As Kremlin's Ukraine Casualties Top 1 Million, Rubio Wishes Putin 'Happy Russia Day'

Multiple reports today reveal that the Russian military has suffered over 1 million casualties today - killed and wounded. This milestone was expected to be surpassed this summer, but the scale of Russian casualties pushed the date forward. 

This also happens to be 'Russia Day,' - whatever that is, so the hapless US Secretary of State offered congratulations to Putin and the Russian people, without evidently having been briefed on the sad irony. JL

Julia Struck reports in the Kyiv Post:

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio congratulated the Russian people on Russia Day, June 12, while Russian military losses in the war against Ukraine surpassed one million killed and wounded. His remarks came as Ukraine’s General Staff reported - and were confirmed by British intellligence - that Russia’s total combat losses since the start of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022 exceeded 1,000,340. More than 628,000 of Russia’s total losses occurred in the past year and a half alone. Over the past 24 hours, from June 11 to 12, Russia reportedly lost 1,140 soldiers.

Ukrainians Again Destroy Russian Donetsk Motorbike Assault With Heavy Losses

This attack, in the Siverskiy sector of central Donetsk, was another of a series which they Russians have launched, all without success. 

The Russians continue to believe that scattered, fast groups of motorbike troops can break through, but Ukrainian infantry and drone operators have become skilled at taking them out before they can achieve their objectives. JL

Roman Pryhodko reports in Militarnyi:

Ukraine’s 10th Mountain Assault Brigade ‘Edelweiss’ repelled a Russian motorcycle assault in the Siverskyi sector. Russian forces deployed 19 dirt bikes, three buggies, and a platoon-sized infantry group, aiming to approach the Ukrainian lines at high speed for seizure of Ukrainian positions. Ukrainian drones destroyed 13 motorcycles and three buggies. No casualties were reported among Ukrainian personnel. Russian forces suffered 18 killed and five wounded.

Many Gen Z Techies Now Skip College. The Vast Majority Are Men

Data reveal that college enrollments in the US are down. Some of that is demographics, but much can be attributed to the prohibitive costs and to the perceived opportunities for wealth creation in tech jobs, even for those without college degrees. 

The vast majority - 83% - of those skipping college, are men. Women's superior performance in high school and college, as suggested by women's enrollment versus men, may be a contributing factor to this search for alternatives. And anyone now skipping college may find that AI is taking the jobs they thought were theirs. The looming question is whether this is a long term trend or a situational occurrence. JL 

Julia Hornstein reports in Business Insider:

College dropouts have long held a mythical status in Silicon Valley. Bill Gates, Larry Ellison, Steve Jobs, Jack Dorsey, and Mark Zuckerberg all left early. Today, economic, political, and technological forces are driving young people - mostly men - to skip college entirely. In 2023, college enrollment among 18- to 24-year-olds was down 1.2 million from its peak in 2011; men accounted for 1 million of those missing students. Higher education has grown prohibitively expensive: In 2024, all-in costs for some four-year degrees now surpass half a million dollars. At the same time, AI and related vibe coding tools have made it easier to become a founder, prompting venture capitalists to declare it, "the best time in a decade for college students to start startups."

Putin Claims He's Winning. The Data Show Otherwise

It's a signal day in the annals of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. By most accounts, Russia has now suffered one million casualties in its futile attempt to take over Ukraine. It has lost so much armor and so many other military vehicles that its troops now routinely 'attack' on scooters, motorbikes or repurposed civilian cars. And for that expenditure of human and material resources, it can claim only what it was able to grab and hang on to by the end of the first ten months of war. 

If this is wining, one shudders to think what losing looks like. JL

Riley McCabe reports in the Washington Post:

Russia has spent the past 17 months attempting to grind forward in Ukraine but according to new data, these efforts have yielded fewer than 1,800 square miles of new territory seized since January 2024, an outcome decisively short of Moscow’s objective to greatly expand its control of Ukrainian territory. Russian advances have been slower than Allied forces during the grueling World War I offensive in the Somme, a battle which became a byword for futility.  Russian fatalities in Ukraine now exceed all Russian soldiers killed in every war since World War II combined. Russia has also consistently lost 2 to 5 times more fighting vehicles than Ukraine. Russia is not on the march. It is bleeding personnel and equipment for mere meters of ground.

Ukraine's Drone Victories Are A Win For It - And For the US and Europe

Ukraine's determined defense of its interests, most recently marked by its spectacular destruction of Russia's bomber fleet, benefitted the Ukrainian military and its reputation.

But as importantly, it reinforced the notion that defense of territorial integrity  and national sovereignty are essential elements of civilization that will far outlast the current leaders of the US and Russia. JL

Mark Voyger and Yuliya Shtaltovna report in the National Interest:

The Ukrainian drone attack on Russian airbases last week demonstrates how the war's outcome can reinforce a rules-based order and reassert US strategic leadership. Ukraine’s drone attacks changed warfare for the foreseeable future by redefining deterrence and offense. This isn’t idealism. It is national interest itself. Support for Ukraine has yielded strategic returns. Without a single American boot on the ground, US assistance has degraded Russian conventional power and deflated its image. The cost? 7% of the annual U.S. defense budget. That’s a calculated investment with a clear payoff. Ukraine is not just defending its borders—it is defending the very notion of territorial integrity.

Ukraine Drones Blow Up Russian Gunpowder, Microchip Factories

Ukraine's strategic bombing campaign against the assets essential to Russia's military.

The latest targets ranged from the most basic - gunpowder - to the most advanced microelectronics responsible for guiding planes, tanks and missiles. JL

Vera Kravchuk reports in Euromaidan Press:

Ukrainian drones struck the Tambov Gunpowder Factory in Russia’s Tambov Oblast near the city of Kotovsk, 700 km (434 miles) away from the Ukrainian border during the night of 11 June. It manufactures over 200 product types, including gunpowders for small arms, hand grenades, grenade launchers, and artillery shells. Ukraine also struck the microchip and radio-electronics factory in Saint Petersburg essential in the production of Russian bombers, tanks, missiles, guidance systems, vision sights, and radars. Russia confirmed a major fire in the plant responsible for microchip production and assembly. Thick black smoke was seen rising from the facility.

NATO Chief Tells Members To Up Defense Spending "Or Learn To Speak Russian"

NATO's Secretary General has issues a stark warning to its member states that based on evidence from the Russian invasion of Ukraine, they have to increase defense spending dramatically or 'learn to speak Russian.'

The implication is that with the current US government sympathetic to Russia and less friendly towards Europe, the EU nations must take the Russian threat more seriously and step up not just spending but military preparations. JL

The BBC reports:

Nato needs a "quantum leap" in defence to deter threats to the alliance, its secretary general, Mark Rutte said, or Russia could be ready to use military force against Nato within five years. Rutte said Nato needed a "400% increase in air and missile" to credibly defend itself. European countries have increased their spending since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but he expects Nato allies to agree to spend 5% of their national income on defence or "you had better learn to speak Russian".