Putin’s Election Ends With a Retreat He Can’t Admit

I examine Ukraine’s reported Operation Vivaldi, including claims by the Third Army Corps that Shandrohovo and Derilov were liberated and Drobyshev is under Ukrainian control. Ukrainian and Russian military-blogger reporting points to pressure on the Russian salient along the Lomon axis, with potentially serious implications for Russian positions around Yampol, Kupyansk, and Moscow’s repeatedly delayed objective of taking the Donbas.

I also assess the larger strategic tension: Zelensky’s approval of expanded long-range operations, Poland’s warning that inadequate Ukrainian air defense leaves Russian drones able to reach its border, and Denmark’s new $275 million military aid package. As Putin casts Russia’s parliamentary election as a referendum on the war, I look at the gap between Kremlin messaging, reported battlefield reverses, expanding Russian weapons production, and questions over whether mobilization follows the vote.

00:00 Operation Vivaldi and Russian battlefield setbacks

02:53 Mapping Ukrainian gains on the Lomon axis

07:15 Europe’s political divide over Russia and NATO

08:59 Russian drones, Poland, and NATO air defense

13:03 Putin’s election messaging and the Ukraine war

14:48 Russian weapons production and mobilization questions

17:20 Trump, the GOP, and U.S. political consequences

19:45 After the election: mobilization and Putin’s next move

#UkraineRussiaWar #OperationVivaldi #Donbas #NATO #Deterrence

Facts over noise. Context over headlines. Truth over talking points. Principle over partisanship.

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