Russia Invades Ukraine. Again by captaincrunch

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

Russia Invades Ukraine. Again

POSTED BY: CAPTAINCRUNCH
UPDATED: Sunday, November 16, 2025 06:30
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Friday, November 14, 2025 1:48 PM

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Ukraine launches large-scale production of Shahed drone interceptors

Fri, November 14, 2025 - 19:00

Author: Daryna Vialko

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-launches-large-scale-productio
n-of-1763138904.html

Ukraine has launched serial production of the Octopus interceptor drone, designed to counter Russian Shahed attack UAVs. The first manufacturers have already received the technology, said Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal.

According to Shmyhal, three manufacturers have received the necessary technologies to produce Octopus drones, while another eleven are preparing their production lines.

"Octopus is a Ukrainian technology for intercepting Shaheds, developed by the Armed Forces and proven in combat. It works at night, under jamming, and at low altitudes," the minister noted.

He added that launching Octopus into mass production will allow interceptor drones to be delivered quickly to protect Ukraine’s skies from Russian UAVs.

"The Ministry of Defense continues its policy of open cooperation with Ukrainian manufacturers, creating conditions for a rapid transition from innovation to serial combat solutions that strengthen Ukraine’s defense capability,” Shmyhal added.

Earlier, Shmyhal promised that Ukraine would soon reach a production rate of 1,000 interceptor drones per day, saying this is Ukraine’s response to Russia’s night attacks.

Octopus is a Ukrainian small interceptor drone designed to locate and destroy disposable Shahed-type attack UAVs and similar models. The system has already proven effective on the battlefield and has become the basis for an international industrial program for mass production.

The drone is co-produced by Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Ukraine has also begun joint production with the United States of interceptor drones capable of countering Russian attack UAVs, although it is unclear whether this refers specifically to Octopus.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, November 15, 2025 7:36 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Business Insider reported on November 12 that European defense company Atreyd stated that it shipped its “drone wall” system to Ukraine.[20]
https://archive.ph/7bYFP
https://www.businessinsider.com/ukraine-gets-drone-wall-to-fight-russi
an-threats-arms-maker-2025-11

The “drone wall” reportedly consists of a collection of first-person view (FPV) drones that launch from designated platforms if radar systems detect a threat, and the drones are arrayed in layers and spaced apart. The FPVs intercept Russian drones by detonating nearby. The system reportedly relies on artificial intelligence (AI) to operate autonomously, and one operator will be able to control 100 drones. Business Insider reported that the “drone wall” system is able to operate in GPS-denied areas as it uses pre-installed 3D maps of the area, augmenting the system’s electronic warfare (EW) resilience. The system’s drones are able to operate at various altitudes and are equipped with identification technology to prevent friendly fire. Business Insider noted that system operators will not require any specialized training nor prior drone pilot training. Atreyd noted that the system will likely be operational in Ukraine within a few weeks and that Ukraine will employ the system to defend its cities and critical infrastructure, but may deploy systems closer to the frontline to intercept Russian glide bombs later. Atreyd’s “drone wall” system is defensive in nature and notably differs from Ukraine’s tactical ”wall of drones” concept, which uses a large number of tactical strike drones and loitering munitions to destroy manpower and equipment on the frontline.[21]

https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive
-campaign-assessment-november-14-2025/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, November 15, 2025 10:10 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

North Korea halves shell shipments to Russia as its own stockpiles run low, Ukraine's intelligence says

By Kateryna Hodunova | November 15, 2025 12:53 pm

https://kyivindependent.com/north-korea-halves-arms-shipments-to-russi
a-as-its-own-stockpiles-run-low-ukraines-intelligence-says/

In 2023, North Korea supplied Russia with about 6.5 million artillery shells from its stockpiles.

In 2024, North Korean artillery ammunition enabled Russia to maintain its firing rate, but this year, that support has declined markedly, with both the quantity and quality of munitions delivered to the Kremlin significantly reduced.

No shipments were recorded in September, though some were tracked in October, according to Ukraine's military intelligence.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Saturday, November 15, 2025 10:10 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russia plans to make up to 120,000 glide bombs this year, Ukrainian intelligence says

By Max Hunder and Anastasiia Malenko | November 14, 2025 8:51 AM CST

https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/russia-plans-make-u
p-120000-glide-bombs-this-year-ukrainian-intelligence-says-2025-11-14/

Russia plans to manufacture up to 120,000 of its cheap and devastating glide bombs this year, a senior Ukrainian intelligence official said, including 500 of a new, longer-range version which can reach more towns and cities.

