Live Conflict Ukraine-Russia War

[Spitfire9]

Have drones now reached the point where infantry can no longer operate effectively near front lines? Ukraine and Russia are now producing very large numbers of FPV drones. Those drones can target individual soldiers, reportedly with a high chance of neutralising them.

I suspect that warfare involving infantry has been changed radically due to the advent of FPV drones, particularly since FPV drones can be produced and fielded at low cost.

 

[Soldier30]

Footage of a Russian drone, presumably the FPV drone "Prince Vandal of Novgorod," striking a Ukrainian naval drone, the "Barracuda." The video was filmed in the Black Sea. The "Barracuda" naval drone is armed with four anti-aircraft missiles.

 

[Relic]

Ahead of tomorrow's Ramstein meeting, Germany announced a new, massive $4.7 Billion usd military aid package for Ukraine. The package consists of the following:

- $3.7 Billion usd for "hundreds" of PAC-2 GEM-T air defense missiles purchased from Raytheon and built in Germany.

- 8 Additional IRIS-T SLM Air Defense Systems, bringing the total committed to 36 SLM / SLS systems. IRIS-T missiles will provided alongside.

- 5000 mid range strike drones, to be built in Germany in collaboration with Ukraine.

- $300 million usd for joint development and production of additional long range systems.

Note: representatives of 50+ countries will gather at tomorrow's Ramstein summit. As a result, significant additional military aid is expected to be announced. This should be bolstered by Orban's ouster in Hungary and the European Union's anticipated passing of a $105 Billion usd military / financial aid package for Ukraine.

Germany will pay for 'hundreds' of Patriot missiles for Ukraine

The arrangement is part of a new strategic partnership agreement reached today between Kyiv and Berlin, which included a flurry of arms deals to the tune of 4 billion euros.

euromaidanpress.com

 

[Relic]

Britain has announced that is will deliver a substantial military aid package to Ukraine consisting of 120,000 drones of various types, including long range strike drones, recon drones, logistics drones and naval strike drones. The drones are being built in in Britainin conjunction with Ukraine.

Ukraine's military to get biggest ever drone package from UK

With attention on the Middle East, Defence Secretary John Healey said 'Putin wants us to be distracted.'

www.bbc.com

 

[Relic]

The bi-monthly Ramstein summit has concluded and significant new military aid for Ukraine was announced by numerous participating nations. Some of it was announced in the days leading up to the summit, however, below is a comprehensive list of what was announced:

Germany ($4.7 Billion usd)
- Hundreds of PAC-2 GEM-T Missiles
- 8 Additional IRIS-T Air Defense Systems
- 5000 Mid Range Strike Drones
- $600 Million For Long Range Drones

Britain
- 120,000 Recon, Strike, Naval Strike and Logistics Drones

Norway ($710 Million usd)
- $560 Million usd to equip Ukrainian brigades with drones
- $150 Million usd for a logistics hub

The Netherlands ($295 Million usd)
- Funding for UAV production

Spain ($255 Million usd)
- Patriot Missiles
- Czech Arrillery Shell Initiative

Canada ($74 Million usd)
- Military Training Initiatives
- Czech Artillery Shell Initiative
- Engineering Equipment

Lithuania ($68 Million usd)
- Czech Artillery Shell Initiative
- Funding Towards A PURL Package
- Armored Personnel Carriers
- Maintenance

Estonia ($13 Million usd)
- Undisclosed Air Defense Support
- Funding Towards a PURL Package

Belgium ($280 Million usd)
- Czech Artillery Shell Initiative
- German Air Defense Initiative
- British Drone Coalition
*Will Deliver Batch of F-16s in 2026*

Weiterleitungshinweis

 

[Spitfire9]

European and Canadian support for Ukraine appears solid.

I wonder if Russia has been able to mitigate the loss of use of the Starlink facility. Are Ukrainian reports of increasing daily Russian casualties connected to this?

Unless there has been some unreported turnaround in the Russian economy and finances, the outlook for Russia in its continuing war against Ukraine looks bleak. Perhaps Putin continues the war because he is psychologically incapable of facing failure and so cannot stop?

 

[Soldier30]

Footage of a Russian Kh-38 missile striking a temporary Ukrainian army base in the village of Lesnaya Stenka in the Kharkiv region. The building housed soldiers from the 77th Separate Airmobile Brigade of the Ukrainian Army. The attack was carried out by a Su-34 fighter-bomber. As a result of the Kh-38 missile strike, part of the building was destroyed.

 

[MaciekRS]

Ukraine decided to reduce ruzzia black sea oil export

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2044844079008125410

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2044851373104050558

 

[Spitfire9]

Putin acknowledges that data show that the Russian economy is contracting.

https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/russias-putin-scolds-top-officials-economic-contraction-2026-04-15/#:~:text=Russian%20growth%20slowed%20to%20about,country's%20revenues%20from%20oil%20sales.

 

[contricusc]

As things stand now, Russia is doomed to lose the war. If they were smart, they would have tried to negotiate a peace now, while the Ukrainians have something to gain from a negotiated settlement.

But Putin is too stupid to accept defeat, so he would go on with the war until there is nothing left of Russia.

As time passes, Ukraine gets stronger, with better technology, more drones and more long range capabilities. Meanwhile, Russia’s economy collapses, under the weight of sanctions and the destruction of their export terminals and refineries.

Ukraine’s long range strikes will only intensify with time, crippling Russia’s oil industry and its ability to earn hard currency.

And the worst part for Russia is that the European military industry is ramping up production, and most of it will go to Ukraine. Not only that Ukraine produces millions of drones and many missiles, but European production of drones and missiles will be added to their arsenals.

Russia will become the testing ground for European weapons. At this point, I don’t think Europe wants to stop the war anymore, as it has more to win from continuing it. And so does Ukraine’s MIC, which is gaining global recognition.

My prediction is that the war will end with the disintegration of the Russian Federation, when smaller oblasts dominated by ethnic minorities will start insurrections, and the central government will be unable to defend the fedration.

Ukraine will probably fight until it takes everything back, including Crimea.