Since it’s Friday, I thought I’d start with some pep I came up with myself the other day – And so it has begun, the great war of our time.
What do you think of it, could it catch on and become a movie quote so one can get royalties?
For a couple of months, we have been posting about Stepnohirsk and the history being made there right now.
It’s probably simpler than we think – when the division of corps was finalized, the corps commanders got fairly free rein and above all Sirsky could no longer micromanage at the platoon level.
That’s why there are offensives everywhere at the same time.
It also seems they are using their strategic offensive reserve, GUR, Rangers, and other wild capabilities to untie knots where needed; at Stepnohirsk it was GUR units clearing the city.
How does he know it has started, and why is Johan No.1 writing in English on this special day when he is in the Caribbean, shouldn’t it be Spanish or Creole?
We had a long discussion on johanno1.se which has been up before – in UA reporting, unlocalized battles were increasing so much that in total they surpassed the Russian ones at some point.
Some didn’t quite dare to believe it was a UA offensive, so I had to ask Sirsky to clarify to reach a conclusion.
At the same time as 205 could post a ratio of attacks favoring UA over 1, Sirsky confirmed that their attacks were more than the Russians’ – case closed and on to the next question.
Is this a Ukrainian spring offensive or not, media writes nothing about major offensives or Ukrainian offensives – is Johan No.1 wildly fantasizing as usual?
If we have the same yardstick as we had with the Russians, this is what the number of Russian attacks looked like when the media talked about a Russian offensive.
Since UA attacks have been up to 133, the answer is – yep, the Ukrainian spring offensive has started.
You no longer hear or read anything because UA has kept completely silent. They are running a full clam right now; they were this secret recently in some operation on the southern front. They have learned the hard way to keep quiet since we in Europe and the USA leaked everything we got to Putin.
It is thus time to declare that this year’s offensive operations from the blue team have started and that the start was somewhere between May 8 – May 12, there was a ceasefire in the middle which Trump forced them into so Putin could have a quiet May 9 celebration as is proper. Historians will use the dates again this year just like in 2023.
But it’s better than 2023 when I saw a tweet from Defmon about Custer’s last stand after a whole night on cheap whisky and quickly declared the Ukrainian offensive start to be May 3-4. I’ve had to defend myself since then against a sea of lies even though the offensive did start around then, so saved by the bell.
This year it is supported by solid data and Defmon has stopped posting, statistics don’t lie and can’t be misunderstood if one happened to find a forgotten bottle of whisky.
By the way, I have started a year without alcohol which is going well so far, the step before that was to only buy a few beers because if I had more I drank more but now we are upping the stakes to just mineral water and it has worked surprisingly well as long as I have a snus to suck on.
Stepnohirsk and the Ukrainian miracle that RU probably hasn’t understood yet was last (again) in the post about the Azov push?
RU has thus deployed two entire VDV divisions in the area and is losing the town of Stepnohirsk. But it doesn’t end there, they are pressing directly south.
Here you have a slightly better analysis than mine 😀
Now you naturally read the previous post but RU VDV are the ones who are supposed to be task forces during RU defensive warfare but have already taken hits during RU offensive operations.
This is what it looks like according to Mohlin, Orihiv is the anchor eastward that holds.
And Project Owl over RU units, the whole gang at the top has thus retreated from Prymorske 10 km south and now lost Stepnohirsk. That was after they fought their way towards Prymorske – high probability that none of the regiments are in good shape including reconnaissance and Spetsnaz.
I have been wondering for quite a while why.
Why choose the same place where you bled out in 2023 because it was the best fortified area on all fronts.
RU has not fortified well when they are on their own offensive but I think I have figured out the logic behind this seemingly illogical action.
In defensive warfare, VDV hides deep and is a task force that makes life miserable for everyone, now UA got a bit lucky that they went first so they simply chose to attack where VDV was to decimate them – it’s probably that simple.
RU has different levels of units and VDV has long stood as task forces or been deployed where success is wanted, there are also a couple of TR and MRR that are okay besides Spetsnaz, reconnaissance, and special units like FSB, GRU, or some prioritized Rosgvardia.
But to get at two VDV divisions with some reconnaissance and Spetsnaz is big game.
To finally take Pokrovsk, they used up the 76th GAAD, 7,000 strong, and now these two VDV divisions are seriously on the decline.
Behind the southern front, there is not much more to take and UA has fire control over all access routes so further reserves cannot be brought in unless Putin manages to get a new ceasefire.
You can be sure that Krasnov will try already this summer.
2022 – 2023 we had constant discussions about RU losses and whether what was stated was KWIA.
It turned out to be true after a couple of years even though I was of the opinion that it was only killed in action – which is partly true because quite a lot does not get into this verifiable figure.