Russia has ramped up arms production massively since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with defence plants operating around the clock. It does not disclose details of military output, which are classified as secret.

Reuters was unable to verify the 2025 target, which Major General Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence disclosed in an interview.

He did not say how he had obtained the figure or give earlier data, but it would indicate a vast increase in the manufacture of glide bombs, which use wings, and sometimes engines, to fly dozens of kilometres to their targets.

The 120,000 number includes new munitions and existing bombs upgraded to glide.

Skibitskyi said Russian forces are firing between 200 and 250 glide bombs every day. Last month, the daily average was about 170, according to data from the defence ministry.

"It is possible to shoot them down, but the quantity of these aerial bombs produced in the Russian Federation ... is enormous," Skibitskyi said. "This is a threat. A threat that will require us to respond appropriately."

RUSSIA IS BOOSTING GLIDE BOMB RANGE

The bombs, whose range was previously estimated to be up to 90 km (56 miles), can breach Ukrainian defences without sending planes across front lines where they would be shot down.

They are much cheaper and more plentiful than missiles and their several hundred kilograms of explosive can blast through buildings and fortifications. They have pummelled frontline cities such as Kharkiv and Kherson.

Russia is launching mass production of a new glide bomb capable of flying up to 200 km (125 miles) from the point of release from a fighter jet, Skibitskyi said, adding that it plans to make about 500 by the end of this year.

Ukraine also believes that Russia is working on modifications so such bombs can fly up to 400 km, allowing Moscow to target even more Ukrainian towns and cities without using missiles, he said.
October glide bomb attacks on Mykolaiv, Poltava and Odesa regions, which are at least dozens of kilometres from the nearest front lines, have already demonstrated the increasing reach of the weapon.

The Russian defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Russia denies targeting civilians, but thousands have been killed and injured in the invasion.

Moscow argues that Kyiv's moves to ally with the West pose a threat to Russia and must be stopped.

INTENSIFYING ATTACKS AIMED AT FORCING KYIV'S HAND IN TALKS

Skibitskyi also gave estimates for Russian drone production, which he said had enabled it to target Ukraine's energy system more effectively.

In 2025 Russia would make a total of about 70,000 long-range drones, he said, including 30,000 Shahed craft which are the workhorse of Russia's attacks.

"They started with 30 drones per month, now 30 can fly to a single target," he said, expecting the attacks on gas and energy infrastructure to continue into the winter.

"They definitely want to break us. This is destabilising the internal situation," he said. Skibitskyi described it as one of the tools to pressure Ukraine into a more compliant position in any possible peace negotiations.

He also said that should Russian troops capture the besieged city of Pokrovsk, where street battles are currently raging, they would likely press towards the boundaries of Donetsk region, their long-held goal.

"It's their next direction of movement, it's obvious."

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, November 16, 2025 4:49 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Why does the Russian army's brutal culture go unchecked?

The Russian army has a reputation for murdering, torturing and treating its own recruits terribly. How does such behavior become acceptable in a military?

By Irina Chevtayeva | Nov 15, 2025

https://www.dw.com/en/why-does-the-russian-armys-brutal-culture-go-unc
hecked/a-74750242

"They killed my child," Tatjana Bykova laments in a video message. She uses the term "annulled" to describe how her son, Andrej, was killed by Russian military commanders. She names them and says she hates them.

First, they blackmailed Andrej, demanding half of the compensation he received for an injury. When he refused to give them the money and bought a car instead, they demanded that he give them the car. He was killed for refusing to hand over the car.

Bykova filed a complaint with the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and the public prosecutor's office, but nothing happened. Andrej Bykov was simply declared missing. "I was told that he was beaten to death. He is lying in a forest near Galizynovka [a village in the Donetsk Oblast in Ukraine – editor's note]," Bykova told the independent Russian media outlet Verstka.

In October 2025, the investigative news website launched a project to highlight widespread torture and so-called "annulment" — a colloquial term for the murder of comrades in the Russian army.

Verstka also published the names of dozens of commanders involved. The next day, Aleksandr Paschtschenko, a deputy from the ruling United Russia party from Khakassia, located in southern Siberia, responded to criticism from an angry citizen by saying, "At the front, you would be annulled for such statements." Inadvertently, this remark confirmed that "annulments" are a cultural norm.
Torture and murder happen within the ranks of the army

"The murder of comrades is only part of the bitter state of the Russian army. Torture is also widespread," military expert Yuri Fyodorov told DW. Torture videos can be found on Telegram channels dedicated to the war. For example, according to the expert, soldiers are thrown into a pit and fed garbage for one or two weeks, depending on the commander's mood. Or soldiers are forced to "hug a tree." They are tied to tree trunks and left there for one or two days without food or drink.

