It seems that the Russian Navy sank the Ursa Major in December 2024, following explosions that disabled her and that would have rendered her cargo open to inspection
"A source familiar with the investigation told CNN the vessel initially appeared stable and unlikely to sink immediately.
Later that evening, however, additional explosions reportedly occurred near the vessel after the Russian military ship Ivan Gren ordered nearby ships to keep their distance. CNN reported that Spain’s National Seismic Network detected four seismic signatures at approximately the same time, patterns which officials said resembled underwater explosions or blasts.
By late evening, the Ursa Major had sunk." http://www.kyivpost.com/post/75964
The latest Stefan Korshak. The continuation is interesting
http://stefankorshak.substack.com/p/may-15-2026-day-1541a-the-drone-wall
http://stefankorshak.substack.com/p/may-15-2026-day-1541b-continued
Interesting indeed! Thanks.
The US has again extended its waiver on Russian oil export sanctions for another 30 days (widely reported).
It's worth noting that the US is having to dig into its own Strategic Petrol Reserves (SPR), which are currently 402mn barrels of an authorised capacity of 714mn barrels.
US drawdown is normal but is usually linked to exchanges where hurricane activity temporarily stops production, which will be topped up again, and times of conflict, e.g. Ukraine, Libya, 1991 Gulf War, etc.
Allowing wars in Ukraine and Iran to continue is causing unpublicised problems for the US and the world, especially when they could be stopped.
It's also worth noting that Ukraine's kinetic sanctions are having a measurable effect on Russia's oil production and refining and that the oil sold by Russia isn't putting huge amounts into the state coffers for a variety of reasons, including state subsidies that keep domestic fuel prices artificially low, however,
(Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee) "argued that every additional dollar earned by the Kremlin through the license helps Putin finance Russian aggression and “kill innocent Ukrainians.”
"With gas prices continuing to rise and inflation spiking, the Administration has not shown that this relief is lowering costs for American families or stabilizing global energy markets,” the statement said.
Shaheen and Warren said the administration’s stated concern for energy-vulnerable countries would be more credible if it had used policy tools to limit the prices Russia could charge those countries."AND
"Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on May 18 that Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) obtained Russian documents that assess that Russia has had to significantly reduce its active oil wells, with one unspecified Russian oil company alone closing 400 wells. Zelensky stated that Russia has reduced oil refining by at least 10 percent thus far in 2026 and that Russia struggles with restarting wells compared to other oil producing states."
http://www.energy.gov/hgeo/opr/spr-quick-facts
http://www.energy.gov/hgeo/opr/history-spr-releases
http://www.spr.doe.gov/dir/dir.html
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76393
http://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-18-2026/
Ukraine's first domestically developed guided aerial bomb has successfully completed testing and is ready for combat deployment. This is a glide bomb with wings to extend its range from the deploying aircraft, increasing survivability for the aircraft. The downside is that this first batch will have problems and the longer "drop" time will allow electronic warfare (EW) more time to interfere with guidance.
Testing last year was successful at 60km range with current development to increase range and EW-hardening.
Traditionally, these are bolt-on kits designed for a standard "dumb" bomb that will be stocked by Ukraine and that can be carried by its aircraft inventory. Ukraine has been using US Joint Direct Attack Munitions – Extended Range (JDAM-ER) kits (since 2023) and the French Armement Air-Sol Modulaire Highly Agile Modular Munition Extended Range (AASM HAMMER - those French acronyms!).
The two "western" kits are different in that the JDAM-ER uses bigger glider wings, while the HAMMER uses small control surfaces and a rocket motor to get a similar range.
One big problem for Ukraine is gaining altitude safely, so the range for these glide bombs will be limited, as compared to Russian weapons whose bombers have an entire country to gain altitude over. I see the offspring of the JDAM-ER and HAMMER in the tea leaves, with power and wings. The US has just been testing a similar marriage in the JDAM-LR,
""The Ukrainian guided aerial bomb has a unique design and was created with the realities of modern warfare in mind. It is not a copy of Western or Soviet solutions, but an original development by Ukrainian engineers designed to effectively strike fortifications, command posts, and other enemy targets at distances of tens of kilometers after launch," he explained.
