Piece from World Beyond War

  

Hmm. Yeah. I have a bit of problem with this. Why would Europe wish to be “heavily militarized?” Well, Putin has been supporting nostalgia for the Soviet Union since at least 2000 and declared in 2006 that the demise of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the [20th] century.” How does one reverse that “catastrophe?” That's easy, expand Russia to include all of the Soviet Union's old territories! Please keep in mind that the three Baltic States used to be part of the Soviet Union and are now part of NATO. So sure, in a vacuum, demilitarizing Europe would be a great idea. But the intelligence agencies of countries close to Russia tell us that they feel they have very strong reasons to believe that Russia wishes to expand. It doesn't help, of course, that the US President appears to be on Russia's side. 

Day 1633 War in Ukraine

 Any place in Georgia is a good place to denounce the regime!

“The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, an almost 1,000-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site, was founded long before Moscow existed.”

According to Ukraine, they have a very low rate for UAVs that don't make it to their targets. Only 123 shot down out of 1,743.

Fuel is being supplied to Russia via Georgia and Abkhazia.

“Rescuers of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine returned from France, where they helped contain large-scale forest fires for almost two weeks”

Lithuania will build a Ukrainian ammunition factory.

Ben Hodges, the former Commanding General of US Army Europe, comments on Russians trying to make us lose trust in each other.

Ukrainians complaining about the dismissal of Federov for 31 days now.

Russia making more and more jet drones (3k) as opposed to regular propeller ones (2,800).

3-month-old by killed in Russian drone attack.

“On the afternoon of August 15, russian drone targeted farming equipment during harvest in Zaporizhzhia region.”

Ukraine putting vital electrical infrastructure equipment underground to protect it from aerial attack.

Russian-occupied Crimea getting more and more cut off.

“Russia's main state bank warned that Russia is going to lose the economic war, and compared the situation to the 1917 revolution and 1991 collapse of the USSR.”

According to the Levada Center, ordinary Russians are very concerned about the war and their political situation.

Russian Rocket an Space Center struck by Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missiles. Plenty of other damage to Russian targets.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/08/15/war-for-ukraine-day-1633-will-there-be-cake/

Day 1619 War in Ukraine

 Ukraine's post office does quite a bit. It “deliver pensions, medicines, parcels and essential goods, accept utility payments, and provide basic services to people in remote villages.” It is, of course, a favorite target for Russians.

Blogger reproduces lyrics from “The Green Fields of France” to commemorate some heroic deaths.

Very few ballistic missile intercepted owing to lack of Patriot missiles.

Authorities in Georgia who work on “hate speech” have to do a lot of “scrolling and screen-shotting” of Facebook to get convictions.

Ukraine battles wildfires in European countries, proving that it is a European country.

Poland found the fellow who hit the Ukrainian woman with a stick.

Trump spoke with Putin, then walked back the offer to supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles.

US is stepping down from leading a pro-Ukraine effort.

Ukraine causing massive losses to Russian ground forces.

Ukrainian citizens still protesting Federov's firing.

Cleaning up after a missile attack.

Aaugh! A book warehouse is burned!

Russian container ship sunk. Shipping containers are water-resistant, but if you submerge them, the contents will be soaked.

Russians in Crimea are going nuts due to the lack of food, money and gasoline. “Russian tourists are leaving the peninsula.”

An assassination attempt is made on a Russian general. Blogger doesn't think it was arranged by Ukraine. Not their style.

Russian refineries and warehouses being blown up.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/08/01/war-for-ukraine-day-1619-the-cost/

Day 1617 War in Ukraine

 March to reinstate Federov as Minister of Defence.

Up to 30 missiles launched at Kyiv last night.

Georgian protesters continue to ask the question “Is Bidzina a d*ck?” But now, a protester is simply using “d.” He was detained.

Abkhazian volunteers died fighting on Russia's side. The Abkhazian wants to delay a memorial to them until the war is concluded.

Port of Poti in Georgia is major transshipment point for getting Russian goods from occupied Ukraine to trade.

Another attack on a Ukrainian in Poland.

A Russian Kh-101 missile landed in Poland. Poland is concerned and suspects it was deliberate, but no telling what they'll do about it.

