Ukrainian Dnipropetrovsk Offensive Retakes 7 Km, 6 Villages, Pushes Russians Back

The significance of this action may be primarily in its addition to other Ukrainian forces attacks and counterattacks at this point in mid-summer, all of which are contributing to the overall reality of lost Russian momentum and even capability to defend what they have. JL

Oleksy Leonov reports in Militarnyi:

Ukrainian forces carried out a successful offensive, defeating Russian troops in the Dnipropetrovsk region near the village of Filiya. The Ukrainian troops regained control of 6.7 km² of territory. The Ukrainian military liberated six villages in the Oleksandrivka sector of the Dnipropetrovsk region: Ternove, Zaporizke, Novogeorgievka, Vorone, Sichneve, and Maliivka.

With Gas Lines, Attacks on E-commerce, Russia's Middle Class Now Feels the War

The Kremlin has worked hard to convince Russia's relatively comfortable urban middle class that the invasion of Ukraine was none of their concern and would not affect their lives. But that was before Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy infrastructure and on the country's e-commerce hubs disrupted the once normal economy.

Now, a majority of Russians - 60% - say their economic conditions are worse. Not that anyone is feeling sorry for them, given what the Russian military have done to Ukraine. Welcome to the war your government started. JL

Alexander Osipovich reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Ukraine's long-range drone strikes have brought the war home to Russia’s middle class, with attacks on logistics hubs for the country’s biggest e-commerce company, Wildberries, a homegrown version of Amazon.com. Nine people were killed in the attacks, and total costs range between $3 billion and $4.4 billion. Most of that is due to the destruction of goods belonging to vendors. Less than two weeks before the attacks, the company amended its agreement with vendors to absolve itself of liability in the event of drone strikes.  Russian drivers have also been waiting for hours in huge lines at gas stations. Moscow's stock index lost one-quarter of its value this year, and last week sank to its lowest level since October 2022, after a selloff in government bonds. Between March and May, a record 60% of Russians told Gallup their economic conditions were worse. "Because of the lines at gas stations, because of the fires, everyone in Russia sees the war from their window.”

First Of Its Kind Ukraine Ground-Air Robot Assault Destroys Russian Bunkers

The Ukrainians used a heavy-duty bomber drone to carry a fully-loaded ground drone laden with explosives over 19 kilometers so that the ground drone could then attack a Russian bunker complex. 

Yes, the bomber could have tried bombing it and the ground drone could have attempted the journey over fields and roads, but this unique combined arms assault, reduced the risks and enhanced the probability of success - and all with Ukrainian soldiers' lives being at stake. JL 

Euromaidan Press reports:

Just days after landing robots on an enemy shore in the first all-robot amphibious assault, Ukrainian forces flew one into battle as, this week, a Ukrainian heavy bomber drone airlifted an explosives-laden unmanned ground vehicle into action. A  19-km trip is a long trip for a remotely controlled vehicle that's susceptible to enemy radio jamming and prone to getting stuck in potholes. So airlifting a UGV underneath a heavy bomber drone gets the UGV into action faster and with less risk of a loss or accident en route.  A heavy bomber drone could just drop a bomb. But a UGV can do something an aerial bomber can't do: drive straight through the door of a Russian bunker regardless of how much protection the Russians have.

Major Russian Dobropillia Armored Assault Annihilated, 9 Tanks Destroyed

The Russian command took another one of those actions that - despite four-plus years of failing to achieve objectives, despite all they've learned about drones, despite the fact that they can no longer replace casualties, weapons and armored like they did even last year - the world has learned to expect from them. 

