For !st Time Since 2022, Russians More Concerned About Strikes On Russia Than War At Front

There are two interesting aspects to this poll result. The first is that ordinary Russians are now more concerned about Ukrainian attacks on Russia than they are about news from fighting at the front, suggesting that they know the war is stalled and that their own safety is now at risk.

But perhaps as or more importantly, the question is why the Kremlin has released these results, whose dissemination it controls. The logical answer may be that Putin is starting to prepare his country for the end of the war and wants all parties to recognize that, if he does choose to stop it, he is doing so because of public sentiment, which is intended to absolve him of responsibility as it can be blamed on European and/or American 'interference' that undermined Russian war efforts. JL

Tim Zadorozhnyy reports in the Kyiv Independent:

Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia have begun to concern Russians more than developments on the front lines, according to a poll published on May 15 by the Kremlin-controlled Public Opinion Foundation. Respondents most frequently mentioned attacks on major Russian cities, drone strikes, attacks on oil refineries, and a drone attack on the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, almost 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) from the nearest Ukrainian border. The survey also showed growing public anxiety inside Russia as the share of respondents who said people around them were feeling anxious rose to 50%, amid internet restrictions and renewed discussion about a possible mobilization.

Ukraine Retakes 2nd Town Near Kupiansk As Russia's Fortress Belt Drive Stalls

Ukrainian forces are regaining territory at the northern end of the Fortress Belt as Russia's offensive along that defensive position continues to falter. 

The reason for this, as in Zaporizhzhia earlier in the spring, is that the Russians no longer have sufficient troops to press everywhere. They must pick their spots carefully. Since their options are fewer and easier to ascertain, the Ukrainians are better able to identify weak points and exploit them. JL 

Yuri Zoria reports:

Ukraine's 129th Heavy Mechanized Brigade liberated Odradne in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast. The brigade pushed Russian forces from the village and surrounding terrain near Kupiansk. Russia had occupied Odradne since 22 November 2025. Ukraine recovered 22 km², including the village, with 56 Russian troops killed in the operation. Assault groups, drone operators, and artillery worked together to clear fortified Russian positions. Russia's push on Kupiansk from the north has been losing effectiveness as Ukrainian forces advanced toward Sloviansk. Moscow's spring-summer offensive has yet to break through Ukraine's Fortress Belt. Now Ukrainian units are retaking ground at the northern end of the line, where Moscow has tried and failed to break through for more than three years

Why Drones Are Replacing Ukraine's World-Class Snipers

A Ukrainian sniper holds the world distance record for hitting a Russian officer 2 1/2 miles away. Ukraine still employs snipers, but their role has been largely supplanted by drones which can spot targets further away due to the height at which they operate, move faster to close on the target - and can hit it - or him - with a warhead bigger than a bullet. And if the intended target moves, a drone can turn corners, dive into bunkers or up stairs to find its man, unlike a bullet. 

The reality is also that it takes less time to train a skilled drone pilot than it does a sniper - and on the modern battlefield in Ukraine, they tend to live longer. JL

Alistair MacDonald and Ievgenia Sivorka report in the Wall Street Journal:

A Ukrainian special-forces sniper claimed a world record in 2023 with a shot that hit a Russian officer 2½ miles away. These days Vyacheslav Kovalskiy is supporting drone pilots. He hasn’t been out to shoot in more than a year and a half.  Unmanned vehicles are particularly suited to the sniper’s main tasks of reconnaissance and targeted killing. Their advantages include their bigger visual range, maneuverability and expendability: a sniper can’t match the bird’s-eye view of a drone or the speed at which it can move. Drones, unlike bullets, can turn corners. And a drone’s explosive warhead can do more damage. Ukraine still uses snipers but they are being used less. Many snipers, like Kovalskiy, believe the era of sniping has passed. “Drones are just more effective and cost less.” 

Automating AI Self-Improvement Without Humans Is Within Reach

The implication is that Ai will soon be able to improve itself, ostensibly without human participation. 

Whether those improvements will actually be 'better' - and by whose definition - remains to be seen. And whether the improvements will be in service to mankind is also a question about which many technologists disagree. Vehemently. JL

Cade Metz reports in the New York Times:

AI will soon be powerful enough to improve itself with little or no help from human developers. Recursive self-improvement has been an obsession among Silicon Valley technologists for decades. Recursion refers to a mathematical function that feeds itself. After a recursive procedure generates information, it uses that information to generate something else. A.I. development called “open-endedness” involves building software systems that can run for days, months or even years in pursuit of goals set by the researchers. The aim is to push more and more work onto machines, including the generation of new ideas. "A.I. is code. And now, A.I. can code.”

