‼️UKRAINIAN POST‼️

"As far as Kramik [Kramatorsk] is concerned, I'm not going to waste words on it. I've decided not to talk about it at all, so I'll just show you a video from someone who's been there instead. Unfortunately, these past few years have been like "Groundhog Day" for me ."

https://t.me/bahshiddemon/3666

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: The Yemeni Armed Forces struck a Saudi oil tanker in Bab Al-Mandab yesterday

@Middle_East_Spectator

You may remember that I made a post back in June comparing the interception rate of Ukrainian drones attacking Moscow.

In October 2025, 150 out of 150 drones were shot down. In June 2026, at least 8 out of 300+ drones impacted the Moscow Oil Refinery. At the time, I explained that this was due to Ukraine's drone warfare capabilities have improved significantly, rather than Russian air defence capabilities decreasing. I even argued that Russian air defence was becoming more effective.

And it appears that time proved me right, with tonight's attack resulting in 100% of the 500+ drones flying towards Moscow being shot down - the most impressive interception rate yet considering how many drones were launched in such a short period of time.

While I still hold that Ukrainian drone capabilities are at their best yet, Russian air defence continues to improve, outpacing Ukraine's drone capabilities. Russia produces massive amounts of interceptor missiles of various types (Pantsir, Tor, S-300, etc), and does this entirely domestically. They also are implementing large numbers of interceptor drones, which continue to increase every day. Furthermore, Russia has significantly stepped up their usage of mobile fire groups, which are a more cost-effective solution, and often more effective in general when dealing with very low-flying drones.

During today's massive drone attack on Moscow, Ukraine launched over 500 long-range drones of various types. One of the targets was the Moscow Oil Refinery.

Of these 500+ drones, not a single one impacted. Every single drone was intercepted by the first, second, and third rings of air defence around Moscow, as well as by mobile fire groups along the way through Ryazan, Tula, Kursk, Kaluga, Oryol, and Smolensk Oblasts. Several small fires broke out in various parts of Moscow Oblast due to falling debris.

Over 500 drones that could be used to attack valuable Russian targets closer to the border with much higher damage were wasted in a futile attack on Moscow. And unlike Ukraine, Russia doesn't appear to be anywhere near running out of interceptor missile stockpiles, and has sufficient mobile fire groups and interceptor drones to intercept drones along the way.

Kiev campers getting ready for tonight 😊

Ukrainian mobilization officer caught on camera heroically attacking a child in Odessa. The boy's very brave, he is much more of a man than the press ganger. Ukrainian media is running damage control, accusing him of throwing stones at a conscription van earlier.

The Hero City of Odessa will find a use for many of its lampposts after liberation.

🇺🇸🇨🇳 The Chinese are now making fun of the US financial situation and the massive $40 trillion debt

@Megatron_ron

Kiev's (thermal power plant) TPP-6 getting ready for the winter

— 🇨🇳/🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: The Chinese Foreign Ministry says it does not recognize U.S. sanctions against Iran and that China will not comply with the ‘economic warfare’ campaign initiated by President Trump this week

@Middle_East_Spectator

Over the last few weeks, forced mobilisation of men into the Ukrainian military has been significantly stepped up in Kyiv, as Ukraine continues to face disastrous manpower shortages. I would like to shed some light on these changes, and the issues which come with them. All information presented here was provided to me by people currently in Ukraine, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

In Kyiv, an increase in mobilisation has been observed since August 9. Additional mobilisation checkpoints have been set up, and the TCC (territorial recruitment) is monitoring bus stops and subway stations. Military-aged men are trying to avoid public transport to decrease their odds of being mobilised and sent to prison-style military camps. Community-made online maps have surfaced which track where mobilisation checkpoints are erected, or where past mobilisation attempts have occurred. Within these maps, there is a database where other users can confirm or deny the existence of these locations, to help flush out any fake locations submitted.

Desertions are becoming very common. Training only takes place for around 6 weeks (sometimes even less), before being sent to the frontline. Most brigades don't have enough resources to prevent desertion, especially after the 6-week training period is over. This has resulted in a lot of training camps being converted into what one source describes as "real prisons", where it is much more difficult to escape from. This has led to an increase in the number of desertions occurring after the 6-week training period once they are deployed to the frontline.

In various different cities, there are companies which hire deserters for low-paying offline jobs (offline so they don't have to leave the house and risk being caught again). They provide an alternative to larger-private companies - the HRs of which are in contact with private security companies, whose bosses and top employees are former policemen. These security companies can provide a service of checking candidates in police databases, as they have friends in the police force. This means that deserters often can't apply for these higher-paying jobs, as they risk being caught and charged.

Nevertheless, sometimes these larger companies do hire deserters on "special conditions", as, due to the declining population, they don't have enough employees, and can deny knowing that the employee was a deserter.

It's estimated that the rate of overall forced mobilisation activity in Kyiv has doubled this year, although this does not necessarily mean the numbers of men actually being mobilised has doubled.

On the border with Poland, changes have also been observed, which one of my sources attributes to the recent naming of a Ukrainian special operations unit after the UPA (a Ukrainian militant group which collaborated with the Nazis in WW2 and committed massacres against Polish civilians), which led to Poland's highest honour award being stripped from Zelensky. The current waiting time at one of the checkpoints, without being rerouted, is 15-20 hours. They have started interviewing everyone on the Ukrainian side of the border.

🇮🇶 The Iraq oil crisis is an ongoing fiscal and logistical emergency triggered by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid regional warfare involving Iran. Because Iraq relies on oil for over 90% of its state budget, the sudden halt of its primary maritime export corridor has brought the country's economy to the brink of collapse.