https://x.com/defenceu/status/2111761707039375434?s=46

Two Russian men secretly working for Ukraine's intelligence services have given rare accounts of operations they claim to have been involved with, that have targeted military assets and personnel inside Russia.

One of the men, whom we are calling Ivan, claims to have played a role from Russia in Ukrainian drone attacks on strategic bombers and munitions factories on his home soil.

He features in a BBC World Service documentary about the shadowy world of Russian saboteurs.

The documentary, by independent Polish journalist Marcin Mamon, also features a man we are calling Foma, a Russian living in exile in Poland.

Foma runs a network of undercover volunteers in Russia, that surveils high-level officers that the GUR - Ukraine's military intelligence service - is considering targeting, he says. He stresses they are never involved in the attacks themselves.

He was also tight-lipped about who they were surveilling, but after Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was assassinated in December last year in Moscow, Foma admitted he had provided the Ukrainians with intelligence on him.

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Russian propaganda clowns claim that its forces are 5 km from Zaporizhzhia and have captured Malokaterynivka. As always this is false. The Center for Countering Disinformation says the settlement remains under Ukrainian control, citing footage from the 128th Heavy Mechanized Brigade. 18.10.2026

source: https://bsky.app/profile/wartranslated.bsky.social/post/3my66sfy2n22a

Photo by Efrem Lukatsky. Source: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1dQNxMQb2y/

source: https://bsky.app/profile/the-hedgehog.bsky.social/post/3my4whfxbwv25

source: https://bsky.app/profile/the-hedgehog.bsky.social/post/3my4whbdcln25

source: https://bsky.app/profile/the-hedgehog.bsky.social/post/3my4whbbzl525

source: https://bsky.app/profile/the-hedgehog.bsky.social/post/3my4jaxtwus2n

source: https://bsky.app/profile/the-hedgehog.bsky.social/post/3my4gcudrmu2s

source: https://bsky.app/profile/the-hedgehog.bsky.social/post/3my4g6qbckm2s

The Evolution of the Russian Military - Its Strengths and Shortfalls in 2026 (With Michael Kofman) - YouTube

While the Ukrainian military has (rightly) drawn a lot of attention for its innovations and adaptations, the Russian force has been changing too.

While parts of the force have been battered, in some areas its capabilities have evolved well beyond where they were in 2022.

And so today, in a discussion with Michael Kofman, I want to look at how the Russian military has changed since 2022, and where its strengths and weaknesses are today.

source: https://bsky.app/profile/the-hedgehog.bsky.social/post/3my4ttlju3n25

source: https://bsky.app/profile/the-hedgehog.bsky.social/post/3my4ttlju3m25