Don's Weekly, 30 June 2025: Part 1
by Donald Hill (intro by Tom Cooper)
Hello everybody!
‘Back on air’ after a few days of full focus on helping prepare few additional books for Helion… ‘but’… well, one simply can’t avoid ‘following developments in Ukraine’.
No, it’s not ‘just because ‘of that successful Ukrainian attack on Marinivka AB outside Volgograd, in which four Su-34s were destroyed while in the process of preparing for a combat mission. Or because of another, similar attack, but this time on the Kirovske AB - a helicopter base on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula - in which a Pantsyr S1, a Mi-8, a Mi-26, and two Mi-28 helicopters were destroyed. Or because of reports from Russia describing participants of the ‘Tube’ operation in Sudzha dying of cancer ‘en masse’, and then the Ukrainians hitting the HQ of the 346th Spetsnaz, and killing about a dozen of high-ranking GRU officers…
…at least not ‘just because’ of such reports. Much more often, it’s reports like, Ukraine’s victory Plan is dead, killed by Russian nuclear Mind Games.
…and that’s not to talk about this one: Defence in Donetsk Oblast: Vuhledar Tactical Group regularly submitted false Reports - DeepState.
I can’t be any more frank: nothing of this is ‘news’ for anybody reading this blog since longer. At least not since the summer of the last year, when we’ve been reporting, in details, and for weeks and months, about professional military incompetence; about Syrsky’s (Glavcom/Commander-in-Chief Ukrainian Armed Forces/ZSU) successful ignorance of the crisis in this area, resulting in the loss of such an excellent defence position in Vuhledar, accompanied by the decimation of the 72nd Mechanised Brigade, the Mechanised Battalion of the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade, a battalion of the Territorial Defence etc., etc., etc… Primarily because Syrsky is Zelensky/Yermak’s ‘General of Fantastic News’…
Instead, it’s ‘works as expected’.
In similar fashion, regular - and careful - readers of the Sarcastosuarus are going to recall ‘warnings’ about ‘the West’s’ refusal to support an Ukrainian victory out of fear about possible, imaginary repercussions this could have (including that with ‘a defeated Russia might fall apart’)…
Thus, and as absurd as it sounds (at least to me), the actual question is: what shall we report to you about this war any more - where we’re, regularly, between years (see: ‘Putin’s nuclear threats are a bluff’, back in summer 2022), and nine to ten months (see: Vuhledar catastrophe, and then Zele/Yermak/Syrsky’s command incompetence) ahead of the ‘mainstream’…?
…and that for little else but because of cautious collection of information; sober, objective analysis; and conclusions based on simple logic?
Mind: I’m used to following and analsying dozens of armed conflicts around the Globe - and that for decades already. I’m accustomed to the frustrations caused by the realisation that the mass of armed conflicts is caused by ‘little else’ but incredible stupidity, greed, unsubstantiated prejudices, resulting racism and hatred - and having corresponding results. I’m used to monitoring super-clever zombie idiots modelling the outcome of many wars. To systematic incompetence resulting in genocide, ‘at least’ in suffering of millions. I’m not the least surprised all the zombie idiots in ‘the West’ being outright relieved to distract from their ignorance for Israel’s genocide on Palestinians and the urgent necessity to counter the effects of the global warming - through babbling about ‘5% defence spending’, at least a third of which is, actually going to be spent for anything else but ‘defence’…
But, full revelation: I’ve run out of sarcasm, meanwhile. I haven’t seen a war as screwed up as this one - and that for reasons that can only be described as ‘distilled, pure idiocy’. Hand on heart: a part of me wishes this ‘Ukrainian Nightmare’ would’ve been printed on paper, so I could ‘at least’ squash it, then tear it apart and throw it into that bin patiently waiting in the corner of my study…
(…and I’m certainly not the least surprised, Syrsky does not dare appearing anywhere near the frontlines without wearing a ballistic helmet plus carrier vest with plate…)
***
Kursk/Sumy
14 prisoners were taken from the 810th and 155th Marine brigades, known for killing and beheading Ukrainian prisoners. A special operations squad engaged a Russian squad and killed or captured them. The 73rd Naval Special Operations Center went on patrol.
Ten Russian artillery pieces are attacked by the 8th Regiment SSO, although the timeframe of these attacks was not stated.