US oil company Greenland Energy used a Danish tugboat to move “an excavator and at least 15 containers” to the port of Nerlerit They did not have permission to move ANYTHING to anywhere! The tugboat left Denmark back in late March. Trump confirm that he wants Greenland to be under American control.

“An 'abrasive' State Department goon who 'has the ear of Donald Trump' is being investigated for allegedly assaulting a colleague.”

Yes, Ukraine has a lot of rare Earth minerals, but they're in the middle of an active combat zone, so it's difficult to see how Trump accesses them until the war's end.

Trump is not going to deliver Zelenskyy's requested 300 Patriot missiles. No license so they can produce their own, either.

Musk won't meet with Zelenskyy to discuss expanding Starlink.

Ukraine hit an average of 6,600 targets a day with drones in June.

Ukrainians march to reinstate Fderov.

After two years of holding a position, the forests are full of fiber-optic wires.

Russian agriculture “plunging into crisis.”

Lots of Russian stuff blowing up and burning.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/31/war-for-ukraine-day-1617-another-no-deal-deal/

Day 1616a War in Ukraine

 Elvira Bary, a Russia expert, explains that the Ukrainian attacks on the Wildberrie's warehouses to the Russian ability to make war.

Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine last night. Strike included more than 70 missiles.

Family of 10 was killed in their home.

Russia trying to expand into Georgia.

Ukraine initiates buying Swedish fighter jets.

Russian cruise missile enters Poland's territory. Gets about 93 km in before crashing on its own. Polish authorities assure us they would have shot it down.

Unfortunately, AfD, a far-right German party, is gaining ground.

Kazakhstan's oil exports have been reduced by 2/3rds thanks to Ukraine's war on Russian oil.

“More than 100 Americans, many of them military veterans, have died fighting for Ukraine.”

15^th day of Ukrainians protesting to return Mykhailo Fedorov to Defense Minister.

Zelenskyy asked if Ukraine was winning. His answer was “not losing”

Lots of Ukrainian stuff destroyed and civilians killed, including a US factory producing drones for Ukraine.

56k Ukrainian civilians took cover in the Metro overnight.

Wildberries warehouses suffer 15% loss or 860k m2 warehouses.

For Russians, warehouses and oil refining facilities burning are just background noise.

Lots of Russian warehouses burning.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/30/war-for-ukraine-day-1616-the-cost/

Day 1616 War in Ukraine

Tunnels dug from Belarus into Lithuania.

Kyiv residents pile into shelters, anticipating a long night of Russian bombardment.

If Georgia goes for full dictatorship, freedom and democracy will lose and Russia, China and Iran will benefit. “The apparent goal is the creation of a one-party regime, devoid of checks and balances, with only a subservient 'opposition' to lend the government a veneer of pluralism.” The oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili is driving the move to dictatorship.

The French Caesar anti-drone gun is really popular with troops.

Former VP Mike Pence thinks Trump is doing a good job supporting Ukraine. When Trump releases the $400 million that Congress has allocated to Ukraine, I'll believe him.

Trump thinks Zelenskyy can “end the war” with a snap of his fingers. Putin could, but Zelenskyy can't.

Ukraine attacking critical components in oil refineries. Makes it harder to get them back on line.

Ukrainian F-16 fighter is lost. Pilot is okay.

Details on former Defense Minister Federov who's trying to get his old position back.

Russia strikes a dairy plant. City of Kherson bombarding Europe's

Putin insists Russian economy is outpacing Europe's (Russia's economy is flat-lining).

More Wildberrie's warehouses destroyed.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/29/war-for-ukraine-day-1616-russia-launches-their-next-mass-missile-attack-as-zelenskyy-makes-an-unexpected-visit-to-lublin/

Day 1614 War in Ukraine

Bidzina is a Georgian billionaire, some say he's the country's shadow president. In the Georgian language, Sun and d*ck sound very similar, so the sign says “Bidzina Ivanishvili is called the Sun and the Sun of Suns.” Hey, it makes it difficult to arrest people!

Civilian toll for July: 377 killed and 2,129 injured.

New British Prime Minister and Zelenskyy getting a long splendidly.