Winter 2023, for example, 30% of the patients in hospitals there were for frostbite injuries and how big losses drone warfare at depth causes cannot be determined. When Ukraine blows up a large GRAU arsenal, it’s reasonably hundreds dead – the war’s most dangerous job, Russian depot worker.
Glad we didn’t have to leave offensive statistics open for discussion – 205 has very nicely captured this with data and we could see the breaking point even though UA officials keep quiet.
Is it all GUR and an excitable corps commander?
No, Ukraine today has complete information superiority – they see every Russian and Russian commanders have delayed information transfer so they are always second to the ball.
<!– wp:image {"width":"396px","height":"auto","Summer 1940 in France, the chief of defense sat in his castle waiting for couriers so his staff heard about setbacks on the BBC before they had arrived by bicycle to the staff – he was fired for that, you couldn’t operate like that when the new black was Blitzkrieg.
His replacement was some ancient general who was in Syria and was flown home in a hurry. He had to take over immediately and since he was not updated on the situation, he stopped his predecessor’s order for a violent counteroffensive that had just started because he needed time to familiarize himself with the situation.
When the ancient general after a few days gave the order for his own massive counteroffensive, exactly the same battle plan as his predecessor’s which he had stopped by the way, the war was already over as the Germans were in Paris.
The French had more soldiers, more and better tanks, more and better aircraft, a Maginot Line, a British expeditionary force, the Belgian defense forces but above all their elan – the French were generally regarded as a formidable opponent.
They were simply outmaneuvered except for Charles de Gaulle and his armored division who fought where it was most needed.
Information is king and Ukraine comfortably has it in their back pocket.
Their digital battlefield, apparently called Delta but formerly “Uber for artillery,” is so good that various senior officers from the USA have in turn blissfully exclaimed that it is better than their own – having a kill-chain you can hit when needed makes you a winner. Now Russia has it too thanks to China solving the Gordian knot for them but it is not as good and Ukraine suppresses their indirect capabilities and information platforms in a constant whack-a-mole.
They fight with traditional mechanized forces because they have their own anti-drone umbrella, EW, and their own drone weapon; it is a highly mobile fight once they get going.
They can use artillery, JDAMS, ground attack, army aviation, and the drone weapon.
Drones today exist in all forms including autonomous AI drones which they have begun to launch from carriers (“motherships”) to get longer range on them.
So why is Stepnohirsk this war’s Little Big Horn?
Russian special forces are heavily decimated and there is not much left in depth behind the southern front and the Dnieper front apart from some BARS units which are probably more like regiments but now battalion strength since they have been merged.
“The Road of Death” – Ukraine now has total fire control over incoming roads from the east beyond Berdyansk/Mariupol.
Even vehicles just inside the Russian side near Taganrog have been seen burning by the roadside.
Yes, Putin used the May 9 ceasefire to bring forward supplies and reinforcements (damn Trump) but overall it makes no difference.
The area has been heavily pre-bombarded so that radar, air defense, and the Black Sea Fleet are as rare as a kingfisher in winter nowadays.
Ukraine can use its own air force from the Dnieper front and a bit eastward.
Their drone weapon has full fire control and sees everything +100km deep, some can maneuver as far as 150km.
Since Russian special forces are now depleted, there will sooner or later be a breach somewhere, you all read the post about the Azov thrust closely followed by Operation Rostov, right?
Then Putin has only one measure left – to try to rush in reinforcements, Crimea is cut off since the bridge is impassable and the ferries sunk so his units must band from Mariupol which gives him a Kuwait highway 2.0, there is no other end to that dance.
Ukraine can cross the Dnieper north of Khakovka since the river is like a small pleasant summer brook now and in addition, brush has grown in the area so they can move under cover – as soon as they are over, the CAA chief for the Dnieper must try to get units there, again up and banding on the highway with much death.
Hopefully the army commanders do as they are told by Gerasimov until it no longer works.
Then when the area falls, the swarm will head east instead with the same violent drone street race.
The spring offensive 2023 failed because the USA, Europe, and UA parliamentarians leaked the battle plans to Putin, not necessarily in that order.
The USA also stopped reasonable battle plans, demanded they attack a 10km deep minefield, must use units trained in Europe because we were the best and also fight according to NATO doctrine despite lacking air superiority.
Then in the autumn some elected officials in Europe could not hold back, “now that they have learned it hurts maybe they will agree to a ceasefire” – this was a hidden agenda among some who thought Ukraine should give up because Putin had said he wanted a ceasefire but Ukraine refused. Everyone wanted peace except the stubborn Ukrainians.
It took Ukraine three years to lick their wounds and prepare, and it was also a knife-edge fight with Trump trying to politically topple Zelensky throughout 2025.
The Kursk offensive also made the West completely mad so the pressure was probably hard on Zelensky to stop invading Russia.
The upside now in 2026 is that Ukraine –
– Mostly got angry and wanted to retaliate.