Russia used motorcycles to launch an assault on Andriivka. The objective was to reach the village before Ukrainian drones or artillery could react. Failing that, the hope was that the assault was fast enough so the Ukrainian drones couldn’t attack them all so some of them would reach Andriivka. But their movement was detected far enough away that all the soldiers were eliminated, either on the motorcycle or on foot, and none reached the village. Dismounted Russian infantry were also engaged on the southern edge of Oleksiivka.
Russian assault groups were attacked moving through northern and southern Oleksiivka. Over a week ago, 12 Russians surrendered on the northern edge of Andriivka. Ukrainian troops and equipment are attacked entering Andriivka. One Russian drone waits for vehicles on the road, a technique pioneered by Magyar’s Birds in Kherson. Russians are shelled in and around Kindrativka and hit with airstrikes, as well. Three bridges in Yunakivka are hit by the Ukrainian air force.
The new Russian KAB-20 bomb has 17 kg of explosives and can glide 12 km if dropped from an altitude of 4000 meters. It uses inertial navigation with satellite corrections and can also be guided by laser or video sensor. The Forpost-R is a $7 million Russian-made drone manufactured under license from the Israelis that has a range of 250 km and a ceiling of 6000 meters. Two Forpost drones were intercepted, each with them carrying two bombs. One was intercepted 3 km west of Guyevo.
In the first week of March, Russian troops walked over 12 km through an inactive gas pipeline to emerge 5 km behind Ukrainian front lines. They suffered high casualties when they emerged. By the end of the month, survivors were suffering from lung injuries resembling chronic pneumonia. Now there are reports that some survivors have blood clots and cancer and are being paid 100k rubles (less than $1300) for their troubles.
***
Kharkiv
A drone chased 92nd Brigade soldiers down the road until several shotgun blasts finally brought it down.
Ukraine still holds the aggregate plant on the northern bank of the Vovchansk river. Russia keeps sending assault groups of 3-5 men, sometimes up to as many as ten. 4 km south of the river, a Ukrainian 57mm AA gun is hit by a drone.
***
Kupiansk
In November 2024, Russia launched a narrow attack down a pair of railroad tracks that made it all the way into Kupiansk. They were since beaten back and Ukraine prepped the last standing bridge over the small Hnylytsya river for destruction. When Russia conducted another assault that made it to Holubivka and Radkivka, Ukraine decided to blow the bridge with a drone to obstruct any Russian advance down the rail tracks.
The 43rd Brigade finishes off Russian vehicles. A Russian drone hits a Ukrainian vehicle in Petropavlivka, 2 km south of Synkivka. Yet another airstrike on Kupiansk and this time an apartment building was hit.
***
Terny
Syrsky said that Ukraine would be conducting more counter attacks and small scale attacks in the future… and that has been happening in many places on a small scale already, just to maintain the front lines. How kind from him to state something obvious for months already, and then warn the Russians of what is to follow, too - and that in the public…
The 3rd Assault Brigade makes a greater effort to publicize their actions in order to recruit replacements to stay at full strength. At the end of May, the Russians advanced to the small village of Ridkodub and the Terny sector has been static since then despite continued fighting. The 3rd Corps commander, the former 3rd Brigade commander, promised they would start pushing the Russians in this sector back a few months ago. A company from the brigade attacked Ridkodub with the aid of drones from the 66th Brigade and eliminated a Russian platoon in the process. The thick vegetation and buildings provided cover and concealment from the Russian drones. Dense terrain is an advantage for skilled infantry.
A Russian rocket launcher is destroyed 13 km behind the front lines and a D-30 was destroyed 4 km from the front. Russia shelling indicates that there are still Ukrainian positions west of Yampolivka.
***
Toretsk
There was an airstrike on Kostiantynivka, and Russians moving north of Novoolenivka were attacked, but very little territory switched hands in Toretsk and in Siversk to the north.
***
(…to be continued…)
Good article. Good insight on the pipeline - didn't understand the cancer aspect until you mentioned it was an old gas pipeline. I had been thinking they were moving through sanitation or drainage piping. Old gas equipment is notorious for developing NORM scale (naturally occurring radioactive material) - as the norm flows through the pipe it decays and drops out as scale on the pipe metal walls. When that scale is disturbed some of the scale gets in the air as dust where it can be breathed. That scale includes polonium-210 - a notorious alpha emitter - which putin has used before.on litvenenko assassination. Karma I guess. Very likely all those troops will develop cancer and die unless they had respirators on the entire time and washed very thoroughly after their adventure.
Thanks for appearing on Indian media frequently. It's a breathe of fresh air since India is kind of pro Russia and pro Israel owing to many historical reasons (mostly urgent arms delivery during war).