How 2 Ukrainian Soldiers Held Their Zaporizhzhia Position For 165 Days

The two territorial soldiers (National Guardsmen in US parlance) were ordered to stay at an ordinary observation near the front in Zaporizhzhia. They thought it would be for a month. But because of constant attacks on their position, mostly by drone, they repeatedly refused evacuations which they thought they would not survive. One month turned into six. 

Eventually, they were pulled out under rainy, foggy weather though they had to walk for 12 kilometers before they were picked up. And these are people Putin, Trump and others think are just going to give up their land? JL

Rustem Khalilov reports in Ukraine Pravda:

In May this year, Platoon Commander Tishka, 48 and Grenadier Kuzen, 43, were ordered to an observation post near Verbove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. They expect to spend a month at the post, with everything they need dropped by drone. What they don't know yet is that they'll be there for 165 days – the end of spring, the whole of summer and most of autumn. They somehow stretched their 10 days of supplies to 22. Calling for resupply drops was often too risky risky. There were more than 30 times when they were due to be pulled out but refused because of constant attacks. For nearly half a year, they lived under constant explosions, hiding in dugouts, suffering from thirst, hunger and mice, and reporting to headquarters every hour.

The Kremlin's Shadow Fleet Oil Tankers Are Being Sunk Around World By Ukraine

The seas off Senegal, Spain, Turkey, Libya, Italy and Russia have all been the scene of mysterious explosions damaging or sinking older oil tankers which have been identified as ships carrying Russian oil as part of its Shadow Fleet, so named because they frequently file false papers and routes.

Ukraine has acknowledged some of these attacks, though not all, but it is prudent to assume the targeting is part of Ukraine's battle against Russia, in this case, aiming to hurt it economically. JL 

Sebastien Seibt reports in France 24:

FRANCE 24 has recorded seven vessels linked to Russia that have either been damaged or sunk following “mysterious” explosions off the coasts of Russia, Spain, Libya, Turkey and Italy since December 2024. Last week Sea Baby naval drones inflicted heavy damage against two ships off the Turkish coast. The Kairos and the Virat – both flying Gambian flags of convenience – which were headed to Russia’s Novorossiysk oil terminal. And then, last Thursday, a series of explosions ripped through the Mersin oil tanker – accused of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” – off the shores of Dakar, Senegal.

Defeat Of Russians At Kupiansk Was 10 Weeks In Planning, Execution

Ukraine's surprise defeat of Russian forces at Kupiansk too 10 weeks of secret planning and execution. It demonstrated that Ukrainian forces retain their ability to launch counteroffensives and inflict significant casualties on the Russians.

It also reaffirms their capacity for innovation, including the use of a BMW 7 Series sedan armed with rocket launchers. JL

David Axe reports in Trench Art:

In a 10-week campaign beginning in late September, a Ukrainian force led by Col. Gen. Igor Obolensky and anchored by the 2nd National Guard Corps first contained and then rolled back Russian gains in Kupiansk. The Ukrainian counterattack killed 1,000 Russians. Hundreds of Russians are surrounded in the town’s ruins. The 2nd National Guard Corps had some stylish support—from a BMW armed with three 122-millimeter rockets. The rocket-armed BMW 7 Series belongs to the Ukrainian 114th Territorial Defense Brigade. Videos of the BMW in action depict the crew driving along muddy roads, jacking the car into place to stabilize it and aiming the rockets tubes using an app on a tablet.

New Kupiansk, Pokrovsk Counterattacks Show Ukraine Making Gains, Russia Overstretched

Ukraine's recent successes at Kupiansk and Pokrovsk show both that Ukraine is capable of making 'tactically significant gains' against overstretched Russian forces which are suffering disproportionately high casualty rates causing repeated timetable slippage.

