Russia-Ukraine War (continuing)

Russia "the big bear" is no slouch it has thrown the kitchen sink to break Ukraine, after the US there no other army even china's weapons evolved/copied from Russia so am sure they have tested to its limits.

Am not criticising patriot but its the licensing, expensive missiles and its lack of modern ai hotwar testing readily availablte in Ukraine.

Other factor Ukrainians have shown their inventive ability coupled with a historical weapons engineering experience supplying the old Soviet union, part of the reason putin want them back under control.

The new question being asked by much of the World is can we trust the USA to supply & let us use US weapons.

Crimea Suspends Gasoline Sales and Distribution of Fuel Vouchers - The Moscow Times

We should send them Christopher Duffy for the laugh.

Not a fan of the Telegraph but worth a read. All the economic cracks becoming impossible to ignore

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/06/13/russian-mp-warns-putin-were-on-the-brink-of-social-collapse/

A Russian MP has demanded that Vladimir Putin deliver a plan to end the war in Ukraine as he berated the Kremlin’s “ineffective leadership”.

In a lengthy tirade, Vyacheslav Markhayev listed corruption scandals, oligarchy, losses of the “most active and reproductively capable segment of the population” and Ukrainian drone strikes among the ills plaguing wartime Russia.

“The time of illusions is over. The country is on the brink of a social explosion, and the blame for this will fall squarely on the entrenched ruling power,” said Mr Markhayev, a deputy of the State Duma from the Communist Party.

The deputy joins a growing list of public figures who have broken from the official line to voice criticism of the authorities.

Late last month, Renat Suleymanov, a State Duma deputy from the same party, called for the “earliest possible end” to the war, saying the economy could not “withstand” its continuation.

In March, Ilya Remeslo, formerly a staunch Kremlin loyalist, turned against Putin, branding the Russian president “a war criminal and a thief”, and calling for him to be put on trial.

Discontent with the authorities has simmered in the past few months, linked to sweeping internet outages, sluggish progress on the battlefield and long-range Ukrainian strikes that have penetrated the heart of Russia’s two biggest cities.

This week, it was reported that the state-controlled Russian Public Opinion Research Centre would stop publishing Putin’s “open” trust rating as it plummeted to the lowest level since the start of the invasion.

Concerns about the resilience of the economy have also spurred a backlash. Growth has slowed to a crawl, inflation remains elevated and Ukrainian attacks on refineries and terminals have bitten a chunk out of Moscow’s oil-driven budget, sending crude processing to a 16-year low.

Meanwhile, high defence expenditure, which has reached post-Cold War heights, has triggered increasing alarm in Russia’s finance ministry.

Military spending increased by more than 30 per cent in early 2026 compared with the year before, reaching 46 per cent of total budget spending, according to Dr Janis Kluge, an economist and senior associate at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

This means almost every second rouble spent from the federal budget was allocated to the military.

“The pace of military spending looks even more impressive – and, from the Kremlin’s perspective, concerning – when compared with budget revenues... military spending was equivalent to two-thirds of Russian budget revenues in January to March 2026,” said Dr Kluge.

Instead, it has only deepened concerns. One topic of discussion was the absence of Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of the central bank, usually a fixture at the event.

The Kremlin claimed she was on sick leave, but rumours have swirled about the protracted absence of Putin’s top economist.

This week, she and her deputies also skipped an interest rates meeting with the Russian president and his senior ministers.

Russian independent channels, citing sources close to the government, have claimed that Ms Nabiullina has handed Putin an ultimatum that she will only serve out her term on the condition that he does not escalate the war with border closures and martial law.

Another source told the Mozhem Obyasnit channel that she was planning to leave the central bank imminently, which would amount to a significant upset.

Kyiv Independent posted a video about the situation in Kostiantynivka

I take an unashamed pleasure in seeing Antonov aircraft wreaking havoc on Russian infrastructure. Poetic justice for what they did to the An-225 Mriya

Scum. Always wanted to visit this place. Hopefully the damage isn't too bad.

Absolute **** vermin killing 5 firemen tonight in kharkiv

https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/five-ukrainian-first-responders-killed-in-russian-double-tap-strike-on-kharkiv-19813

"Christian values" Russia bombing one of the most sacred buildings in the Orthodox faith is very on brand.

Disgusting fascist barbarians who are lashing out in desperation due to the inept performance of the Russian army in the battlefield.

Glory to Ukraine.

Didn't I say we should brace for war crimes in response to UAF's successful targeting of Russian oil and Crimean logistics? It was inevitable given the complete lack of a moral compass in the Kremlin.

You'd imagine the UN would have something to say about this kind of carry on, but generally silence. And then you have the drip feed of people calling for Russian reinstatement into the global art and sports communities. F**k off.