Which is, that they ordered a suicidal massive armored assault on a well-defended Ukrainian sector - Dobropillia - and, to absolutely no one's surprise, suffered precisely the annihilation anyone could have predicted. Nine tanks, two infantry fighting vehicles, three Grad rocket launchers and dozens of soldiers: Kaput. It is fair to wonder if this is reported up the chain of command to the Kremlin as a victory or as noble effort that weakened Ukrainian defenders - or if no one really cares anymore, they just need to keep showing Putin they are trying so he can keep trying to convince Trump and the Europeans he's still a threat. JL

New Voice of Ukraine reports:

Russian forces have made a failed breakthrough on the Dobropillia front. Drone operators from the Phoenix border unit of the Pomsta ("Revenge") brigade, working alongside adjacent units, repelled a Russian assault during which the Russians deployed dozens of armored vehicles on July 24. Border guards said they had not seen a breakthrough attempt of this scale in their area of responsibility for a long time. Drone operators from the Phoenix unit destroyed nine Russian tanks, two armored vehicles and three Grad multiple-launch rocket systems that were intended to provide fire support for the offensive. Several dozen Russian troops were also killed.

AI-Linked Cos' Value Up $27 Trillion, 36% of US Stock Market. That's Not Good

Yeah, you're tired of hearing it: the negativity, the refusal to accept that this time is different, the naysayers who just don't get that AI is going to supplant everything we've ever known. Etc. 

The problem is that the alarm bells of everyone who actually knows anything about money and economics and statistics and business are not just ringing - they're exploding. And the reason is pretty simple: a sensible analysis of the projections compared to the actual amount of potential customers willing and able to spend it who exist on this planet just does not add up to a conclusion where the AI bubble (yep, used the b word) pays out. There are not enough people doing enough things to make additional capital to justify the expense and the debt and the risk. The issue is no longer if, it is when. Do. The. Math. JL

Annie Lowry reports in The Atlantic:

The value of AI-linked firms has climbed $27 trillion in the past three years, 36% of the value of the entire U.S. stock market. Although future earnings could justify those valuations, the profit expectations require Panglossian optimism. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is arguing we are in an AI bubble. The International Monetary Fund is citing it as a significant risk to financial stability. Silicon Valley is building 1,500 data centers in the US, spending more than $700 billion on the build-out this year. (But) tech companies are going to need to start generating huge revenues and profits to justify these valuations. OpenAI needs $100 billion in free cash flow by 2030. AI-infrastructure investment is now responsible all American GDP growth. Without it, recession.  (And) if more communities ban data centers, or if companies prove reticent about purchasing AI, or if China develops AI models that are not as expensive—there could be a massive correction.

Russian Troops Hit By Machine Gun Realized Too Late It Was A Ground Drone

For the Russians, confusing, demoralizing - and lethal.

For the Ukrainians, effective. JL

Vlad Litnarovych reports in United 24:

Ukraine's 33rd Assault Regiment carried out a combat assault using armed ground robots and drones, destroying a Russian position without sending Ukrainian infantry into the assault zone on July 17. The operation combined two Droid TW-12.7 unmanned ground vehicles with reconnaissance and strike UAVs. According to intercepted Russian communications cited in the report, troops at the position told their commanders they were taking machine-gun fire but could not identify the shooter. The fire was coming from the remotely operated ground vehicles. All Russian troops at the site were eliminated. No Ukrainian personnel entered the assault zone. 

German-Made Ukraine Skynex Shoots 11 Russian Shaheds, 1 Missile At Once

The Ukrainians are showing western countries how to most effectively deploy and use their expensive weapons systems. 

Shooting down 11 Shahed drones and a cruise missile from one Skynex air defense system at one site in a single engagement demonstrates a level of Ukrainian skill and mastery to which NATO can only aspire right now. JL

Wes O'Donnell reports in Medium:

A Ukrainian German-made Skynex system shot down 12 Russian targets in a single engagement: one cruise missile and 11 Shaheds. It is a short-range, gun-based air-defense battery that networks together a radar, a command-and-control node, and up to four 35mm Oerlikon Revolver Gun Mk3 cannons, tied in with electro-optical trackers and radar-guided targeting. A standard Skynex “system” has four guns spread over 1–2-acres. Each round is programmed to burst 10 to 40 meters ahead of the target, ejecting a cloud of tungsten sub-projectiles. The drone then flies into that cloud. Each round costs a fraction of a surface-to-air missile, and a single system carries a deep magazine. Skynex lets Ukraine kill the cheap threats cheaply.