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Moose and squirrel can’t see brilliance of supply delivery/mine detector robot. 100% success rate when one of the two options happens.

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  • AUS-97HORN
    AUS-97HORN

    For the love of Christ woman,  stop posting the same fucking thing every 20 mins just to make your neurotic self feel better.     Bring something useful to the thread other than your inane babbli

  • Im_smarter_then_you
    Im_smarter_then_you

  • InkaUtexas
    InkaUtexas

    I volunteered today. Log/Admin role to replace people for 30-60 days. The operation is in the west, or should the Orcs win will be pulled back behind the NATO wall. Either way the humanitarian effort

Posted Images

Edited by Schulz2.0

4 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

Trying to switch over to Bluesky, but lagging on accounts with videos

Now do Leningrad.

shit

U.S. Embassy in Ukraine
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MASCOT Update – U.S. Embassy Kyiv, Ukraine - U.S. Embassy...

https://archive.is/LcOOF

Trump sick of ‘tiresome’ Putin

President fears Russia is ‘playing for time’ rather than seeking Ukraine peace say White House sources

Rob Crilly Chief US Correspondent

09 January 2026 11:54am GMT

Donald Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with Vladimir Putin and sees him as a bigger obstacle to peace in Ukraine than Volodymyr Zelensky, according to sources.

They said the US president’s decisions to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker and support a new sanctions bill were a signal to Putin that he was running out of time to bring an end to the war.

The source, who is close to the US president’s inner circle, said: “He works around a carrot and stick approach. And I think he’s all out of carrots.”

Another source said Mr Trump’s found the Russians’ “two steps forward, one step back” strategy in talks increasingly “tiresome”.

Mr Trump has spoken warmly in the past about Putin and said Ukraine was to blame for the war. However, several current and former Washington officials said the Trump administration’s thinking was becoming more in line with the European view that Putin was playing for time.

On Wednesday, American special forces risked a confrontation with Moscow when they boarded a Russian registered tanker flagged for sanctions violations.

Hours later, the White House confirmed that Mr Trump had “greenlit” a sanctions bill during a meeting with Lindsey Graham, one of the most high-profile Russia hawks in the Senate.

The legislation would give the president extraordinary powers to isolate Russia, including the ability to impose 500 per cent tariffs on goods imported from countries that purchase Russian oil, petroleum products or uranium.

How the US/UK operation unfolded

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USCGC Munro shadows the Bella 1 for two weeks and is escorted by a Russian navy ship and submarine

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RAF typhoons jets track Bella 1, flying over the tanker on Tuesday afternoon

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US troops practise rappelling from a V-22 Osprey off Felixstowe in Suffolk on Tuesday

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Poseidon turns off transponder during flight over tanker in Atlantic Ocean on Wednesday

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RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint spycraft deployed to locate Russian assets near the tanker

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Three Pilatus U-28A Draco aircraft launched from RAF Mildenhall, stopping at Wick Airport in Scotland en route to Reykjavik

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Boeing KC-135T Stratotanker deployed and UK's RFA Tideforce deployed for refuelling

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US Navy SEALs flown by the "Night Stalkers" airborne regiment on the MH-6 'Little Bird' helicopter rappel and board vessel. US European Command announces the seizure of the tanker

One former official said: “What is tiresome to the administration is ... that the Russians use a two steps forward, one step back strategy ... they seem like they’re ready, then when things come up that we thought they would be amenable to they either ramp things up, or they stop talking for a while.”

Ukraine had, he said, been more amenable to compromise.

Mr Trump has blown hot and cold with both sides in the Russia-Ukraine war as he tries to make good on a campaign promise to secure peace.

Frequent claims that he believes Putin is serious about finding peace in Ukraine have alarmed Mr Zelensky’s allies in Europe. They point out that warm conversations between the two leaders were often followed by missile and drone attacks.

Russia launched ballistic missiles and drones on Kyiv, killing at least one person, a day before Mr Zelensky met Mr Trump at Mar-a-Lago at the end of last year.

A British official said the result was that the Trump administration’s mindset was closer to the European view of the conflict than ever before. He said: “Putin’s sustained brutality, nefarious behaviour and game playing do not go unnoticed by the administration.”

David Lammy, the British deputy prime minister, met vice president JD Vance at the White House on Thursday. Talks were expected to centre on a US offer to support security guarantees to protect Ukraine if Russia were to attack again.