– Doesn’t tell anyone what they are planning.
– Doesn’t take orders from anyone when bribes like EU membership and other fun things are dangled in front of them.
We still tell Ukraine not to attack export terminals and oil – just so you know we have learned exactly nothing up to now summer 2026. Everyone should read Johan No.1, it should be mandatory must-read with a written test every week.
UA is also gathering forces up at the northern front under the pretext that Belarus will go to war with them – I don’t believe for a second that Belarus will do that, they are building defenses against Ukraine to be a (neutral) anchor in upcoming Russian moves against the Baltics.
Probably UA has more than one plan now and they gladly strike the flanks, maybe they have gotten enough of the Belarus defense forces on the good side?
We’ll see but in the south the pieces are now in position for checkmate at least and Russian milbloggers are beginning to understand that. There are two sides to that coin of course and some opposition has started to get some support but the milbloggers who want to win are starting to get anxiety and it shows.
Russian exercise leadership probably still has some time before the light goes on for them but the only solution they have to all problems is to increase the level of violence if the current level does not give the desired result. There could be a lot of Russian deaths down south when they try to “throw the Ukrainians back over the Dnieper” and “hold Crimea at all costs.” Maybe CAA commanders will make their own decisions in the end but with a bit of luck they will keep giving Ukraine very easy targets on dusty highways for too long.
And so it has begun – it is hard to describe the feeling.
We saw it in 2022 at Kherson with VDV and the West cheated it away for Ukraine because Zalizhny was not allowed to attack down along the left bank of the Dnieper but instead had to run straight into the defense on the right side after Putin pulled back his VDV.
When HIMARS and American intelligence gathering started hitting knocked-out corps staffs right at their major briefings, even though they kept moving, there was no more HIMARS ammunition and the US stopped providing intelligence from the center in Germany or Poland, forgot what it was called.
All long-range weapons came with geographical restrictions – absolutely nothing over into Russia and the US would approve every target and leaked like a sieve to Putin.
For a long time, the Russians had 12-15 large bases right on the Russian side of the border with Ukraine where vehicles and supplies were neatly lined up – Ukraine was not allowed to attack them.
45 Iskander platforms stood in a row on the Russian side along with airbases for terror bombings against Ukrainian civilians – protected and absolutely no, Ukraine was absolutely not allowed to attack them.
This was at the time when long-range weapons came from the West but when Ukraine in the winter of 2023 attacked into Kursk and tried to follow the rules – only Russian and Belarusian volunteers then the West quickly changed the rules – that was not allowed either.
Moscow was taken down only because the Ukrainian communications officer happened to see it on American radar images in the communications center, realized what it was and quickly said “I’m going out for a cigarette.” An eager WhatsApp chat later, Moscow’s fate was sealed but he had to leave and the US became more cautious after that.
The spring offensive 2023 was shamelessly acted by us and the Kursk offensive would have gone better but the pressure was probably hard on Zelensky to restrain himself when the US and Europe realized that Putin had left the entire northern border undefended.
Wagner’s revolution 2023 also failed – it was as if the entire West, as soon as things went a bit too well for Ukraine, rushed in and ruined it to preserve world peace and make everything better.
This year we will see what was already described in 2022 – 2023 because the author severely underestimated the West’s willingness to betray to preserve peace in our time. Since Ukraine is doing the right thing and no longer needs us for critical weapons, there will be many occasions to take a sip of fine whisky and put in the victory snus this year.
Will the Azov thrust end?
Who knows, has Russia managed to open a conflict front in the Baltics probably not but that offensive will expose the entire southern area since Russia has zero in Rostov, Taganrog and Krasnodar, we know that.
The LPR and DPR units are extremely tired of this now, they already have a deal with Budanov that if they switch sides when the question arises, the punishment will be mitigated.
Will Putin survive politically if he carelessly loses Crimea – who knows, and above all what will come instead?
Yes, Russia can probably draw a new defensive line west-south of Donetsk, fortify Taganrog and send units down to Krasnodar but the same applies there – they have to move on roads or by train and the tracks are few. It will be bloody for Ukraine, they expect that.
The units also have to be taken from somewhere so other fronts will become weaker and so on in a puzzle that eventually cannot be solved when too many pieces are missing.
Russia is now losing 3.5 times more soldiers than Ukraine which they do not have the numbers for at all, not even “quantity is a quality in itself” which Russia thought in 2022-2023 would finally decide in Putin’s favor.
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/ukraine-s-commander-in-chief-reveals-casualty-1779213677.html
Yes, there are 400,000 in Russian letter agencies, special forces, Rosgvardia and private armies but they will not be sacrificed on the Ukrainian altar as they are the airbags for the rulers and needed for internal balance and power struggle.