A soldier can be shot and then declared missing or killed in action. Furthermore, it is up to officers to decide whether a soldier is deployed where the risk of death is particularly high.

The reasons for "annulment" vary widely — disobedience, disciplinary violations, alcohol consumption, arguments with officers, or refusal to hand over some earnings.

"If you view people as expendable and are capable of killing someone by sending them into a hopeless battle, then you will also kill because someone has committed a crime, failed to hand over money, or you have had a falling out," said military expert Jan Matveyev.

Psychoanalyst Alina Putilovskaya speaks of people "acting out" or "passing on" aggressive emotions: "The superiors who commit these cruel acts of violence have superiors of their own who mock them — for example, by giving them unrealistic orders and withholding vital supplies from their units. These high-ranking officials project an image of superiority, invincibility and prosperity to the outside world. This sparks very difficult feelings among field commanders, which they take out on their subordinates."

According to Putilovskaya, soldiers fear becoming the target of their superiors' aggression. But they also feel pity and guilt towards comrades who are targeted because they cannot help them.
'Annulment' culture to instill discipline

Yuri Fyodorov attributes the culture of "annulments" in the army to corrupt officers as well as to criminal and undisciplined soldiers. He says that the officer corps in Russia has become more problematic since the 1990s. Since then many people have remained in the army simply because they could not find another job. They topped up their low pay through corrupt practices, like forcing soldiers to do unpaid work. Officers like these are currently fighting in Ukraine , he said.

Experts agree that the Russian army has also changed in the war in Ukraine because it now includes mercenaries who fight for money and convicted felons who have their own values.

"To keep this whole gang under control, you had to use the most brutal methods," says Fyodorov. One of the first well-known examples of this was a video that was shared on social media in November 2022, showing Wagner Group mercenaries killing a comrade with a sledgehammer.

Why does abuse go unpunished?

According to Jan Matveev, the main reason for this violent culture is a lack of discipline and the absence of a properly structured military system.

"All of this encourages impunity, which makes leadership impossible. No one in the Russian army has been punished for serious war crimes such as the murders in Bucha and Mariupol. This immediately sent a signal that you could simply kill people without being punished," says Matveyev. He is convinced that this abuse of power has undermined discipline in the army. He added that the army's ongoing failure to clamp down on abuse, means that violence is intensifying.

Both experts believe that the Russian army would no longer be capable of fighting if the culture of torture, abuse, extortion, "annulments" and war crimes were to stop. "In reality, the functioning of the army is based on impunity and on abusing soldiers as a resource, as slaves," Fyodorov said.

From the perspective of psychoanalyst Alina Putilovskaya, killings and torture are a method of exerting coercion, control and intimidation.

"The army leadership is not interested in building long-term relationships with people because they know that new ones will soon follow. Two things hold a community together, even in war: emotional bonds and coercion. If one of these is lost, in this case, the emotional bond, then coercion gains the upper hand, which in this case turns into cruelty that escalates to the extreme."

Matveyev also added that the Russian soldiers do not understand what they are fighting for. "The Ukrainian army knows what it is fighting for, even though it is having a very difficult time and suffering from major problems. It is defending its country. Most of the Russian army is well aware that there is a serious, heinous war crime going on, involving a multitude of smaller crimes, and that they have to accept it," the expert said.

This article originally appeared in Russian.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, November 16, 2025 4:50 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Kremlin propagandists normalize terrorism abroad under 'mirror response' logic

A recent Russian state TV broadcast laid bare something that should no longer be ignored: the Kremlin’s domestic propaganda machine now speaks the language of terrorism — not metaphorically, but literally.

