Putin's Invasion of Ukraine

[Hydra009]

Suffice it to say that a lot is happening in the world, and while most of the attention is periodically on the Middle East, the war in Ukraine remains very important, especially for Eastern/Central Europeans and anyone allied with them (the West)

Latest updates:

Ukraine strikes two Russian ferries transporting weapons through the Kerch Strait

Ukraine strikes Afipsky Oil Refinery

The plant processes roughly 6.25 million tons of crude annually — about 2% of Russia's refining output — and has been repeatedly targeted in previous drone attacks.

There's also been some very satisfying footage of an ammo depot in occupied Crimea exploding with burning missiles launching themselves in random directions. That one's breaking news, so it hasn't hit the presses yet, but I promise to post the video when it hits YouTube because it's a wonderful fireworks show.

In the meantime, please accept this HIMARS strike on Russian logistics trucks "mating" rear-to-rear:



Russian telegram (not totally blocked yet, they can still send text) has this to say of the current state of the frontlines:

[Cassia]

I ventured onto Elon's shit-hole twitter. It's been a while, but it seems oddly anti MAGA now. However, two vids from Ukraine immediately popped up. A drunk-as-hell Russian soldier meets a drone while staggering around. And two soon-to-be vaporized Russians had the bright idea to hide from drones in an overturned armored car full of anti-tank mines.

I asked google about current casualty rates.
As of early 2026, the Ukraine war has caused immense casualties, with estimated Russian battlefield fatalities between 275,000 and 325,000, and total casualties (including wounded) nearing 1.2 million since February 2022. Ukrainian military fatalities are estimated to be between 100,000 and 140,000, with total casualties reaching 500,000 to 600,000.

That's just so much misery cause by one little man.

[Hydra009]

Yep. I saw that one. The drunk guy managed to shoot at the incoming drone and threw his gun at it (what they're trained to do) but no avail. There's also footage of a Russian trooper driving a vehicle and waving at his comrade drives up to him in one of those chinese golf carts. The next second, the golf cart erupts in an explosion. And a Russian vehicle with around a dozen troops on the top got hit by a drone. And a drone was after a Russian soldier and his comrade shot at the drone but hit his buddy instead, who then gets hit by the drone. Oh, and lots of hazing videos with Russians tying other Russians to trees or fighting each other in silly little fights were they beat the guy savagely after he's already down. Really, they've done every idiotic thing possible and reaped the rewards for it.

They're supposed to be some sort of highly-trained and disciplined military in some second world, but it's just thugs and rapists and poor SoBs and they just bring pain and death to everyone in their path and especially each other.

A Russian milblogger says the Kremlin is now ordering Russian military to uninstall Telegram and install MAX instead (spyware app closely monitored by FSB) or be sent on an "assault" mission (suicide mission). So I suppose there goes my access to their war footage where they film their comrades getting blown up or the aftermath of such events. No doubt it makes Putin look bad. But I suspect - and likely Putin does as well - Russians are in a state of discontent and express this discontent to each other on Telegram - either openly or in private messages. Putin is very, very worried about such talk, since a good portion of Russians' problems go away with Putin.

[Hydra009]

[Unbeliever]

I've read that 2 Phantom MK-1 humanoid robots have been deployed to Ukraine for testing. What could possibly go wrong?

[Hydra009]

I've read that 2 Phantom MK-1 humanoid robots have been deployed to Ukraine for testing. What could possibly go wrong?

I legit thought that was some strange sort of joke until about 5 seconds ago. It's real. But for now, it's just two humanoid robots.

Personally, I very much doubt they'll do well. The Ukrainians already have aerial and ground drones that work just fine. And if it ain't broke...

And the humanoid design has some very serious drawbacks, as anyone who has imagined a hypothetical matchup of mechs vs tanks a normal amount (roughly 2 hours a day). As the article puts it:

Humanoid robots are heavy and expensive, require regular recharging, can break down, and often lose their balance.

Drones can also be tampered with by intercepting their radio frequencies. A hacked humanoid soldier introduces a whole new set of risks. The enemy could potentially take control of a robot fleet through software ‘backdoors’ and use them against their creators.

I see someone's seen one of the literally thousands of scifi movies/tv shows where robots are hacked and attack their allies or just turn against them of their own volition.

During a visit by TIME journalists, one of the Phantom robots fell several times with loud crashes.

Yeah, I don't see this doing well at all. My prediction: the robots have to be looked after constantly and don't perform their tasks well at all. This will all just be a "learning experience" for the company.

[Hydra009]

As promised, here's the video of the Russian missile depot exploding and missiles flying everywhere:



Good article, but their video sucks lol. Looks terrible, excessively zoomed out and shaky. And the guy sounds terrible. 2/10 footage, would not recommend. Probably won't sweep the Bystandees this year.

[Unbeliever]

I've just seen a very interesting video on Meidas Touch, called Trump PANICS as Meidas Film EXPOSES his WAR ERROR!!!!

Meidas Touch host Ben Meiselas reports on Ukraine as the country's drone warfare expertise becomes critical during the escalating Iran conflict, with Trump scrambling to get help even after repeatedly insulting Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Ben also introduces the newest Meidas Studios documentary from Ken Harbaugh, Drone Hunters of Kherson, released at a moment when Americans urgently need to understand the realities of modern war. As U.S. forces now face the same drone threats Ukraine has battled for years, this film shows, unfiltered, through Ken's eyes on the ground in the middle of the war zone, what it actually takes to survive and fight back.

I've also seen a video of Putin coughing repeatedly while giving a speech about International Women's Day. Interesting that it was allowed to slip through the censors.