If UA kicks away the southern front and runs over Crimea it will quickly become unsustainable and if you go by their movements up at the northern front this is just part of this year’s wish list Budanov is fiddling with.
-Positive-Positive is not a fair word, teary-eyed with a snus and happy, roughly like when you got your first Star Wars figures at twelve years old is probably more how this feels.
This does not make Europe kings at all and the next post will be post-Aurora and then what we can do to get ahead of a Russian escalation in the Baltics if UA does not manage to topple Russia first – which we hope they will do but if you want peace you prepare for war, and for the new war, right.
As said, a paid subscription feels too expensive, please share the posts – a lot of work goes into these so it’s nice if they spread.
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Russian losses in Ukraine 2026-05-22
SLAVA UKRAINI
💥👍🏻
Looks good 💥💥💥🤩
AFU reports
Far too many FAB…
Diagram legend: Blue color Russian attacks, red color Ukrainian attacks.
Russian offensive started, increased attacks mainly against Donetsk (Pokrovsk and others). Continued high Ukrainian pressure, 98 attacks, but somewhat decreasing.
N
N Slobozhansky 2↘️
S Slobozhansky 10💥↗️
Kupyansk 6
Lyman 7↘️
Slovyansk 4
Kramatorsk 1
Kostjantynivka 25💥💥
Pokrovsk 55💥💥💥↗️
Oleksandrivskij 7
Huliaipole 28💥💥
Orikhivsk 1
Prydniprovskij 3
Localized 149
Unlocalized 104
Total 253
Ratio unloc/loc 0.70
Changed colors on the diagram, above: red Russian attacks, blue: Ukrainian attacks
Good good 👍
It was a better color match.
The red could have, in fact, also been poop brown, so instead of matching the color they themselves market, it would have matched what we associate their army with.
Will include the chart in a post when it starts going up again 😀
👍 Too bad about the lower ratio but it can explain slightly lower losses.
You should probably look at the number of unlocalized in absolute terms, not the ratio. In a scenario not entirely unlike now (still high, 98 attacks), the unlocalized could remain unchanged (continued Ukrainian pressure) but the localized attacks increase (the Russians simultaneously go on the offensive) and thus the ratio decreases, but KWiA goes up. Now unlocalized attacks drive KWiA, it often looks like the localized are only at 2-4 KWiA / attack (tonight 48/29=1.655, yesterday 63/43=1.465), a figure that comes from Pokrovsk but should not differ from other localized attacks in sectors. The ratio gives a hint about KWiA / unlocalized attack. That there is higher Russian KWiA for a Ukrainian attack is something Johan touches on in today’s text:
“They fight with traditional mech because they have their own anti-drone umbrella, EW and their own drone weapon, it is a highly mobile fight when they get going.
They can use artillery, JDAMS, ground attack, army aviation and the drone weapon.”
At the same time, the Russians have a tactic with small groups attacking so the number of KWiA / attacks is initially limited. 50% KWiA in a four-man group per golf cart is only 2 KWiA/attack.
Ukraine and its Western allies are becoming increasingly convinced that the Russian invasion is losing momentum. Bloomberg reports.
According to sources with insight, some high-ranking Russian officials have also begun to view the war as a dead end.
During the spring, Ukraine has managed to prevent some major Russian advances, but is now preparing for a Russian summer offensive.
Nothing about UA offensive from the media yet?
Some positive notes but no major offensive is written about
As long as you don’t take it for granted and relax. Then the Russian scum will come back!
Now DeepStateMap has a positive update in its latest report.
“The clearing of Kupyansk from the enemy continues. The enemy advanced near Pishchane.”
Whether this has really happened now or several weeks ago is hard to know, but it now seems that they have finally driven out the last Russians from the central parts of Kupyansk.
Regarding the gray areas, I do not see them as the border of what Russia holds (as some claim) but rather as a gray zone, an area that no side has manned.
Before:
And after the latest update, it looks like this, so the area should become completely green any day now:
We can conveniently interpret the gray area as UA fighting in it now.
Yes, it would be a bit strange otherwise.
As many probably already saw yesterday, Trump has changed his mind regarding Poland.
It’s completely crazy that the US military is forced to group its forces based on who is friendly towards Trump (or not) rather than what is militarily most strategic. Now, I do think it’s better to reinforce Poland than Germany, it might possibly be that Trump has actually been persuaded to do so but then can’t say it as it is and has to make it about how flattering one is towards him being the deciding factor.
“USA will send an additional 5,000 soldiers to Poland, writes Donald Trump in a post on his platform Truth Social.
The announcement comes just a week after the news that the deployment of about 4,000 American soldiers in the NATO country would be stopped.
Trump writes that the new decision is due to ‘the successful election’ of Poland’s Trump-friendly president Karol Nawrocki last year and the relationship between them.”
https://omni.se/trump-5000-soldater-till-polen/a/K8Py54
There was also a rumor that Trump had decided to remove military action as an option regarding the Greenland issue.
