Russian Students Recruited As Drone Pilots Reassigned As Frontline Infantry

The only surprising thing about this news is that it appears to be surprising. The Russian military has repeatedly promised 'safe' rear area jobs to students, immigrants, older men and others, only to then send them to the front as infantry in exposed positions. 

The estimated survival time for a Russian private at the front is two weeks. This brings to mind a line from the movie, Animal House: "You fucked up, you trusted us." JL

Katherina Popilnichenko reports in Untied 24:

Young Russian students who signed specialized military contracts to serve as drone operators are being reclassified as regular infantrymen and deployed into direct frontline assaults. Recruiters targeted university and technical students, promising them technical training and safe positions away from active combat zones. he first known casualty from this specific recruitment practice in May. Valeriy Averin, a 23-year-old student from Buryatia, signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense in January during his final year at the Buryat Republican Technical School of Construction and Industrial Technologies. After completing drone pilot training, he was sent to the front and died in the Luhansk region on April 6, just days after deployment.

Ukraine's 118th Brigade Shoots Down 61 Russian Drones In 1 Day, Setting Record

Starting at 4am and continuing for almost 18 hours, the Ukrainian drone pilots took down a Russian drone approximately every 17 minutes. 

This tops the previous Ukrainian army record, which was 44 Russian drones shot down in one day. JL

Valentyna Romanenko reports in Ukraine Pravda:

Drone pilots from the Sirius Unmanned Systems Battalion of Ukraine's 118th Mechanised Brigade have set a national record by destroying 61 Russian Molniya drones in a single day. With this result, the team not only more than doubled its previous achievement but has also raised the bar for all of Ukraine's defence forces. Until now, the highest number recorded in the country stood at 44 drones. The hunt began at dawn. The drone hunters brought down their first aerial asset at 04:10 and the last – the 61st – at 21:47. On average, the Russians lost one drone every 17.5 minutes. The crew remained continuously at their positions for almost 18 hours. 

Anthropic No Longer A National Security Threat According To Trump

Who knows how long it will last - or how much it cost - but Anthropic appears to be back in the Trump administration's good graces. According to President Trump. 

The White House's export control shut down of  Anthropic's latest and most powerful model was clearly more of a problem for the company than was the previous  'security threat' designation. But it is also possible that it dawned on the administration that by denying themselves access to this AI, they were only hurting their standing with the tech community and, oh by the way, the Pentagon and the country. JL

Cris Tolomia reports in Quartz:

President Donald Trump said he no longer views Anthropic or its chief executive, Dario Amodei, as a national security threat, walking back a position he held as recently as a week before. Talks between Anthropic and the administration advanced when the company's senior technical staff held meetings with government officials to work toward resolving the dispute. A framework for assessing AI jailbreaks is among the outcomes the two sides are pursuing together. Trump said Amodei responded to the administration's export control directive "very quickly" and described the CEO as "nice" and "smart" after the two met at the Group of Seven summit in France.

Data Reveal Russia's Spring Offensive And War Are Close To Breaking Down

For the past three months, Ukraine has netted more territory retaken than Russian has gained. One month is a data point; three months are a trend.

The broader implication is that Russia's spring-summer offensive is close to culminating - military jargon for coming to an end - with summer having only arrived three days ago. This suggests that the Kremlin's ability to seize more territory of any significance is waning. The next question is to what extent Ukraine can pick up the momentum. JL

Mick Ryan reports in Futura Doctrina:

Russian may have lost as much as 57 square miles of Ukrainian territory last month. Any advances reported are minor. Russia has struggled to convert its gains into a wider breakthrough. The best that might be said of Russia’s spring offensive on the ground is that it has stalled, and without a major injection of resources, appears close to culminating. Ukraine has seized the strategic initiative in this war, and it is using its current momentum to shape both the battlespace and the negotiating table. Each strike that reaches the Russian capital, sets a refinery alight or grounds traffic at Moscow’s airports, widens the gap between the Kremlin’s narrative of inevitable victory and the lived reality of Russia under Ukrainian drone and missile attacks.

