re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict.

But, but, but the Donbas is collapsing!?!?!?!?

Well? Why not?

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Kyiv “Independent”

Ukraine Energy Minister Charged in Massive Corruption Scandal

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Herman Halushchenko, Ukraine's former energy minister, has been charged with money laundering and organized crime as part of the country's biggest corruption scandal, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) announced on Feb. 16.

The charges against Halushchenko were brought months after Ukraine was rocked the biggest corruption investigation during Volodymyr Zelensky's presidency. A day earlier on Feb. 15, the ex-official was detained while attempting to leave Ukraine.

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According to the bureau, during Halushchenko's tenure as energy minister, over $112 million was funneled through Ihor Mironyuk, a former advisor to Halushchenko and a suspect in the case.

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Yet Trump's actions have been anti Russia. Sanctions, StarLink, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, and not to mention Azerbaijan & Armenia.

Poland seems to keep undesired immigrants out and yet not be linked to Putin like Orban has linked himself and Hungary.

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You realize this is BS, right? I'm guessing not, else you wouldn't have posted it.

We aren't financing anything anymore.

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Actually, we are.

Two separate spending bills, one expiring this FY and the other in 2028, are funding them in a variety of ways. Both do include a good chunk for weapons, which "goes back into the economy" (technically true but the MIC isn't helping "the economy" overall all that much) but also fund government services and intelligence support. I've also heard we are funding their pensions (or were at some point) but not sure if that is included in those bills.

The intelligence support we have been giving since the beginning of the war is one of those "shadow expenses" where it's already in the budget so there is no bill needed for it, but it is being used on Ukraine at least at some level. And the value of that support would be astronomical if it were quantifiable and on the open market. Personally I'm fine with that, just for the record. Making things harder on Russia and keeping the eyes of our intelligence agencies off other potential conflicts to dip our fingers into is a good thing.

Thanks for sharing, that was a great overview of the state of the war.

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Ukrainian civilian casualties rose by 26 percent in 2025, The Guardian reports, citing the UK monitoring group Action on Armed Violence. A total of 2,248 civilians were killed and 12,493 injured. The deadliest attack occurred on June 24 in Dnipro, killing 21 and wounding 314, including 38 children. On September 9, 805 drones and 13 missiles were recorded in a single night.

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Opportunistic Ukrainian Counterattacks Grab Ground After Musk Starlink Shutdown

Russia’s 800,000-man army invading Ukraine lost its main means of exchanging digital data in mid-February and now Kyiv’s forces are taking advantage of it.

Ukrainian infantry teams taking advantage of a recent crash in Starlink communications service to Russian units have launched opportunistic assaults in three sectors of the Russo-Ukrainian War’s 1,100-kilometer (684-mile) front, putting Russian forces to flight and capturing a reported 11 villages, according to Ukrainian field and official reports made public on Monday.

Ukrainian assault infantry, armored transport and drone units operating in combined arms attack teams scored their biggest gains in assaults over the weekend in the Zaporizhzhia sector, liberating 5 villages across a 30-kilometer (19-mile) front near the city of Hulyaipole.

The attacks forced Russian units in the area to retreat across the tactically important Haichur River, and re-established Ukrainian control in territory held by Russian forces since late summer.

Ukrainian news reports and even some unit information feeds reported veteran Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) combat formations concentrated in the sector in early February to carry out the attacks against a line of Zaporizhzhia villages between the frontline cities of Hulyaipole and Pokrovsk. By Saturday, even Ukrainian mainstream news was reporting the AFU’s elite 82nd and 95th Air Assault Brigades, along with the veteran 33rd and 475th Assault Infantry Regiments, were leading the attacks.

The 225th Regiment confirmed on Sunday it was in combat in the Hulyaipole sector, reporting on the unit Telegram channel its assault squads had cleared Russian forces out of fortifications around two villages late last week, and claiming 40 Russian troops were killed by 225 fighters in one day of combat near Hulyaipole. Kyiv Post could not confirm that claim independently.

Russian military news platforms additionally reported the AFU’s elite 210th and 225th Assault Regiments participated in the assaults along with the 24th Assault Regiment “Aidar.”

Ukrainian assault groups using, among other equipment, US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks and Swedish CV-90 infantry assault vehicles were able to “quickly clear” Russian troops from the five settlements, Euromaidan reported.

Both Russian and Ukrainian sources confirmed that the US company SpaceX’s move to disable black and gray market Starlink communications terminals in Russia and Ukraine substantially aided the AFU attacks. The denial of Starlink service left Russian units in the Ukrainian attack zone largely unable to exchange digital data and reliant on easily jammed VHF radio for combat intelligence and orders.

Villages confirmed recaptured by Ukrainian forces by Monday, per Ukrainian battle reports on fighting around Hulyaipole, included the settlements Vidradne, Verbove, Prydorozhnie and Ternuvate. Russian milbloggers reported fighting still was in progress around the village of Verbove.

Similar but smaller Ukrainian advances were reported elsewhere on the front as well, including near a village called Mahdalynivka near the Zaporizhzhia-Vasylivka highway, was confirmed by drone video published by 33rd Assault Regiment. AFU ground gains also were reported in the Kharkiv sector near the town Sviatohirsk, and in the Donetsk sector near the city Chasiv Yar.

Independent analysts said the Ukrainian terrain gains in some five days of fighting – effectively reversing Russian advances in that sector managed over the three to four months at the price of heavy losses – were a clear victory for Kyiv’s forces.

Konrad Muzyka, Director of the Rochan Consulting security research group, said that the Ukrainian advances, though local, were significant, and that the Ukrainian objective was strengthening defensive positions.

“Recent Ukrainian counterattacks along the Hulyaipole axis confirm that Russian force density in certain sectors – including operationally significant ones – remains relatively low, enabling well-coordinated Ukrainian assaults to achieve rapid, localized territorial gains,” Muzyka said in a Feb. 14 analysis published on X.

“What we are witnessing now is a clear Ukrainian tactical success and a notable Russian setback. Russian forces were unable to translate their earlier operational achievement – crossing the Haichur River into a durable foothold. Equally significant was their apparent failure to anticipate and absorb the Ukrainian counterstroke, which reversed more than a month of Russian advances in the area,” Muzyka said.

The Kyiv Post

Ukraine seeing some success counterattacking in western as well as eastern Zapo now. That will pin the Russians down there and cause some problems for them I think.