50 Million Hits To Ukraine's "I Want To Find" Missing Troops Site: 43 Million Are Russian

The vast majority of visits to Ukraine's "I Want To Find" website for inquiries about missing, dead or captured soldiers - 43 million out of the 50 million hits - have come from Russian, not Ukrainian families. 

Interestingly, among those are approximately 4,000 who were PoWs, of which over half had already been returned to Russia in prisoner exchanges, the implication being that the returned Russian prisoners are sent right back to the front without notification to their families. JL

Owen Warner reports in Medium:

Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, “I Want to Live” website has received more than 50 million visits, with 43 million coming from Russia. In July 2026 it had received 200,084 inquiries from Russian families searching for servicemen who disappeared during the war and identified 4,023 Russian servicemen who were being held captive in Ukraine. Of those, 2,696 had already been exchanged for Ukrainian defenders. In late 2025, the Russian courts had received over 90,000 claims relating to missing soldiers.

Ukraine Created Its Long Range Strike Command Now To Accelerate Impact

It may appear to be a boring administrative reshuffle, but Ukraine's decision to create a Long Range Strike Command is actually of strategic importance. 

The timing reveals that the era of experimentation is over and that the overwhelming success Ukraine's drones and missiles have had in degrading Russia's economy and military capabilities means that those gains can now be institutionalized and extended by concentrating formalized resources in order to scale the impact further. JL

Mick Ryan reports in Futura Doctrina:

On July 10, 2026, President Zelenskyy signed a decree establishing a Long-Range Strike Command within Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Institutions tend to formalise a successful improvisation once the conservatives in military commands can no longer obstruct evidence-based outcomes, and when new generations of leader appreciate the need for future institutional reform to magnify gains already in evidence. Ukraine's long-range strike campaign has accelerated in tempo over four years of operations and adaptation. It has built from a scattering of improvised drone attacks into the most significant military and psychological instrument Ukraine wields against Russia. Ukrainian strikes are shaping Moscow’s strategic calculus, support from the Trump administration and the views of Russian people, in ways that fighting along the front line has not managed to do. The new command is Ukraine’s attempt to convert that into an enduring institutional capability. 

Fortress Belt Defense Has Stalled Russian Advance For This Year

While Russian infiltrations and minor advances towards Ukraine's Fortress Belt continue, the strength and depth of Ukrainian defenses, as well as the difficulty of the terrain on its approaches and the casualties Russian units are suffering are increasingly believed to mean that the Kremlin's objective to attack, let alone take, those cities this year is likely remain unrealistic. JL

Euromaidan Press reports:

Difficult terrain, crisscrossed by the Donets Canal and dense Ukrainian fortifications, complicates Russian attacks. There are few protected approaches toward Sloviansk from the Russians’ main bases in the ruins of Siversk, 31 km to the east. A doomed Russian tank assault on July 22nd along the southern approaches was (emblematic of the challenges) Russia faces. And one big town stands between the Russians and the free city: Mykolaivka. And the Ukrainians are bombarding Russian supply lines with intensity.  “It is highly unlikely that the battle for Sloviansk will begin this year, not least because the fighting in Mykolaivka is likely to be prolonged.”

75 Square Km Retaken By Ukraine In Dnipropetrovsk Breakthrough

In addition to the 400 square kilometers Ukrainian forces retook in the Dnipropetrovsk region this spring, they have added another 75 so far this summer. 

In addition to the mass of regained territory, what makes this interesting is the way they did it. This involved the methodical destruction of artillery for fire support, armored personnel carriers for mobility, supply routes and concentrations of reserves. This was accomplished over three days before the actual assault began. At that point, dozens of Ukrainian units attacked simultaneously. As a result, Russia's 120th Naval Infantry Brigade suffered such critical losses that it was deemed combat ineffective and withdrawn. Ukraine obliterated the existing front line and pushed the Russians out of the Dnipropetrovsk region. JL

RFU News reports:

