re: Latest Updates: Russia-Ukraine Conflict.

Meanwhile, business as usual for the Russian Orthodox 'Church'.

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Czech police said that the powder found in the car of Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church was indeed cocaine, according to Deník N.

Today he was reassigned to serve in Brazil. That raises questions — a promotion to a region often described as a global hub for cocaine production?

His new posting is considered one of the key transit points for cocaine flows to Europe and Africa, where major drug trafficking networks operate.

Meanwhile, in Hungary, more than 500 kg of cocaine from Latin America was discovered today (video). The shipment was disguised as bananas from Ecuador.

This is the largest drug seizure in the country’s history.

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Interview with the architect of operation Cobweb...

Valeriy Borovyk, a veteran of the Russia-Ukraine war and founder of First Contact, a defense manufacturer directly involved in the legendary Cobweb operation, told Radio NV on the anniversary of the mission how difficult such operations are to prepare, how Cobweb’s conditions and targets changed, why details are being disclosed now, how Ukraine’s technological capabilities have changed over the past year and what Russians should expect next.

"We prepared several versions of the technical solution. In fact, we spent a year making these drones because they differed from the standard Osa drone. We called the project Osa LTE. It was based on technologies we had previously tested in Kherson Oblast, where I commanded a special strike drone unit. Technologies that allow you to control your drone using enemy SIM cards had proven effective. I joked that it was a flying cellphone with propellers and a warhead."

NV

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I hate to be the one to say this since it involves hitting civilians but if you're fighting for your survival.....Why doesn't Ukraine send a drone now and then to some oligarch property to put more pressure on Putin?

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This is an excellent question, and there are multiple reasons for it.

1. They have done it on a couple of occasions. There are a couple of high-ranking officials and decision makers the Ukrainians have assassinated. Most importantly, the ones killed have been the competent ones - notice that Shoigu is still alive and working for Putin.

2. As BigJoe pointed out, the Ukrainians are limited in their resources and just killing a high-profile civilian doesn't save a single Ukrainian life.

3. What it would do, however, is motivate the Russians to fight harder to take over the Ukraine. This is where the Ukrainians have excelled - they have consistently learned from the Russian mistakes and know that even the chance at killing 'innocent' Russian civilians would be a massive mistake that not only would galvanize Russians to keep fighting but also be used against them in the court of opinion on the international stage.

So don't expect the Ukrainians to go after even rich civilians anytime soon, especially when the Oligarchs are going to be concerned about fallling out of their own windows or slipping on their tea served to them by their own countrymen.

looks like serious damage...

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In the Moscow Region, the restrictions are 60 liters of gasoline and 100 liters of diesel. Yes, that seems agreeable at first sight but it's just the teaser. Next week it will be less and the week after far less.

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Delete repeated post.

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Why doesn't Ukraine send a drone now and then to some oligarch property to put more pressure on Putin?

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Nukes.

I have no idea who is behind the website I've linked below, The Bulwark.

I came across the headline "Yes, Russia Is Losing the War in Ukraine" as I was scrolling down the Yahoo.com main page. (And, unlike a couple of other posters in this thread, I sure don't get paid for linking pages! )

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Yes, Russia Is Losing the War in Ukraine

FROM LATE 2023 UNTIL LATE 2025, I got a jittery feeling every time I pushed back against the prevailing narrative of Ukraine's inevitable defeat. That line was quite common in mainstream punditry, but most assiduously promoted by Donald Trump and his worshipers, who assured us that Ukraine doesn't "have any cards" and in any case Russia always wins its wars. What if I was just engaging in wishful thinking and cherry-picking the facts to fit my own preferred narrative of Ukrainian resilience?

Well, here we are in the spring of 2026, and no one (except Vladimir Putin, still trapped in a news bubble of his own making) is talking about Ukrainian defeat anymore. We're seeing more and more headlines like "How Ukraine Turned the Tide Against Russia" and "Shifting Momentum in the Russia-Ukraine War." Ukraine is even having remarkable successes in operations that could set the stage for the recapture of Crimea, which even most Ukraine sympathizers, myself included, only recently regarded as an impossible fantasy.

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More of the long article here

It was an anti Trump website. Looks like PPV now.

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12 years is pretty long for "temporary".

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How long did we occupy Bahgram Afghanistan? 20 years?

Then we lost the political will to fight a forever war. No more stomach for the loss of life or treasure. No more stomach for the distractions and the politics of occupation.

The Russians will reach the same conclusion eventually about Crimea.

Most politics are temporary