"The warhead weighs 250 kg. The Ministry of Defense has already procured the first experimental batch. Pilots are currently training and adapting operational scenarios for the use of this new weapon in real combat conditions," the minister added."
http://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4124510-ukraines-first-guided-aerial-bomb-passes-testing-ready-for-combat-use-fedorov.html
http://militarnyi.com/en/news/ukraine-domestic-guided-bomb-air-force/ (with video)
Sanctions evasion continues; this time it's European dual-use technology supplied to Russian military industry via Germany
"German authorities uncovered a large sanctions-evasion network that allegedly supplied Russia’s military industry with European dual-use technology through Turkey and shell companies.
According to a report published by Politico on Monday, German prosecutors believe a Lübeck-based trading firm, Global Trade, functioned as a covert procurement arm for Russian industry after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Police arrested a 39-year-old businessman identified as Nikita S. during raids linked to the four-year investigation."
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76382
Ukraine will be keeping an eye on the latest Russian nuclear exercises, particularly those in Belarus which is becoming more overtly involved in the war to Ukraine's north with drone control repeater stations and drone attack routes.
It's also an indication that Russia is feeling the need to demonstrate its advanced weapons to further its position with publicity.
- Russia announces 3-day nuclear drills
- Exercises to include ballistic and cruise missile launches
- Submarines, aviation, troops and Belarus to be involved
MOSCOW, May 19 (Reuters) - Russia on Tuesday begins three days of nuclear drills that will include the launch of ballistic and cruise missiles, the defence ministry said.
The exercises, involving 64,000 people and 7,800 pieces of military equipment, will rehearse "the preparation and use of nuclear forces in the event of aggression".
http://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-conducts-major-nuclear-drills-2026-05-19/
Disappointed that the Government has chosen to ease sanctions on Russia to control fuel prices. Allowing the genocidal monster Putin more cash to continue his campaign because *checks notes* people in the UK aren't prepared to drive slightly slower on the motorway is a scummy move.
It's the sort of thing that I'd expect from Farage, not Starmer.
Very much agree with that
It's the sort of thing that I'd expect from Farage, not Starmer.
Or Trump, which is an even worse example to be following.
Agreed. Absolutely immoral, it's really wound me up.
Very much agree with that
It's the sort of thing that I'd expect from Farage, not Starmer.
Or Trump, which is an even worse example to be following.
President Trump caused this with his ill-advised attacks on Iran.
At the moment it's specifically only diesel and jet fuel (and the LNG transportation waiver), but I can't help seeing it as a political vote-winner more than a necessity.
I also think that it'll prove difficult to wind the waiver off in the near future because of the ME situation
I don't know what the reality of the decision is; is it as simple as telling voters that they can't go on their summer hollies as critics of the waiver would say, or does it run much deeper?
There's the economic argument both ways; keeping fuel prices down to keep logistics chains in this country running, or does it encourage a run on increasing fuel prices when the waiver ends?
Rising fuel prices will reduce our competitiveness (such as it is) ultimately reducing our ability to donate to Ukraine. If you look to Europe, who never took the moral high-ground and still import O&G via Russia, then it hasn't prevented Ukraine from turning the balance of the war around, but at huge cost
"argued that every additional dollar earned by the Kremlin through the license helps Putin finance Russian aggression and “kill innocent Ukrainians.”
Very much agree with that
+1 more.
Disappointed that the Government has chosen to ease sanctions on Russia to control fuel prices.
damned if you do, six of the other.
Disappointed that the Government has chosen to ease sanctions on Russia to control fuel prices.
Hard agree.
President Trump caused this with his ill-advised attacks on Iran.
Absolutely, but we can't allow Trump to push us into dropping sanctions on Russia.
If you look to Europe, who never took the moral high-ground and still import O&G via Russia
Also helps Putin.
ultimately reducing our ability to donate to Ukraine
And what do you think buying from Russia does? What's the point of funding both Ukraine and Russia's war efforts?
Disappointed that the Government has chosen to ease sanctions on Russia to control fuel prices.
Hard agree.
President Trump caused this with his ill-advised attacks on Iran.
Absolutely, but we can't allow Trump to push us into dropping sanctions on Russia.
He isn't pushing the UK into this.
He's caused a situation that isn't black and white for the UK and a decision has been made by our Government.
If you look to Europe, who never took the moral high-ground and still import O&G via Russia
Also helps Putin.
Of course. We don't live in a simple world.