Failed Russian Armored Assault On Sloviansk Leaves Burning Vehicles Behind

Feeling increasing pressure - and desperation - from the Kremlin, Russian units attempted to force a breakthrough at Sloviansk with an armored attack. To no one's surprise, it failed, leaving burning tanks and vehicles on the approach routes before they could even reach the Ukrainian defenses.

Given the widely-known strength of Ukraine's Fortress Belt defensive positions, as well as the increasing lethality of their drone units, it is not clear why the Russian command thought this might work. But then that refusal to acknowledge reality has characterized Russian tactics since the day they invaded. JL

RFU News reports:

At Sloviansk Russian forces launched one of their largest mechanized assaults in months in an attempt to force a breakthrough through the outer layer of the defenses in a single push. What followed left burning vehicles scattered across the battlefield. The main weakness of this Russian assault was that both attack groups had to cross exposed approach routes. That allowed Ukrainian defenders to track the advancing elements early, slow them on the route in, and then strike isolated groups as the assault began to break apart. Instead of arriving as a concentrated force, the Russian assault was reduced to smaller fragments that could be destroyed separately. A loss of momentum before the attackers ever reached the line caused burning wrecks to accumulate along the approach because Ukrainian defenses had turned the routes into a kill zone. 

SpaceX Stock Drops 16% In 3rd Day of Decline, Now Below IPO

Welcome back to 'the glorious days of yesteryear,' when stocks shot up like rockets, then quickly descended to the level reflected in their financials - assuming they had such a thing. 

What has happened to SpaceX over the past week will be familiar to anyone who endured - or read about - the dotcom boom, when companies with no real business but with .net in their title could go public on a story and a prayer. Or, as some used to say, 'buy the story, sell the news.' The reality is that projected sales and profits never supported SpaceX's hyped up valuation, which is now below a 'mere' $2 trillion. Reversion to the mean comes for us all and, in SpaceX's case, is now getting - somewhat - closer to actual potential. JL

William Gavin reports in Marketwatch and Alexander Osipovich reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Elon Musk’s company is falling ahead of the opening bell, putting its market cap on track to fall below $2 trillion for the first time since its blockbuster IPO. SpaceX shares are down more than 4% premarket, to about $148—below the $150 level where they began trading on June 12. Yesterday, SpaceX shares just had their worst day yet — carrying them below their closing price from their first day of trading less than two weeks ago. The stock finished Monday’s session at $154.60, with declines escalating toward the end of the trading day. SpaceX shares closed well below the $160.95 at the finish on June 12, when the company went public. That means that anyone who bought the stock after its first day of trading has lost money — at least on paper. 

Ukraine's "e-Points" Are Steering Drone Teams Towards Higher Value Targets

One of the most impressive aspects of the evolving Ukrainian way of war is the degree to which they have adapted lessons from private sector managerial theory and market mechanisms to lead and incentivize their forces in order to execute the strategies to achieve the outcomes they want.

One such example is the 'e-points' system which rewards units for hitting and eliminating important targets. New analyses show that the high command's ability to identify shifting priorities is to increase or decrease the number of points awarded. In addition, the troops at the front are able to communicate what they deem important by spending more or fewer points on weapons or other equipment based on their experience and assessment of manufacturers' products. It is, as the Defense Minister has stated, 'about rapid scaling of effective solutions.' JL

Sinead Baker reports in Business Insider:

Ukraine's "e-Points" system, which rewards soldiers for hitting prized targets, is steering soldiers toward higher-value Russian assets. The rewards have worked to "incentivize units along the front line to go after challenging targets - and that's having effects." Previously, soldiers focused on "things in front of you," like infantry and tanks. Now, soldiers are incentivized to "go after more complex targets," including rear-areas more than 100 kms from the front. The point system is one of the factors contributing to Ukraine's momentum, as Kyiv uses new drones and planning to hit 'safe' targets. Points gives Ukraine's command a way to shift battlefield behavior quickly. If the military decides it needs more of a certain target destroyed, it can raise the reward. Units then have a direct reason to adjust because points help them get equipment they need. It helps Ukraine innovate quickly, knowing what weapons front-line soldiers want. "This is about rapid scaling of effective solutions."