Right on cue, Putin’s foreign ministry denounced the plans and said any Western troops deployments in Ukraine would be viewed as “legitimate targets”.

A spokeswoman said: “The Russian Foreign Ministry warns that the deployment of military units, military facilities, warehouses, and other infrastructure of Western countries on the territory of Ukraine will be classified as foreign intervention.”

Russia then fired an Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile at Lviv. The city is hundreds of miles from the front line but, crucially, just 40 miles from the border with Nato and EU member Poland. Ukraine said it was a test for the transatlantic community.

Mr Trump signalled his personal irritation with Putin during a recent press conference at Mar-a-Lago, Florida. He said: “I’m not thrilled with Putin, he’s killing too many people.”

A day later he contradicted Russian claims that Ukraine had targeted one of Putin’s residences with drone. He told reporters on Air Force One: “I don’t believe that strike happened. We don’t believe that happened, now that we’ve been able to check.”

A former White House official said Mr Trump was also “emboldened” by the special forces raid to capture Nicolás Maduro, the president of Venezuela. He said: “It was the sort of operation that only the United States – or maybe Israel – could have carried out.”

Recommended

How Trump humiliated Putin on the high seas

Read more

However, previous moves to get tough on Moscow have often been followed by a relaxing of pressure. And a member of Mr Trump’s national security council during his first term said the latest twist was part of the usual ebb and flow of a policy still focused on talking with the Kremlin.

He said: “I think this is an operational versus strategic question. He may push back harder on certain operational things but his strategic desire to end the Ukraine war quickly seems unchanged.”

Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said Mr Trump’s aim remained the same. She said: “President Trump is focused on getting this war settled and ending the senseless killing that was brought on by Joe Biden’s incompetence.”

  • Popular Post

The dynamic above is what happens when a not-smart, not-very-competent narcissist sociopath meets a competent narcissist sociopath. That's it. That's the full nature of the dynamic unfolding.

lulz ^ was about to say just about the same thing

It’s almost like he went to A&M and majored in Delusion instead of going to Wharton.

4 hours ago, Armybrat said:

It’s almost like he went to A&M and majored in Delusion instead of going to Wharton.

He's sure not having any discussions about the merits of Plato.

1 hour ago, Chad Fuck said:

He's sure not having any discussions about the merits of Plato.

He probably thinks Plato is a foot fetish game.

17 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

He probably thinks Plato is a foot fetish game.

Or it's a delicious snack that comes in these handy cans:

playdoh.png?format=1000w

11 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Or it's a delicious snack that comes in these handy cans:

playdoh.png?format=1000w

This seems most likely.

Al Jazeera
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Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,416

These are the key developments from day 1,416 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,416

These are the key developments from day 1,416 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

A residential building is seen damaged after a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

A residential building is seen damaged after a Russian strike in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, January 9, 2026 [Efrem Lukatsky/ AP Photo]

By News Agencies

Published On 10 Jan 202610 Jan 2026

Here is where things stand on Saturday, January 10:

Fighting:

  • The death toll from a massive Russian attack on Ukraine’s capital Kyiv that began on Thursday night has risen to four, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service wrote in an update shared on Facebook on Friday. At least 25 people were also injured, including five rescuers, the service added.

  • The attack left thousands of Kyiv apartments without heat, electricity and water as temperatures fell to minus 10 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) on Friday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko and other local officials said.

  • Klitschko called on people to temporarily leave the city, saying on Telegram that “half of apartment buildings in Kyiv – nearly 6,000 – are currently without heating because the capital’s critical infrastructure was damaged by the enemy’s massive attack”.

  • Russian forces shelled a hospital in the Ukrainian city of Kherson just after midday on Friday, damaging the intensive care unit and injuring three nurses, the regional prosecutor’s office wrote on Telegram.

  • “As a result of the attack, three nurses aged 21, 49, and 52 were wounded. At the time of the shelling, the women were inside the medical facility,” the office said in a statement.

  • The head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, condemned attacks on healthcare in Ukraine in a statement shared on X, saying that there had been nine attacks since the beginning of 2026, killing one patient, one medic and injuring 11 others, including healthcare workers and patients.

  • Tedros said that the attacks further “complicated the delivery of health care during the winter period” and called for “the protection of health care facilities, patients and health workers”.

  • Russian forces attacked two foreign-flagged civilian vessels with drones in Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, killing a Syrian national and injuring another, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksii Kuleba and other officials said on Friday.

