"Ukraine Turns War Tide" Says Headline In Trump's Fave Murdoch-Owned Paper

The New York Post newspaper, owned by arch-conservative billionaire and Trump-supporting Rupert Murdoch is increasingly critical of the Russian war effort in Ukraine, publishing articles stating that the Ukrainians have turned the conflict around and have stopped the Russians. 

The message to the Kremlin is that when you've lost the New York Post, you are really losing. JL

Grace Mappes and Kateryna Stepanenko report in The New York Post:

After failing to accomplish its initial three-day objective of toppling Kyiv, Russia has now fought in Ukraine longer than it fought Germany during World War II. Russian offensives across Ukraine have fizzled out. Russia recruited 406,000 people in 2025, according to the Kremlin, and Ukrainian estimates suggest that casualties exceeded 410,000 over the past year. The Russians have neither collapsed Ukrainian defenses nor can they drive on Kyiv. In fact, Russian advances in Ukraine have plateaued since early Spring 2022. It’s Putin who should be pressured to recognize the futility of continuing to spend the blood of Ukrainians and Russians on his futile dreams of conquest.

Power Cut For Half A Million Russians By Ukrainian Drone Strikes

Half a million Russians across a number of areas lost electrical power, with some also losing water and heat after Ukrainian drone strikes targeted Russian energy infrastructure in retaliation for ongoing Russian attacks on civilian Ukrainian targets. 

The latest Ukrainian hits underscore the degree to which Russia can no longer adequately defend itself from drone or missile attacks, which also provides evidence that the Kremlin narrative about the success of Russia's war effort is false. JL

Antonia Langford reports in The Telegraph:

Ukraine cut the power for half a million people in Russia after the largest drone attack of the war. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, said that Ukraine’s retaliatory assault had caused “serious damage” to energy infrastructure. 500,000 people across numerous districts suffered power outages, while many were also left without water and heating as temperatures hovered around freezing, adding that it would take several days to repair the facilities.

Ukraine Surges, Takes Berezove, Threatens Uspenivka, As Russians Reel

At this point in Ukraine's counteroffensive, two months since it began with surprise assaults, the success of Ukrainian forces is about both its own success - and - the failure of the reeling Russians to respond effectively. 

The taking of Berezove in Dnipropetrovsk oblast signals that Russian troops have been almost completely driven from that province, a significant achievement. But it is the threat to Uspenivka that may be most telling. That is because the town is the forward headquarters of the Kremlin's 36th Combined Arms Army, one of only a few major military groups charged with leading the war against Ukraine. That the Russians located their HQ there suggests they not only thought it was safe, but that there was no chance it would ever be threatened. That, in fact, the Ukrainians are in position to take it - along with all the staff, supplies, intelligence, electronics and other assets a forward HQ possesses - means that the Russians are struggling to defend what they have taken. JL

David Axe reports in Trench Art:

Ukraine's 95th Air Assault Brigade have taken full control of Berezove in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The village is one of the last remaining Russia held in the oblast, a region Moscow has since been nearly entirely pushed out of. 100 Km away, nearly two months after Russia’s battlefield communications collapsed, Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in the southeast to take advantage of the chaos, Ukrainian forces are closing in on their main objective in the area: the village of Uspenivka, the front-line base of the Russian 36th Combined Arms Army. Led by the 95th Brigade, the battlegroup swept through the no-man’s-land west of Uspenivka, clearing out potentially hundreds of Russian infantry. 

Anthropic's Pentagon Ban, Supply Chain Risk Label Ruled "Illegal" By Judge

A US Federal Judge eviscerated all of the Trump administration's criticisms and bans of Anthropic's AI, effectively confirming what the attacks on Iran had already made clear: that Claude, Anthropic's AI model, an essential element in the planning and execution of US attacks, was not a supply chain risk and that the administration's actions against it were driven by spite because the company dared to question their position about its risks.

