[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by William May ↗

I just found out Robert Brovdi is the current head of ALL DRONE OPERATIONS for Ukraine. I never knew that. I thought he was just a unit commander on the line. In addition, apparently Ukraine has shifted their point system for rewards to drone operators, making the Russian drone operators the highest priority, while tanks and artillery pieces have been dropped to the lowest levels. Tank kills used to be awarded 40 points, but that has been reduced to just 8. The new drone targets are mostly ALL personnel based. I hope they can also locate and kill the Russian commanders who have been killing Ukrainian prisoners.

Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi has been dismissed from his position as commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces (USF), according to a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 3.

Sukharevskyi will be replaced by Major Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, commander of the elite drone unit "Birds of Magyar."

The Unmanned Systems Forces were established as a separate branch of Ukraine's military in June 2024. The USF works to improve Ukraine's drone operations, creating drone-specific units, ramping up training, increasing drone production, and pushing innovation. The USF has also carried out hundreds of operations deep within Russian territory.

"I am proud to have had the honor of leading the USF during its first and most difficult year of formation," Sukharevskyi said in a post commenting on his dismissal.

"This year, although incomplete, has been spent productively. We have formed and immediately put into practice the principles on which this unique force operates.

At the same time, at this stage, our vision for the further development of the USF differs from that of the leadership.

I believe that the honest and professional decision in this situation is to end my term as commander of the USF.

I am leaving my position with deep faith in everyone who continues to carry this idea forward."

Sukharevskyi, previously deputy commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, was named the first commander of the newly-created USF on June 10, 2024. According to military personnel who spoke anonymously to the Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne, Sukharevskyi's relationship with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi was tense from the beginning of the USF's formation.

Sukharevskyi's appointment was a decision from the president, not Syrskyi, sources said. People close to both Syrskyi and Sukharevskyi also claimed the two men avoided face-to-face interactions.

According to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Sukharevskyi has now been appointed deputy commander of Ukraine's Eastern Operational Command, where he is expected to implement reforms and lead modernization efforts.

Regarding the decision to appoint Brovdi as the new USF commander, Umerov said that Brovdi's "experience with one of the best units should be expanded to the entire command."

[William May]

I don't hear of any bad feelings, hopefully there are none. This guy did a good job getting started, and now with Brovdi taking over, I think the drone forces will be even deadlier to the Russians. My hope is that with mass drone attacks on Russian units, they can collapse these poorly led formations, and then the Ukrainian Army can move into areas and begin kicking the Russians back out. Putin can say what he wants, but the Ukrainians are slaughtering the Russians at a HUGE rate, and I can only hope the situation will get worse for them until the Russians simply give up, or Putin is simply shot by his own staff.

[kellyhound]

The Trump administration has halted part of military aid to Ukraine following a review of U.S. own stockpiles, the White House and Pentagon confirmed on Tuesday.

"This decision was made to put America's interests first following a review of our nation's military support and assistance to other countries across the globe," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement, reports Xinhua.

The move came amid concerns about U.S. military stockpiles falling too low, multiple U.S. media outlets reported, citing informative sources.

Last month U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a memo ordering a review of the U.S. stockpile of munitions, in the aftermath of three years of aid to Ukraine, recent strikes on Yemen's Houthi group and Iran.

The review determined that stocks were too low on some weapons previously pledged, according to media reports.

Elbridge Colby, the Defense Department undersecretary for policy, said the Pentagon will continue "to provide the president with robust options to continue military aid to Ukraine, consistent with his goal of bringing this tragic war to an end."

"At the same time, the department is rigorously examining and adapting its approach to achieving this objective while also preserving U.S. forces' readiness for Administration defense priorities," Colby said in a statement.

After meeting with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during the NATO summit at The Hague last week, U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters that Ukraine is eager to get the Patriot air defense missiles from the United States.

"They do want to have the anti-missile missiles, OK, as they call them, the Patriots," Trump said then. "And we're going to see if we can make some available. We need them, too.

"We're supplying them to Israel, and they're very effective, 100 percent effective. Hard to believe how effective. They do want that more than any other thing," he said.

Some analysts suggest it is a signal that the Trump administration may further reduce aid to Ukraine. Hegseth skipped a meeting last month of an international group to coordinate military aid to Ukraine. It is the first time the U.S. defense secretary was not in attendance.

