Russians Pull 381 Billion Rubles From Banks As Cars Deliver Fuel To Front

In related signs of the Kremlin's economic and military desperation, 

the Russian central bank has begun limiting the amount of cash that Russians can withdraw from ATMs after a 30 year record 381.2 billion rubles were taken out by citizens in May.

At the same time, the Russian government has begun using civilians driving their own cars to deliver fuel to the frontlines in an attempt to avoid increasingly accurate and devastating Ukrainian drone strikes on trucks behind the fighting front. JL

UA News reports and Sania Kozatskyi reports in Militarnyi:

In May, the Russian banking system faced a massive outflow of cash - 381.2 billion rubles (approximately $5.2 billion) - the highest figure in the past three decades. Russians are increasingly choosing “cash” due to uncertainty—both geopolitical and macroeconomic. People want to have money on hand for expenses. The Russian central bank tightened controls on cash withdrawals via ATMs starting June 1. From now on, banks will monitor monthly cash withdrawal limits. Russia has started using civilian vehicles to transport fuel to its military units in occupied Ukraine. The move is an attempt to conceal military logistics from Ukrainian drone strikes, which have increasingly targeted Russian supply routes and fuel shipments far behind the front lines. 

Ukraine's 3rd Corps Ran 18,000 Ground Robot Missions, Inc 600 Wounded Evacs

In its first full year of ground robot deployment at operational scale, Ukraine's 3rd Army Corps conducted 18,000 missions, including the evacuation of 600 wounded soldiers. 

The significance of this achievement lies in both the corps' ability to manage the complexities of this new type of maneuver across the breadth of its areas of responsibility, but also in demonstrating that ground robots have now become an essential, integrated element of a fighting unit's success. JL

Roman Kohanets reports in United 24:

Ukraine's Third Army Corps carried out more than 18,000 ground-robot missions over its first year of operations, evacuating more than 600 wounded soldiers and transporting 4,500 tons of cargo. Officers attributed the throughput to streamlined paperwork and a mission-command model that lets junior commanders decide how to execute orders while senior officers set the intent. A dedicated "Battle Captain" software runs each engagement directly and coordinates between units without clarifying decisions up the chain of command.

Why A Sudden Russian Army Collapse Is No Longer Out of the Question

Soldiers of the Russian army have endured more misery than any other fighting force in recent memory: massive losses, corrupt, cruel and incompetent officers, inadequate supplies, indifferent medical care and now, after four bloody years with little to show for that sacrifice, the surging success of their Ukrainian enemies. 

Students of history will recall that the Russian Revolution was sparked by the mutiny of the Tsar's field armies on the Eastern Front in WWI - as well as the rebellion of  Baltic Fleet sailors at Kronstadt naval base outside St Petersburg (which was bombed last week by Ukrainian drones). That this generation of Russian soldiers and sailors have endured their privations for so long, given the horrific scale of their casualties and paucity of success, is a matter of surprise to observers from more civilized societies. But now, as the following article reveals, all of the elements that have historically led to military mutinies are present for Russian troops in Ukraine. The most soul-destroying may be the Ukrainians' offensive successes, both at the front and striking the Russians' rear areas, including cities once considered untouchable. In addition to the lack of any hope of success for their own efforts, the troops must now confront the fact that, in many areas and perhaps overall, they are losing. There are no rumors or stories about mutinies to date, but that final blow to morale, on top of leadership's refusal to admit any problems, may be the last straw. JL

Brynn Tannehill reports in The Bulwark:

Hemingway famously observed that one goes bankrupt “gradually and then suddenly.” The same can be said of armies. The biggest army does not automatically win. Armies fall apart in months due to a combination of poor leadership, lack of logistic support, exhaustion, corrupt regimes, failed offensives, and broken morale. Many of the conditions for Russian army collapse have been in place for a long time: corruption is endemic, commanders extort money from their troops, soldiers are punished with violence, tactics have resulted in high losses with minimal gains, all with predictable effects on combat effectiveness. (And) the most important condition - logistics - is now trending in the wrong direction. There is no hope of breakthrough. The spring offensive of 2026 has failed. (But) the best guarantor of poor Russian leadership is Putin's (good) health.

With @ $1 Billion Per Month Google, Anthropic Compute Power Deals, SpaceX Emerges As Major AI Infrastructure Provider

With two recent deals to provide computing power to AI leaders Google and Anthropic at around $1 billion per month ($920 million per month for Google, $1.25 billion monthly for Anthropic), SpaceX is emerging as a - and possibly the - major provider of compute power for the AI industry. 

