[L'article Une fillette portée disparue depuis quatre jours a été retrouvée saine et sauve a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

[L'article Le meurtrier présumé d’une élue démocrate du Minnesota a été arrêté  a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

Today, there are interesting updates from the Kupiansk direction. Here, as Russian losses have officially hit an unprecedented 1 million count, the breaking point finally came, and the soldiers began turning their rifles on their own commanders rather than face certain death in futile assaults.

Three bullets on road to Nyzhnia Duvanka

In one of the most brutal recent examples of growing disorder within Russian ranks, several Russian soldiers near the settlement of Nyzhnia Duvanka in the Luhansk region turned on their own.

By shooting and killing the military police platoon commander and two of his barrier troop subordinates and running away, they sparked a frantic search operation by Russian authorities.

The deserters left their comrades to lie dead on the road while fleeing to save their lives from both Ukrainian and Russian fire.

Pischane funnel: Where men disappear

This violent mutiny did not emerge in a vacuum; it is directly tied to the hopeless bloodbath unfolding near the Kupiansk front, specifically at the Pischane funnel. For months, Russian forces have tried and failed to break through Ukrainian defenses here.

The Ukrainians have created a deadly trap by controlling the flanks, exposing any Russian assault to relentless drone and artillery fire from both sides. Yet commanders continue to send wave after wave of infantry into the funnel, hoping to drive a wedge through Ukrainian lines.

Every new wave knows exactly how it will end, as almost no one from previous groups returns alive. The systematic nature of these assaults has been likened to mass execution, with soldiers pushed forward not for tactical gain but to serve as human battering rams.

Mad Max cars and vanishing men

To make matters worse, Russian troops are being sent into combat in improvised Mad Max-style vehicles, like the Gaz-69, which entered production in 1952, the year of Stalin’s death, and regular cars fitted with rudimentary armor or even none.

Such improvised motorcycle squads and barely armored vehicles now lead the charge, only to be annihilated by Ukrainian FPV drones well before reaching the contact line. These desperate measures highlight not only material shortages but a total disregard for the lives of Russian troops.

Ukrainian surveillance drones ensure that almost no movement goes undetected, meaning most assaults are decimated long before they engage the defenders.

When running is not option

Despite the carnage, desertions in the Russian army remain surprisingly rare. The reason lies in the sheer brutality of the punishments for refusing to fight.

Soldiers who resist are subjected to medieval-style torture. Some are thrown into pits without food before being forced to fight each other to the death to earn the right to live another day.

In one documented case, soldiers were tied behind vehicles and dragged through the dirt, while other deserters were forced to bury each other alive as punishment and to serve as an example. In the Lyman area, a surrendering Russian soldier was spotted by Russian drone operators and targeted by his own artillery.

This highlights the impossible choice facing many: surrender and be killed or desert and be hunted. For some, turning against their officers seems to be the only escape.

This toxic atmosphere has bred a surge in violent retaliation. Russian soldiers, driven to the brink by the realization that dying in a pointless assault is their fate if they continue, are increasingly likely to choose to kill their commanders instead, as it is safer than being spotted attempting to surrender to the Ukrainians.

Meanwhile, commanders themselves contribute to the decay by labeling active soldiers as deserters to avoid paying their wages, denying them medical care, and forcing under-equipped men into combat.

A recent appeal by the families of men from the Russian 54th Motorized Rifle Regiment revealed horrifying conditions: soldiers were beaten and handcuffed, robbed of personal belongings, and left to die without evacuation.

Wounded men are forced to crawl back to safety, and the dead are simply abandoned, confirmed by footage showing bodies of dead Russian soldiers that haven’t been moved for months since the snow covered the fields.

Million-man grave and rot within

The downward spiral is accelerating. Russian military losses have just surpassed one million casualties, including killed, wounded, and captured.

Equipment losses are equally staggering, with 10,000 destroyed and damaged tanks and over 20,000 armored vehicles of various types.

Lacking armor, modern vehicles, or meaningful support, commanders now rely on sheer manpower and suicidal frontal attacks to advance the line ever so slowly. But the more men are lost, the worse morale gets, and the more inclined troops are coming to view their superiors as the enemy instead of the Ukrainians they are forced to fight.

Overall, such events create a vicious cycle.

The collapse of discipline and the dehumanizing tactics employed by Russian commanders will inevitably lead to more incidents where soldiers turn their weapons on their leaders.

To prevent this, the officers are only doubling down on cruelty, inventing new, more barbaric punishments. This internal rot may not only undermine Russia’s ability to continue the war, but it could also ultimately sabotage its war effort from within.

In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Everything was burning, death was all around — but Kharkiv remains unbroken. After a nighttime kamikaze drone attack on Kharkiv, rescuers heard an injured man singing the Ukrainian national anthem beneath the rubble of a destroyed building, says Oleksii Biloshytskyi, First Deputy Head of the Patrol Police Department.

During the night of 11 June, Russian attack drones struck residential neighborhoods in Kharkiv. Direct hits were recorded on apartment buildings and a civilian enterprise. Three people were killed, and more than 60 were injured, including children.

A 65-year-old man, a 47-year-old woman, and another 65-year-old man who died in the hospital in the morning were among the victims of the strike. At least 60 people were wounded, among them nine children, UkrInform reports. 

