Illia Kabachynskyi

The Kremlin has claimed it gained full control over the city of Kupiansk so many times, it almost seems to believe it. In reality, Ukraine’s Armed Forces have carried out a series of successful counterattacks, pushing Russian troops back.

By the end of 2025, Russia’s total irrecoverable losses in the war are projected to reach 1.2 million—a figure unseen since World War II. Yet in the Kremlin, these unprecedented casualties are met with calm resolve. Russia appears willing to continue the war, losing hundreds of thousands of soldiers each year.

Russia’s war machine is losing fuel—literally. Oil revenues have cratered, sanctions are tightening the noose, and unsold tankers drift aimlessly at sea. 

In the fall of 2025, the Russian army sought to stretch the active line of contact and launched attacks in the area of Huliaipole, a small town in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.

After a successful joint operation by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) and the Ukrainian Navy, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has lost another submarine—the second since the start of the full-scale invasion. The strike is not only about a half-billion-dollar loss, but also about a direct reduction in Russia’s offensive capability: the submarine was a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles used in strikes against Ukraine.

They look like spiderwebs stretched across the road. But these nets installed near Ukraine’s frontline are designed to catch something far more lethal—Russian FPV drones.