In A First Since 2022, Putin's Approval Ratings In Russia Have Declined

What is particularly noteworthy about this is that two of the polls registering the decline in approval for Putin are from state-sanctioned pollsters. That the information was even allowed to be released - or was leaked - suggests that powerful forces with the Kremlin and among the oligarchy - are trying to send Putin a message about the conduct of the war, its impact on the economy and the resultant public mood.

Whether he is willing to listen to that message, let alone act on it, remains a momentous question. JL

Mike Eckel reports in RFE/RL:

Russian President Putin is not as popular as he used to be. In recent weeks,  a series of public opinion surveys -- including two conducted by state-linked pollsters -- have registered a decline in support for Putin. FOM, whose main customer is the Kremlin, recorded the lowest level of public trust in Putin since September 2022. The shift in mood might be explained by Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory; disruption of  Telegram, WhatsApp, and the Internet; unmet expectations from peace negotiations; overall fatigue with a prolonged war that started to impact the economy more noticeably. “Major interventions in everyday life: internet blackouts, the war penetrating deeper into Russia with strikes on oil refineries, airports and so on. The impact accumulates."

Lyman Assault Annihilated. Follows Pattern of Failed Russian Spring Attacks

For a war in which patterns have been more likely to be blown up than identified, a curious trend is emerging in the first months of 2026: Russian attacks, no matter the sector and the composition of the assault force, are being spotted either before or as soon as they reach the front line and are then expeditiously decimated.

The latest example occurred in the Lyman sector where a large mixed force of armor, motorcyles and infantry was literally annihilated by combined Ukrainian drones, infantry and artillery. The Ukrainians, as they have done regularly, first shaped the battlefield with drone-dropped mines and strongpoints, then followed up with surveillance and strikes, finishing off the remaining Russians by using thermal drones to identify their hiding places. This is not a pattern to which the Russians appear to have any answer so far. JL

RFU News reports:

Across the frontline, a pattern emerged over the past weeks: with Russian progress stalling, the Kremlin resorted to large assaults, leading to catastrophic losses. Within five days after their spring offensive started, the Russians suffered over 8,000 killed and wounded. In the Lyman sector, Russia committed 500 troops, twenty-eight armored vehicles, and more than 100 motorcycles and buggies thrown forward along 150 kilometers. Russian armor was restrained by remote mining by Ukrainian drones and funneled into routes which became kill zones. The first vehicles were destroyed, creating congestion and making subsequent targets even easier to hit. Ukraine also took out Russian support elements, destroying artillery and 160 Russian drones, blinding their recon and strike capabilities. 80% of the attackers were neutralized without any gain as the offensive collapsed. 

Gen Z Polls Reveal AI Attitude Turns Less Hopeful, More Angry, Anxious

As BB King (Google him) was known to sing, "the thrill is gone, baby." Recent polls reveal that Gen Zers recognize they have to be able to use AI, but don't seem excited or hopeful about it. 

Much of this has to do with AI's impact on hiring, especially for the entry level positions for which Gen Zers are most likely to apply, but it may also signal a growing awareness that tech generally and AI specifically will primarily advantage the few rather than the many. JL

Avery Lotz reports in Axios:

The share of Gen Z respondents who agree that AI makes them excited fell from 36% last year to 22% in 2026. A smaller share feel hopeful (18%) this year than last (27%) — and a larger share say they feel angry (22% to 31%). That rising anger may be driven by AI dimming prospects for entry-level workers. Gen Z's adoption of AI in daily life is largely unchanged from last year's survey, with just over half saying they use the tech daily (22%) or weekly (29%). Plateaued usage "speaks to the the reticent acceptance that this technology is here to stay." (52%) agree they'll have to know how to use it

Russia's Z-Bloggers Have Turned On Army Leaders and Kremlin For Failing War

When you've lost the mil-bloggers...