Georgians can't protest in front of Parliament as that road is being repaired, so they've switched to the Tbilisi Municipal Assembly.

Dalia Grybauskaitė, former President of Lithuania, describes her meeting with Putin in 2010. Putin made it clear that the price of Russia oil was Lithuania's surrender. She said no thanks and promptly weaned her country off of Russian oil.

Not good. Ukrainian couple attacked in Poland because of their accent.

“Kazakhstan has become the main source of beryllium oxide ceramics for the Russian military-industrial complex.“

Ukraine, under constant attack, produces roughly 500k drones per month. US has difficulty producing 200k drones per YEAR!

More corruption reported in Ukraine. “The protests over Federov’s dismissal are not going away:”

Ukrainian civilians getting bombed.

Wildberries was 1.3 trillion rubles in debt last year. They had trouble paying back bank loans and now have lost 20% of their warehouse space.

“Putin has now opened the path to 1990s hyperinflation in Russia.”

Russia presents film on “Hitler the liberator.”

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/27/war-for-ukraine-day-1614-a-brief-monday-night-update/

Day 1613 war in Ukraine

Shortly before the 2024 election, Melania Trump came out as pro-choice. I immediately concluded that Melania clearly had zero influence on her husband's politics as her husband, Donald Trump, had absolutely nothing negative to say about the overturning of Roe v Wade. Apparently though, her being pro-choice had a small influence on the electorate as the Trump Administration is trying the same ploy with Laura Loomer and Ukraine. Loomer comes out as pro-Ukraine, but there's no sign that Trump has changed his view at all.

Wildberries carries military as well as civilian goods, thereby making them vulnerable to Ukrainians military strikes. Not much they can do about that.

Georgia citizens arrested for holding up signs that ask the question “Is Bidzina a d*ck?” Bidzina is the billionaire who made his fortune in Russia and is the shadow president of Georgia. .

Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs: “Putin has been waging hybrid war against the West for over decade.”

Romania shoots down a drone that had penetrated its airspace.

“Putin's chief banker” confirms that Ukraine has had a devastating effect on Russia's economy.

Russian generals are trying desperately to show that yes, they've taken the territories they've claimed to have taken.

Ukrainian still marching on behalf of Federov, the former Defense Minister who is trying to get that job back.

Russia burns several building in Kyiv. A dog was wounded, but he'll recover. Numerous gas stations and a grocery store hit. Ukrainian bulk carrier sunk.

Lots of Russian military targets hit and burned.

Humor break - “Russia will seek compensation from Europe for the damages suffered from the war with Ukraine” Uh, yeah. Lots of luck with that!

Ukraine hits target 2k km from the front.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/26/war-for-ukraine-day-1613-what-a-week/

Day 1609 War in Ukraine

Wildberries, sort of like the US Amazon, carries both military and civilian goods, making it a dual-use facility and thereby open to “sanctions” (Ukrainians interpret the word in cases like this to mean drone bombardment) from Ukrainian drones. Three of the top ten warehouses have been destroyed and two damaged.

Huh. Putin says he'll “no longer” abandon any territory in exchange for peace. Not at all sure he was EVER willing to do that! He continues to refer to his Anchorage meeting with Trump, but as no agreements from that meeting were ever published, it's all a matter of Putin's word against Trumps.

SecState Rubio admits "The war in Ukraine has impeded the ability of Russia and the United States to find areas of agreement on other topics." The US and Russia are anxious to do business deals with each other, but Ukraine is a complicating factor.

Oppression continues for Georgia.

Trump threatens to commit the war crime of destroying targets that will cause a lot of collateral damage.

SecDef Hegeth admits that Russia and China are both helping Iran to opposed both the US and Israel
Good grief! Now the Trump Administration wants to start a war with Mali?

Representative McBride asks really good questions of UN Ambassador Waltz. Has the Trump peace-making strategy worked better under Trump than under Biden? Biden recognized the futility of trying to make peace with the stakes being so high and the participants not being exhausted yet.

Thought the case of Mykhailo Fedorov had been resolved, but Ukrainians are still protesting.

Passenger train hit by Russian drone.

