Ukraine's Devastating Archer Self-Propelled Howitzers Outrange Russian Artillery

Sweden's Archer self-propelled howitzer has become the backbone of Ukraine's artillery for good reasons: it can be loaded, fired and then move within 30 seconds due to its automated aiming, loading and firing which can hit targets as far as 30 miles away. 

It is reliable, easy to use and effective. As a result, it outshoots and moves faster than its Russian opponents, giving Ukraine a decided advantage in this increasingly drone-driven conflict. JL

Brandon Weichert reports in The National Interest:

Sweden's Archer “shoot-and-scoot” self-propelled howitzer has become the centerpiece of the Ukrainian artillery capability due to its reliability, ease of use, and deadly effectiveness. The Archer is among the leading lethal artillery systems in Western arsenals today. The howitzer can hit targets as far away as 24-31 miles (40-50 kilometers) well outside the effective range of Russian tube artillery, allowing Ukrainian units to strike with relative impunity. The Archer can halt, deploy, fire, and reposition all in under 30 seconds. In the unforgiving terrain of Ukraine, in which mud and forests are the defining features, that’s a huge advantage. The system is entirely automated. It automatically loads, aims, and fires…all from inside an armored cab.

Declining Russian Troop Quality, Morale, Ukraine Drones Drive Massive Kremlin Losses

A new year and more Russian deaths on the battlefront with no gains to show for them. Sounds like last year - and the year before. 

The reason for these failures is being attributed to three primary causes. First, declining Russian troop quality - most convicts or forced conscripts from occupied Ukrainian regions, whose training remains substandard. Second is the lower morale of these units as they understand the odds against them. And thirdly is the increased efficiency and lethality of Ukrainian drone forces. None of these factors is expected to turn in the Russians' favor for the foreseeable future. JL

Espreso Global reports:

Factors have led to the massive losses of the Russian army include: Ukraine's defense industry has created the world's first kill zone which reaches up to 10 kilometers, enhancing Ukraine's ability to destroy enemy troops and armored vehicles. Ukraine's forces can deploy 14 FPV drones against a single target in, including against individual Russian soldiers. The second factor is the low level of training among Russian soldiers. The core of assault groups consist of prisoners from Russian penal colonies. The second category consists of forcibly mobilized individuals from the occupied areas of Luhansk and Donetsk. They don't undergo combat training and are immediately thrown into assault units. The third factor  is the low morale of Russian assault units. Banzai attacks have exhausted them

Ukraine Destroys 14 Russian Tanks As Thermal Drones Expose Tracks In Snow

As drones become more sophisticated, specifically, as in this case, with the addition of thermal cameras, they are able to see through camouflage and other attempts to hide larger weapons systems. 

In the Lyman sector, thermal equipped Ukrainian drones were able to track Russian armor movements to some degree by intercepting radio traffic, but more importantly, by 'seeing' armor tread marks in the snow which led to bunkers behind the frontline where the tanks and infantry fighting vehicles were being hidden in preparation for attack. The images captured by the recon drones were then fed to attack drones which destroyed 14 armored vehicles before they could even launch their assault. JL 

David Axe reports in Trench Art:

Ukraine’s Lazar drone team broke up a Russian mechanized assault on the town of Lyman before the assault could even begin—by bombing 14 armored vehicles “deep in the rear.” Camouflaged and tucked below ground, a vehicle can be hard to detect under normal circumstances. Traditional camo can thwart drones with optical cameras. Thermal camo, along with the tendency of an unmoving vehicle to become as cold as the surrounding environment, can thwart drones with thermal cameras. Packed snow registers as bright white on thermal cameras.

Job Applicants File Lawsuit Over AI Use As Employment Screening Tool

As AI plays a larger role in how job candidates are evaluated, there is evidence that rejection rates are increasing.

Those applying for jobs are arguing, in this law suit, that they have a right under fair credit reporting laws, to know how the models and algorithms and work to be able to demand that mistakes be corrected. This is yet another challenge to the heretofore relatively regulation free reign of AI as its impact grows but its benefits remain largely undistributed across the economy. JL

Stacy Cowley reports in the New York Times:

A lawsuit filed by a group of job applicants claims that A.I. employment screening tools should be subject to the same Fair Credit Reporting Act requirements as credit agencies. The lawsuit’s goal is to compel A.I. companies to disclose more information about what data they are gathering on applicants and how they are being ranked. As companies push the boundaries of what A.I. tools can do, they’re often operating in legally gray areas — especially around data privacy and technology that may illegally discriminate against people. Job seekers say the screening tool can become an algorithmic gatekeeper, blocking how the rating was generated. If the tool is making mistakes, candidates have no way to correct them.

