Chechen Akhmat Battalion Training Area Destroyed by Ukraine Himars

Given their savage reputation but indifferent battlefield performance, it is unlikely that anyone outside of Chechnya will mourn them. JL

Dmytro Shumlianskyi reports in Militarnyi:

Ukrainian forces launched a missile strike using HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems on an Akhmat Battalion training area in the Kursk region. Ukrainian reconnaissance drones detected Russian activity at an improvised training area near the border with Ukraine. Shortly afterward, missiles were launched at the site. Preliminary reports indicate “dozens” of casualties.

Ukraine's Drones Now Have Putin's Russia-Crimea Land Bridge Under Fire Control

Putin's dream was to create a 'fact on the ground' by establishing a so-called land bridge from Russia to Crimea vis occupied southern Ukraine. 

In 2026, that dream is becoming a nightmare. Ukraine's increasing drone range and accuracy has now brought the various roads comprising that land bridge under fire control, meaning that everything from logistics transport to (diminishing) civilian traffic along the route is subject to destruction from above. Orders have now been posted that civilians must get off the road when military traffic approaches so the military vehicles can maneuver when drones appear. The fire control extends from Mariupol all the way to the Kerch Bridge and affects supplies moving as far north as the putative offensive against Ukraine's Fortress Belt. JL

Decimus reports in Daily Kos:

Ukraine is cutting off the Russian Army in southern Ukraine from its main supply route, Putin's cherished “land bridge” along Ukraine’s Azov sea board linking Crimea (via the Kerch Bridge) to southern Ukraine and Russia along the M14 Highway. The Ukrainian 1st Azov Corps struck Russian military targets near Mariupol, Donetsk Oblast (105 kilometers from the frontline) and is interdicting Russian logistics at depths of 160 kilometers along the T-0509 Mariupol-Donetsk City highway. Ukrainian drones operate along the T-0509 95 to 104 kilometers from the front and within Mariupol along the M-14 Mariupol-Berdyansk-Melitopol highway. The T-0509 supplies Russian forces north of Mariupol, supporting the Russian offensive against Ukraine’s Fortress Belt. “The entirety of Ukraine not under our control will become a kill zone for the Russians. This is the logic of technical progress."

After 5 Years, 1000s of Russian Dead, Ukraine Defies Kremlin At Mala Tokmachka

Russia's siege of Ukrainian forces at Mala Tokmachka, in Zaporizhzhia oblast is already the longest of the Russian invasion, certified as such by the government in Kyiv. But it may also be one of the longest in recorded history, surpassing Troy, Carthage, Verdun, Leningrad and others in the annals of warfare. 

The Ukrainians have held out against everything the Russians could throw at them. In the process they have destroyed dozens of Russian armored vehicles and killed thousands of Russian troops. In this, the defense of Mala Tokmachka is emblematic of Ukraine's ability to thwart the Russians, especially now that global recognition of Putin's military failure in Ukraine has become the dominant narrative. JL

Olena Mukhina reports in Euromaidan Press, Myroslav Liskovych reports in Ukrinform:

Ukraine's 118th Mechanized Brigade received the country's Book of Records certification for its defense of Mala Tokmachka in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, recognizing the longest-held front-line position of the war. Ukrainian forces have held it continuously for 1,500 days under assault, artillery, aviation, and drone fire. The front line in the village has barely shifted. Occasionally Russian troops enter the eastern outskirts but are destroyed by drones and cleared out by assault units as operations in this sector have been refined to the point of automation. The largest assault took place on October 20, 2025, when Russia's 71st Motor Rifle Regiment attacked with two motorized rifle companies supported by 26 armored vehicles, including tanks. 21 vehicles were destroyed and dozens of troops killed. Russian losses in repeated attempts to capture Mala Tokmachka exceed two thousand personnel.

Even At $5 Trillion, Nvidia May Be Undervalued. But Can AI Chip Mania Last?

Buy the dip or beware the bear? That seems to be the nature of the debate surrounding Nvidia's stock price despite its other-worldly - some might say other-universal - revenue and income performance. 

