The Ukrainian mobilization effort has been documented as cruel and without due process, without any legal protection at all as men are dragged into non-official private armies and sent to the front. Now nets are being used to snare men on the street without as much hassle.
Tag: ukraine
Ukraine Plans To Hyper-Innovate Humanoid Robot Soldiers
At the start of February, we pointed out that “humanoid warfare nears” and suspected these war bots were headed for Ukraine for testing.
That hunch was confirmed by early March, after a TIME Magazine article reported that Foundation Robotics, a U.S.-based startup developing humanoid robots for industrial and military applications, had recently sent two Phantom MK1 robots to Ukraine for testing.
Mike LeBlanc, co-founder of Foundation…
The modern battlefield across western Eurasia has become the world’s AI weapons lab, where drones, autonomous systems, electronic warfare, and ground bots are being stress-tested in real time.
For any ‘war unicorn’ startup trying to validate AI-enabled killing machines, Ukraine has become the proving ground, and soldiers on the front lines will quickly tell these startups whether their products work or not – that’s the part of hyperinnovation that people aren’t seeing yet, but it is becoming visible as low-cost AI killing systems begin to spread across the world.
Last month, we were the first to debut a new video showing the Phantom MK1 robot operating a mobile light mortar system during a live-fire training exercise in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ukrainian Man Charged in Germany With War Crime Explosions That Sabotaged Nord Stream Pipeline – Prosecutors Say He Acted on ‘State Orders’ by Kiev Regime
A war crime ordered by Kiev, German prosecutors say.
Back on September 26, 2022, explosions destroyed the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines that transported cheap Russian oil to Germany.
Some of us still remember how the Fake News MSM tried hard to convince us that the Russians had blown their own pipeline – but that didn’t take.
Later, Pulitzer Prize winner Seymour Hersh, based on his unnamed sources, wrote that the explosions were caused by the CIA.
But after a 4-year investigation, German police and prosecutors have arrived at the conclusion that a team of Ukrainians, ‘under state orders’, was guilty of the attacks.
Today, the leader of this team has been charged with what is essentially a war crime under international law: attacking civilian energy infrastructure. (Another source)
Serhii Kuznetzov, the head of the ‘Andromeda’ team, has also been charged with causing an explosion, destroying structures/infrastructure.
Russian attacks kill at least 25, injures scores in Kyiv after Zelenskyy warned of ‘massive strike’
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine’s capital overnight into Thursday that killed at least 25 people and injured scores as loud explosions shook Kyiv for hours.
The attack with ballistic and cruise missiles and drones damaged buildings and civilian infrastructure across the city. Many residents took shelter at metro stations after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other authorities issued the first warnings of the attack.
The attack killed 25 people in Kyiv and at least 85 others were injured, city military officials said.
Damage was recorded in 30 locations across the city, mainly residential buildings and civilian infrastructure, said Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 20 residential buildings were damaged across the city. The Emergency Service says it deployed nearly 500 personnel and 100 units of specialized vehicles, including a helicopter, to deal with the aftermath of the attack.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Ukraine’s allies to strengthen the country’s air defenses following what he described as a “night of horror” in Kyiv, urging partners not to delay decisions on supplying air defense systems and missiles. Writing on X, Sybiha said the death toll after the attack may rise as the rescue teams continued their work.
European Taxpayers Spend 3.9B Euros on Drones for Ukraine
The European Union just sent another €3.9 billion to Ukraine to buy drones. This is not humanitarian aid. This is war financing. Reuters reported that the latest transfer is part of the EU’s new €90 billion loan program designed to keep Kyiv funded through 2026 and 2027. The money is being directed toward Ukraine’s drone procurement, meaning European taxpayers are now openly financing the weapons system that has become central to this war.
Do not let anyone pretend Europe is a neutral party. The EU Council itself says support for Ukraine has reached €211.3 billion since the war began. That figure includes military, financial, humanitarian, and refugee-related support. Now Brussels is adding a €90 billion loan on top of that to cover Ukraine’s budget and defense needs for the next two years. This is not charity. This is Europe admitting it intends to keep the war going because Ukraine cannot finance it on its own.
The EU sent nearly €2.8 billion earlier in June, Reuters reported another €3.2 billion tranche under the broader loan structure, and now another €3.9 billion is being pushed out for drones. Ukraine’s reconstruction costs are estimated at $588 billion over the next decade, while Kyiv is signing more than 160 recovery agreements worth over €10 billion. Europe is no longer merely supporting Ukraine. It is building the financial architecture for a permanent war economy.
The War in Ukraine Arrives at a Crucial Juncture
Though relegated to the sidelines thanks to President Donald Trump’s decision to launch an illegal and unjustified war on Iran at the behest of the Israeli warfare state, the war in Ukraine grows more dangerous with each passing day. In fact, recent reports indicate a perilous increase in attacks on energy and civilian infrastructure from both Moscow and Kiev.
