Dozens Of Russians Killed by Ukraine Border Guards In Failed Kharkiv Oblast Assault

Russian forces, under pressure to demonstrate some sort of forward momentum, however fleeting or even imaginary, have stepped up attacks north of Kharkiv. 

But the result has just been additional casualties as Ukrainian drone forces and border guards find and then eliminate the small groups of Russian infantry attempting to burrow into bombed out basements in order to claim an advance. JL

Elza Diachenko reports in Gwara Media:

Russian forces intensified their assaults in northern Kharkiv oblast. Over the past week, the 1st Mobile Border Guard detachment killed or injured 155 Russian soldiers in the area. Ahead of the elections in Russia, Russian armed forces “need to show some results,” which is why they became more active north of Kharkiv. Russia has recently claimed the capture of several Ukrainian settlements north of Kharkiv, which are in fact under the control of Ukraine's border guards. "They are moving in small infantry groups and trying to gather in any cellars that have survived in settlements near the border."

This Year, Ukraine Has Stopped Russia From Gaining the Breakthrough It Needed

Sometimes victory can be defined by denying the enemy what they want. The Ukrainians have done more than that this year, as they have actually taken back more territory than the Russians have gained in several sectors at various times. 

But the primary win may have been disrupting the Kremlin's 2026 plans early and conclusively, robbing them of both a tangible gain and of a negotiating and public relations win which further cemented European support while also serving to deny Putin the more fulsome backing of the Trump administration. All in all, an important set of achievements. JL

Owen Warner reports in Medium:

Russia entered the spring and summer of 2026 with one thing it badly needed from the battlefield: movement. Ukraine did not stop every Russian advance. It stopped those advances from becoming the breakthrough Moscow needed. Russia’s Spring-Summer 2026 offensive failed to achieve operational maneuver or collapse Ukrainian lines. (And) Ukrainian forces liberated at least 129.81 square kilometers during counteroffensive operations, particularly in the Lyman and Oleksandrivka directions. An army attacking in a major offensive would like to push the defender back more quickly than the defender can recover.  Russia can still move forward. It can still capture villages. It can still concentrate enormous firepower on a single area of the map. However, Ukraine has become increasingly good at making every step costly and preventing the next one.

"I Forget I Lost A Leg:" How Wounded Ukrainians Return As Drone Operators

In the Ukrainian military - if not in the Russian - losing a limb generally qualifies for an exemption to not have to serve anymore. But many Ukrainian soldiers prefer to volunteer to return to service. 

They have a number of options to do so, but one that is increasingly popular is joining a drone unit either as a pilot, operator or as an intelligence, recon, surveillance or target acquisition specialist. It is an important way to continue to apply one's knowledge and experience. JL

Zoriana Katola reports in the Euromaidan Press:

A former air-assault soldier, stepped on a anti-personnel mine in July 2025 during a combat mission in Kharkiv Oblast. Another lost part of his lower leg after stepping on a petal mine in the same oblast. Both underwent amputations, rehabilitation, and prosthetic fitting, then chose to return to keep serving in ISTAR (intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance). The operator watches drone feeds, tracks friendly and enemy positions, and passes targets to strike teams. Over 100,000 amputations have been performed in Ukraine over four years of war. These two men show one route back into the war for soldiers who cannot return to the ground: the screens of a drone-saturated battlefield, where what they learned on foot still counts.

Russia's Lyman Retreat Risks Becoming A Rout Due To Ukraine's Advance Speed

As if driving Russian forces out of their salient north of Lyman and retaking as much as 200 square kilometers of territory weren't success enough, it now appears that the speed of the Ukrainian advance has compounded the Russians' defeat by making it difficult to consolidate new defensive positions along the Zherebets River. 

This has meant that more confused and isolated remnants of Russian units are trapped in their former pocket without hope of resupply, reinforcement or even, for many, withdrawal. The one remaining crossing point is under Ukrainian fire control and in danger of being closed. This has caused many of the Russians to try to concentrate in hopes of improving their defensive prospects, but it has also made Ukrainian targeting by drones, artillery and planes much easier, which is leading to higher Russian casualties. JL

RFU News reports:

After Ukraine pushed Russia out of 200 square kms north of Lyman, the Russians were overwhelmed by the speed at which the Ukrainians consolidated their old positions. This resulted in Russia failing to strengthen their new defensive line, as the Ukrainians press toward the eastern bank of the Zherebets River. There are only a limited number of crossing points over the river, and attempting to set up new fords has become more dangerous. Russia never intended to lose their bridgehead across the Zherebets, only to withdraw forces that Ukrainians threatened to encircle. But the speed of the Ukrainian advance, and the failure of Russians to hold their new line, is turning the retreat into a rout, with Ukrainians overrunning Russian lines faster than they can be solidified. Russian have become concentrated inside a deadlier, smaller pocket, making Ukrainian targeting easier.

