Russian State Budget
The Russian state economy is not doing well and this year is worse than ever. Not a single month with a positive result. 2023 started as badly as 2025 but then improved slightly (very strange how similar the first five months were in the two years, could the beginning of 2025 have been copy-pasted from 2023?).
Still, December remains, which is usually (but not always) the worst month. This apparently is partly due to large pension payments made in December.
At the same time, it should be noted that these are official figures. The reality can certainly look much worse.
It will be interesting to see the corresponding figures once we have passed December and if they choose to manipulate them.
Russian Losses
The losses of other “soft” vehicles have decreased slightly since April. Currently, we have a seven-day average ranging around 65-90, so it’s nice to see days like today when we exceed 100.
- 1010 KWIA
- 1 Tank
- 1 AFV
- 25 Artillery systems
- 177 UAVs
- 107 Vehicles & fuel tanks
SLAVA UKRAINI
Don't forget to donate, Ukraine's cause is ours! Support Ukraine!
AFU’s morning report. Russian attacks increased. Ukrainian attacks increased even more: the distribution (38/139=0.273) about one third as many, which is a record high, at least since May 2025, but not a record.
N Slobozhansky-Kursk 1
S Slobozhansky 2↘️
Kupyansk 2↗️
Lyman 16💥↗️
Slovyansk 12💥↗️
Kramatorsk 2↗️
Kostjantynivka 22💥↗️
Pokrovsk 48💥💥💥↗️
Oleksandrivskij 17💥
Huliaypillia 14💥
Orikhivsk 0
Prydniprovskij/Dnipro 3
Sum sectors 139↗️🇷🇺
Unlocalized 38↗️🇺🇦
Total 177↗️
👍
177 combat clashes
As I have already mentioned:
“Ukraine’s Defense Forces made Russia’s advance slower than a snail.”
https://x.com/United24media/status/1998487882709746057
The Russian “Ural Oil” is now down to around 53 (yesterday’s figures). Second lowest since the war started.
Moreover, it is said that both India and China are getting significant discounts. The Russian economy (and not just the state budget) is probably starting to feel really bad.
No wonder Trump is so desperately trying to pressure Ukraine to give up.
It’s rarely so gratifying that it’s cheap to destroy the planet!
“Ukraine is losing many soldiers, and that pain is personal, but Russia is losing far more, says Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi in an interview with ZDF. He called reports of Ukrainian encirclement near Pokrovsk false, and dismissed repeated Russian claims of taking Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad as lies.”
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3m7mjqodo5s2i
“Russia launched 80 drones overnight, including around 50 Shaheds, from Kursk, Primorsko-Akhtarsk, Millerovo, and occupied Crimea. Ukrainian air defense shot down or jammed 50 drones over the south and east. Strikes hit 7 locations.”
https://bsky.app/profile/noelreports.com/post/3m7mjl6seas2i
Well written by Peter Kadhammar.
” ”The threat assessment must be put into proportion”, writes Tännsjö, Feiler, and Greider in DN.
Tell that to the Ukrainians who are bombed daily by Russia! Tell that to all the parents whose children have been abducted to Russia! Inform the widows, widowers, and parentless children that the threat assessment must be put into proportion!
Tell that to the survivors in Bucha.”
https://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/kolumnister/a/JO1vyR/lena-andersson-frida-stranne-talar-som-putin-och-trump
If Trump openly supports the idea of withdrawing from NATO, it will probably happen. Most Republicans dare not oppose him even if they think differently. They know that it would risk their continued careers if Trump portrays them as traitors.
Surveys show that a majority, even among Republicans, support continuing to help Ukraine (and not just selling weapons) and imposing tougher sanctions on Russia, but nothing happens because Trump thinks otherwise.
The US Congress is no longer able to represent the US population.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
“❗️Republican Thomas Massie Introduces Bill to the House of Representatives for the US Withdrawal from NATO”
https://bsky.app/profile/militarynewsua.bsky.social/post/3m7mjzbtwbk26
That the USA is now mentioned as a threat in the Danish security service’s threat analysis is a blow to the entire worldview that has prevailed since the Cold War. This is according to Berlingske’s security policy analyst Kristian Mouritzen to the newspaper itself. – It hurts deep in the soul to read the report, he says. He points out that the USA is not identified as a threat on the level of Russia but as “a country that does not wish us well.” According to Mouritzen, the report shows that Europe is facing completely new security challenges when the USA can no longer be trusted. – It is not easy for Europe as it continues to be heavily dependent on the USA and will be for at least ten years, he says.
The Russian army is holding deserters captive in a basement on an abandoned construction site in the village of Melekine, a popular seaside resort outside the occupied Mariupol in Ukraine. Several soldiers report this to the independent Astra. The dark, stuffy, damp basement is furnished with cardboard boxes and pallets, according to a soldier who has been imprisoned there. – I spoke to people who had been there for eight months, in some cases a year, he says. Another soldier tells that at one point there were 98 people in the basement. The men, who mainly come from poor regions like Yakutia and Buryatia, were only taken out to be washed once a month. Some of the soldiers who were imprisoned were registered as missing, and it happened that the army lied to their relatives that they were at the front. The basement is only a few hundred meters from a facility where Russian tourists vacation by the sea.
Ukrainian assault units are conducting clearing operations in Kupiansk after cutting the Russian supply line into the town. The Ukrainian General Staff reports approximately 60 enemy soldiers remain inside.
With reinforcements unable to reach them and evacuation impossible, some Russian soldiers have begun surrendering. Footage shows captured troops explaining they signaled to a Ukrainian drone, which directed them to ground forces.
The Russians still inside are dispersed through ruins and basements, some wearing civilian clothes to avoid detection. Their only resupply option is by drone. Ukrainian forces control the key hill-ridge west of the town, giving drone operators and artillery observers clear sightlines over any approach.
Putin had already proclaimed the complete capture of Kupiansk. The ongoing Ukrainian operations tell a different story – one where Russia’s remaining presence in the town depends entirely on whether reinforcements can break through Ukrainian fire control.
🔗Read more in our Frontline report: euromaidanpress.com/2025/12/09/fro…