On June 17, Kiev launched the largest aerial attack of the war on Moscow with an estimated 550 drones and missiles. One attack resulted in the spectacular explosion at the Kapotnya refinery southeast of Moscow. It was the third time in a month that the refinery had been targeted by Kiev. Whether the explosion was caused by a Russian MANPAD defending Moscow or by a direct hit from a Ukrainian drone remains unclear. Shortly after the attack, a Ukrainian commander sent a message to the Russian people: “This war has now reached your homes as well. We hope that message helps Russia bring this war to an end.”
Only days later, on June 20, another attack struck the Antipinsky oil refinery in Tyumen in Western Siberia, some 1,200 miles from Ukraine. That same evening, Ukraine struck the oil terminal at Kerch in Crimea. A week later, Ukraine hit Russian refineries in the Krasnodar and Yaroslavl regions.
In response, Russian forces have struck both Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia, killing numerous civilians. For his part, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, noted that “strikes on our infrastructure, wherever they are directed, have absolutely no effect on the situation at the front, on the line of contact.”
For Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky, there would seem to be a number of motives at play — none of which portend an end to the conflict, now in its fifth year. For one thing, Zelensky has seen a dip in the robust support he once had from Washington under Trump II. He seems convinced that such shows of force will shore up what remains of his support among Democratic war hawks, as well as among his European collaborators such as the German Chancellor Frederich Merz and the now-departing British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Yet Zelensky’s stepped-up drone war, far from being, as some US analysts suggest, a show of strength, may be the beginning of the end for the budding despot, the desperate last gasp of a wartime leader with an economy in ruins, a shrinking population, and a generation of young men irretrievably lost. Putting Zelensky’s drone war into proper perspective may require recalling how ultimately ineffective the flurry of Nazi Germany’s V2 missile attacks on London and the Japanese Kamikaze attacks on the US Navy were during the final year of the Second World War.
The mood among ‘official’ Moscow has, as might be expected in light of these developments, grown darker than usual. In addition to the unprecedented drone attacks on Moscow, Russia has suffered an estimated 1.2 million war casualties, including approximately 325,000 dead. And while there are growing signs of war weariness and disgust with Putin’s regime among pro-Western elements in Moscow and St. Petersburg, there are voices close to the Kremlin that are, in a manner not terribly dissimilar to our own neoconservatives whenever Israel attacked, baying for blood.
Sergei Karaganov, an academic who heads the Kremlin’s Council for Foreign and Defense Policy, has repeatedly called for Russia to strike Europe with nuclear weapons in order to “restore deterrence.” For his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov promised that Russia would retaliate for the refinery attack on a “mass scale.” Lavrov also warned that the current “state of affairs poses serious threats to global security. A direct confrontation between NATO and Russia could rapidly escalate into an exchange of nuclear strikes, with catastrophic consequences.” Lavrov’s comments were originally meant for publication in POLITICO Europe, but the outlet, owned by the shamelessly pro-war Axel Springer group, pulled the piece at the last minute. Heaven forbid we hear from the “enemy” directly.
That said, with Donald Trump distracted by more pressing matters of state such as the deteriorating condition of the Reflecting Pool and his duties as host of the Great American State Fair (his promise to end this war now, as with so many other promises, forgotten) few, if any, remaining world leaders outside of Pope Leo XIV have called for a cessation of hostilities in between Russia and Ukraine and her sponsors in Washington and Brussels.
Ukraine’s Desperate Propaganda Campaign While Russia Advances Along The Entire Front
Volodymyr Zelensky and his Western backers have launched a desperate 40-day “campaign of terrors” — which includes a mix of military escalations and a massive information/psyops operation designed to portray Russia as collapsing and Putin as facing an imminent uprising or coup. The goal is to force Russia into a ceasefire. Western audiences are being flooded with social media and regular media articles that paint a dire picture of Russia’s military campaign, while touting Ukraine’s incredible accomplishments. It is all a load of crap, but that is all the West has left in its quiver as Russia’s campaign of attrition continues to pulverize Ukraine.
The Western-led propaganda campaign consists of the following elements:
- Information Warfare — Heavy push of 24/7 propaganda about Putin’s “imminent downfall,” including staged videos of supposed Russian soldiers announcing a mutiny.
- Fake Psyops — Coordinated attempts to stoke panic in Russia (e.g., false claims of fuel/gas shortages, which were partly caused by panic buying triggered by the rumors).
- Symbolic Actions — Staged drone flag-drops (e.g., on the Kinburn Spit near Crimea) meant to symbolize Russian retreat and collapse — quickly debunked and mocked.
- Broader Objective — Combine these narratives with actual strikes on Russian infrastructure to create the impression of regime instability, pressuring Putin politically.