November 8, 2025, 06:45 AM

https://english.nv.ua/opinion/russian-state-tv-threatens-europe-revive
-putin-s-toilet-doctrine-50559039.html

“ The Western community supports Ukraine in this war because they see Ukraine as a victim.
Legally, therefore, every facility anywhere in the world directly or indirectly connected to Ukraine’s enemy is a legitimate target for Ukraine.
… But let’s remember — it’s a mirror situation.
We’re conducting a special military operation against Ukraine. Ukraine, in response, carries out terrorist strikes against the Russian Federation.
We, as we promised long ago, usually mochim v sortirakh — finish terrorists off in the toilets.
A toilet can be in any building in Europe, in America, in Africa, or Australia.
To finish them off in the toilet, sometimes you have to bring down a 12-story building.
Europeans live in a paradise and think they’re safe — until their gunpowder factories explode or their bridges collapse. Then they say it’s an accident. Fine. Just wait. ”

This is not just another round of bombastic rhetoric from Moscow. What we hear in this exchange is a direct, televised justification for terrorist attacks on European soil, framed as “mirror action” and wrapped in Putin’s most notorious criminal idiom.

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, November 16, 2025 4:51 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russian forces continue to boast about executing Ukrainian servicemembers. The far-right Russian paramilitary unit Rusich Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group acknowledged on its Telegram channel on November 15 that it executed three Ukrainian servicemembers in an unspecified area of the front.[32] Ukrainian military observer Yuriy Butusov reported that Rusich Group leader Alexei Milchakov — who is a self-proclaimed Nazi — is serving within the 417th Reconnaissance Battalion of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division (58th Combined Arms Army [CAA], Southern Military District [SMD]).[33] ISW last observed reports of the battalion operating in western Zaporizhia Oblast in late October 2025.[34] Butusov reported that the execution occurred near Pokrovsk, however, but noted that Russian milbloggers have complained that Milchakov and the Rusich Group do not participate in combat operations but engage in propaganda activities in the rear. The Rusich Group’s public acknowledgement of its war crimes is in line with ISW’s long-held assessment that the Russian military command is endorsing and sometimes ordering war crimes on the battlefield.[35]

https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive
-campaign-assessment-november-15-2025/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, November 16, 2025 5:11 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Phillips P. OBrien
Nov 16, 2025

Pokrovsk is all about the Relative Losses

The fighting in and around Pokrovsk continues. The Russians made a few small gains this week, but overall the lines have not changed much. And that in and of itself is leading to debate. The big debate is about what Ukraine should do. There is a loud group now saying that Ukraine should pull out and stop their losses in Pokrovsk at present. At the same time, the Ukrainian military, at least for now, does not seem willing to abandon the ruins of the town.

Should Ukraine withdraw? The only truth is that no one who does not know Ukrainian and Russian losses has no idea—and that means maybe no one knows. Pokrovsk is not strategically important, it makes no difference to the strategic calculus of the war, and therefore all that matters is the losses suffered by both sides in fighting over its ruins. The only other thing that could really matter is the length of time the campaign takes, as that reduces time for follow up operations afterwards.

Knowing when the Ukrainians should pull out of a town is a tricky question. Military decisions are not like war games (though analysts too often seem to think that they are). I do not have access to the data to understand exactly what Ukraine should do—so will not guess. We do know that Russia will continue to expend mass resources to take Pokrovsk, what the Ukrainians have to do, otoh, is not waste their own mass to keep them out. Ukrainian military lives are worth exponentially more than Russian military lives at present.

Have a good rest of the weekend everyone.

Thanks for reading Phillips’s Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-159-ukraine-is-m
uch

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, November 16, 2025 5:39 AM

SECOND

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

Russian forces are trying to find opportunities to exploit a key weakness in Ukrainian defenses — the inability of Ukrainian drones to effectively function in poor weather conditions like fog and rain. Ukraine has thus far in the war based its defense on drones largely out of necessity. Ukraine’s “wall of drones” defensive barrier uses a large number of tactical strike drones and loitering munitions to destroy Russian manpower and equipment on the front line.[10] Ukrainian forces adopted this defensive approach in part to offset manpower and equipment shortages while protecting over 1,200 kilometers of front line from Russian advances. Sparsely held Ukrainian defensive positions have facilitated recent Russian infiltration efforts, and shortages of artillery and other traditional systems have limited Ukrainian forces’ ability to operate when bad weather disrupted some drone operations.[11] Western provisions of traditional systems like artillery are key to Ukraine’s ability to build out a layered defense system that is not dependent on any one type of weapon, such that the defenses are vulnerable and exploitable. Russia’s exploitation of this vulnerability further highlights the way that traditional weapons systems are not obsolete in modern warfare.

https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive
-campaign-assessment-november-15-2025/

The Joss Whedon script for Serenity, where Wash lives, is Serenity-190pages.pdf at https://www.mediafire.com/two

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Sunday, November 16, 2025 6:30 AM

THG

Keep it real please

A lot of good reading SECOND, very informative.

T

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