I think that both of these messages together suggest that there may be pressure from NATO in some way, or that some pro-NATO faction has achieved success within the administration.
And why then, if so? And why now?
The talk about the Polish president I interpret as typical Trump rhetoric aimed at hiding the real reasons.
Agree with the last, the rhetoric.
The reason: that the Baltic threat is starting to be felt even “over there”?
I believe he has received some constructive input from Congress. His proposal to reduce the budget for US in NATO led to the opposite when Congress reviewed the budget. The same thing happened when he wanted to move money earmarked for US in Europe to US outside Europe; a flat no from an almost unanimous Congress.
Step two – dissolve the congress 😀
I don’t trust Trump like you others still do.
Probably a long lead time on the unit, like 2027 😀
Still, you walk in his golden shoes, read his bible, and smell like Trump all the way from the Philippines while the Trump coins jingle in your pocket? 😄
Thank you for the summary of the situation with the current maps, how it may continue but also the retrospectives that also put today’s situation into perspective: Yes, Trump/Krasnov, what a child murderer: “All long-range weapons came with geographical restrictions – absolutely nothing over Russia and the USA would approve every target and leaked like a sieve to Putin.” 😡
Yes, it was completely crazy in the autumn of 2022 – 2024 I had high blood pressure spikes daily.
Since 2025 there were more political attacks and completely stopped weapons that UA brewed with their own production until the breaking point came.
Thank you Johanno1, I like how you’re thinking now, positive positive.
The underlying structures have started to change in Ukraine’s favor. Ukraine has built up both resilience and long-range capability while Russia has to dig deeper and deeper into a sack that is running empty.
And right now it is a smart move to strike against Melitopol – the barbarians are then forced to send reinforcements over Kuwait highway II under Ukrainian drone and CAB cover.
Hard not to be 😍 now.
You do understand that you have to make the film before you can get royalties 🧐?
If Ukraine takes Crimea, the war is over. Not for Putin, he will continue until he falls, but for Russia the war is over. Crimea is Dia de
A bit of AI-generated script and then AI-generated moving images and corresponding music. This could turn out well 🙂
Thought it was easier than that to get filthy rich 😐
Thank you Johan no 1. New interesting post. If Ukraine takes Crimea, is the war over? With or without the blown-up bridge. And I think we are close. Putin got nothing of importance with him from Beijing, good that too.
Marco Rubio is in Sweden’s finest city today. (I don’t live there). It takes me half an hour to drive to Helsingborg. I really like Rubio and I learned Spanish at Hermods (does Hermods still exist?). Cuba hasn’t had it easy, Rubio comes from this charming island. If I could and had the opportunity, I would have told Rubio that it’s the US’s fault that everything went to hell for Cuba. But Rubio knows that.
I have mixed feelings about Marco.
That he fawned over and tried to boost Orban before the election has definitely tarnished him.
You are right.
👍🏻
Agree, sometimes he sounds sensible and sometimes he is way off. I don’t know if he is really sensible but he is forced to go against himself sometimes.
Well, I have a feeling that he is trying to hide his intelligence to stay in the inner circle.
When you hear how he talks and reasons, you probably notice that he is of a different caliber than the others. He also doesn’t need to be angry and shout left and right when words and the ability to hold a normal conversation are not enough.
SVD had an interesting report for the occasion.
Marco Rubio is in Helsingborg – but the USA is talking about him possibly taking over after Trump instead of JD Vance. The Republicans’ Mr. Nice Guy has just won an “audition” against Vance at the White House – and posted a clip that smells like a campaign video.
Published: May 22, 2026, 08:50
WASHINGTON I have shaken hands with Barack Obama. It was in July 2007, at a campaign meeting somewhere in New England. Neither he nor I had probably reached our full potential – Obama was talked about but not the favorite. At least one of us will remember that handshake forever.
Perhaps Helsingborg will never forget Marco Rubio’s visit on Friday – if he becomes the President of the USA.
To be able to do that, he must first become the Republican presidential candidate. And then Vice President JD Vance stands in the way?
That has been the case. But something has happened. In a poll among Republicans a few weeks ago, Rubio suddenly led Vance by a large margin. Which of course could have been a polling error, but it was enough to spark the discussion. Which has gained even more momentum after both – Rubio last week and Vance this week – held separate press briefings at the White House, as stand-ins for Trump’s maternity-leave press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
It was also an opportunity for both to show how “good they are on TV,” a skill that Donald Trump values highly. The president has not yet pointed out either of them as crown prince and it is said that he likes to conduct his own Vance or Rubio polls when he meets people.
Judging by the reviews in the media, Rubio won the match in the White House press room quite clearly. That is perhaps not surprising since Vance spent some time lecturing the journalists in classic Maga style. While Rubio, who is a smooth operator, handled the press conference more lightly and with humor.