The UK decided in March that it's legal to board sanctioned Russian "shadow fleet" tankers but hasn't boarded a single one out of 184 that passed the UK coastline until 12th May (BBC verify)
France by contrast has been boarding them since Autumn 2025
ultimately reducing our ability to donate to Ukraine
And what do you think buying from Russia does? What's the point of funding both Ukraine and Russia's war efforts?
We're specifically not buying from Russia, but from third-parties who already bought crude oil at massively reduced rates and in their own currency (meaning that it costs Russia to convert to a currency that vendors of sanctioned goods will accept).
The fuel is refined by those third parties, not by Russia.
Russia isn't getting the full benefit of sales to the UK because of Russia's economic situation caused by sanctions imposed by the UK and Europe and which are still in place.
It's a hugely complex world and this isn't a simple decision.
I don't know if it's overall right or wrong, but IF it's necessary to keep supplying Ukraine AND it keeps AFD, Reform, etc out of power then it's the least worst option for Ukraine
Depleted uranium elements have been detected in the wreckage of a Russian Geran-2 drone.
The source of the depleted uranium (DU) isn't clear from the ISW report, however, other reports are clear that it's from the R-60 air-to-air missile carried by the drone. DU tends to be a feature of old-stock Soviet missiles.
Fragmented DU is smaller in dimensions for a given mass than steel fragments and so it has more velocity (less air resistance) and a greater impact pressure (and penetration). It also has the property of self-combusting.
The second article (linked below) is more detailed for those that way inclined.
"Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on May 20 that authorities detected depleted Uranium-235 and Uranium-238 elements in the wreckage of a Russian Geran-2 (Shahed-type) drone armed with an R-60 air-to-air missile that Ukrainian forces shot down in Chernihiv Oblast on April 7."
http://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-20-2026/
http://en.defence-ua.com/news/ukraine_reports_elevated_radiation_in_r_60_missile_fragments_mounted_on_russian_geran_2_drone-18558.html
Correct me if I'm mistaken but weren't some US service men contaminated in the same way in GW2?
US made DU sabot rounds that were basically a high energy spear that penetrated the hull of most tanks then the crew inside died from dispersed kinetic energy.
The US soldiers were exploring burnt out tanks and getting lots of photos for the album without realising they were inhaling atomic particles.
Correct me if I'm mistaken but weren't some US service men contaminated in the same way in GW2?
US made DU sabot rounds that were basically a high energy spear that penetrated the hull of most tanks then the crew inside died from dispersed kinetic energy.
The US soldiers were exploring burnt out tanks and getting lots of photos for the album without realising they were inhaling atomic particles.
I think it was GW1? Wasn't it one of the suspected causes of Gulf War Syndrome?
Is anyone surprised that Russia is having to use old stock and has no qualms about using any weapon now?
(Save nuclear reaction weapons that I think somehow the world is persuading them to keep on the box)
We're specifically not buying from Russia, but from third-parties who already bought crude oil at massively reduced rates and in their own currency (meaning that it costs Russia to convert to a currency that vendors of sanctioned goods will accept).
The fuel is refined by those third parties, not by Russia.
Russia isn't getting the full benefit of sales to the UK because of Russia's economic situation caused by sanctions imposed by the UK and Europe and which are still in place.
I've been struggling with the news headline for the last 24 hours. Thanks @timba for this summary, and indeed;
"It's a hugely complex world and this isn't a simple decision. "
I really hope this story is true - a not so subtle dig at Putins grip on power?……
I really hope this story is true - a not so subtle dig at Putins grip on power?……
I don't know about power, but certainly the war effort is slipping.
I don't think that the Russian spring/summer offensive has got into its starting positions yet while Russian mil-bloggers, politicians and media are being quite open about the problems across the board.
If the mud season appears and Ukraine continues to perform then I think that we'll start to see signs of genuine peace talks in about six months. Let's be in no doubt, Russia is pressuring two or three places on the front hard, but Ukraine is cutting away at many more and particularly decisively within the Russian logistical and industrial arena.
Russia has been building and improving road and rail links from Russia to Crimea since December 2024, building on infrastructure in the Donbas developed for the Euro 2012 series (shared with Poland) but it's now attracting Ukraine's long-range drone attacks.
