandoned Ukraine.”
Click on the link for the full article
They’re playing the long game.
Xbox has given the Ukrainian military a deadly advantage in its war against Russia, officials said — with ordinary geeks proving to be deft drone pilots on the frontlines.
Foreigners with “a lot of gaming experience” have become a secret weapon for Ukraine in the battle that’s become increasingly reliant on drones, said Oleg Grabovyy, a New Yorker and course coordinator for enlistees at Ukraine’s 25th Airborne Brigade.
“The dexterity you get with an Xbox controller is directly transferable to flying drones,” Grabovyy, of Syracuse, told The Independent. “The best FPV pilot I ever met was a relentless gamer.”
The enlistees come from America, Britain, Canada, Australia and France, many of whom flooded the 25th Airborne Brigade since the war began in 2022 and in recent months after Western support for Ukraine slowed down.
The unit quickly saw the influx of young, video game-savvy volunteers as an opportunity to open a three-week selection course aimed at transforming the enlistees into the ace drone pilots plaguing Russia’s invasion force.
One American who identified himself as Sam, a 20-year-old from Charleston, Georgia, said he was eager to prove his skills after competing in drone-racing tournaments across the US.
“Competing, you fly through 5-foot gates at 100mph, making tight turns. It’s all about precision and reflexes. I’m planning to use everything I’ve learned to help Ukraine,” he told The Independent.
“My mom and dad aren’t thrilled, but they understand. I’ve decided to stay until victory or death — whichever comes first,” he added.
Grabovyy described Sam as the latest batch of young Americans who came in recent months following the tumultuous period where President Trump appeared to be pulling support from Kyiv.
“You’d be surprised how many are coming – hundreds and hundreds from all over the world. We’re getting a lot of young Americans, 18, 19, 20 years old,” Grabovvy said. “They think their government has abandoned Ukraine.”
Click on the link for the full article
Russia’s motorbike squads may be suicidal but they are hurting Ukraine
The roar of engines rumble across no man’s land before a pack of Russian soldiers mounted on motorbikes emerge from a cloud of dust on the horizon.
Ukrainian drones spring into action and the race is on. Without any cover, the riders have just minutes to zigzag across mines and craters to reach an enemy trench-line before they are picked off.
The odds are not in their favour.
Since they were trialled over a year ago, most motorbike attacks have ended in failure, with the majority of riders killed before they can reach their target.
Yet, those that are successful solve a key tactical challenge in Ukraine: how to cross an open battlefield under constant surveillance from above – and fast.
Russia’s military is said to be planning to systematically integrate motorbikes across the front ahead of new offensives.
Plenty of lives will be lost, but Russia’s precious armoured vehicles will be saved – an apparent victory in the eyes of a military that has a steady stream of manpower, but is forced to draw on a rusting stockpile of Soviet-era tanks that have proven unsuitable for the battlefields of Ukraine.
The first reports of motorbikes squads started to appear in April 2024. It began as an informal, ad hoc response to persistent drone strikes, which now kill or maim up to 70 per cent of all soldiers and destroy more armoured vehicles than all other weapons systems combined.
Since autumn last year, there has been a considerable increase in bike-led attacks in Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region and Donetsk to the east, where Russia largely abandoned armoured vehicle usage after suffering unsustainable losses in the winter of 2023 to 2024.
The attacks are fast-paced, but deeply flawed. For months on end, drone footage has shown the remnants of such failures, which have turned the edges of fields and Ukrainian trench lines into a junk yard of twisted metal and burnt tyres.
It is not just bikes, but all kinds of unconventional unarmoured vehicles turning up at the front, including quad bikes, civilian cars, Chinese-made buggies and electric scooters.
On April 17, a huge assault on the eastern Ukrainian fortress city of Pokrovsk left 100 motorbikes, 240 Russian troops and 20 armoured vehicles destroyed, according to Ukrainian reports.
In early May, another Russian assault aimed at the village of Vil’ne Pole in southern Donetsk ended similarly. Up to 70 motorbikes, 90 troops and 60 vehicles were reportedly destroyed by a mixture of mines, drones and artillery.
Click on the link for the full article and video
The roar of engines rumble across no man’s land before a pack of Russian soldiers mounted on motorbikes emerge from a cloud of dust on the horizon.
Ukrainian drones spring into action and the race is on. Without any cover, the riders have just minutes to zigzag across mines and craters to reach an enemy trench-line before they are picked off.
The odds are not in their favour.
Since they were trialled over a year ago, most motorbike attacks have ended in failure, with the majority of riders killed before they can reach their target.
Yet, those that are successful solve a key tactical challenge in Ukraine: how to cross an open battlefield under constant surveillance from above – and fast.
Russia’s military is said to be planning to systematically integrate motorbikes across the front ahead of new offensives.
Plenty of lives will be lost, but Russia’s precious armoured vehicles will be saved – an apparent victory in the eyes of a military that has a steady stream of manpower, but is forced to draw on a rusting stockpile of Soviet-era tanks that have proven unsuitable for the battlefields of Ukraine.