Perhaps he also got kinder questions, like when someone wanted to know what his “hope for America” is.
Rubio answered: “That it will continue to be the place where anyone, anywhere, can achieve anything. Where you are not limited by the circumstances of your birth, your skin color, or your ethnicity … a place where you can overcome challenges and reach your full potential.”
He continued for a while and the State Department made a film of the answer, where they inserted images of Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, and fighter jets flying over the White House. They added music, posted the film on social media. It was perceived by many as an unofficial campaign launch.
The clip also attracted attention for its optimistic tone; it did not sound at all like Trump or Vance. If the Republicans want a new personality type after Trump – which is not certain – then Rubio is better positioned than Vance.
Rubio is also appreciated by the other political side. He was the only minister in Trump’s government who received support from a unanimous Senate.
Marco Rubio is the Trump administration’s Mr. Nice Guy. Vance scolded Europe at last year’s security conference in Munich, this year Rubio went there and received standing ovations. When Trump recently had a dispute with the pope, Rubio traveled to the Vatican to sort it out.
In Helsingborg, Sweden’s Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard wants NATO to put greater pressure on Russia. She wrote an article on the topic in the New York Times on Wednesday.
Rubio was long a classic Republican hawk in foreign policy, and after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 he tweeted that Vladimir Putin “has always been a killer.” So perhaps he agrees with Malmer Stenergard on Russia, but he will not do anything that Donald Trump does not want. Whoever does that will not become president.
By the way: the USA is the homeland of dirty campaigns – and now the dirty campaigns are armed with AI films. Donald Trump managed to end Congressman Thomas Massie’s career on Tuesday, in the primary election in Kentucky.
In an AI film used against Republican Massie, he checked into a hotel together with Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. The message was that Massie was “stuck in a threesome” with progressive Democrats.
Does Los Angeles have its own Mamdani? Spencer Pratt, who is trying to become mayor of California’s largest city, is sometimes compared to the socialist mayor of New York. Not politically – Pratt is a former reality TV star running on a platform that might be called right-wing populist. But both he and Zohran Mamdani use social media to succeed.
It would be sensational if LA were to elect a mayor who is not a Democrat. But Pratt’s support is growing and the incumbent mayor Karin Bass lost trust after the fires last year. The primary election is held on June 2.
https://www.svd.se/a/0pLExB/rubio-till-sverige-blir-han-president
Off-topic…
Interesting theories about election fraud in the USA…
https://open.substack.com/pub/kaitjustice/p/how-america-detects-election-fraud-musk-epstein-files
https://open.substack.com/pub/thiswillhold/p/she-won-they-didnt-just-change-the
Fram i Natten and the many discussions about drone swarms – here you have a nice video 🤩🤩🤩
https://x.com/ciemnejw/status/2057734802543940037?s=46&t=Vah3JXV31B9lXwZOK5gF7w
Talk about a drone swarm. It looks like Egypt’s locusts.
They should be running that 24/7 at all regiments throughout NATO 😨.
Mandatory reading is answered with a written post 🎶 🦅 💫
Now I’m going to check out the link and drink another beer with 5.0% alcohol content.
Slava Ukraini and death to the slime gnomes 🔥 ⛽️✊
There you go 😍😍😍
As black in the sky as when the arrow rains in Arn’s time decimated the faithful out in the east.
Nice comparison! 👍 Probably accurate translated a millennium ahead.
Will read the books when I get SS.
Right now mostly books about boring Lean.
Looks like starlings flying! Impressive and frightening at the same time.
If all those are out for blood, it is probably very difficult to advance the positions.
It must be a nightmare to be there if you are not on their side.
What a wonderfully positive yellow wall today.
Slava Ukraini 💪
Good good 👍
Yep – the milestone is close 🤩🤩🤩
Summer and autumn will be the best in four long years 😀
re the grey zone
**
This is not an army winning. This is an army smuggling drunk saboteurs into villages and losing 500 men per settlement
FRONT LINE UPDATE — Sloviansk Direction
A Ukrainian commander has described how Russian forces are now attempting to infiltrate Ukrainian positions disguised as civilians — and the staggering price Russia is paying for every village it tries to take.
Stepan Barna, commander of the “Barni” unit of the motorised infantry battalion of the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade “Edelweiss,” described the situation on the Sloviansk direction in an interview with Suspilne News.
What Russian offensive operations now look like:
Russian assaults on this axis number in the dozens, reinforced by glide bomb (KAB) strikes. But the key segment of Russian offensive work is now infiltration — attempts to penetrate deep into Ukrainian-controlled territory by any means available.
Including by pretending to be civilians.
