Surviving A Year In the Kill Zone: A Ukrainian Infantryman's Diary

Unimaginable privation and risk of death by men who continue to serve despite the violence, isolation and death. 

It is a testament to their courage and determination. JL

Felix Hoske reports in Reuters:

Both armies now have tiny teams, two or three soldiers, scattered in small dugouts hollowed across the "kill zone" because of the constant drone threat. These groups evade detection and infiltrate gaps in enemy defences. They are stuck for months in their positions because it's so dangerous to rotate troops in and out. Krynitskyi was deployed near Chasiv Yar from April 20, 2025 to March 31, 2026. He filmed video diaries with a cellphone, powered by batteries from downed Russian drones in a cramped redoubt 3 by 4 metres beneath the front lines. Three or four days passed before a re-supply drone could make it through enemy fire. To survive, Krynitskyi picked food and sundries from fallen Russians who would advance on foot in small groups every couple of days. He killed 23 at close range during his deployment. 

July Was Worst Month of Entire War For Ukraine Destroying Russian Vehicles

Last month, Ukrainian forces destroyed more Russian vehicles than at any other similar time since the Russian invasion four and a half years ago. 

This is a reflection of the growing effectiveness of the near, mid level and long range drone campaigns targeting Russian manufacturing and oil production, as well as the vehicles that transport their finished products. Ukrainian attacks also degraded Russian air defenses and armor, as well as again inflicting more casualties than any other month of the war. JL

Olena Mukhina reports in the Euromaidan Press:

Ukraine wrecked more Russian vehicles in July than in any month of the war. Ukraine's Defense Forces destroyed and disabled 13,998 units of automotive equipment, the most for the entire war.Ukraine also struck at the systems that protect Russian forces. Ukrainian troops hit 68 units of Russian air defense systems in July, chipping away at the shield that guards Russian positions and rear areas. Armor losses were also heavy. Ukraine destroyed and disabled 162 tanks, including 28 in a single day on 22 July, along with 204 armored combat vehicles and 2,016 artillery systems. That month was also Russia's deadliest for personnel in 2026, as Ukraine's drones reached deeper and hit more. 

Losing To Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Meta Now Touts Open Weight AI

Tech's BS meter is flashing red. Meta's embrace of open-weight AI, preceded by a wordy manifesto from CEO Zuck about freedom, the threat from China and other rhetoric designed to curry favor with his friends in the Trump Administration, appears to be a desperate attempt to re invigorate the company's position in AI even as it is falling to also-ran status compared to Anthropic, OpenAI, Google as well as the Chinese open weight hitters. It may even be a play for federal funding from once proudly libertarian Silicon Valley. 

Whatever the reasoning, industry insiders are suggesting this could signal another whiff, even as the company's metaverse wreckage still smolders. JL

Beatrice Nolan reports in Fortune:

Meta's shift on open-source reflects an attempt to try to regain momentum after recent models have fallen short of those from OpenAI and Anthropic. Meta is looking to reassure investors that it is still competitive with frontier labs. (But) Meta's open weight Muse Glimmer lands in a US market increasingly dominated by closed-sourced AI companies with controlled access to their best models. OpenAI Anthropic, and Google keep their most advanced "frontier" models locked, retaining control of the weights and infrastructure. Meta sought to differentiate itself by embracing open source, launching the open-weight Llama family of models in February 2023. The Llama family helped outside developers to download and modify AI, and gave Meta some influence in AI even as rivals captured more revenue by selling access to their proprietary models. Meta is hoping its commitment to open-source will give it a political argument for user and government support.

Russian Submarine Commander Who Defected From Ukraine Assassinated In Crimea

Russian Naval Captain Robert Shageev, who had commanded Ukraine's only submarine in 2014 but defected when the Russians seized Crimea that year, was killed by a bomb placed near his home in Sebastopol earlier today. 