Ukraine's  Skala Asssault Regiment achieved a massive breakthrough and cleared seventy-five square kilometers of the grey zone, while pushing Russia's area of control back significantly further. To do this, Ukraine launched a drone campaign to destroy Russian equipment, such as North Korean Koksan self-propelled artillery, which reduced fire support and armored personnel carriers, which reduced mobility. After Russian equipment and supply traffic had been devastated, dozens of assault groups launched a simultaneous offensive from the Velykomykhailivka area with round-the-clock drone support. Ukraine erased the existing front line. Russia’s 120th Naval Infantry Brigade suffered critical losses, rendering it combat ineffective. This forced surviving elements to withdraw from the Dnipropetrovsk region

Tech's AI Spree Is Using Dodgy Accounting Tactics That Toppled Enron

The Enron scandal and collapse happened 25 years ago, making it a memory for some but probably a vague history lesson for many now working in tech and, especially, in AI. It was the largest single corporate US financial catastrophe in history at that time, and perhaps still, and it also caused the dissolution of Arthur Andersen, the largest US accounting firm of that era. 

Big whup, say the AI dudes measuring their wealth in billions. Well, maybe. The issue was that Enron hid its growing and unmanageable financial obligations in off-balance sheet entities called special-purpose vehicles whose primary purpose was...to hide financial obligations that would have warned investors and lenders that the company was way beyond its ability to pay back, let alone generate a return. So guess who's using such entities to obfuscate their financial obligations now: Meta, Oracle, Alphabet, Nvidia, among others. Starting to sound relevant? JL

Amanda Iacone reports in Bloomberg:

Enron Corp. exploited US accounting rules to hide from investors and lenders hundreds of millions in debt bundled into off-balance sheet entities that contributed to one of the biggest corporate collapses in US history. Twenty-five years later, some of the most valuable AI companies use similar financing vehicles to mask how much debt they’re taking on for more than $3 trillion to power AI systems. Tech companies, including Meta, Oracle, Alphabet and Nvidia - are packaging debt tied to billions in assets with an uncertain return - including chips and servers - while spreading those risks among developers, vendors, and lenders. These costs aren’t flowing through the parent company’s financials but through off-balance sheet entities, called special purpose vehicles, to give corporate leaders a tool to manage the optics of their financial reporting and project a healthier picture of performance and leverage that is warranted. 

Russians Killed, Some Captured By Ukraine Rangers As Raids Expand

Ukrainian forces are expanding their offensive raids against Russian positions to continue to disrupt infiltrations as well as attempts to defend increasingly threatened occupied territory. 

The significance is that Russian troops no longer feel secure, even behind their defensive lines. JL

Sania Kozatskyi reports in Militarnyi:

Ukraine's 6th Ranger Regiment captured Russian soldiers during a fire raid on Russian positions. During the operation, the Ukrainian special operators also killed four Russian troops. In addition to capturing prisoners for future prisoner exchanges, the Ukrainian special operations forces also seized intelligence, documents, and Russian communications equipment. The SOF soldiers moved so stealthily and silently in broad daylight that they were able to get within just one meter of the enemy without being detected. Even then, the Russian troops only realized the operators were right beside them after hearing the command, ‘Don’t move,’

Kremlin Coup Fears Rise As Putin-Commanded National Guard Receive Tanks

Russia's National Guard, which includes the country's Interior Ministry special forces units and its riot police, reports directly to Putin. It received, for the first time, tanks and other armored vehicles which, one might argue, are sorely needed at the front despite their vulnerability to drones. 

The logical explanation for this deployment is not that the Rosgvardia, as they are known, are going to be sent to fight Ukraine, but that the Kremlin is preparing to deal with any threat that increasingly disaffected army units may pose to the current leadership. JL

Nadin Brzezinki reports:

The Putin regime fears a coup. The Russian National Guard's role has expanded. It will now be tasked with developing and implementing state policy, including forecasting military threats, potential future conflicts and preparing proposals for strategic planning documents. It will be led by Viktor Zolotov, 72, a longtime Putin ally who served as the president’s chief bodyguard during his first two presidential terms and while he was prime minister from 2000 to 2013. Rosgvardia started receiving its first tank units last year. It has also taken control of the Interior Ministry’s Grom special forces unit in addition to its existing SOBR and OMON riot police units. So, this is Putin’s praetorian guard. And given this internal police is also getting armor, never mind the army needs those tanks on the front lines, this is preparation to fight the army.