A couple of days ago the R-280 “Novorossiya” highway was restricted to military cargo traffic, which only focuses Ukraine's drone operators
The road is expected to run through Russia's Rostov Oblast, the occupied Ukrainian towns of Mariupol, Melitopol, and Henichesk in the country's east and south, and through Dzhankoi in occupied Crimea.
Moscow has already built a 40-kilometer-long (25 miles) segment between the Russian city of Taganrog and Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast, according to Putin.
Ukraine is increasing its military-industrial footprint across the world while Russia is losing influence.
Russia shifting the nuclear pieces around the board and firing one of the last Oreshniks is always a sign that they're rattled
https://kyivindependent.com/russia-building-ring-road-around-azov-sea-putin-says/
ISW has completed a long piece, Ukraine’s Intermediate-Range Strike Campaign and New Mechanized Attacks Herald the Start of a New Phase of the War
I've copied and pasted a few paragraphs below but I'd recommend the full article (link also below),
Open data on Russia’s battlefield performance indicates that the character of the war is shifting in favor of Ukrainian forces, at least for now. Russian forces’ rates of advances are stagnating while Ukrainian forces are employing novel tactics and operational concepts in efforts to break out of positional warfare. It remains too early to tell whether Ukrainian forces will successfully restore maneuver to the battlefield, however.
Ukraine’s recent counterattacks feature unique characteristics and deviate from key trends that defined the positional character of the war since 2023.
Ukrainian forces further exploited SpaceX’s blocking of Starlink for Russian users to catalyze battlefield successes built on good foundations, but the Russian forces’ loss of Starlink was not the monocausal reason why Ukrainian forces now have an edge.
Ukraine has been conducting a coherent campaign to suppress and destroy Russian air defenses since late 2025, in order to shape the battlefield as part of more sophisticated campaign planning.
Ukrainian forces notably began in May 2026 to interdict key Russian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) (*logistics routes*) in occupied Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts, particularly along the T-0509 Mariupol-Donetsk City highway (also called the H-20 highway) and the M-14 highway (which Russian occupation officials denote as the R-280 highway), which together with the M-18 highway, connects Russia with occupied Crimea.
Ukrainian forces started actively disrupting Russian railway logistics in occupied Ukraine and Russian western regions in Spring 2026.
Russian milbloggers overwhelmingly attributed recent Ukrainian successes in interdicting Russian GLOCs to Hornet UAVs, claiming that the Hornet’s artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and Starlink satellite connectivity allow the drone to operate in jammed environments, at extended ranges, and amidst Russian internet blocks.
One Russian milblogger assessed that Russia will be unlikely to adapt to the Hornet threat within the next six to 12 months, implying that Ukraine may have the technological advantage on the battlefield over the coming months. (*takes us to the mud and winter seasons. Disrupted GLOCs into winter will be hard on troops*)
Colonel Pavlo Palisa stated in April 2026 that Ukrainian forces have broadly regained numerical drone superiority over Russian forces on the frontline and now have 1.3 strike drones to every one Russian strike drone.
Ukrainian forces likely achieved tactical drone overmatch in certain frontline sectors after degrading Russia’s drone capabilities in late 2025 to early 2026 — primarily by suppressing drone launch positions and increasingly intercepting Russian tactical UAVs.
Ukraine’s complete halting of Russian advances would invalidate Putin’s theory of victory and impose difficult decisions on the Kremlin. Ukraine’s partners, who all aim to bring this war rapidly to a conclusion on acceptable terms, should lean into this moment of potential Ukrainian advantage to force Putin to reevaluate his position and realize that he has no plausible expectation of achieving his aims by continuing the war.
http://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/ukraines-intermediate-range-strike-campaign-and-new-mechanized-attacks-herald-the-start-of-a-new-phase-of-the-war/
In similar news, Ukrainian advisors and drone troops were invited to the recent Aurora 2026 exercise on sunny Gotland and basically humbled the NATO troops (again). I'll try and find the article I read on it, but a summary is that UKR is now the master in this kind of warfare and NATO is being too slow in reacting, adopting and learning to this new type of warfare (both in doctrine and equipment).
Ukraine’s partners, who all aim to bring this war rapidly to a conclusion on acceptable terms, should lean into this moment of potential Ukrainian advantage to force Putin to reevaluate his position and realize that he has no plausible expectation of achieving his aims by continuing the war.
This seems really key.
