Illia Kabachynskyi

Russia’s budget is coming apart at the seams. The war is extraordinarily expensive for Russia, and unlike Ukraine, it has no partners to help carry the burden. Its only real lifeline is the price of oil, which is why it is so important to preserve sanctions against Russia and prevent the Kremlin from turning oil revenues into ballistic missiles.

Between 2025 and 2026, Ukraine’s miltech sector made a significant leap forward: dozens of companies are now producing advanced weapons tested in real combat against the Russian army. In just a few years, the industry has grown fiftyfold in monetary terms alone.

Russia’s economy is coming apart at the seams. Since the launch of the full-scale invasion against Ukraine, nearly every sector of the economy has been losing money, with only those tied to the war effort turning a profit. As a result, Russia’s regions are sinking into debt, setting a new record for budget deficits.

Ukrainian military units promote a shared slogan—robots go into battle first. Three years ago, this largely meant reconnaissance drones. Today, however, ground-based robots are conducting thousands of missions every month.

A drone discovered in the United Arab Emirates carried Russian Geran-2 markings,  but it was identical to Iran’s Shahed-136. The find reveals a growing military partnership in which Moscow and Tehran are working together to sow panic in surrounding regions.

Russia’s military sector depends heavily on smuggled foreign microchips, but it also relies on a handful of domestic factories. Kremniy El, one of them, has been destroyed in a Ukrainian Storm Shadow strike.