Ukraine's Once Maligned 155th Mech Has Redeemed Itself Defending Pokrovsk

Ukraine's 155th Mechanized Brigade was created to add another major unit to the nation's army. Trained and largely equipped by France, it was named for Anne of Kyiv, a Ukrainian princess who became a French queen.

That was the good news. When it returned to Ukraine, it suffered a number of debilitating scandals and leadership failures, which resulted in as much of a third of its troops deserting. But rather than disbanding it, Ukraine's high command stepped in, provided new, battle-tested leaders and improved training. It was then sent to arguably the most difficult sector, Pokrovsk, where, a year later, it has won plaudits for its stalwart performance in turning back the relentless Russian assault on that city. The lesson is to never give up on your troops. JL

Decimus reports in Daily Kos:

A redemption story. The much ballyhooed Ukrainian 155th Mechanized brigade trained in France to become an emblem of best French and NATO military standards began to fall apart as soon as they got back to Ukraine, even before they got to the battlefield. Following reports of desertions, poor command, and mismanagement, steps were taken to stabilize the unit. In January 2025, it was publicly acknowledged that the brigade was facing serious challenges. (But) by March 2025, the brigade was holding positions near Pokrovsk and contributing to Ukrainian advances. By year's end it had become one of the stalwart Ukrainian units standing against the Russians at Pokrovsk

Putin Has Failed To Achieve "Every Single One Of His Strategic Aims" In Ukraine

As the war spawned by the Russian invasion of Ukraine is about to enter its fifth year, a sober assessment of gains and losses has determined that Putin has failed to achieve a single one of his strategic goals. 

Ukraine still fights, proud and free; Kyiv remains its capital; there is no international recognition of Russian 'ownership' of the 20% of Ukraine to which it has managed to hang on; NATO membership for Ukraine is still on the table - and, Russia's global standing has suffered as its army has failed repeatedly on the battlefield, its navy has been chased out of the Black Sea, its shadow tankers are pursued on the world's oceans and its air force has been a non-factor. All of this despite Russia's supposed superiority as a military force, now exposed as a corrupt and incompetent shadow. JL

Shane Croucher and John Feng report in Newsweek:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has "failed in every one of his strategic aims:  to capture the whole of Ukraine; take control of Kyiv and remove the pro-West Zelensky government from power, returning the country to Moscow's sphere of influence; the "liberation" of Russian-speaking areas of Ukraine; the demilitarization of the country; preventing Ukraine from joining NATO, and international recognition of its claims over Crimea and other Ukrainian territories it occupies. (As a result) Moscow is no longer able to project power around the world to the same degree as before. Russia "does not want to end this war because it is too expensive for Putin to end, he will not be able to pay the Russian soldiers."

Ukraine's "Autonomous Hunter" Ground Drones Destroying Frightened Russians

The innovation cycle in Ukraine is accelerating. From there emergence last winter as a useful source of logistics backup - delivering supplies, evacuating wounded, laying mines - ground drones have now become an increasingly effective offensive weapon. 

Not only do they defend trenches, bunkers and strongpoints, but they are being sent on the attack as semiautonomous hunters, able to work in any weather, night or day (due to sensors and infrared systems) and armed with machine guns, mortars or grenade launchers to terrifying effect against Russian troops who have never liked to fight at night and who fear the seeming indestructibility of these mechanical warriors. The results in several sectors have been so impressive that Ukrainian units from others are coming in for training and tactical training. JL

RFU News reports:

Ukraine's 5th Assault Brigade in Dnipropetrovsk, has emerged as a key driver of expanding the frontline combat role of ground robots from support for logistics and evacuation, into autonomous hunters that dominate contested terrain through direct combat roles. The main change is that more units now see using ground drones on the attack as an efficient tool to counter Russian manpower. Ukraine's ground robots are increasingly able to strike first; they ambush vehicles, engage infantry with mounted machine guns or grenade launchers, lay mines, or cue aerial drones for follow-up strikes. Russia continues to rely on  assaults by minimally trained troops who are exhausted and poorly equipped. Against them, Ukraine fields semi-autonomous systems unaffected by fatigue, fear, or darkness.