The United States has provided Ukraine with more than 66 billion U.S. dollars worth of weapons and military assistance since the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out in February 2022, according to an AP report

[Yakisoba]

Seems like the world forgot all about Ukraine and is obsessed with the war in the Middle East that has been waging for decades all of a sudden. People these days have the attention span of a chalky dog turd. I hope Ukraine wins against Russia.

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by Yakisoba ↗

Seems like the world forgot all about Ukraine and is obsessed with the war in the Middle East that has been waging for decades all of a sudden. People these days have the attention span of a chalky dog turd. I hope Ukraine wins against Russia.

Trump announced new weapons for Ukraine with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, a major shift in policy brought on by disappointment with Moscow.

"We're going to make top-of-the-line weapons, and they'll be sent to NATO," Trump said.

Here's what you need to know:

Billions of dollars in weapons, including Patriot missiles and batteries, would be distributed to Ukraine
Trump said NATO allies would pay for the weapons, not American taxpayers
He added some weapons will arrive "within days"
Trump also threatened to hit buyers of Russian exports with sanctions unless Russia agrees a peace deal in 50 days
The White House said if there isn't a deal in 50 days, Trump will be putting 100% tariffs on Russian exports as well as so-called secondary sanctions, which target third countries that buy a country's exports.

Such secondary sanctions are widely seen as likely to have a far more severe impact on Russia's economy than measures that have been imposed previously, which have allowed Russia to continue selling oil to buyers such as China and India.

[Guns N' Coffee]

https://www.reuters.com/world/us-cit...in-2025-07-15/

July 15 (Reuters) - Daniel Martindale, a U.S. citizen who helped the Kremlin target Ukrainian troops and was then spirited out of eastern Ukraine by Russian special forces, has received a Russian passport in Moscow.
Russian state television broadcast a report on Tuesday showing Martindale, with a trim beard and dressed in a suit and tie, smiling as he received his new documents.

"I, Daniel Richard Martindale, voluntarily and consciously accepting the citizenship of the Russian Federation, swear to observe the Constitution," he said in good Russian.

"The belief that Russia is not just my home, but also my family - I am extremely glad that this is not only in my heart, but also by law," Martindale told television cameras, holding up the Russian passport. State media said Martindale had been granted the passport by order of President Vladimir Putin.
Reuters was unable to reach Martindale. A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department declined to comment.
A self-described Christian missionary, Martindale is one of many foreigners who have supported Russia during its war against Ukraine. But few foreigners are known to have provided key logistical support to Russia from inside Ukraine.

Martindale grew to love Russia when he lived there in 2018, studying the language and teaching English in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok.
Now in his early 30s, Martindale was living in Poland in the months before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. He had a sense that Russia would invade Ukraine, he later told InfoDefense, a pro-Russian media project, and wanted to be there when it happened.
Martindale hopped on a bicycle and rode from Poland across the Ukrainian border that February.
He was in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv when Russia launched its attack.
"It was actually kind of exciting," he told InfoDefense in May. "I understood that the adventure I had been looking forward to was not going to be cancelled."
Over the next two years, Martindale made his way to eastern Ukraine, where he lived in a Ukrainian-held village near the front line in the Donetsk region.

He planted carrots, sweet potatoes, and corn in his yard, and celebrated birthdays and holidays with villagers, he later told the Wall Street Journal.
Secretly, Martindale was passing along information to pro-Russian troops, including details on Ukrainian military positions and other intelligence.
On Tuesday, Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed leader of the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk region, praised Martindale, saying some of the information he had shared formed the basis for Russian planning to seize Kurakhove, a town near the key Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk.
After two years of working as an informant for Russia, Martindale was spirited out of Ukraine by Russian forces as they took control of the village where he lived.
At a press conference in Moscow last November, Martindale told reporters he had established contact with pro-Russian forces via Telegram.

"For the last two years, I have done everything to save the lives of Russian soldiers and ensure some kind of future for Russians in Ukraine. I would like to continue doing this," he said.
On Tuesday, Pushilin expressed gratitude to Martindale for his role in Russia's successes on the battlefield.
The American "has long since proven with his loyalty and actions that he is one of us," Pushilin said.
"For us, this (the Russian passport) is a sign of respect and a sign of gratitude for what Daniel has done."

[kellyhound]

He’ll be watching over his shoulder all his life now as the Служба безпеки України will never forget him.

[Guns N' Coffee]

American family with three young daughters moves from Texas to Russia for "traditional family values" and father volunteers for the "special military operation"

Next episode: Enter the meat grinder...

[Guns N' Coffee]

[WonderMomma]