Until recently the most enthusiastic - and often bloodthirsty supporters of Russia's Ukrainian invasion were the community of unofficial home-grown bloggers, know as mil or z bloggers. But as the war continues to go badly, the bloggers have begun to criticize not just tactics or individual commanders, which they had tacit permission to do, but are now mentioning the war itself, and even Putin. This suggests that the truth about the conduct of the war is widespread and that its former supporters are now expressing outrage as the prospect of winning has turned to fear of unsatisfactory compromise, let alone effective defeat. JL

 
New Voice of Ukraine reports:

Russian Z-bloggers (also mil-bloggers or voenkors, until now Russia's most enthusiastic Ukraine invasion cheerleaders) have begun to criticize the command of the Russian army the war itself and even Putin. From the start, they could criticize tactics and commanders but never the Kremlin, nor the idea of the war. (But) posts critical of the Kremlin have appeared from dozens of Russian z-bloggers over the past two weeks. They write that the Russian offensive has reached a dead end, mobilization is pointless in current conditions, the command is hiding real losses, 80-90% of  casualties occur before the battle even starts as fighters die on the way due to Ukraine's drone attacks, while officials are stealing and vacation at resorts. They also resent the blocking of Telegram and VPNs. By purging Z-channels, the Kremlin reduced the risk of criticism, but lost strategic feedback." 

How Ukrainian Leopard Tank Survived 52 FPV Drone Strikes

The benefits of tanks offensive threat have been offset by their vulnerability to drone strikes. In order to protect these still valuable weapons systems, their crews have learned to better protect them by adding a variety of chains, grills and cages to catch drones or break their propellers before they actually hit the armored vehicle.

Surviving 52 Russian drone strikes and then being able to drive the tank away suggests that these protective systems, though still improvised, appear to be doing their job. JL

Roman Kohanets reports in United24:

During a daylong attack, a Ukrainian Leopard 1A5 tank withstood 52 strikes from Russian FPV and Molniya drones. The crew, from the 1st Battalion of Ukraine's 5th Mechanized Brigade, had reinforced the vehicle with layered anti-drone protection as drone warfare has forced crews to abandon traditional maneuver combat. Crews place them in covered revetments hidden under camouflage nets with side netting to catch incoming drones. The vehicles are fitted with a roof cage, grilles and chains over the engine, and Ukrainian-made reactive armor on the hull, sides, and turret. Crews also attach unraveled steel cables to break drone propellers. the crew stayed under cover until the strikes stopped, then started the engine, and drove it from under Russian observation.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet Down To 7 Warships: Ukraine's Hunting Them One By One

Two days ago, Ukrainian drones struck the Russian Black Sea Fleet's flagship, the Admiral Makarov, one of only seven warships remaining in what was once the Kremlin's proudest naval force. 

The Makarov became the fleet's flagship when Ukraine sank its predecessor, the Moskva, four years ago this month. JL

David Axe reports in Trench Art:

After years of relentless Ukrainian strikes from the air, the surface, and below the sea, just seven warships now represent the once-powerful Russian Black Sea fleet's firepower. Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces just hit another, under the cover of darkness on Monday. One-way attack drones targeted the frigate Admiral Makarov while the missile-armed vessel was at its pier in Novorossiysk. It has served as the Black Sea Fleet's flagship ever since Ukrainian missiles sank the Moskva in April 2022. The strike marks the latest in an escalating Ukrainian campaign against the handful of warships Russia has left in the Black Sea. Every hit shrinks the Kalibr-launching capacity Moscow uses to bombard Ukrainian cities—and pushes the once-dominant fleet closer to combat irrelevance.

Attacking Thru Kill Zones, Ukrainians Say "The More Russians, the More We Kill"

As Ukrainian forces continue their opportunistic attacks from winter into the spring, there is no longer a front line per se. Instead, they are advancing through a killzone of varying widths, depending on the strength of the drone and assault units operating in tandem for that sector.

The Ukrainians have learned to take advantage of the confusion such imprecision provides, using it to advance as they track the Russians who are reduced to infiltration units of a few men because they can no longer assemble larger groups. The result has been a series of successful operations which have strengthened Ukraine's defensive position while disrupting Russian offensive hopes. JL

Francis Farrell reports in the Kyiv Independent:

Ukrainian forces have retaken the initiative on the southern front line, counterattacking through the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. As much as the war has come to be dominated by drones every step of the way, clearing and holding territory still requires boots on the ground. The rank and file are no super soldiers, but simple Ukrainian mobilized men who chose to do their duty. "The difficulty is that there's no longer that clear line of separation like there was even a couple years ago. When all our drone teams are working, the enemy can't achieve anything, they take massive losses, 95% of them are destroyed on their way to the zero line. The more of them that come, the more we kill. It’s just a routine process that goes on day and night."