Oleksii Biloshytskyi described an extraordinary moment during the rescue operation. 

“We pulled people from the rubble, extinguished fires burning right on people’s bodies. In that darkness, amid the dust, smoke, and pain, a man under the debris was singing the Ukrainian National Anthem. That’s something you don’t forget. That’s something you cannot forgive,” he said. 

Earlier, on 7 June, Russia launched a mix of drones, guided bombs, and at least one missile on Kharkiv, killing six civilians.

One of the Shahed drones struck civilian infrastructure, causing severe destruction. Among the damaged objects was an Audi A7 that ended up at the epicenter of the explosion, writes Blik. Yet, contrary to expectations, the car not only “survived” but also started and drove away, astonishing everyone who witnessed the moment. Footage of the car instantly went viral on social media.

They call you — and suddenly, you’re an “agent,” without even realizing it. Ukrainian law enforcement is reporting a surge in cases where the Russians target pensioners by phone, impersonating officers from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) or the National Police. Victims are then blackmailed into carrying out sabotage missions for Russia, according to the National Police.

Russia’s strategy is clear: recruit people who are unaware they have become pawns in a campaign of international sabotage.

In Ukraine, elderly people are typically contacted via Viber. The goal: coerce them into following “orders” based on fake draft notices, fabricated criminal cases, or alleged links to Russia through purchases of medicines or dietary supplements.

One common scheme involves telling a pensioner that a drug they bought is banned because it was “produced in Russia.” That, the scammers claim, amounts to “collaboration with the enemy.” What follows is extortion — and a so-called “way out”: either wire money or complete a “small task.”

Pensioners in Kyiv have already contacted police after being defrauded or drawn into dangerous schemes. Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs emphasizes that legitimate security agencies never issue illegal or covert orders to citizens.

According to the SBU, Russian operatives are also attempting to recruit minors. These efforts often begin with photographing sensitive sites or tagging graffiti, and escalate to acts of sabotage against railway and energy infrastructure.

Moreover, in Europe, the Russians recruit Ukrainian agents to cause a double wave: shock in the West and propaganda within Russia. 

The Ukrainian National Police’s assault unit, the Lyut’ (“Fury”) Brigade, has received Spanish Pegaso BMR M-600 armored personnel carriers, Militarnyi reported. The deployment was confirmed by a military-focused Telegram channel, Tysk, which shared a photo showing the vehicle equipped with a specially crafted anti-drone grill structure featuring doors for both crew and troops.

Militarnyi noted that the angle of the released photo makes it difficult to identify the exact configuration of the vehicle. However, it suggests that the vehicle could be a BMR-600 VRAC variant used for chemical reconnaissance, previously seen in Ukraine. In January 2024, Militarnyi had also reported Spain’s delivery of two medical BMR M-600 units to Ukraine, refurbished by the company TECNOVE:

No official announcements have been made about the delivery of standard troop transport versions of the BMR-600, but the presence of such a vehicle suggests it may be part of military aid from Spain, Militarnyi suggests.

BMR-600

The BMR-600 is a Spanish 6×6 wheeled armored personnel carrier developed in the early 1970s and mass-produced from 1979. This amphibious APC serves as a mainstay of Spanish ground forces and has been exported internationally.

This amphibious vehicle accommodates 11 troops plus driver and gunner in an aluminum-armored hull. Key features include front-left driver position, right-side engine bay, rear troop compartment with ramp access and dual roof hatches. The 310-hp Pegaso diesel delivers 100 km/h maximum speed via automatic transmission and dual-steered front axles. Amphibious capability relies on wheel propulsion or optional water jets (9 km/h).

[L'article Le gouvernement Carney a déposé un projet de loi pour renforcer la sécurité à la frontière a d'abord été publié dans InfoBref.]

Ukraine’s Patrol Police Khyzhak (“Predator”) Brigade successfully demonstrated the destruction of Russian FPV drone ambushes using their own advanced drone systems, Militarnyi reported on 25 May. The unit released video footage showing how Ukrainian FPV drones identified and eliminated Russian fiber-optic-controlled UAVs positioned to ambush Ukrainian military vehicles.

According to the brigade’s press service, Russian drones were hidden along travel routes and set in standby mode, waiting to strike Ukrainian targets. Ukrainian FPV drones were deployed to locate and destroy these devices. The video also shows the use of bomber-type drones dropping munitions on enemy assets.

Constant airspace monitoring and demining

The Brigade stated:

“In addition to the direct destruction of occupiers, we constantly have to monitor the airspace in our zone of responsibility and work on remote demining of roads.”

The Russian use of fiber-optic-controlled drones, designed to evade radio-electronic reconnaissance and electronic warfare systems, poses a severe danger to Ukrainian troops, even deep behind the frontlines.

YLE: Recycled fishing nets become Ukraine’s frontline anti-drone tool

Ukrainian long-range fiber-optic drone development

To achieve parity, the Ukrainian Defense Forces are actively developing their own fiber-optic-controlled UAVs. In April, over 15 Ukrainian UAV manufacturers tested their systems, completing obstacle-filled routes over 20 km while simulating combat conditions. The results showed a significant breakthrough: previous Ukrainian drones were limited to a range of 5–10 km, but the new systems can engage targets well beyond 20 km.