The new Ukrainian submarine Toloka (TLK-1000) could pose a serious threat to Russian infrastructure, including the Crimean Bridge and offshore platforms in the Black Sea, according to Forbes.

 

 It is currently known that the TLK-1000 model is an addition to the line, which already includes the TLK-150 and TLK-400. These are compact “smart torpedoes” and autonomous devices.

 

According to the available specifications:

・TLK-150 - a “smart torpedo” with an electric drive and a warhead of up to ~15-50 kg, with a range of up to 60 miles;

・TLK-400 - an underwater drone about 40 feet long, with autonomy up to 2 months, a range of about 800 miles, and a payload capacity of up to 1,000 pounds;

・TLK-1000 - the flagship of the line with a payload of up to 5 tons, capable of operating at considerable depths and distances.

 

Ukraine's Toloka drone can smash the Crimean Bridge and Russian ports, according to Forbes

 

 

Illustrative photo: Ukrainian drone Toloka can destroy Crimean Bridge and Russian ports (GettyImages)© RBC-Ukraine (UK)

 

On 8/26/2025 at 5:05 AM, Jingthing said:

To assert otherwise is to parrot Russian propaganda.

Don't fall for that. So many have, on this forum, President Trump and his vile ignorance and idiocy saying Ukraine has no cards, etc.

Hint -- look at the bigger picture beyond the tiny land gains Russia has made in the last 1000 days (tiny win, massive sacrifices).

The war is about much more than that.

Ukraine is not winning overwhelmingly; it remains an intense epic struggle, but on balance they are doing better than Russia and Putin has failed miserably to achieve his goals of his invasion of 2022.

Putin obviously wants Ukraine to surrender. Trump depending on his fickle mood at the time also wants Ukraine to surrender.

Countries that are winning, even modestly, are not ever going to surrender.

 

 

 

Honestly.  I don't argue about who is "winning the war."  People pretty much are divided into three camps:  1) Those who insist Ukraine is winning, 2) those who believe that Russia is winning, and 3) those who don't know and don't care.

Within 6 to 24 months I'm pretty sure the "who won" will become evident - or - by 2027 we'll be in the middle of a World War and most of those in Camp number 1 will have bailed and left Thailand to either, volunteer for military service, or to be safely behind the "protected" borders of their Western home countries, especially Yanks who still think that two oceans will protect them in this technical age of hyper-sonic delivery vehicles.  So I don't bother to try to convince those like yourself that there is any other reality than the one that you presently hold onto. Really - why bother? 

It's like anything - let the sands of time play out and then everyone will know.  Then we can listen to the debates regarding why so many people, "Never saw that coming."  And you'll also know who was spinning the deepest trenches of propaganda. 

In the meanwhile, dwell on this quote from Winston Churchill:
"In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies."

Operators of the Unmanned Systems Forces (SBS) struck two Russian Tor-M2 air defense systems, each valued at $50 million.

 

According to the military, on one of the active frontlines, operators of the 412th Nemesis Regiment of the Unmanned Systems Forces detected and struck two Tor-M2 surface-to-air missile systems. As a result of the attack, one system was destroyed, and the other sustained severe damage.

 

The Tor-M2 is a short-range surface-to-air missile system used by the enemy as part of a layered air defense to protect troops and facilities from attacks by Ukrainian aircraft, missiles, and drones. The Russians use it to defend medium- and long-range air defense systems such as the S-300 and S-400. Its interception range for aerial targets is up to 15 km. The cost of a new system is approximately $25 million.

 

Two Tor-M2 missile systems destroyed on frontline: Why they are important for Russia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What Ukraine achieved in the last 72 hrs.

 

https://x.com/MAGACult2/status/1970932954047369512

 

 

Meanwhile back to some sort of reality that doesn't rely on MAGA Cult Slayer ! Incidentally that infographic you shared has Crimea in Red I though it was part of Ukraine ?

 

https://archive.ph/yAkoS#selection-2245.0-2357.89

 

 European officials fear Donald Trump’s latest rhetoric on Ukraine aims to set them an impossible mission that will allow the US president to shift blame away from Washington if Kyiv falters in the war or runs short of cash.

After months of pressing Ukraine to settle with Moscow and give up Russian-occupied territory, the US president stunned European capitals on Tuesday by declaring on social media that Kyiv could “fight and win” all its land “with the help of the EU”.

While Trump’s new stance was welcomed in some quarters, several European officials concluded he was handing them responsibility for Ukraine’s defence with expectations that Europe would find hard to meet.

 

20 minutes ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

Meanwhile back to some sort of reality that doesn't rely on MAGA Cult Slayer ! Incidentally that infographic you shared has Crimea in Red I though it was part of Ukraine ?

 

https://archive.ph/yAkoS#selection-2245.0-2357.89

 

 European officials fear Donald Trump’s latest rhetoric on Ukraine aims to set them an impossible mission that will allow the US president to shift blame away from Washington if Kyiv falters in the war or runs short of cash.

After months of pressing Ukraine to settle with Moscow and give up Russian-occupied territory, the US president stunned European capitals on Tuesday by declaring on social media that Kyiv could “fight and win” all its land “with the help of the EU”.