Now for the reality. Yes, Ukraine has hit some Russian refineries and created some spectacular visuals of billowing smoke and fire. However, this is nothing more than military political theater that is intended to distract from Ukraine’s setbacks all along the front. As a side note, Russian oil exports have increased during this same period, putting to bed the narrative that Russia’s oil industry in suffering catastrophic losses.
Europe to Assist Zelensky’s Conscription Effort
Europe welcomed millions of Ukrainians with open arms. Governments competed with one another to prove who could be the most compassionate. Nobody wanted to ask the uncomfortable question. What happens when the war drags on for years? Eventually, someone has to fight it.
Now the European Commission is proposing that newly arriving Ukrainian men of military age who are not authorized to leave Ukraine should no longer qualify for temporary protection. Existing refugees would remain protected, but the message is changing. According to the Commission, the proposal came at Ukraine’s request because Kyiv needs to preserve its ability to defend itself. Sweden’s Migration Minister Johan Forssell said the quiet part out loud: “It is essential for us to provide Ukrainians with protection, but at the same time the war needs to be fought and won. For that to happen, it is essential that more men stay in Ukraine and fight.”
Europe is beginning to acknowledge something politicians have carefully avoided saying for years. Wars consume people. Ammunition can be manufactured, but young men cannot. Zelensky has banned military-aged men from leaving the nation.
Zelensky is forcing a generation to perish in this endless war with Russia and NATO. Recent reports indicate that 200,000 soldiers have gone AWOL (absent without leave), and for perspective, that is more soldiers than the entire UK military. Ukraine’s new Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov warned that the government is hunting down two million Ukrainians who are wanted for evading mobilization.
“Today, we cannot fight with new technologies, with an old organizational structure,” Fedorov said in a televised warning. “Our goal is to change the system, carry out army reforms, improve the infrastructure on the front, to eradicate lies and corruption, to instill leadership, and a new culture of trust.”
The age of conscription was lowered from 27 to 25 back in April 2024. Zelensky has demanded that men from 25 up to 60 years of age join mobilization efforts. Ukraine has a population of 40 million, and 2 million evaders represent a significant portion of men, but only six months ago, reports indicated that 6 million men were wanted for evading the draft. The EU is now considering preventing men aged 24 to 60 from entering the bloc as the war requires ample cannon fodder. Europe is not fighting in this battle for the good or Ukraine or its people.
Zelensky Telegraphs 40-Day Pressure Offensive On Russia, Fueling Fears Of Slide Toward WW3
The Ukraine war is quite obviously escalating, especially regarding Ukrainian leaders seeking to “bring the war” to Russian soil, amid nightly drone attacks which have come in the hundreds and even thousands of late.
President Volodymyr Zelensky is seeking to seize on the momentum of repeat drone hits on Russian refinery and energy infrastructure – a reality Russia has suffered over many months, leading to a current fuel crisis spanning dozens of cities and regions, and especially Crimea, which has temporarily halted fuel sales to common citizens altogether this week.
Ukrainian media is touting a new Zelensky plan to ramp up the pressure on Russia over the next 40 days, aimed at “pressuring Russia to end its war”.
He has ordered Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU) to launch a new 40-day operation, which also includes “plan for long-range sanctions, medium-range sanctions, and the results achieved by the SBU,” Zelensky said on X. He’s further calling it an “influence operation.”
Ukraine Closes Week Of Record Drone Attacks On Russia By Hitting Important Weapons Plant
Ukraine announced Saturday that it used its Flamingo cruise missiles overnight to strike Russia’s Titan-Barrikady weapons plant, which reportedly manufactures parts for its powerful Oreshnik missile.
The military plant is in Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, which is a major industrial city in southwest Russia. Writing on X, President Zelensky described it as a “major industrial complex” where Russia “produces artillery systems and specialized military equipment, including components for missile launch systems.”
“Every Russian defense facility involved in the war against Ukraine is a legitimate target for our long-range strikes,” he wrote.
The Associated Press reports, “Volgograd Gov. Andrei Bocharov confirmed an attack on a business in the region’s Krasnooktyabrsky district, saying 10 people had been wounded and taken to a hospital. He said production facilities at the site were damaged but did not identify the company.”
Additionally, “Ukraine’s state security service said Saturday morning that Ukrainian forces also struck an oil pumping facility in Russia’s Vladimir region that supplies fuel to Moscow, for the second time this month.”
But on the other side of the border, Ukrainian media reports that Russia was also busy with now nightly airstrikes:
Russian forces targeted production facilities belonging to the Naftogaz Group, Ukraine’s largest national oil and gas company, in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions.
The barrage of attacks included 129 drones, of which 113 were destroyed or jammed by Ukrainian forces, Ukrainian media reported.
The Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine killed two people and injuring more than 20, according to state officials.
At a moment much of the globe’s attention remains fixated on Iran and the fate of energy shipping through the largely blocked Strait of Hormuz, the Ukraine war is rapidly escalating.
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