  • A Ukrainian drone attack on a bus in Russia’s Belgorod region injured four people, the regional task force reported, according to Russia’s TASS state news agency.

  • Russian forces seized five settlements in Ukraine’s Zaporizhia region, including Zelenoye, the Russian Ministry of Defence said, according to TASS.

  • Ukrainian battlefield monitoring site DeepState said on Friday that Russian forces advanced in Huliaipole and Prymorske in the Zaporizhia region, but did not report any further changes.

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that Russia’s Oreshnik missile strike late on Thursday was “demonstratively” close to Ukraine’s border with the European Union.

  • The International Atomic Energy Agency has begun consultations to establish a temporary ceasefire zone near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after military activity damaged one of two high-voltage power lines, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said in a statement on Friday.

Sanctions

  • US forces seized the Olina oil tanker and forced it to return to Venezuela so its oil could be sold “through the GREAT Energy Deal”, United States President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Friday. According to The Associated Press news agency, US government records showed that the Olina had been sanctioned for moving Russian oil under its prior name, Minerva M.

  • Ukraine’s ambassador to the US, Olha Stefanishyna, said that Ukrainian nationals were among members of the crew of the Russian-flagged tanker Marinera seized earlier this week by US forces over its links to Venezuela, according to Interfax Ukraine news agency.

  • The Russian Foreign Ministry separately said on Friday that the US had released two Russian crewmembers from the Marinera, expressing gratitude to Washington for the decision and pledging to ensure the return home of crewmembers.

Politics and diplomacy

  • Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed “deep regret” over damage to its embassy in Kyiv, confirming that no diplomats or staff were hurt, in a statement on Friday. The ministry underscored the importance of protecting diplomatic buildings and reiterated its call for a “resolution to the Russian-Ukrainian crisis through dialogue and peaceful means”.

  • British Defence Secretary John Healey said that the United Kingdom was allocating 200 million pounds ($270m) to fund preparations for the possible deployment of troops to Ukraine, during a visit to Kyiv on Friday.

  • The leaders of Britain, France and Germany described Russia’s use of an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile in western Ukraine as “escalatory and unacceptable”, according to a readout of their call released by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s office on Friday.

Man, some of these guys just flat-out give up and resign themselves to death, other guys put up a semblance of a fight, and then there's the ones oblivious until they are laying there in the snow bleeding out.

Graphic,

Edited by atomheartbevo

This shit is fucking disgusting - forcing Africans to fight as basically suicide bombers. I wasn't going to post, but fuck

Forcing Africans to fight as basically suicide bombers

10 hours ago, atomheartbevo said:

No Way Abandon Thread GIF

bafkreib4hseecslytp3wesgej24g7oscspkp4hnc6ckjpuq274zz5goxaq@jpeg

IMG_5692.png

Within 24 hours every non-heated home should have a temperature in the 30s. This is what Ukraine faces when they lose energy from Russian strikes. Misery loves company I guess.

I have no idea which country has better access to large temporary power generation, but I have to assume that the allies have been providing that to Ukraine, given the number of years Russia has been targeting its energy infrastructure. At least I hope so.

I doubt that Russia has the equipment or the manpower to restore the grids as quickly as Ukraine. Given that Russia thought it was invincible, I doubt that they allocated Resources into overcoming a loss of power grid scenario.

Something for @PTINS

Just terrrrible 2nd quarter

ABC News
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Ukrainian drones set fire to Russian oil depot after Mosc...

A Ukrainian drone strike has sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia's Volgograd region, according to regional authorities

Ukrainian drones set fire to Russian oil depot after Moscow launches new missile

A Ukrainian drone strike has sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia's Volgograd region, according to regional authorities

ByThe Associated Press

January 10, 2026, 5:10 AM

Headlines from ABC News LiveCatch up on the developing stories making headlines.

The Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine -- A Ukrainian drone strike sparked a fire at an oil depot in Russia’s southern Volgograd region, regional authorities said on Saturday.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, the regional governor was quoted as saying in a Telegram post published on the channel of the local administration. The post did not specify the damage, but said that people living near the depot may have to be evacuated.

Ukraine’s long-range drone strikes on Russian energy sites aim to deprive Moscow of the oil export revenue it needs to pursue its full-scale invasion. Russia wants to cripple the Ukrainian power grid, seeking to deny civilians access to heat, light and running water in what Kyiv officials say is an attempt to “weaponize winter.”