Since all of Anthropic's competitors and numbers of retired military officers had come out and supported its position - and argued against the administration's fit of pique - the court's ruling puts into law the market's judgement, which is that Claude is a valuable and increasingly important AI, as well as a crucial contributor to US defense. JL

Joe Walsh reports in CBS News:

A judge blocked the Trump administration from labeling Anthropic a "supply chain risk" and cutting off all federal work with the AI firm. She also formally rejected a social media post by the Defense Secretary that said military contractors must cut off all "commercial activity" with Anthropic — which she said illegally requires companies to stop using Claude on non-military work. She called the government's actions "arbitrary and capricious. Punishing Anthropic for bringing public scrutiny to the government's contracting position is classic illegal First Amendment retaliation."

Russian Forces In Disarray As Ukraine Counteroffensive Gains Add Up

Russian forces are largely in disarray as Ukraine's counteroffensive has decimated frontline troops and reserves, thereby disrupting the Kremlin's plans for 2026. 

The surprise success of the counterattacks along key sections of the front has largely changed both the course of this year's fighting and of the narrative surrounding Russian performance in the war. This has contributed to Kyiv's rejection of the latest White House 'peace terms' which would have given Russia territory its forces have utterly failed to win on the battlefield. JL

Kateryna Hodunova reports in the Kyiv Independent:

Ukrainian forces have liberated nine settlements in the Oleksandrivka front-line sector and killed 2,653 Russian troops and wounded another 9,000 during an operation that has lasted two months (after) Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in January in the Oleksandrivka sector, where Dnipropetrovsk,  Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts converge.  Ukrainian forces regained 440 to 470 square kilometers (170-180 square miles) of territory, liberating seven settlements in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast and two in Zaporizhzhia Oblast

Ukraine "Massacre" of Russian Air Defenses Leads To Destroyed Strategic Missiles

Ukraine has systematically targeted Russia's air defenses for months, attacking and destroying the rockets and radars that guide them. And that strategy is paying off as the Kremlin is decreasingly able to protect its key military and economic assets from the now relentless Ukrainian drone and missile attacks on them.

In addition to the oil export ports on which Russia depends for foreign currency - many of which are now in flames, with production capacity reduced by 40% - Ukraine has started hitting the missiles, launch systems and manufacturing facilities which the Kremlin has used to strike Ukrainian cities. It is an intelligent, relentless focus on denying the enemy its strengths and is starting to show results. JL

Euromaidan Press reports:

The Bulava drone system was created at the request of the Ukrainian military to strike important targets. It is absolutely massacring Russian air defenses near the front line. One observer tallied six Bulava strikes on Russian air defense vehicles—Buks, Tors, Strelas and ZU-23s—this month. Increasingly incapable of protecting its most precious assets in a zone stretching hundreds of kilometers from the porous front line, the Russians are losing more hard-to-replace weapons. A single Zircon may cost $5 million. A Bastion launcher also costs millions of dollars. As recently as 2024, Russia possessed just 40 Zircons. Now it has two fewer.

Drone Boss Madyar: At $878 To Kill 1 Orc, "Metal+Plastic For Dead Russians Is Best Exchange Rate"

The commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems (ie, drone) forces is a financial guy, a successful former global grain trader - and it shows. His approach to war is methodical, quantitative - and merciless. Which means he analyzes situations, sets strategically impactful goals - and determines how to achieve them. 

In the case of the war against Russia's invasion, he has determined the Kremlin's weak points - conscripting and equipping enough soldiers - and then devised a strategy to degrade its capacity to keep at it. His approach is working: for three months now, Ukraine has killed or severely wounded more troops than the Kremlin can replace. The remorseless logic of his math is winning. JL

The Economist reports:

Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, Commander of Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces, said wiping out one Russian soldier costs US$878 in matériel and that the Unmanned Systems Forces wipe out 400 Russians for every one Ukrainian. Since the start of the winter, Ukrainian drones have killed or incapacitated 8,776 more soldiers than Russia has replaced which continues to gain little ground in return for its losses. His soldiers are ordered to target personnel, rather than armor or other equipment, 30% of the time. Russia can only train and equip so many recruits; “We need to exhaust the Russian army beyond its maximum capacity.” In December, Brovdi’s figures turned in Ukraine’s favor. "We should be swapping plastic and metal for dead Russians. It's the best exchange rate."