Putin Saying "War Is Coming To A Close" Reflects Military, Economic Failure

Following his 45 minute armor and missile-less 'victory' parade last week, Russian dictator Putin uttered a curious statement that 'the war is coming to a close.' 

Most experts now believe that reflected not a desire to end the war, but a reflection of military failure and growing economic hardship for ordinary Russians who had supported it - before it began to interfere with their daily lives. The implicit bargain had been that they would not complain as long as they didn't have to feel the effects. The Russian military's inability to protect them from increasingly successful Ukrainian attacks on their infrastructure and life style has put an end to that deal. Inflation is up, gas is rationed, internet access is often closed and the war feels closer than they want. Putin may have no intention of ending it, but he clearly feels the need to suggest that he might, before, that is, he is forced to. JL

Mary Ilyushina reports in the Washington Post:

Vladimir Putin is under pressure not only from stalemate, stagnation and heavy losses on the battlefield but also a battered economy, rising public frustration and setbacks worldwide in Iran, Hungary and Venezuela. The frontline remains stalled, with Russia still failing to achieve Putin’s goal of seizing the entire Donbas region. Putin's “Image of victory” narratives are designed to sell Russians on a peace deal despite high casualties and minimal territorial gains, reflecting contingency planning within the Kremlin’s political bloc. The most immediate risk is losing the passive majority that has tolerated the war — as long as it was kept at a distance — but now feels its strain in daily life.

The Kremlin's "Exaggerated Demands Run Completely Counter To Battlefield Reality"

Let us stipulate that Putin is not an idiot. But like many people whose position and - in his case, survival - depend on a certain degree of cognitive dissonance, he may be subject to persuasion by people, like his military chain of command, who know what he wants to hear. 

He may also believe that if he repeats the big lie often enough, in this case, that Russia is 'winning' in Ukraine, some of his more credulous backers, like Trump, will believe him. But none of that counters the reality expressed by objective and knowledgeable observers, that his forces remain incapable of achieving his military goals in Ukraine. JL 

The Institute for the Study of War reports:

Russia's exaggerated ambitions and demands run completely counter to battlefield reality. The slowing rate of Russian advances and the challenging nature of the Ukrainian-held terrain in Donetsk makes it unclear Russia is capable of seizing the territory at all. Strong Ukrainian fortifications, the area’s challenging geography, and Ukrainian counterattacks and mid-range strike campaign that are already inhibiting Russian operations make the prospects for a Russian seizure of the rest of Donetsk dim. Russian forces infiltrated Kostyantynivka (the Fortress Belt’s southernmost city) in October 2025 but have failed to make any significant gains over the last six months. Ukraine’s successes accomplished tactical, operational, and strategic effects undermining Putin’s narrative. His thinking appears to be further and further removed from battlefield realities, resulting in the issuance of orders to the Russian military it is not capable of achieving.

Russians Forced To Retreat As Soldiers Survive 12 Minutes In Zaporizhzhia Town

Russian forces were attempting to assault the key town of Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia oblast when Ukrainian drones and artillery inflicted such 'devastating' losses on the Kremlin's troops that the average life expectancy of the attacking soldiers was estimated to be 12 minutes. 

One of Ukraine's most significant achievements so far this year has been the increase in accuracy of its drone forces. AI and fiber optics have given Ukrainian drone units enhanced lethality, which has proven to be insurmountable for the Russians. JL

Olena Mukhina reports in Euromaidan Press:

Russian forces are abandoning their advance on Stepnohirsk in Zaporizhzhia oblast and retreating after the Russians suffered devastating losses during assaults on Ukrainian positions. Fighting for the settlement involved elite Russian units, but the average survival time of a newly mobilized Russian soldier there was around 12 minutes. Russian forces are now using armored vehicles primarily to evacuate wounded personnel, while assault operations are being carried out mostly by small infantry groups. Even those attempts continue to fail. Russian forces continue artillery and FPV drone strikes in an attempt to create the appearance of activity, but there are effectively no Russian troops inside the settlement itself.