Saturday's attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, according to Ukrainian officials, killing at least four people in the capital. For only the second time in the nearly 4-year-old war, it used a powerful, new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine on Friday in a clear warning to Kyiv’s NATO allies.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further Moscow aggression if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Saturday that its forces used aviation, drones, missiles and artillery to strike Ukrainian energy facilities and fuel-storage depots on Friday and overnight. It did not immediately specify the targets or damage.

Overnight into Saturday, Russia struck Ukraine with 121 drones and one Iskander-M ballistic missile, according to the Ukrainian air force. It said 94 drones were shot down.

Kellogg: I don't think Putin wants Ukraine to succeed.

No way! (sarcasm)

On 12/26/2025 at 7:39 AM, Party_Taco said:

  On 12/26/2025 at 3:42 AM, HuttNuts said:


But also, oil…

but also nukes

Tatarigami_UA

Tomorrow, the Russian invasion of Ukraine will reach 1,418 days, the exact same number of days as the German invasion of the Soviet Union, from the border crossing on June 22nd to the official proclamation of Victory on May 9th and capitulation of Berlin.

Just imagine thinking Kyiv would fall in days or weeks, but instead surpassing the length of the “Great Patriotic War” and still fighting for Pokrovsk and a few villages near Kupyansk

13 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

Tatarigami_UA

Tomorrow, the Russian invasion of Ukraine will reach 1,418 days, the exact same number of days as the German invasion of the Soviet Union, from the border crossing on June 22nd to the official proclamation of Victory on May 9th and capitulation of Berlin.

Just imagine thinking Kyiv would fall in days or weeks, but instead surpassing the length of the “Great Patriotic War” and still fighting for Pokrovsk and a few villages near Kupyansk

The Russians didn't fail. They just ran out of time.

image.png

That can't include motorcycles and ATVs can it?

14 minutes ago, Bevo said:

image.png

That can't include motorcycles and ATVs can it?

I doubt, they also don't seem to count the smaller drones.

14 minutes ago, Bevo said:

image.png

That can't include motorcycles and ATVs can it?

No donkeys or horses. Fake news.

https://en.defence-ua.com/news/ukraine_strikes_lukoil_offshore_platforms_in_the_caspian_sea_video-17125.html

As part of ongoing efforts to reduce the military-economic potential of the aggressor, Ukrainian forces have reportedly struck three offshore drilling platforms operated by russia's Lukoil corporation in the Caspian Sea.

The targeted installations were identified as the Filanovsky, Korchagin, and Grayfer fields, all of which are considered strategically important to russia's energy infrastructure.

According to the report, these offshore facilities were involved in supporting the russian occupation forces, underscoring the growing linkage between civilian energy assets and military logistics.

Such infrastructure plays a dual role, contributing not only to the national economy but also to sustaining military operations.

Confirmed hits were recorded on all three platforms, indicating a coordinated and deliberate strike. While the full extent of the damage has not yet been disclosed, the successful engagement itself highlights Ukraine's expanding ability to reach and disrupt critical assets far beyond the immediate frontline.

As Defense Express previously reported, at the beginning of 2026, during a series of combined air attacks against Ukraine, russian forces reportedly employed a new strike unmanned aerial vehicle designated Geran-5 for the first time.

This marks another step in the evolution of the Geran family, which has been used extensively to saturate Ukrainian air defenses and conduct long-range strikes against infrastructure and military targets.

You might want to lead toward the center before you pull the trigger...

"...a tracking unit based on Raspberry microcomputer, and commercial 3G/4G modems."

All it takes is a goddang Raspberry? Sweet Jesus we're fooked.

2 hours ago, Parliament said:

All it takes is a goddang Raspberry? Sweet Jesus we're fooked

This puts Russian Commodore 64 systems in peril though

3 hours ago, Gatorubet said:

This puts Russian Commodore 64 systems in peril though

On the other hand, Commodore 64s are back in production, at least in England.

2 minutes ago, atomheartbevo said:

On the other hand, Commodore 64s are back in production, at least in England.

Back in high school, I took computer science with Michael Dell and he would spend a lot of time on the Commodore when I was on Apple. He said it was because the Commodore had better graphics.

23 minutes ago, Bevo said:

Back in high school, I took computer science with Michael Dell and he would spend a lot of time on the Commodore when I was on Apple. He said it was because the Commodore had better graphics.