Barna described what Ukrainian forces have found:
“There were cases when such saboteurs were discovered in settlements — they were just drinking there, dealing with their own matters. But they were waiting for the ‘X hour,’ when enemy forces would arrive to reinforce his strike fist.”
This is the reality of the modern front line that international audiences rarely see. The “front” is not a clean line with uniformed soldiers on either side. It is a contested zone where Russian infiltrators in civilian clothing wait inside Ukrainian-held settlements for the moment to activate.
The cost of this approach is catastrophic for Russia. Barna’s figure for a single village:
“Obviously, the enemy suffers terrible losses. In Riznykivka, for example, it lost more than 500 occupiers. And the enemy pays this price in every settlement.”
More than 500 Russian soldiers killed or wounded — for one village. This single data point captures the actual nature of the war in 2026, which is fundamentally different from the narrative Russian state media projects.
Multiply Riznykivka across the dozens of contested settlements along the front. The arithmetic becomes clear: Russia is paying with lives at a rate that no sustainable military strategy could justify, for gains that are measured in individual villages.
— Source: 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade “Edelweiss,” / Suspilne News, May 2026**
— Armyinform
Incredibly described 🤣🤣🤣
Red storm to alcoholics in women’s clothes hiding in basements 🤣🤣🤣
Off topic
The Russian bastards are mobilizing
About a hundred people participated on Friday in a demonstration protesting the NATO meeting in Helsingborg, local media report. Some people masked themselves, and in some places the police had to intervene.
The demonstration – which is not authorized by the police – is organized by the network Shut down Nato, writes SVT Nyheter Skåne. The protests are surrounded by a large police presence.
– There are tons of police officers, says HD’s Simon Melin who is on site.
The demonstrations have been somewhat disorderly, but there are no reports of any serious incidents. On a couple of occasions, demonstrators reportedly tried to run away from the march but were stopped by police.
– There has been turmoil when the police stop the demonstrators, says SVT reporter Klara Åkesson.
Several people are said to have been taken into custody, according to HD’s sources.
https://omni.se/a/n1vW25
Yes, the summer is going to be lively – all subversive elements are mobilized
Thanks by the way for a positive-positive post, it’s always more fun to read than the doomsday prophecies.
At the same time, I’m starting to get seasoned, so I’m not shouting hooray yet (but whispering it a little cautiously).
It feels a bit now like it did in the spring and early summer of 2023, when everything then went downhill and the Russians launched a massive offensive in the autumn that has almost lasted until now.
But sooner or later there will be some form of Azov offensive, and it would be nice if it happened this year before winter.
Haha, yes next week it’s Aurora and it’s heavy.
Yes, a bit early, as you saw I didn’t extrapolate too far in this post – just stated that the offensive has started.
These ARE new times, those of us who have been around for a long time see that but have burned ourselves countless times when Europe and the USA messed up as you write.
🇺🇸🤝🇸🇪
I met with @SwedishPM Kristersson after the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting. We agreed on the importance of strengthening transatlantic defense cooperation. Pleased to have signed the U.S.-Sweden Technology Prosperity Deal with @MariaStenergard.
— Marc Rubio, US Secretary of State
Sweden and the USA have signed a declaration of intent on increased technological cooperation, including space technology, future mobile networks, and AI.
Sweden is the first EU country to do so.
Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) and the American Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed the declaration of intent in connection with the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg on Friday.
The hope from the Swedish side is that it will give Swedish companies increased access to advanced American technology. For the USA, the purpose is said to be the same regarding Swedish cutting-edge technology.
— TT / DN
A bit interesting that so far only four countries have signed the agreement.
“Sweden and the USA have signed a new cooperation agreement at the NATO meeting in Helsingborg, according to a press release from the government. The agreement, which is non-binding, is intended to strengthen cooperation in areas including defense technology, AI research, and quantum technology. – Fundamentally, this is about strengthening our competitiveness and protecting our business interests, says Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M). Sweden thus becomes one of only four countries with similar agreements, writes Expressen. According to the newspaper’s sources in the government offices, Swedish companies have been pushing for an agreement for a long time. The agreement is said to have been developed on American initiative but with Swedish influence. It contains special provisions to ensure that Sweden cannot be forced to violate EU regulations.”
https://omni.se/a/j0La8e
Enough with the USA as a filter. Not all countries are so advanced in development that they have the expertise to meet the USA.
Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.
The agreement is initiated by the Americans.
It may be that the giants (Germany, France) remain lukewarm. And perhaps more complicated due to larger scope.
Note that the EU is sidelined. The EU can send a delegation to Silicon Valley and a meeting with California’s governor, Newsom.
The most important line in Johan’s piece may
not be about Crimea, VDV formations, or
operational reserves.
It is this:
“You’re not hearing or reading anything
anymore because the UA has gone
completely silent.”
That silence matters.