The implication is that Ukraine is stronger than the Kremlin and sympathetic or intellectually lazy western media are reporting and that Russian forces are both weaker and less capable than ever. JL 

The Institute for the Study of War reports:

The Ukrainian advances in Kupyansk show Ukrainian forces are capable of conducting successful counterattacks and making tactically significant gains, particularly when Russian forces are overstretched. The seizure of Kupyansk has been a Russian priority but Russian forces have been unable to allocate sufficient forces to overcome Ukrainian defenses. Russia has also struggled to move troops into Kupyansk because Ukrainian forces have been maintaining fire control over Russian logistics. Russian advances have come at disproportionately high casualty rates and significant time costs, and Russian forces have had to commit 150,000 servicemembers to the Pokrovsk direction alone.

Ukrainian Forces In Pokrovsk "Holding Strong" As Kremlin "Desperate" To Enter

Russian forces are desperate to enter Pokrovsk now for two reasons First, Putin wants it in order to convince Trump that his win really is inevitable. The repeated failures to take the city have undermined his dominance narrative in the US and Europe. 

The other reason is that winter has arrived in Ukraine. The Russians outside Pokrovsk are exposed, cold - and under supplied. Getting into the city, even in its ruins, would enable them to stay somewhat warmer and perhaps not die as temperatures plunge. But so far, counter to the narrative the Kremlin is trying to flog, the Russians are unable to take Pokrovsk completely - again - just as they have failed to do for over a year. JL

Espreso Global reports:

Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad is holding strong. Russian forces are pushing to break through defenses and enter the city, (but) only small, scattered groups are making it. Several hundred Russian soldiers are in Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad area. "Their task is to try to gain a foothold and expand control. They are constantly trying to break through and enter urban areas, as doing so with the onset of winter increases their chances of survival. But the main mass of Russian troops is still concentrated in the so-called red and gray zones, which we see on the maps outside the cities."

Oracle Falls 16% As Its AI 'Pay Now, Earn Later' Strategy Spooks Market

Oracle was supposed to be one of the AI winners: a big company with a big balance sheet and big earnings able to invest, earn and dominate while others struggled. So when its stock fell 16% after it announced latest earnings this week, it was taken as a market verdict on the state of AI and its hype - eg, you may be selling but the market isn't buying. 

The issue is that if a company as huge as Oracle is hemorrhaging cash to fund the AI buildout at the scale it is - with the payback as far off and paltry as it appears to be, than no one is safe. Oracle is a very large canary. But the coal mine bottomless. JL

Shannon Carroll reports in Quartz:

Oracle stock fell 16% after it reported earnings wiping out $70 billion from the company’s market value as investors saw earnings that showed, over the quarter, Oracle has burned $10 billion of free cash. Oracle’s AI “power” play to build out the infrastructure OpenAI and others need depends on everyone believing that the lights will stay on long enough for the money to show up. But this quarter’s earnings made it painfully clear that the AI boom Oracle is being financed on credit first, cash later. its AI contracts are real and enormous — but the capacity has to exist now, while the money to justify it drips in over years. So the company is plugging the gap with its balance sheet. Oracle’s AI story looks less like “software margins forever” and more like “utility economics with a whole lot of leverage.” 

Ukrainian Marines Mop Up Russian Stragglers In Ivanivka

Ukrainian Marines mopping up Ivanivka in a follow up to clearing it last month discovered a stranded Russian squad. 

The Ukrainians killed five of the Russians in a firefight after which the remaining ten Russians surrendered. The significance of this action is best understood in the context of recent Ukrainian successes at Kupiansk and Pokrovsk where, rather than appearing stronger as Kremlin propaganda would suggest, more Russian soldiers appear to be surrendering when they have the chance. JL

Sania Kozatzkyi reports in Militarnyi:

The 2nd Battalion of the 37th Separate Marine Brigade captured 10 Russians during the mopping up of Ivanivka in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Five more were killed in a firefight. All those captured served in the 228th Assault Regiment of the 90th Tank Division of the Russian Army. In late November, the brigade partially retook Ivanivka and captured 19 Russians. Another 53 invaders were eliminated during that fighting. As of December 10, the settlement was controlled by Ukrainian Defense Forces. At the same time, the approaches to it and the surrounding area are under Ukrainian fire control.