Old bone-spurs won't do this because Poor-tin must have something over him. So it's down to Europe to push this message AND supply what resources Ukraine needs.
And with all this AI and autonomous drones, we really are heading towards cyberdine systems...
Ukrainian open-source intelligence (OSINT) sources reported May 25 that footage from May 24 indicates that Russian forces launched a second Oreshnik and that the missile malfunctioned and struck a location in occupied Donetsk Oblast. The footage appears to show six submunitions striking the ground, and one of the Ukrainian OSINT sources reported that the Oreshnik may have struck Russian military positions near occupied Avdiivka or Yasynuvata (both roughly 40 kilometers from the frontline). If confirmed, these reports would indicate that one of every four Oreshniks that Russian forces have used thus far in the war have malfunctioned. (*and cost c.$50mn*)
Russia has also experienced problems with the Sarmat missile that's been coming for more than a decade. President Putin announced its full-scale testing in 2018, but it had a series of failures, before being announced as combat-ready in 2023.
In 2024 one exploded inside a launch silo on firing. There were other failures, all denied, before President Putin announced successful testing a couple of weeks ago, immediately after the Victory Parade ceasefire had expired and three years after it was pronounced combat-ready.
http://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-25-2026/
Another couple of Stefan Korshak posts.
The first part includes some specifics on Russian pressure on certain settlements that I've alluded to above.
This week just about the only Russian sources that weren’t warning about an impeding disaster, were official Kremlin spokesmen and the secret police/defense side of the national government. Everywhere else that you look — mil-bloggers, local officials, captured soldiers, dissidents, the Russian internet — was pretty much unanimous that not only is the war going badly, but things are getting worse.
In the second part, "Iskander-K cruise missiles" is a bit of a misnomer. They're one of a couple of different winged missiles (Krylataya, the K-bit) launched by the Iskander-K system.
The second part talks quite a bit about drone strikes and drone development.
http://stefankorshak.substack.com/p/may-22-2026-day-1548a-night-flights
http://stefankorshak.substack.com/p/may-22-2026-day-1548b-continued
Belarus appears to upping the ante by accusing Ukraine of 116 drone strikes on Belarus border infrastructure in the past week.
Belarus allowed Russian operations leading up to the 2022 invasion and, despite being a nuclear weapon-free state, has more recently been convinced to station Russian nuclear weapons on its territory. There isn't any open-source evidence of nuclear warheads, although launch systems and infrastructure are there.
It's unlikely that Belarus would invade Ukraine; the state would be encouraging an uprising against the illegitimate Government in Minsk if it sent its military south and its unlikely that Russia would supply troops.
Provoking attacks by Ukraine could also trigger civil disorder in Belarus and exiled Belarus President Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has been in Kyiv this week in her second meeting with President Zelensky this year.
Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces,
"To: Minsk Gauleiter (third-highest rank in Nazi Germany) Lukashenko: the barking dog doesn't bite. The falcon* is not like that. The first 500 targets are on the tip of my pencil. Free and very practical advice: don't stick your head above the parapet." (my translation of my browser's translation)
*Ukraine's trident symbol is thought by some to have been derived from a diving falcon
http://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/4127422-bilorus-zvinuvatila-ukrainu-u-sprobah-atak-dronami-prikordonna-dpsu-sprostovue.html
http://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-ato/4127525-ukraina-vze-viznacila-500-cilej-u-bilorusi-na-vipadok-akso-lukasenko-vstupit-u-vijnu-madar.html
http://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/u-kiyevi-prezident-zustrivsya-zi-svitlanoyu-tihanovskoyu-104609
Armenia, another country working to finally leave Moscow's orbit, is facing general elections on 7th June.
The pro-Russian opposition is being well-financed, however US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio dropped in for a show of support for the incumbent independent-minded Government and (of course) the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP), which is a positive for the south Caucasus states and slices through Iran-Russia routes.
The brief visit emphasised US, rather than EU, ties but offers the electorate something other than Russia.
"Putin issued a blunt televised warning about Armenia’s deepening integration with Brussels. He stated that Armenia could not simultaneously remain in the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union and pursue the European Union’s customs framework, threatening an economic cutoff that could affect billions of dollars if Yerevan changes course.