Reading time: 17–19 minutes Credit: Based on reporting, commentary, and analysis by Johan No.1, combined with open-source battlefield observations and Ukrainian operational reporting.
And So the Silence Changed Direction https://open.substack.com/pub/hansboserup/p/and-so-the-silence-changed-direction
👍
Most of the time it is important not to be silenced, but sometimes it is silence that is most important.
Yes, he likes the posts 😀
He writes well too, that rascal, makes everyone else look bad.
Have had some discussions with him – a competent older gentleman.
The media reports that Cuba has purchased hundreds of Iranian and Russian drones and is considering using them against the USA were deliberately leaked. This is the view of defense researcher Brian Fonseca. He tells the Wall Street Journal that a narrative is being built from the American side that could justify a military escalation, and that a militarily weak Cuba would never strike against the USA except in self-defense. – That would be suicide. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said as recently as Thursday that Cuba poses a threat, while his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodríguez believes that the USA wants to provoke a conflict.
https://omni.se/a/pBnQj1
Rubio probably wants to be the king of Cuba?
Soon there will be “evidence” that Cuba has weapons of mass destruction.
All that rhetoric is probably just to convince the gullible that it is necessary to invade.
Unfortunately, it is probably the USA that holds the power, and if they choose to continue the siege, Cuba will return to pre-industrial times, with all that entails of nonexistent healthcare and child mortality. It is not the case that a relatively modern society can function in the long run with electricity only two hours a day.
Rubio probably knows how things really are, but cannot deviate from the Trump line because then he would lose trust and the ability to influence decisions, and as far as I know, he is the only adult in the room.
Ukraine’s Cursed Empire, a strike drone unit, hit Russian equipment and artillery in the Kostiantynivka direction
The area is part of the eastern front line, where Russian forces are trying to push toward Ukraine’s fortress belt in Donetsk Oblast
📹 Sternenko
❗️🇺🇦Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet, using 🇺🇸American guided aerial bombs GBU-62, destroys 🇷🇺Russian positions.
This was probably the post so far in four years that gave me pure Christmas joy to write, fun that many liked it.
Kind of like when your child succeeds at something you didn’t believe – you just become happy.
Now the pieces are in place but yes, Europe and the USA can certainly destroy and the Russian bastards don’t give anything away for free.
Next week will be Aurora and the Baltics again and if you start to become Star Wars-happy about Ukraine, that part is like a Greek tragedy.
Fram i Natten got its drone swarms and Dengamle will get Operation Badanka from Crimea this summer 😀
😍
Give me a Pinata at the nearest gas station so we can start being satisfied ☠️ ⛽️🔥
Ah, Badankan lives on but with some geographical shift! “BADANKA 2.0 – In the Azov Sea, no one can hear you drown”.
🤣🤣🤣 yes, that’s how it will be
Something very important is happening on the Mariupol direction.
ZELENSKYY: A Ukrainian soldier from Mariupol gave me this chevron, with a clear desire for Ukraine to return to Mariupol and to all of its territory. And we really, really want it to be so.
This statement from Zelenskyy is especially symbolic, as Ukraine’s mid-range strike campaign is causing havoc to multiple critical Russian supply routes deep behind the front in southern Ukraine this month. Numerous Russian military transports have been hit on the E105, M14, and H20 highways connecting Rostov to Crimea, which is effectively disrupting supply lines to Mariupol and cutting off logistics to the area.
“Dear Rivne region! Today I was here, with our soldiers, I awarded, our guys. Wounded soldiers who are recovering here. One of them from Mariupol, Maksym, gave me a chevron. Here is this chevron. He gave me this with a clear desire for Ukraine to return to Mariupol, to return to its entire land. And we really, really want it to be so. Thank you, thank you to all our soldiers, our defenders. Glory to Ukraine!”- Ukrainian President on Friday, May 22, 2026.
https://x.com/katerynalis/status/2057868436416458998?s=46 🎥
Let it be so 👏🙏💪
Someone wrote above about a milestone – yes, that’s right, an important milestone but a whole straight stretch with hurdles left to clear.
I think the shooters are starting to smell blood in the water and that kind of thing perks you up, you go the extra mile now
MXT – check Monday and Tuesday, I will try to get a post out for Monday if I have time, Tuesday for sure. They will be posted by the time you wake up but activated at 07:00.
👍🏻
Can hardly keep up with Iran anymore, too many twists.
Anything more about the army against IRGC?
Saw that IRGC has entered eastern Kurdistan on a large scale, so maybe something is brewing?
Interesting start to the weekend:
Do you think something will blow up somewhere this weekend?
It’s a long weekend in the USA, I believe… he likes to act when the markets are closed….
Good that even the witch Gabbard has finally been fired. She probably became too much of a burden in the end, even for the Krasnov administration.
Just bomb on a Friday night and late Sunday say that now it’s peace – seems to work every time 😀
Katching!