The first reports of motorbikes squads started to appear in April 2024. It began as an informal, ad hoc response to persistent drone strikes, which now kill or maim up to 70 per cent of all soldiers and destroy more armoured vehicles than all other weapons systems combined.
Since autumn last year, there has been a considerable increase in bike-led attacks in Ukraine’s north-eastern Kharkiv region and Donetsk to the east, where Russia largely abandoned armoured vehicle usage after suffering unsustainable losses in the winter of 2023 to 2024.
The attacks are fast-paced, but deeply flawed. For months on end, drone footage has shown the remnants of such failures, which have turned the edges of fields and Ukrainian trench lines into a junk yard of twisted metal and burnt tyres.
It is not just bikes, but all kinds of unconventional unarmoured vehicles turning up at the front, including quad bikes, civilian cars, Chinese-made buggies and electric scooters.
On April 17, a huge assault on the eastern Ukrainian fortress city of Pokrovsk left 100 motorbikes, 240 Russian troops and 20 armoured vehicles destroyed, according to Ukrainian reports.
In early May, another Russian assault aimed at the village of Vil’ne Pole in southern Donetsk ended similarly. Up to 70 motorbikes, 90 troops and 60 vehicles were reportedly destroyed by a mixture of mines, drones and artillery.
Click on the link for the full article and video
Poland intervenes after Russian 'shadow fleet' ship detected near Baltic Sea cable
The Polish military intervened in the Baltic Sea after a Russian ship carried out "suspicious manoeuvres" near a power cable connecting Poland and Sweden, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday.
"A Russian ship from the 'shadow fleet' covered by sanctions performed suspicious maneuvers near the power cable connecting Poland with Sweden," Tusk wrote on X.
"After the effective intervention of our military, the ship sailed to one of the Russian ports."
The term "shadow fleet" is used to describe ships Russia operates under concealed means to evade sanctions.
Western countries say that Moscow is using hundreds of tankers under opaque ownership to ferry Russian oil around the world despite Western sanctions against them.
Click on the link for the full article
The Polish military intervened in the Baltic Sea after a Russian ship carried out "suspicious manoeuvres" near a power cable connecting Poland and Sweden, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Wednesday.
"A Russian ship from the 'shadow fleet' covered by sanctions performed suspicious maneuvers near the power cable connecting Poland with Sweden," Tusk wrote on X.
"After the effective intervention of our military, the ship sailed to one of the Russian ports."
The term "shadow fleet" is used to describe ships Russia operates under concealed means to evade sanctions.
Western countries say that Moscow is using hundreds of tankers under opaque ownership to ferry Russian oil around the world despite Western sanctions against them.
Click on the link for the full article
Kyiv Suffers One of the War’s Heaviest Russian Airstrikes – Fires, Injuries, Destruction
Russian forces launched a massive combined air attack on Kyiv, from the evening of May 23 into the early morning of May 24, targeting the capital with waves of Shahed kamikaze drones and ballistic missiles, officials reported.
The assault came in multiple phases. Drones were first launched late on May 23, followed by a barrage of ballistic missiles and additional Shaheds in the early hours of May 24. The all-clear signal in Kyiv was only given at 05:10.
Kyiv Post correspondents across the city and surrounding suburbs reported hearing the sounds of Shahed drones, air defense systems in action, and powerful explosions - some occurring as frequently as every 5 to 10 minutes.
Kyiv continues emergency response efforts following one of the most massive combined air attacks on the capital, the State Emergency Service (DSNS) reported.
Click on the link for the full article
Russian forces launched a massive combined air attack on Kyiv, from the evening of May 23 into the early morning of May 24, targeting the capital with waves of Shahed kamikaze drones and ballistic missiles, officials reported.
The assault came in multiple phases. Drones were first launched late on May 23, followed by a barrage of ballistic missiles and additional Shaheds in the early hours of May 24. The all-clear signal in Kyiv was only given at 05:10.
Kyiv Post correspondents across the city and surrounding suburbs reported hearing the sounds of Shahed drones, air defense systems in action, and powerful explosions - some occurring as frequently as every 5 to 10 minutes.
Kyiv continues emergency response efforts following one of the most massive combined air attacks on the capital, the State Emergency Service (DSNS) reported.
Click on the link for the full article
From the Economist..... they say about the strike against Russian planes last night:
"Today’s operation is likely to be ranked among the most important raiding actions in modern warfare."
and... they are less prone to hyperbole than most journalists:
(the only link i have is an indirect link through a 3rd party inside that company's paywall... so here is the full text)
"Today’s operation is likely to be ranked among the most important raiding actions in modern warfare."
and... they are less prone to hyperbole than most journalists:
(the only link i have is an indirect link through a 3rd party inside that company's paywall... so here is the full text)
An astonishing raid deep inside Russia rewrites the rules of war
---Ukraine’s high-risk strikes damage over 40 top-secret strategic bombers
Jun 1st 2025|KYIV
SHORTLY AFTER noon on June 1st, Russian social media began flashing, alerting the world to Ukraine’s most audacious operation on Russian territory to date. In Irkutsk province in eastern Siberia, some 4,000km from Ukraine, locals posted footage of small quadcopter drones emerging from lorries and flying toward a nearby airfield, home to some of Russia’s most important strategic bombers. “I work at a tyre shop,” one wrote. “A lorry pulled in, and drones flew out of it.” From an airbase near Murmansk, in Russia’s far north, came similar stories: “The driver’s running around...drones are flying from his lorry toward the base.” Other alarmed posts soon followed from airbases in Ryazan and Ivanovo provinces, deep in central Russia.