This explosive Kremlin backdrop reveals why Rubio’s arrival in Yerevan – even for just a few hours, without leaving the airport – was so critical."
http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/76924
There are also problems in Georgia that sound faintly like conditions in Ukraine leading up to their 2014 uprising,
Thousands of Georgians staged a pro-Europe rally in the capital Tbilisi on the country’s Independence Day on Tuesday, to protest what critics say is the government’s democratic backsliding and anti-Western tilt.
The Black Sea nation has been mired in political turmoil since parliamentary elections in 2024, which the opposition says were rigged.
Opposition parties have refused to recognize the new parliament and government.
Tensions deepened after the government shelved EU membership talks with Brussels until 2028.
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76921
A good few critical minerals in Armenia which is catnip to the Trump regime.
A good few critical minerals in Armenia which is catnip to the Trump regime.
And, unfortunately we shouldn't ignore Trump's less than stellar endorsement record in external elections, e.g. Hungary
A coincidental piece on Russia's neighbours that popped up yesterday evening
Explainer: Russia’s Grip on Its Neighbors Is Loosening:
Kazakhstan
Azerbaijan
Armenia
Moldova
Georgia
Hungary and Serbia
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76988
Ukrainian senior officer who is also thinking that the next six months will be critical, with a turning point in nine months.
He also refers to Russia's pressure points on the cities of Kostyantynivka and Slovyansk. My personal number 3 is the 20km stretch west of Hulyaipole
Ukrainian Brig. Gen. Andriy Biletsky told Reuters that Russia’s military is becoming exhausted and may soon lose the battlefield initiative. He said the next six months will be critical for Ukraine to improve frontline positions, intensify drone warfare and enter future negotiations with Moscow from a position of strength. Analysts said Russian forces are increasingly strained despite continued pressure in eastern Ukraine.
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76965
http://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/senior-ukrainian-commander-sees-imminent-turning-point-war-2026-05-27/
The Kyiv Post has been running a series of interviews during this year with women involved in Ukraine's defence. They've interviewed a few in previous years, but this year's coverage seems to be a pattern that's well worth reflecting on:
- A woman who once planned her future abroad returned to Ukraine and joined the army. Today, as an evacuation medic, “Bandana” helps keep wounded soldiers alive.
- ...she leads a network feeding thousands across the city and beyond, sending food to shelters, damaged districts, to transit points, evacuation hubs, kindergartens and schools, providing not only nourishment, but something that still resembles home.
- In Kharkiv, a woman has been filling the gaps at a military hospital for more than 12 years, creating a sense of home for the wounded and reminding them what they are fighting for.
- Ukrainian women such as Nataliya Fesyuk take on a central role in wartime, keeping society running in the background – a portrait of one who steps in to help, listens, stands with others, and carries what the war leaves behind.
- A Ukrainian soldier whose life once centered around photography and environmental work reflects on war, responsibility, gender and the growing distance between military and civilian life.
- Acclaimed Ukrainian photographer Grom tells Kyiv Post about her multimedia project “Pietà,” children shaped by war, and ethical responsibility of photography in an age of profound pain.
- She says she doesn’t play music anymore, but she sings when she drives her Semi rig – as one of the 1,000 women who got a new career when the war called male truck drivers to the front.
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76802
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76526
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76460
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76518
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/76463
http://www.kyivpost.com/interviews/75212
http://www.kyivpost.com/post/73688
Seems Russia hit Romania last night. 🙁
I missed this but Ukraine hit a Russian frigate last week
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3mmxzssocis2u
Sweden has pledged a military support package to Ukraine:
- Sale of Gripen E/F: Up to 20 aircraft.
- Donation of Gripen C/D: One division; up to 16 aircraft (including advanced ammunition, such as IRIS-T, AMRAAM and METEOR).
- Procurement of ammunition
- Procurement of electromagnetic warfare materiel
- Support to Ukraine’s long-range capability
- Innovation initiative and industry collaboration
- Donation to multilateral funds and initiatives in support of Ukraine
- Support to civil defence
- Support from the Swedish Defence Research Agency
Total value: SEK 25.2 billion (£2bn)
The UK has a 30% share of the Gripen manufacturing for Ukraine, with Sweden and the US picking up the balance. Much of the UK share will be in the avionics and weapons packages, but it isn't clear what the Swedish and US shares will be. No mention of bomb loads has been made, but SAAB give customers various missile and bomb options and fit the aircraft accordingly.