Ukraine neither forgives nor forgets. JL

The Kyiv Post reports:

Russian Naval Captain Robert Shageev was killed earlier today when an explosive device detonated near a residential area in Russian-occupied Sevastopol. He was a Captain1st rank in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Shageev previously served in the Ukrainian Navy and commanded the Zaporizhzhia – Ukraine’s only submarine at the time. He defected to Russia after Moscow occupied and illegally annexed Crimea in 2014. Shageev later served in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet as deputy commander of its 4th Separate Submarine Brigade. Ukraine charged him with treason and desertion over his decision to join the Russian military. Shageev continued serving Russia during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine. He had commanded the Stary Oskol, a Russian submarine capable of carrying Kalibr cruise missiles.

Ground Robots Purchases By Ukraine Troops Up 680% Over Last Year

Ground drones have become so popular with frontline Ukrainian combat units that orders of various types placed with the state platform that loosely resembles Amazon - ranging in capability from logistics support to attack weapons - are up 680% this year over last year. 

There are now 280 suppliers making hundreds of variations. JL

Jake Epstein reports in Business Insider:

Ukrainian troops are rushing to a digital weapons marketplace to buy record numbers of ground robots, reflecting the surging popularity of these combat machines on the battlefield. The Ukrainian state innovation platform, said the military has ordered more than 3,000 ground robots from its digital marketplace, including 640 units in July alone. That represents a 680% increase over 2025's monthly average. Ukraine launched the Brave1 Market in April 2025, granting soldiers access to an Amazon-style website to buy military technology, such as drones, robots, and electronic warfare systems. In October 2025, ground drones became eligible for purchase with "ePoints," which Ukrainian troops collect for verified kills of Russian soldiers or military hardware. There are now 280 firms that make hundreds of different ground drones.

As US, NATO Troops Train Against Ukrainians, Kyiv's Teams Never Lose

For more than a year, US and other NATO forces have been participating in training exercises in which they are pitted against Ukrainian units who apply what they have learned in their war against the Russian invasion of their country. The outcomes have been one-sided: in favor of the Ukrainians.

In one such exercise in Germany, a 10 man Ukrainian drone team wiped out a US armored brigade. In fact, the Ukrainians dispatched the Americans so quickly that the US unit had to recreated as a 'new' unit or the exercises would have ended too early. The British, Swedish and Estonians have had similar experiences against the Ukrainians. The lesson is that NATO now has much to learn from Ukraine about how to fight a modern war. JL

Alastair MacDonald and colleagues report in the Wall Street Journal:

US Army troops faced off against Ukrainian drone operators at a military exercise in Germany earlier this year. It didn’t go well for the Americans. British, Estonian and Swedish exercises have also resulted in easy Ukrainian triumphs. The Ukrainian drone operators eliminated a U.S. armored brigade in one exercise. The US troops sent heavy armored vehicles that threw up dust and were easy for Ukrainian recon drones to spot. Those drones were followed by drones dropping explosives and FPV drones. The Ukrainians were 'destroying' US equipment so quickly that the US units had to be sent back in as new units to keep the exercise going.

Compressing the Kill Chain: Ukraine Gives Satellite Intel To Frontline Troops

What Ukraine has learned the hardest way possible - through the deaths of its soldiers - is that the more timely and accurate intelligence it can get to frontline troops, the more likely they are to win - and survive.

Which is why, contrary almost all previous military doctrine in any fighting force, they are providing satellite intel directly to combat troops in the kill zone. Their position is that compressing the kill chain is a tactical accelerator. Or, more graphically, he who moves fastest is most likely to live to write the after-action report. JL

Wes O'Donnell reports in Medium:

Ukraine warfighting runs on compression, not Bureaucracy: Compress the kill chain, compress the sensor-to-shooter timeline, and compress the gap between spotting a Russian vehicle and converting it into a smoking grid square. The side that sees first, decides first, and shoots first usually gets to write the after-action report. Ukrainian units identify targets, execute strikes, and immediately re-task satellites for battle damage assessment. This is a process that typically unfolds over hours that became a continuous loop for the Ukrainians. Moving intelligence directly to frontline units reduces reliance on jammable drones. Satellites don’t fly into electronic warfare, run out of battery mid-mission, or require an operator close enough to get targeted. Rapid retasking after a strike is where this begins to look less like imagery support and more like a tactical kill-chain accelerator.