Ukraine’s main security agency, the SBU, has since claimed responsibility for the operation, which it has codenamed “Spider Web”. It said at least 41 Russian aircraft were destroyed or damaged across four airfields, including rare and extremely expensive A-50 early-warning planes (Russia’s equivalent of the AWACS) and Tu-22M3 and Tu-95 strategic bombers. The agency also released footage in which its pugnacious chief, Vasily Maliuk, is heard commenting on the operation. “Russian strategic bombers,” he says in his recognisable growl, “all burning delightfully.”
The strike is one of the heaviest blows that Ukraine has landed on Russia in a war now well into its fourth year. Russia has relatively small numbers of strategic bombers—probably fewer than 90 operational Tu-22, Tu-95 and newer Tu-160s in total. The planes can carry nuclear weapons, but have been used to fire conventional cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets, as recently as last week. That has made them high-priority targets for Ukrainian military planners. Many of the aircraft are old and no longer produced—the last Tu-22M3s and Tu-95s were made more than 30 years ago—and their replacements, the Tu-160, are being manufactured at a glacial pace.
The fact that Ukraine was able to damage or destroy such a large number of Russia’s most advanced aircraft deep inside the country reflects the development of its deep-strike programme, as well as the remarkable extent to which Ukraine’s undercover operatives are now able to work inside Russia. Since the start of the Kremlin’s all-out invasion, Ukraine’s operations have expanded in range, ambition and sophistication. Western countries have provided some assistance to Ukraine’s deep-strike programme—on May 28th Germany promised to finance Ukrainian long-range drones—but much of the technology and mission planning is indigenous.
Today’s operation is likely to be ranked among the most important raiding actions in modern warfare. According to sources, the mission was 18 months in the making. Russia had been expecting attacks by larger fixed-wing drones at night and closer to the border with Ukraine. The Ukrainians reversed all three variables, launching small drones during the day, and doing so far from the front lines. Ukraine had launched drones from within Russia previously; the difference was the scale and combined nature of the operations.
Commentators close to the Ukrainian security services suggest that as many as 150 drones and 300 bombs had been smuggled into Russia for the operations. The quadcopters were apparently built into wooden cabins, loaded onto lorries and then released after the roofs of the cabins were remotely retracted. The drones used Russian mobile-telephone networks to relay their footage back to Ukraine, much of which was released by the gleeful Ukrainians. They also used elements of automated targeting, the accounts claim.
A Ukrainian intelligence source said it was unlikely that the drivers of the trucks knew what they were carrying. He compared this aspect of the operation to the 2022 attack on Kerch bridge, where a bomb concealed in a lorry destroyed part of the bridge linking Crimea with the mainland. “These kinds of operations are very complex, with key players necessarily kept in the dark,” he said. The source described the operation as a multi-stage chess move, with the Russians first encouraged to move more of their planes to particular bases by Ukrainian strikes on other ones. Three days before the attack, dozens of planes had moved to the Olenya airfield in Murmansk province, according to reports published at the time. It was precisely here that the most damage was done.
The operation casts a shadow over a new round of peace talks that is scheduled to start in Istanbul on June 2nd. Ukraine has been terrorised in recent months by Russia’s own massive strikes, sometimes involving hundreds of drones: one that took place overnight beginning on May 31st apparently involved a record 472 drones, the Ukrainian authorities say. Kyiv had been looking for ways to demonstrate to Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, that there is a cost to continuing the war. But the question is whether this operation has moved the dial, or simply raised the stakes. Chatter on Russian patriotic social-media networks has called for a severe response, likening the moment to Pearl Harbour, Japan’s attack on America’s Pacific Fleet in 1941. A senior Ukrainian official acknowledged that the operation carried risks of turning Western partners away from Ukraine. “The worry is that this is Sinop,” he said, referring to Russia’s strike on an Ottoman port in 1853 that ended up isolating the attacker on the world stage.
Western armed forces are watching closely. For many years they have concentrated their own aircraft at an ever smaller number of air bases, to save money, and have failed to invest in hardened hangars or shelters that could protect against drones and missiles. America’s own strategic bombers are visible in public satellite imagery, sitting in the open. “Imagine, on game-day,” writes Tom Shugart of CNAS, a think-tank in Washington, “containers at railyards, on Chinese-owned container ships in port or offshore, on trucks parked at random properties…spewing forth thousands of drones that sally forth and at least mission-kill the crown jewels of the [US Air Force].” That, he warns, would be “entirely feasible”. ■