Since July 6^th, 196 Russian sea-going vessels hit in the Black and Azov Seas.

Crimean airfield that launches Shahed drones taking lots of damage.

Wildberries warehouses were processing up to 20 million orders a day. They've now lost 13% of their capacity.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/22/war-for-ukraine-day-1609-a-brief-wednesday-night-update/

 

Day 1605 War in Ukraine

 Ukraine hasn't had an election since the Russian full-scale invasion, but that doesn't mean the people don't have democratic control. Zelenskyy tries to fire Mykhailo Federove and the Ukrainian people push back hard! The protest is in Day Four now. Zelenskyy addresses the problem by assuring people that he's working to find a solution.

A Russian warehouse, cited by right-wing pundits on Xitter as equivalent to our own Amazon, was hit by Ukrainian drones. Blogger shows that the warehouse served military purposes and was thus a legitimate bombing target.

Knowing that Ukrainians are short of Patriot missiles with which they can hit Russian ballistic missiles, Russia launches up to 36 missiles.

The ceiling of a Metro station in Kyiv cracks a bit and showers debris below.

Blogger says Russians will never formally evacuate Crimea as that would tell the world that Russia is losing. Also, if Russia has to import diesel and car gasoline, that's their only real source of income.

Georgians march in drenching rain for Day 598 of protest.

“France, Germany, and the UK will explore deep precision strike cooperation” up to 2,500km deep into Russia. Trump may not like that, but Europe's going to do that anyway.

US systems are WAY behind Ukrainian systems! “We often invite Ukrainians to be our 'red team' or our enemy in training because they're really talented and we learn a lot from them.”

Damage to Russian vessels: “Total since July 6: 172 vessels hit in 13 days, with 118 in the Sea of Azov and 54 in the Black Sea.”

Various civilian buildings an an amusement park in Ukraine are hit.

Burning in Moscow region is so bad, the smoke is blocking out the sun!

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/18/war-for-ukraine-day-1605-a-brief-saturday-night-update/

Dat 1595 War in Ukraine

 An apparently half-awake Trump sluggishly plods by the animated Italian Prime Minister Meloni. The blogger reproduces a very lengthy excerpt from a Wall St. Journal piece about Europe's relationship with Trump. For 10 paragraphs it describes how Europeans and Canada are dealing with him. The 11^th paragraph has a Trump spokesperson describing the president. Wow! Clearly, the description given is of a completely fictional character who in no way resembles the real person. Later on, the blogger reproduces pieces where Trump confuses Zelenskyy with Putin, shows that he's terrified to place himself in any physical danger (Biden traveled to Ukraine during the war) and refers to the "Islamic Republic of Japan." Again, he and his portrayal by his spokesperson have nothing in common.

Ukraine shoots down 139 out of 169 drones. Unfortunately, all of the missiles made it through.

Georgians distribute a newspaper based on the letters of prisoners.

Georgia has been requested by the Hague to make free and fair elections available to Georgian citizens.

Interesting how many European politicians were formerly associate with banks.

Blogger feels the US will be “weaker and poorer and less secure” after Trump leaves office.

Makes sense: “Ukrainian defense industry has grown 54-fold since start of full-scale war.”

Ukraine is really clearing the Black and Azov Seas of Russian vessels.

Russians hit more civilian buildings, including a Philip Morris warehouse. “A cigarette warehouse - what a powerful strategic target for the Russians.“

Southern Ukraine is a hunting ground for Russian logistics vehicles.

Russia bans exporting diesel fuel, this means that Ukraine has deprived Russia of many millions of tons of diesel fuel.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/08/war-for-ukraine-day-1595-nato-summit/

Day 1589 War in Ukraine

Shahed drone right after being hit with anti-aircraft fire. It crashed a few seconds later.

Last night, Ukraine was hit with 570 aerial weapons. 524 knocked down, but the ones that landed did a lot of damage. Ukraine is short of Patriot interceptor missiles and has put out the call to nearly 40 nations to please supply whatever they can.

The UN Human Rights Council receives the High Commissioner’s report on Georgia.