While Trump’s new stance was welcomed in some quarters, several European officials concluded he was handing them responsibility for Ukraine’s defence with expectations that Europe would find hard to meet.

 

Obviously. 

Russia’s two largest oil ports on the Black Sea have halted oil loading onto tankers following overnight drone strikes by Ukraine, Bloomberg reports.

 

Preliminarily, the reports refer to two major terminals near Novorossiysk in Russia — the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (SRS) terminal and the Sheskharis oil depot. While the SRS stated that the halt was solely due to air raid alerts, exact details regarding the Sheskharis depot are not yet available beyond the fact that operations have stopped.

 

Together, these two terminals export over two million barrels of oil per day from Russia and Kazakhstan. SRS and Sheskharis are key parts of the global oil supply chain, which transports more than 40 million barrels per day.

 

Bloomberg: Ukrainian drones 'shut down' two major Russian oil ports on Black Sea

 

Illustrative photo: refinery in Tuapse (Russian media)

 

 

 

 

The conservative British weekly The Spectator boldly challenges the prevailing orthodoxy. One for you @Cameroni

 

https://archive.ph/TE7YV

 

Russia is great. You’re not going to believe me, obviously, but the streets are clean and safe, with no danger of London-style stabbings or mobile-phone jackings; public transport works (and the Moscow Underground, with its beautiful, if not un-Stalinist, themed stations is the best in the world); there are covered markets selling delicious organic produce (from raw milk to fresh fish, pomegranates to wild mushrooms); the people are reserved but polite, thoughtful and often deeply cultured; and, judging by the bustle in the many excellent restaurants along the Arbat and Bolshaya Nikitskaya, the shape of the economy isn’t half as bad as we’ve been led to believe. Perhaps the 13 per cent tax rate for the vast majority of the population has something to do with this. Or maybe it’s that, being an oil and gas producer, Russia doesn’t have much time for net zero, so it’s not waging war on motorists, air travellers or affordable heating.

 

 

3 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

The conservative British weekly The Spectator boldly challenges the prevailing orthodoxy. One for you @Cameroni

 

https://archive.ph/TE7YV

 

Russia is great. You’re not going to believe me, obviously, but the streets are clean and safe, with no danger of London-style stabbings or mobile-phone jackings; public transport works (and the Moscow Underground, with its beautiful, if not un-Stalinist, themed stations is the best in the world); there are covered markets selling delicious organic produce (from raw milk to fresh fish, pomegranates to wild mushrooms); the people are reserved but polite, thoughtful and often deeply cultured; and, judging by the bustle in the many excellent restaurants along the Arbat and Bolshaya Nikitskaya, the shape of the economy isn’t half as bad as we’ve been led to believe. Perhaps the 13 per cent tax rate for the vast majority of the population has something to do with this. Or maybe it’s that, being an oil and gas producer, Russia doesn’t have much time for net zero, so it’s not waging war on motorists, air travellers or affordable heating.

 

 

Correction.

Moscow is great.

For now.

7 hours ago, beautifulthailand99 said:

The conservative British weekly The Spectator boldly challenges the prevailing orthodoxy. One for you @Cameroni

 

https://archive.ph/TE7YV

 

Russia is great. You’re not going to believe me, obviously, but the streets are clean and safe, with no danger of London-style stabbings or mobile-phone jackings; public transport works (and the Moscow Underground, with its beautiful, if not un-Stalinist, themed stations is the best in the world); there are covered markets selling delicious organic produce (from raw milk to fresh fish, pomegranates to wild mushrooms); the people are reserved but polite, thoughtful and often deeply cultured; and, judging by the bustle in the many excellent restaurants along the Arbat and Bolshaya Nikitskaya, the shape of the economy isn’t half as bad as we’ve been led to believe. Perhaps the 13 per cent tax rate for the vast majority of the population has something to do with this. Or maybe it’s that, being an oil and gas producer, Russia doesn’t have much time for net zero, so it’s not waging war on motorists, air travellers or affordable heating.

 

 

 

Yah, it probably has to do with armed security being everywhere, including at restaurants. Sure the underground is spectacular and has no graffiti. And yes, the markets are superb, I still remember the fresh Lavash bread. The restaurants on the Arbat are okay, some are not bad, but I wouldn't call it a dining mecca exactly. Not comparable with Singapore or Chiang Mai.

 

I'm sure the economy looks good but there is massive degradation, most people live in housing blocs akin to to the projects.

 

I wouldn't want to live in Russia. The weather alone is brutal.

In a rare moment of candor, Russian senator Dmitry Rogozin admitted the war in Ukraine is taking a heavy toll on Moscow.  Representing the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye region, Rogozin described the offensive as progressing “with enormous difficulty and at a colossal cost,” casting doubt on the Kremlin’s public narrative of strength and momentum.

 

He noted that equipment is often destroyed before it even reaches the front lines, and small-scale assaults are yielding only minimal results.

 

The senator emphasized that Russia is falling behind in one critical area: drones.

According to Rogozin, Ukraine now has “ten times more drones” than Russia, thanks to backing from a coalition of high-tech Western nations.