The aircraft could, in theory, be built in several countries including Sweden. SAAB currently has deals to licence-build the aircraft with its purchasers and it's anticipated that Ukraine will be joining the list of manufacturers after final delivery in the early 2030s.
The engines are currently US designs licence-built by Volvo, however a US General Electric (GE) 404 design, similar to that in the Gripen C/D, was used briefly in the French Dassault Rafale 'A' demonstrator before its replacement with a French SNECMA engine. The Gripen E/F uses a newer GE 414 design, but it's conceivable that both engines could be replaced by European analogues in time.
Sweden pledged a total of 36 Gripen fighter aircraft to Ukraine in a large military support package on May 28. Sweden announced on May 28 that Ukraine will allocate 2.5 billion euros (about $2.9 billion) from the EU’s Ukraine Support Loan to procure up to 20 Gripen E/F fighter aircraft (delivery before 2030) from Sweden and that Sweden will additionally donate 16 Gripen C/D aircraft to Ukraine (delivery 2027).
Zelensky stated that the Gripens will help Ukraine defend against Russian guided glide bombs. Zelensky stated that the Gripen’s Meteor air-to-air missiles with a range of 200 kilometers will help to displace Russian aircraft and hinder Russia’s ability to launch massive glide bomb strikes.
The Meteor missile is a European MBDA product suitable for the European fighter fleet, including Eurofighter Typhoon, F-35 Lightning II, Gripen and Rafale.
The missile package may also include the European IRIS-T and US AMRAAM options
http://www.government.se/press-releases/2026/05/sweden-to-sell-gripen-ef-fighter-aircraft-to-ukraine/
http://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-28-2026/
http://www.mbda-systems.com/products/air-dominance/meteor
Russian forces have taken a couple of settlements in the northern part of the frontline, close to the international border with Russia.
Russian forces recently advanced and conducted infiltration missions in northern Sumy Oblast. Geolocated footage published on May 16 and 28 shows Ukrainian forces striking Russian forces west of Popivka (southwest of Sumy City) and in northern Novodmytrivka (west of Popivka), indicating that Russian forces recently seized Popivka and Vysoke (just south of Popivka) and conducted an infiltration mission in northern Novodymytrivka.
Ukraine has also made gains in the north
Ukrainian counterattacks reportedly recently liberated Odradne (east of Velykyi Burluk) and nearby areas. Mashovets stated on May 28 that Ukrainian forces liberated Odradne and advanced about three kilometers deep and about seven kilometers wide in the area after counterattacking in the Hryhorivka-Odradne direction.
Ukraine has conducted several strikes using Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG. This is quite unusual and indicates that either these targets were considered valuable or that Ukraine is receiving stock from the newly re-opened production line or both of the above.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces used Storm Shadow missiles to strike hardware and software systems of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ (VKS) reconnaissance automation equipment near Voronezh City and Taganrog, Rostov Oblast. Geolocated footage published on May 27 showed smoke and fires near the Taganrog Air Base and the Baltimore Air Base in Voronezh City. The Ukrainian General Staff also confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck and observed a fire at the Tuapse Oil Refinery in Krasnodar Krai on the night of May 26 to 27.
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed on May 28 Ukraine’s May 26 to 27 Storm Shadow missile strike against Russian military assets near occupied Sevastopol. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces struck Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) reconnaissance equipment near occupied Sevastopol.
http://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-28-2026/
A former US Ambassador to Ukraine makes an excellent point,
President Trump’s mediation effort has failed. That should not come as a surprise. The administration has mishandled the negotiations, and Trump refuses to back his diplomacy with pressure on the recalcitrant party, the Kremlin.
http://thehill.com/opinion/international/5898718-trump-russia-ukraine-mediation-failure/
The interim government in Latvia appears to be pro-Ukraine and the PM, Andris Kulbergs, is a former businessman who's pledged to fight corruption and make progress in Latvia's drone defences, following incursions into Latvian airspace.
His Defense Minister, Raivis Melnis, is a career military officer who previously served as a military adviser to Ukraine.
His Health Minister is a practicing gastroenterologist known for continuing to perform endoscopies while in office.
This should be a role in every corner of politics to determine who has crawled up where.
http://www.politico.eu/article/andris-kulbergs-latvia-prime-minister-drone-crisis-defense/
