Eugene Stepanenko

ukrainian veteran, writer of book ABC of war, film maker, pilot

[Saint Javelin @saintjavelin]

A few years ago, nobody would have believed it. But this is Moscow today.

[Eugene Stepanenko @st_eugene]

So beautiful #moscow welcome to realty

[Yigal Levin @YigalLevin]

This is a very strange war, probably one of the strangest I've ever studied or witnessed.

Off the top of my head I can name about 20 glaring strangeness — about Ukraine and about Russia alike — that defy any reasonable explanation.

Most of those strangeness will have to wait until the war is over, but one — about Russia — I'll go ahead and name.

Russia's death toll is approaching half a million, and by the time you read this, it may have already reached or surpassed that mark.

Losses can sometimes be justified if they yield dividends — but that's not the case with today's Russia or the war it's waging.

I genuinely cannot understand why, after the failed take Kyiv, Russian leadership decided to grind its army year after year, head-on, into Ukraine's most fortified and defended lines.

History has rarely, if ever, seen anything like it — a massive army taken and methodically, year after year, smashed against a wall for minimal gain.

Someone might push back: Ukraine, too, attacked head-on into the most fortified positions in 2023.

True — but after getting burned, Ukrainians drew lessons. What followed was the Kursk operation (a change of direction), robotization, a search for new military solutions.

And before that came the Kharkiv offensive, the defense of Kyiv, the liberation of Kherson through bridge-cutting and encirclement — and much more.

Ukraine's strangeness lies elsewhere — but certainly not in operational art. There they've demonstrated what any cat knows: touch fire once, don't touch it again.

And don't blame Soviet-era generals — even Soviet generals understood and could apply not just the ABC's of military art but higher concepts as well.

But forget the generals — even stranger is why the army itself goes along with it.

Fine, the soldiers — they're terrified, ground down, and cowed. But what about junior and mid-level officers?

Don't questions occur to them — elementary, basic questions — that with a front and theater stretching over 3,000 km, with directions that are either poorly defended or vulnerable, choosing again and again, year after year, the most heavily fortified theater and axis is, to put it mildly, a deliberate strategy to destroy your own army?

The Ukrainians have been slowly falling back all these years, methodically building new lines while simultaneously destroying and grinding down the Russian army.

Looking at that half-million dead, the thought creeps in — the one some Z-bloggers themselves have written about: that this isn't a war, it's a human sacrifice.

Calling it a war in any genuine sense is indeed difficult — because what Russia is doing is simply not how things are done, even when you're Soviet-trained and don't know how to fight.

Because if a man picks up a sword and starts stabbing himself with it — piercing his own hands and feet — you wouldn't say: well, he just doesn't know how to fence — Soviets, you understand...

A lot of lyrical prose has been written about this, and even more clever arguments and attempts to explain it rationally — but all of it misses the point.

The Kremlin is hundreds of people if you count only the very top, and thousands if you include the rest of the apparatus — plus the General Staff, plus senior and junior officers — that's tens of thousands of people.

And not one of them had the basic thought that you cannot smash an army to pieces and burn hundreds of thousands of men alive, head-on, directly into the enemy's fortifications?

The only case we've seen where someone tried to break out of this sacrificial meat grinder was Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner group.

How that ended is well known — but what's not clear is why everyone else is fine with all of this.

And this isn't about humanism — it's about basic utilitarianism. You need an army, an economy, equipment — especially if you have ambitions.

And Russia has them.

But Russia is hurtling toward the abyss and shows no sign of stopping — and fine, the leadership are idiots — but why is everyone else okay with it?

History knows many wars — successful and unsuccessful, justified and not, long and bloody, fast and short — but the war the Kremlin is waging today is not just stupid, senseless, and bloody. It is also profoundly strange.

[UNITED24 Media @United24media]

🤯 The "mastermind" behind the arson attacks on UK PM Starmer’s car and linked properties was Evgeny Lyukshin, a 23-year-old Russian diplomat, per BBC and The FT.

The son of a top Russian Foreign Ministry official, he orchestrated the sabotage via a Telegram persona.

[Eugene Stepanenko @st_eugene]

#Ukraine today

[Heorhii Tykhyi @SpoxUkraineMFA]

Absurd. The organisation tasked with protecting cultural heritage does not even know whom it protects it from.

Why is it so hard to just say “Russian strike”?

Sadly, under @UNESCO_DG, @UNESCO continues to show lack of leadership, weakness, and inability to fulfill its mandate.

[ToBeOr (Быть Или) @ToBeOrOfficial]

From the headlines:

▪️Vladimir Putin branded 'Kremlin Antichrist' after setting 1,000-year-old church on fire in deadly Kyiv blitz, - GB News.