He said this gap is proving to be a serious liability for Russian forces.

 

Russian senator admits that Ukraine is dominating a key element of the war

 

 

Ukrainian intelligence has once again intercepted communications of the Russian military, in which a commander orders fire on his own troops, according to a post by the Defense Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense on Telegram.

 

Soldiers of the Defense Intelligence intercepted another conversation of the Russian military in the Donetsk region. The Russian commander orders the execution of subordinates who try to retreat from their positions.

 

"There’s no way to retreat, none! No one is retreating anywhere, d*** it! I’m telling you again, d*** it: if anyone tries to run off, f****** shoot them. We are moving only forward, f****** h***, only forward, d*** it,” the Russian commander says.

 

'No one retreating anywhere': Intel intercepts Russian commander ordering fire on his own men

24 minutes ago, bannork said:

In a rare moment of candor, Russian senator Dmitry Rogozin admitted the war in Ukraine is taking a heavy toll on Moscow.  Representing the Russian-occupied Zaporozhye region, Rogozin described the offensive as progressing “with enormous difficulty and at a colossal cost,” casting doubt on the Kremlin’s public narrative of strength and momentum.

 

He noted that equipment is often destroyed before it even reaches the front lines, and small-scale assaults are yielding only minimal results.

 

The senator emphasized that Russia is falling behind in one critical area: drones.

According to Rogozin, Ukraine now has “ten times more drones” than Russia, thanks to backing from a coalition of high-tech Western nations.

He said this gap is proving to be a serious liability for Russian forces.

 

Russian senator admits that Ukraine is dominating a key element of the war

 

 

If you are interested here is a transcript of the full interview. 

 

 

 

 

 

Explaine to me why Russian forces were defeated outside kyiv by Ukrainian forces befor they were given all the freebies from Europe and the US, and remind us how long it would take for Putin to raise the Russinn flag in the centre of Kyiv.

Ukraine’s mothers live in fear for their sons
Now the flood of patriotic volunteers has dried up every young man faces a dilemma: whether to fight or flee the country - THE TIMES

 

https://archive.ph/rN9vv

 

But how many young men will return to be drafted? A 21-year-old Bolt driver in Kyiv tells me that he is fearful of entering “the meat-grinder”. Serving friends complain about poor equipment, while others already in Poland and Germany urge him to join them while he still can. He has one year to decide. Those with money, he says, can always bag a safer posting with a bribe. “I just pray the war ends before I turn 25.” In crude terms, Ukraine needs to protect its breeding stock. As in every western nation, bribing couples to reproduce has failed. Ukraine’s spiralling rents mean the sums offered don’t go far. Besides, who wants to raise a baby in an apartment block buzzed nightly by drones, or join Ukraine’s thousands of twentysomething widows raising kids alone? Fathers of three or more are exempt from fighting (providing they financially support their children) so I ask a mother of twins if she’d have another baby to protect her husband. She shakes her head in horror.

Ukraine has significantly improved its ability to strike military targets deep inside Russia, German Major General Maik Keller told dpa, highlighting advances in personnel, equipment and training.

 

Experts from 30 nations, including non-NATO partners Australia and New Zealand as well as Ukraine itself, work in Wiesbaden to ensure Kiev's needs for weapons, ammunition, spare parts and equipment are met. The mission also advises Ukraine and aligns its forces with NATO standards — though Keller stressed the learning goes both ways.

 

According to the NATO general, drones are a prime example of how Ukraine has advanced warfare. Few can teach the Ukrainians much in this field, he noted, pointing to combat, logistics and even medical evacuation drones, as well as naval systems. The German military and NATO allies were learning from these innovations in technology, operations, and doctrine, he added.

 

NATO general says Ukraine improving strikes deep inside Russia

 

 

Related video: Decoy Warfare: How Ukraine Fooled Russia’s Missiles (Not What You Think Official)

 

 

Estonia will allocate €10 million to NATO's PURL initiative, which will provide Ukraine with US weapons funded by partner contributions, reports Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.

 

"Estonia is contributing €10M to NATO’s PURL initiative to urgently strengthen Ukraine’s defense," the Foreign Minister said.

 

The decision came as Russia shows no intention of seeking peace, continuing its frontline assaults and airstrikes on Ukrainian cities.

 

Estonia pledges €10 million to NATO initiative arming Ukraine

 

Photo: Estonia's Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)© RBC-Ukraine (UK)

 

 

Ireland would be “eager to assist” in a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine if the war with Russia ends, the Tanaiste has said.

 

However, Simon Harris said there is no sign of a peace deal on the horizon, and he urged the EU and the United States to work together to ramp up the pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop to the fighting.

 

Minister for Defence Mr Harris, who attended a parade of Defence Forces veterans at McKee Barracks in Dublin on Sunday, also warned that Ireland is not “immune” from potential drone attacks in the future.

 

Ireland ‘eager to assist’ if peacekeeping mission required in Ukraine

 

Tanaiste Simon Harris said there is no sign of a peace deal to halt Russia’s war in Ukraine (PA)© Brian Lawless