It is, by far, the most valuable company on the planet. It has surpassed expectations for 14 quarters in a row. Analysts appear split on what that means: whether it will go from strength to strength, suggesting that its current stock price is a buying opportunity, or that it is peaking and thus time to unload on the greater fools in the wings. The real question comes down to demand. Can it continue or will a combination of more efficiency, slower than anticipated uptake and growing political opposition (even the Pope got into it this weekend) begin to cool the market? The history of tech in this century suggests betting against Silicon Valley will cost you. But that now means surrendering to the rose-colored glass-wearing 'this time is different' crowd. Moderation is out of fashion, but that doesn't mean it won't come back. JL

Dan Gallagher and James MacIntosh report in the Wall Street Journal:

At its closing market cap of $5.4 trillion Wednesday, Nvidia is the world’s most valuable company by a wide margin: the 14th quarter in a row Nvidia’s revenue and income beat Wall Street’s targets. No other company is growing as rapidly—and is accelerating. Nvidia projected revenue for the quarter ending in July, is double last year's. The stock still fell 2% Thursday morning. Nvidia is no longer the shiny new thing. Other risks include more competition, far more efficient use of memory, meaning data centers need less of it, data-center plans may be scaled back, AI uptake prove slower than hoped, or political backlash may hinder expansion. All are plausible. A final risk is that supercharged profits attract new rivals to enter the market. It’s already happening with chips used in AI. As with all commodities, success sows the seeds of its own destruction—even if AI hopes are fulfilled.

As Ukraine Claws Back More Territory, Russia's Military Reveals Its Vulnerability

They were unstoppable - until they weren't. As Ukrainian advances seize more territory from Russian troops, its military is being forced to reveal the weaknesses that have prevented it from dominating its smaller Ukrainian adversaries. 

All the advantages Russia enjoyed have been frittered away by thoughtless, arrogant tactics that now give Ukrainian forces the battlefield momentum. JL

Yehor Lohinov and Mike Eckel report in RFE/RL:

In mid-May, Ukrainian forces clawed back more territory from Russian troops than they lost again this year. The Russians have suffered a net loss of territory, overall. "The war is increasingly unpopular in Russia, and Russia faces increasing challenges financing the war and keeping the flow of manpower. Ukraine, on the other hand, is intensifying its strikes against Russian battlefield logistics while constructing seemingly endless kilometers of obstacle belts behind the front lines. It's showing ordinary residents of Moscow that the war is not just something on YouTube or television and are truly beginning to feel the realities."

Putin Can No Longer Hide His Ukraine Catastrophe

The Kremlin's 'victory in Ukraine' narrative is unraveling in public, exposed by repeated Russian military failures on the battlefield, increasingly effective Ukrainian counteroffensives and its humiliating attacks on downtown Moscow. 

The million-plus deaths of poor ethnic minorities and prison inmates in Ukraine had begun to matter but the evident Ukrainian successes are now causing even Russian-supporting governments and media to change their tone in the face of this new reality. JL

Phillips O'Brien reports in The Atlantic:

The narrative Putin constructed about a mere “special military operation” that need not trouble Russia’s elites or middle class is now unraveling completely. Any pretense that Moscow can stay out of the war has vanished. Putin can no longer lull Muscovites into thinking his war does not involve them. The parade commemorating World War II was startlingly short and devoid of military hardware because the Russian dictator was terrified of Ukrainian drone attacks. A week later, Ukraine launched hundreds of drones and cruise missiles on Moscow, showing that its multiple rings of air defense have been thoroughly compromised. The basic dynamics of the war have shifted. Russia has weakened. Even without American help, Ukraine is getting stronger and shaping the war in its favor. The better the Russian people understand this, the worse Putin’s predicament gets.

Ukraine Destroys 68 Russian Artillery, 950 Troops In One Day

Russia's once-proud and fearsome artillery has been decimated by Ukraine, contributing further to the Kremlin's ability to launch offenses. 

The targeting of artillery systems by Ukrainian drones has made it more difficult for the Russians to deploy them on the battlefield. JL

Roman Kahanets reports in United24:

Russia lost 950 troops, 68 artillery systems, and 1,819 UAVs over the past 24 hours. Ukrainian forces also destroyed 5 tanks, bringing Russia’s total tank losses to 11,949, and 5 armored fighting vehicles, raising the cumulative figure to 24,599. Russia’s artillery losses rose to 42,579 systems. US Defense Intelligence Agency assessment stated that Ukraine had recaptured approximately 400 square kilometers of territory after thousands of Starlink terminals used by Russian forces were disabled, disrupting their communications on the battlefield.