The most serious consequence of Trump's war of choice against Iran is that Europe only has so much time to get its heating oil stocks up the levels needed to keep all of its citizens warm this winter. One of the problems is that Ukraine has considered heating oil supplies to be a matter of national security whereas Europe has seen it as a matter best handled by the free market. Blogger adds: “Trump’s ignorance and incompetence is likely to have weakened Europe, which, of course, only benefits Putin.”

Extensive list of civilian targets struck by Russia last night.

“An associate professor at a leading military academy turned out to be an agent of Russian military intelligence.”

Ukraine bombs numerous military targets.

Russians review possible Ukrainian amphibious invasion of Crimea.

Russians battle each other over scarce gasoline supplies. Lines to put a few liters of gasoline into one's car stretch for 4.3km and can take well over 24 hours to wait in.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/07/02/war-for-ukraine-day-1589-the-aftermath/

 

Day 1586 War in Ukraine

Young Russian resident of Moscow is baffled as to why the gas stations all seem to be out of fuel. Blogger: “This is what happens when the entire information environment in a state and society is essentially Fox News and fellow travelers.”

In Georgia, Elene Khoshtaria is moved out of prison and to a civilian medical clinic as her life was in serious jeopardy.

“Following his talks with Putin, Lukashenko arrived in China to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.”

Ukrainian businessman Vadim Yermolayev was the likely target of a bombing in Monaco.

Peruvians hired by “Russia to work as cooks, security guards, or construction workers, only to find themselves on the front lines in Ukraine.” This is also happening to young Russians. They believe they're going to work well in back of the front lines, only to find themselves rushing directly at Ukrainian front lines. Hmm, Xitter is featuring lots of pieces saying “Russia is winning!” A bit difficult to square that with using deception to drag people into the fighting.

Putin's “Superyacht” spotted traveling through Denmark to get to the North Sea.

General Syrskyi (equivalent to our Chairman of the Joint Chiefs) sketches out the goals of the armed forces of Ukraine. 1. Eliminate 1k or more a day of Russian troops 2. Weaken Russia's economy, especially by striking oil extraction and refinement capabilities 3. Deep, “middle range” strikes more than 250km to disrupt supplies to troops.

Remote-controlled air defense machine gun, presumably so a single operator can keep track of several such stations.

Good priorities – 100k for a captured occupier, 15k for a dead one.

Russians hitting supply lines to Sumy.

Putin has been protecting the Russian population from any real effects of the war, especially in Moscow and St. Petersburg, so those same people are now suddenly being exposed to the war.

“A russian drone struck a civilian minibus in Zaporizhzhia, killing three people and injuring six others, including a child.”

Ukraine hits targets on Russia's “land bridge” to Crimea.

Russian passenger flights are suffering a lack of spare parts and fuel.

Lot of Russian stuff blowing up.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/06/29/war-for-ukraine-day-1586-the-cost/

Day 1582 War in Ukraine

Minute-long film clip shows a grocery store that's not completely bare, but that has lots of empty shelves. Clearly, it's not going to be restocked until Crimea is back in Ukrainian hands.

Will Ukraine strike heating oil supplies? The blogger considers that unlikely as the military doesn't really benefit from that. It's not a “dual-use” thing.

Droa party leader Elene Khoshtaria and her health while imprisoned.

Poland and Ukraine pursuing joint projects.

Ukraine gets first €3,2B tranche of the €90B Ukraine Support Loan.

“Q: 'Russia accusing US of failing to deliver on agreements reached in Alaska.'" Very interesting charge. Is SecState Rubio's word conclusive proof or did Trump make deals without telling anyone?

“Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Poltava regions were all under russian attack overnight and into the morning. Russia targeted civilian infrastructure, homes, and gas stations.”

In Crimea, transportation comes to a near-complete halt and a weakened air defense means targets are being hit at will. Long line of cars trying to leave Crimea.

Lots of wrecked vehicles pushed off of the road in the “land corridor” to Crimea.

Kilburn Spit is abandoned, but Ukrainians haven't occupied it yet.

Ukraine applies “drone sanctions” to oil refineries up to 1,500 km away.

https://balloon-juice.com/2026/06/25/war-for-ukraine-day-1582-the-next-rond-of-ballistic-missile-attacks/