I was going to try and find an old school wingdings font porn picture to put here. Boy, was that Google search, uh, unexpected.

On 1/10/2026 at 10:44 AM, Bevo said:

Something for @PTINS

Just terrrrible 2nd quarter

Was Sark having brain farts again?

14 minutes ago, Macanudo said:

I was going to try and find an old school wingdings font porn picture to put here. Boy, was that Google search, uh, unexpected.

IMG_1934.jpeg

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/12/ukraine-war-briefing-nightfall-britain-races-to-develop-ballistic-missile-for-kyiv

Ukraine war briefing: Nightfall – Britain races to develop ballistic missile for Kyiv

UK government starts contest to have deep-strike prototypes delivered within 12 months; heat-starved Kyiv under Russian attack again. What we know on day 1,419

Warren Murray and agencies

Sun 11 Jan 2026 19.55 EST

  • Britain is to develop a new deep-strike ballistic missile for Ukraine, the government has announced. Under the project, named Nightfall, the British government said on Sunday that it had launched a competition to rapidly develop ground-launched ballistic missiles that could carry a 200kg (440lb) warhead to a range of more than 500km (310 miles).

  • “Nightfall missiles will be capable of being launched from a range of vehicles,” said the UK defence ministry (MoD), “firing multiple missiles in quick succession and withdrawing within minutes – allowing Ukrainian forces to hit key military targets before Russian forces can respond.”

  • Three industry teams would each get £9m to design, develop and deliver their first three Nightfall missiles within 12 months for test firings, said the MoD. Ukraine’s current ballistic missiles include Atacms, for which it relies on the US, and the self-developed Sapsan.

  • Russia was again attacking Kyiv early on Monday, the Ukrainian military said, sparking a fire in at least one district. Ukrainian air defences were at work against incoming targets, said Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration.

  • The renewed attack came as more than 1,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital remained without heating because of a Russian bombardment on Friday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, said that despite repairs the situation was “still extremely difficult”, particularly in border regions.

  • At the Vatican, Pope Leo offered prayers for the people of Ukraine, saying the “particularly serious” strikes on energy infrastructure were “hitting the civilian population hard, just as the cold weather is getting worse … I pray for those who are suffering and renew my appeal for an end to violence and for efforts to achieve peace to be intensified.”

  • Ukraine’s forces hit three drilling platforms operated by Russian oil company Lukoil in the waters of the Caspian Sea, the Ukrainian military general staff announced on Sunday. The strikes on Russian energy sites aim to deprive Moscow of oil export revenue used to fund the war. Moscow meanwhile said a Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-drone-operator-flew-pokrovsk-russian-war-limitations-fpv-recon-2026-1

I flew drones on Ukraine's fiercest battlefield. The last few months laid bare the limits of today's drone warfare.

As told to Matthew Loh

Dimko Zhluktenko is a sergeant in the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine.

Jan 11, 2026, 5:00 PM MT

Dimko Zhluktenko is a drone operator who provides vital data to defend Ukraine's positions.

The sergeant last deployed to Pokrovsk, a key battleground where Ukraine said it was outnumbered.

He says Ukraine needs more than drones to stop Russia's brutal advance.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sgt. Dimko Zhluktenko, an ISR drone team leader in Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces. He deployed in 2025 near Pokrovsk, a key city that Russia said it captured in early December.

Business Insider has verified his role in the Ukrainian armed forces. The article has been edited for length and clarity.

Before the full-scale war, I was a software engineer, working for companies in San Francisco, New Zealand, and Germany.

Today, I lead a team of five to six Ukrainian drone operators. Our task is to use high-flying drones to provide reconnaissance data to our troops and commanders.

With our intelligence, artillery such as HIMARS and drone strike teams can target Russian equipment and soldiers, often before they can even reach the front lines.

We were redeployed to the Pokrovsk area in August because the fighting there had become so intense. Because drone operators are priority targets in the war, we would spend our dayslong rotations in houses and underground bunkers outside the city.

When we first arrived, the weather was sunny and ideal for flying.

But the end of October was a disaster for us. Ukraine turns foggy in the autumn, with thick and low clouds that can stack from 100 meters to 300 meters above the ground.

These are so thick that no infrared camera or thermal camera can see through them, and caused many days to be completely no-go for flying for our types of drones.

At the time, the Russians took advantage of the clouds, using them to cover their advance on foot and in vehicles. Given the weather, the number of personnel they sacrificed to take the city, and our limited resources, there was eventually no viable way for us to defend Pokrovsk forever.