Why the Death of Software By AI Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

When it became apparent that one of AI's early operational and financial advantages was writing software, the stocks of companies that specialized in that plunged - and it also sparked a tidal wave of software engineer layoffs as in classic tech fashion, it seemed Silicon Valley's latest wunderkind would again eat its own first. 

But that was way back when, around a year to six months ago. Subsequently, it turns out that the death of  human software development has been as greatly exaggerated, if not more so, than many of the other wondrous AI-driven apocalypses which have not yet and may never come to pass. The reason, in the case of software, is that much of the actual business - and profit - is not so much in creating it as in updating, maintaining and improving the spaghetti bowl of interlocking legacy systems most major corporations have assembled over the decades. That is something AI is not yet proficient at, but it is something that the companies that sold, installed and have continued to tinker with it are very good at doing. They have the added advantage of being familiar, often deeply integrated and trusted, vendors who also know how to get the job done without cataclysmic disruption. Software and IT service provider stocks have had a very good summer as this truth became more apparent and, pragmatically, both the AI pioneers and the software companies recognized that working together makes more sense than the alternative. JL

Asa Fitch reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Not long ago, software companies were punished by investors convinced their products would soon be replaced with cheaper AI versions. That hasn’t happened - and isn’t likely to happen soon. While AI is disrupting corporate software, the incumbents have a lot of staying power because most software is about maintaining, updating and improving existing software. AI coding can’t yet keep do that. The incumbents’ integration with customers’ IT systems is a bulwark against AI disruption. Most large companies have software from different providers they’ve knit together over time. To replace that software with AI-generated code, companies must integrate it themselves, which is not easy. Big software companies reported strong results this summer. Salesforce debuted a partnership with Anthropic to integrate Claude with it’s software. The deal brings Claude “into systems where the commercial activity happens,” a model for collaboration with AI heavyweights

16% Of Kyiv's Russian POWs Are Men Forcibly Drafted From Occupied Ukraine

16% of the "Russian" prisoners of war being held by Ukraine are actually Ukrainian citizens who were forcibly drafted into the Russian military. 6% of them are from Crimea alone. 

This reveals the deeper manpower challenges the Kremlin faces as these Ukrainians are mostly reluctant soldiers, many of whom surrendered as soon as the opportunity presented itself. JL

Roman Sheremeta reports in his social media feed and Oleksandr Shumilin reports in Ukraine Pravda:

Russia has forcibly mobilized more than 46,000 Ukrainians from temporarily occupied territories. It is also known that 16% of prisoners held in Ukrainian POW camps are Ukrainian citizens, and 6% of them are residents of Crimea. Russia has imposed mandatory mobilization quotas for each occupied region. A draft law is currently under consideration in the Ukrainian parliament that would allow Ukrainian citizens held in captivity in Ukraine to be released, remain in the country and fulfil their obligations.

New Ukrainian Commander Undoes Soviet Model To Drive Initiative, Flexibility

In office a month and a half, Ukraine's chief military commander, the 43 year old General Drapatyi, is moving quickly to dismantle the Ukrainian army's inherited Soviet command system and replacing by giving greater freedom and authority to younger brigade and corps commanders while also driving real authority to the sergeants who run the army day to day. 

These changes in the leadership model are contributing to the recent successes on the ground in Lyman, Kupiansk, Zaporizhzhia and elsewhere along the front as the Ukrainians demonstrate the flexibility, initiative and innovation that are becoming the hallmarks of this fighting force. JL

Decimus reports in Daily Kos:

The  Ukrainian Armed Forces, constituted in the Soviet mode could not last long against Russia. General Zaluzhnyi recognized the immediate need for militias and privately funded volunteer units to meet the initial onslaught and that stood in the breach as the armed forces gathered itself. Then came Ukraine’s corps system which gave commanders independence and flexibility. General Syrskyi appointed young proven leaders from the volunteer units. The young commanders rewarded that confidence by fighting the Russians to a frazzle. Some of Ukraine’s current best units like the 1st Corps and the 3rd Corps are led by men who were civilian volunteers. General Drapatyi has taken the decentralization drive further to unwind a Soviet command model by granting combat-tested NCOs real authority, clear career paths, and expanded responsibilities. Drapatyi is shifting a centralized officer-dominated system to one where sergeants have decision-making power.