▪️'The Antichrist has struck.' Ukraine in shock after Russian attack on Kiev monastery, - Seznam Zprávy (Czech Rep.).

▪️Orthodox leader calls Putin 'Antichrist' for airstrike on historic Kyiv cathedral, - The Independent.

The fact that Russia is a child-killer state was well-known long before it's strike on Okhmatdyt children's hospital in July 2024.

The fact that Russia is an antichrist-state was well-known long before today's strike on Kyiv Pechersk Lavra. But today the status of the Antichrist was officially gained by Putin in Western media.

However, I'd suggest that calling Putin the Antichrist is a bit of an exaggeration, in his case even an honorable one, because he's a bit too small for that. All Russia is capable of is terrorizing people with its missile attacks. Which, of course, doesn't make things any easier. So let it be:
#kremlin_antichrist

At least the damaged structures of the Dormition Cathedral of the Lavra can be restored. What's more painful is today's yet another deaths - 10 people were killed. 5 in Kyiv, 5 in Kharkiv. In Kharkiv they were rescuers, who were hit by consecutive strike, as Russia always does, when they arrived to put out the fires.

#kremlin_antichrist

[Митрополит Епіфаній @Epifaniy]

Внаслідок російського обстрілу, який відбувається зараз, вночі 15 червня, горить дах одного з найбільш святих місць християнського світу - Успенського собору Печерської лаври у Києві.

Просимо про молитву за врятування святині від знищення.

Черговий російський злочин проти людяності, проти історії, проти християнства.

Що ще повинен зробити кремлівський антихрист, аби світ усвідомив, що слід рішуче діяти, аби російський терор проти України і самих принципів миру припинився?

Пресвятая Богодице, зупини ірода!

[Eugene Stepanenko @st_eugene]

As a result of Russian strikes on Kyiv tonight, the building of the Assumption Cathedral of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra caught fire.

In addition to drones, Russia is hitting Kyiv with dozens of ballistic missiles; civilians are under attack, as in previous times.

[Mark Rutte @SecGenNATO]

We visited Lukianivka, Kyiv 🇺🇦 where we witnessed the devastation caused by Russian drone and missile strikes only a few days ago

Visiting Kyiv with all 32 #NATO Ambassadors, our message is crystal clear: NATO’s support for #Ukraine is unshaken

[Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 @bayraktar_1love]

💥✈️ A light aircraft modified to carry interceptor drones is now being tested as a platform for countering Russian drone threats, including Shaheds.

[Iryna Sieidkhanova @omojblog]

Srećan dan nezavisnosti! ❤️

[Institute for the Study of War @TheStudyofWar]

NEW: SPECIAL REPORT | Ukraine is actively challenging the positional character of the war that has dominated the battlefield since 2023. Russian battlefield gains are approaching net zero while Ukrainian forces are setting conditions potentially to break out of positional warfare by reintroducing limited elements of mechanized maneuver at the tactical level.

Ukraine has re-secured an overall drone advantage and fielded systems capable of disrupting Russian forces throughout their operational depth in support of planned Ukrainian offensive or defensive ground operations. Neither Russia nor Ukraine is able to conduct operational maneuver yet, however.

Ukraine’s success in blunting Russian advances and reversing Russian gains in some sectors of the line, in tandem with Ukraine’s limited reintroduction of elements of tactical mechanized maneuver may nevertheless mark the beginning of a new phase of the war.

Combat in Ukraine will likely become less positional and feature more tactical maneuver until Russia’s innovation cycle renders Ukraine’s current operational concepts ineffective. Ukraine likely has a unique and time-constrained opportunity to exploit its current initiative while Russian forces remain vulnerable.

Ukraine’s partners should expand their support to these Ukrainian efforts at a moment when Russia is reeling from both battlefield setbacks and Ukraine’s deep strike campaign with the aim of forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to reevaluate his approach to this conflict.

[Caolan @CaolanReports]

What Ukraine is doing right now is working. I’ve been speaking to units recently and it seems the Russian southern front is in a dire situation. The main highway that supplies Kherson and Crimea has been totally cut. I’ve not seen it this bad for the Russians and it seems they literally have no way to stop this.

Russian military bloggers are going nuts. Analysts have stated outright that logistics across Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts are completely disrupted. Ukrainian drones are striking rail junctions, fuel trains and supply convoys on a daily basis. Crimea is already facing fuel shortages and restrictions on basic goods. The land corridor Moscow spent years building is falling apart under sustained pressure.
In Oleshky, Enerhodar and other occupied towns near the front, Ukrainian drones have been constantly destroying Russian drone teams. I’ve been shown videos of this today’s

These are the same units that turned the killing of civilians into an open sport known as the human safari. They hunted people at bus stops, in markets and in farm fields with FPV drones fitted with explosives. Now they are being taken out at scale.