Ukraine is dependent on drone warfare. It has carried us through the terrible and scary times of these Russian assaults, and it has changed the face of war. For the entire summer of 2025, for example, I saw a tank only twice on the battlefield.

Drones are cheap and effective, and if we had an infinite number of drones, we would have been working 24/7 to fight the Russians in Pokrovsk.

But we don't have infinite drones, so in the meantime, we need other strike tools and resources, such as more artillery fire and troops. War is complex, and drones cannot be its only solution.

Flying blind

In normal conditions, we fly our drones four times a day, with each flight lasting about three to four hours and sometimes into the night. It's tiring, but worth it, because you can make an enormous difference for Ukrainian defenders. We can spot where Russian forces are moving, denying them the element of surprise, and scout for assets such as air defenses and artillery for commanders to strike.

Recon drone operators like us rely heavily on visual navigation. We study Pokrovsk so closely that, even when our drone is being spoofed, we can determine our flying location simply by the shape of the terrain or landmarks.

When the foggy season comes, we try to make the most of any good visibility. Sometimes, you can get lucky and perform five flights in a five-day rotation.

However, there were days when we found ourselves sitting in a house, just waiting for the weather to clear.

You can try to fly under the clouds, but going low means our bulky drones are more easily spotted and destroyed. Since we have limited tools, we try to preserve them and not use them recklessly.

Still, on days with strong winds, there's a chance that the clouds may break slightly and give you glimpses of the battlefield. Sometimes, when visibility is bad but not impossible to work with, we must risk flying in such weather, especially if our troops are defending against a major assault.

A general aerial view shows the destroyed Pokrovsk covered in morning fog in October, following months of intense fighting.

A general aerial view shows the destroyed Pokrovsk covered in morning haze in October, following months of intense fighting. Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)

In late summer, the situation in Pokrovsk was becoming increasingly problematic, both on the ground and in the sky. Back in the day, we would help long-range artillery focus on the Russian rear.

By autumn, we were working with units fighting at close range.

Russia's brutal, simple mathematics

I began to notice that Russia's tactics were making an impact around September.

Across the warzone, their strategy is to find our limit and overwhelm it with the smallest number of soldiers needed to seize our positions.

It is simple mathematics. Initially, they would send around 10 soldiers. If that wasn't enough, they would send 20. Then they would try 30.

Day by day, they increase the number of troops and equipment. Their goal is to create a situation where we don't have enough drones to counter the amount of attacking infantry.

To eliminate an assault of 50 guys, all spread out, we'd need at least 150 drones and artillery, which is difficult for us to organize with our limited resources.

When we were working in Pokrovsk, there were already areas of the city where the Russians had advanced, so the fighting area was porous and undefined.

A screen grab from a video shows Russian soldiers holding up the Russian flag in an urban area.

The Kremlin claimed in early December that its troops had taken Pokrovsk and Vovchansk. Russian Defense Ministry/Anadolu via Getty Images

Ukraine needs more than drones

If we had more troops, we could have held out for much longer and performed more aggressive maneuvers.

If we had more recon drones, our team could have flown over Pokrovsk nonstop, working despite the clouds.

With more first-person-view strike drones, our pilots could continue to find and attack the Russians closer to the ground.

But we don't have enough. So, we need other strike tools besides FPV drones, even though they account for about 80% of our kills on Russians.

Ironically, some of these tools have disappeared because warfare has changed so much. Mortars might have helped, but we mostly stopped using them — the battlefield is now so transparent that it is a suicide mission to ride around close to the front line in your pickup truck with a mortar.

Soldiers from an artillery unit of the 152nd Symon Petliura Jaeger Brigade of the Ukrainian Land Forces fire an artillery weapon in mid-December.

Soldiers from an artillery unit of the 152nd Symon Petliura Jaeger Brigade of the Ukrainian Land Forces fired an artillery weapon in mid-December. Dmytro Smolienko/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images

What we definitely need is artillery ammunition. Last year, some HIMARS units I worked with were rationed to four strikes a week.

Other artillery units were limited to just three artillery shells a day. We would find them a target, and they would say: "We don't have any more for today. Sorry, guys."

The weather in this season means it is still what drone pilots call our "low season." At the same time, the terrain is now not too muddy, so it is the perfect time for Russians to attack.

This month, I am redeploying to Dnipro. The fight continues.

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