It is the latest iteration of the Bay Area economic success story exemplified by a merchant named Levi Strauss who, rather than panning or digging himself during the 1849 Gold Rush, found another way to get rich by selling tools and strong pants made of denim to miners. In the current instance, SpaceX and its subsidiary xAI, after realizing that, at least so far, they would catch up to leading AI providers like Anthropic, OpenAI and Google, can make as much or more by selling them the computing power they need. This is especially timely as it comes just as SpaceX is about to launch its IPO at a time when questions are being raised about the viability of AI companies' revenue and profit projections. JL

Kate Conger reports in the New York Times:

SpaceX revealed in a regulatory filing that Google will pay it $920 million a month for computing power, pumping billions of dollars into the company as it prepares for its IPO. The agreement, which starts in October and runs through June 2029, could earn SpaceX $30 billion. SpaceX reached a similar deal last month to provide Anthropic with computing power. Anthropic is paying SpaceX $1.25 billion a month.  It also helps establish SpaceX — which owns xAI — as a major infrastructure provider. As part of the agreement, Google will gain access to 110,000 A.I. chips from Nvidia, which would help it meet larger-than-expected customer demand for its A.I. models.

Not Only Is Russia Not Winning, It Doesn't Know How To Win

It is the second part of that headline which may be the most important. 

It is apparent that Russia is not winning on the battlefield. But it is the fact that, after over four years of trying, they don't know how to win. The Russian command has tried everything: armor, motorcycles, mass infantry 'meat' attacks. Nothing has worked. They are almost out of weaponry and men, but more importantly, they are out of ideas. JL

Anne Applebaum reports in The Atlantic:

Suddenly, many people understand the Russian narrative is wrong: The Ukrainians are not losing. The Russians are not winning, and more important, they don’t know how to win. It is hard to see how the Russian army can move forward, because the front line is a no-go zone, 20 miles wide. Everything inside is visible to drones, which means any Russian truck, tank, or infantryman is instantly identified and easily hit. Because Russian commanders keep attacking, the Ukrainians are killing and wounding thousands of enemy soldiers. Putin is running out of air defense, too, making it difficult for the Russians to supply their troops. That also helps Ukraine target Russian infrastructure. At some point the front line will become a demilitarized zone, similar to North and South Korea, patrolled by drones. After that, it could become a border, one not be recognized by either side, but a major defeat for Putin, whose central goal - the removal of Ukraine from the map - would never be realized.

Ukraine Recaptured 600 Sq Km So Far This Year, Signaling Momentum Shift

As of earlier this morning, Ukraine has recaptured over 600 square kilometers of territory, and is continuing to maintain aggressive counteroffensive operations, taking a major momentum shift away from the Russians. 

Pokrovsk, which the Kremlin claimed to have taken six months ago, remains the scene of heavy fighting, a reality which has contributed to Russian forces inability, so far, to focus on Ukraine's heavily fortified fortress belt. The devastating mid and long range attacks on Russian logistics are also hindering the Kremlin's plans, making it difficult to supply, transport and assemble sufficient forces for attacks. JL

Anna Pruchnicka reports in Reuters:

Ukrainian  forces have recaptured more than 600 square km of territory so far this year, the latest sign of shifting momentum. In May alone, Ukraine recaptured 100 square km more of territory than it lost and Ukrainian forces continue to ​maintain the initiative. The area around Pokrovsk, which Russia has been trying to capture fully since mid-2024, was among the most intense places of fighting. Russia claimed to have captured it last December. Oleksandrivka and Huliaipole in the southeast and south are also sectors where the heaviest fighting ​was taking ⁠place.

Why "Nvidia Inside" May Power PCs and Consumer AI Adoption

One of the concerns affecting AI growth is the slower than expected uptake from corporations and consumers. Cost is certainly part of that equation, but so is a related - and unanticipated - caution in figuring out how best to use AI. Which is why Nvidia's announcement that a new line of PC chips to be installed in Windows laptops could truly revolutionize the market. 

For a technology billed as changing how humanity lives and works, AI needs to be as convenient and easily accessible as possible. PCs, and laptops in particular, are, in addition to cell phones, the the path to that missing impetus. That Nvidia has chosen Windows-based models first is both a knock on Apple's AI efforts to date, but also a warning shot against an anticipated rival who should never be counted out of any tech initiative. Moving into PCs is a smart evolutionary tactic in Nvidia's long term dominance strategy. JL

Dan Gallagher and Asa Fitch report in the Wall Street Journal:

Nvidia is betting its new line of PC chips, with its AI cachet, set to be in Windows-based computers later this year, will succeed, upending order in the PC world that has prevailed for the past five decades. The move puts Nvidia in a position to supercharge the market for AI-enabled computers and disrupt incumbents in the process. Intel and other players in the PC market haven’t been able to convince huge numbers of consumers or companies to buy new computers because of the AI capabilities of their chips. 270 million PCs were sold last year, up 9% from 2024. That isn’t a stellar increase amid an AI boom that is supposed to transform how people work and live. The total is below its Covid-era peak of 340 million in 2021. It will likely be much easier for Nvidia to sell people and companies on new AI-ready computers than it has been for Intel or AMD—or, Apple.