At the same time Ukrainian long-range systems are striking the very military facilities Russian state media once showed off with pride. Oil storage sites, command posts and radar stations in occupied Crimea and the rear areas are burning. This level of sustained damage to Russian rear infrastructure has not been seen since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Inside Russia the panic is obvious and spreading . Military bloggers are openly discussing the risk of a major Ukrainian breakthrough, possibly through the dried-out basin of the Kakhovka reservoir where the terrain has changed dramatically.

They are warning that if Ukrainian forces exploit the gaps created by the logistics collapse, Russian positions could unravel quickly. Reinforcements would have to be rushed in under constant drone attack, and the routes are already compromised.

If Ukraine continues this tactic, it’s going to be the worst year on record for Russia. They literally have no way to stop this.

[Jay in Kyiv @JayinKyiv]

Holy shit..

Tonight's post from Russia's biggest military blogger paints the absolute darkest picture for the Russian military since any time of the war and very mych explains why Putin is now targeting Kyiv in desperation. READ THIS.

-Logistics Problems, Deeper Than They Seem-

The situation in Russia's southern regions is becoming increasingly threatening. Since early May, Ukrainian forces have significantly increased the number of drone strikes against vehicles transporting various goods to the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and Crimea. There is a risk of shortages of certain goods on the peninsula, and fuel sales are restricted.

The threat is not only the disruption of the Crimean holiday season or the shortage of certain products on the peninsula. Strikes against cargo carriers on the peninsula directly impact the combat capabilities of the Russian Armed Forces on the southern fronts, where the situation is already precarious.

🔻What's happening on the front?

➡️The enemy has been attacking the Kamenskoye area for a long time and has managed to advance in several areas, pushing back Russian forces: Stepnogorsk and Plavni have been nearly lost, along with virtually all territorial gains made by the Russian Armed Forces during the offensive that began in early 2025.

➡️There is a risk that the enemy will not only restore the status quo but also launch an offensive along the Kamenskoye-Shcherbaki line. Indirect signs indicate that the problems in this area have been addressed, but the situation remains difficult.

➡️Ukrainian drone operators have significantly increased their activity in strikes against Kamenka-Dniprovska, Vodyane, and Enerhodar. Every 20-30 minutes, local public groups report dozens of drone attacks on the city. There have been casualties among the local population. Employees of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are also becoming targets, as officially reported by the company's resources.

➡️This may indicate that the enemy is preparing, if not a full-scale landing, then a diversionary strike through the reeds at the bottom of the former Kakhovka Reservoir.

The loss of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant cannot be allowed: dislodging even small enemy forces from there will be an extremely difficult task. Moreover, the Russian Armed Forces will be severely limited in their means of destruction, as the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is not a target worth targeting with airstrikes.

❗️Considering that Ukrainian forces have already partially paralyzed the logistics of southern Russia in the land corridor to Crimea, it is not difficult to imagine what will happen if the Ukrainian Armed Forces manage to breach the Russian Armed Forces' defenses along the Kamenskoye-Shcherbaki line.

📌The Russian Armed Forces will have to deploy reinforcements along the route to Vasilyevka, the roads to which are already under frequent enemy attack. In the worst-case scenario, stabilizing the situation will require the deployment of additional forces via routes such as Tokmak and the more distant Berdyansk and Mariupol. Even the delivery of civilian cargo along these routes is already severely disrupted.

❓What can be done about this? The issue of organizing a "small sky" air defense system is clear and has been studied. It has also been discussed at the highest levels. The exponential increase in attacks after the May holidays is obvious, even though the roads were unsafe even before. Just in time for the beginning of May, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tested Hornets, and after the ceasefire, they began massive use, giving no respite to develop countermeasures.

[Eugene Stepanenko @st_eugene]

@Soph_astro Merci pour toutes les video que Vous partadez pour nous.

[UNITED24 Media @United24media]

⚡️ Budanov: "We are no longer a defenseless target of repression. Our response to the aggressor is the daily elimination of the enemy at the gates of our freedom."

[Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 @jurgen_nauditt]

The filthy Russian terrorists are attacking UN vehicles—because Europe has done nothing against Putin for four years.

[Republicans against Trump @RpsAgainstTrump]

Marco Rubio:

The Russians are losing five times as many soldiers each month as the Ukrainians. The Ukrainian army is the strongest and most powerful military force in Europe.

(Maybe tell your boss to stop trying to force Ukraine into surrendering to Russia.)

[KyivPost @KyivPost]

A 9-month-old baby girl had her leg blown off after a Russian drone slammed into a residential building in Zelensky’s hometown of Kryvyi Rih.

The infant was rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Rescue operations are ongoing.