The race for Zaporizhzhia isn’t over. For 12 months Russia tried to break through at Orikhiv, and failed. It will try again. youtu.be/kve3WepkCEs
Two Rings Around Orikhiv: Where Russia Really Is in 2026
YouTube video by OsintMonstas
youtu.be
Ukraine learned to stop the Shahed: microphones, searchlights, jammers, and interceptor drones that cost less than the drones they kill. Then Russia built a jet. This is how it's done: youtu.be/tnLfAnVPAVM
Faster Than the Hunter: How Ukraine Shoots Down Shaheds in 2026
YouTube video by OsintMonstas
youtu.be
Russia wants Kramatorsk, to the north-east. Its strongest attack here heads west, into Dobropillia: up to 40 men a day along the Byk river. If Dobropillia and Druzhkivka hold to late December, Russia would have to replan the offensive. youtube.com/shorts/ZkZav...
youtube.com
Russia's offensive toward Sloviansk depended on three armies advancing together. North of Lyman, Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi cleared infiltrators, struck supply routes and retook Nove, pushing the northern army back toward the Zherebets. youtu.be/LP-QIsT9hpM
Erasing the Red: Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi Around Lyman, 2026
YouTube video by OsintMonstas
youtu.be
Another mass missile and drone attack on Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Air Force report: 117/130 drones - including 38/46 jets 39/48 cruise missiles 5/? ballistic-ish 6 cruise missiles is still being clarified. 18 locations hit, with 5 more affected by debris.
In this war, drones now do most of the killing. Three years ago that change was only beginning. Through the summer of 2023, south of Bakhmut, Ukrainian troops fought on foot and under artillery fire to retake one small village in a hollow, Klishchiivka. youtu.be/iWqUc8mnFxU
Open Ground: Klishchiivka 2023 and the First Signs of the Drone War
YouTube video by OsintMonstas
youtu.be
While Vivaldi is running, I made an animation for an operation in the Novopavlivka direction that was revealed in August - one of the most significant moves that stayed below the media radar, overshadowed by the extraordinary coverage of Lyman. youtu.be/s8WMxfZSIn0
Getting In Isn't Holding: Novopavlivka to Komar, 2025–2026
YouTube video by OsintMonstas
youtu.be
You should keep in mind that Ukraine's offer is to stop along the front line, while the Russian front line is 6000–8000 km² away from Ukrainian proposal.
@monstars.bsky.social · last wk.Putin stated at Valdai that Ukraine controls only 11% of Donetsk Oblast ~2 900 km² RIA paints 650 km² less, leaving 3 540 km² unoccupied. Meanwhile, Suriyak shows 4 525 km², and DS red leaves 5 200 km² unoccupied. RIA painted 730km² this year so far ~ 3 more years.
Putin stated at Valdai that Ukraine controls only 11% of Donetsk Oblast ~2 900 km² RIA paints 650 km² less, leaving 3 540 km² unoccupied. Meanwhile, Suriyak shows 4 525 km², and DS red leaves 5 200 km² unoccupied. RIA painted 730km² this year so far ~ 3 more years.
The Infiltration-clearing loop Two or three men groups can slip through unnoticed, and that is enough to start a fight for a village. Getting them out again can take weeks. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMqI...
The Clearing Loop: Kazennyi Torets, South-West of Druzhkivka, 2026
YouTube video by OsintMonstas
youtube.com
Russian Bombs and Drones The 7-day average for bombs almost reached 330 at one point, but the month still ended with a record-breaking average of 305 bombs a day. Meanwhile, despite grim expectations in August, drone usage declined to 9 795 and has fallen back to February levels.
GSUA reported 7139 Attacks and 45 770 IvanZ 60% of attacks are undefined. average losses per reported attack reached 18 man per attack.
Punishing The Orbit Bombs break fixed positions, drones suppress what survives and open routes through the obstacles, and infantry follows on foot to take the ground. The problem is timing: a bomb can remove a building in seconds, but the infantry meant to exploit it may still be days away.
@monstars.bsky.social · 3w agoThe Retraction Loop The northern claw is gone, collected the way these things always are — the arrows showed up to record a result produced weeks earlier. Lyman is the reference; this is what it costs.
Moscow announced the capture of Mala Tokmachka in November 2025. Ten months later the village is still contested. 545 days of fighting for it, from the first Russian armoured push in April 2025 to the small groups still hiding in its ruins at the end of September 2026.
The Retraction Loop The northern claw is gone, collected the way these things always are — the arrows showed up to record a result produced weeks earlier. Lyman is the reference; this is what it costs.
I have two big articles about Kramatorsk, i dont want to generate 30 messages long threads, will publish screens instead. will look how those will perform.
Lyman and Huliapole - fronts doesnt overlap, same started to develop at Dobropillia. Operation reports diverge by dozen kilometers now. The largest difference is 40km at Lyman - from Zarichne to Oskil. Russians got invested into deep infiltrations.
Lyman and Repeat Nothing has been announced, and the maps are split the way they've been split all campaign: DeepState still has it red alongside RIA, while Suriyak has the whole area cleared. It's time to ask what comes next, where, and why.
@monstars.bsky.social · last mo.The Bill Comes Due GSUA — reports Lyman-area clashes every day. Сounteroffensive wasn't officially reported yet, but the hype train already left the station regardless, so here's my take.
The Bill Comes Due GSUA — reports Lyman-area clashes every day. Сounteroffensive wasn't officially reported yet, but the hype train already left the station regardless, so here's my take.
@monstars.bsky.social · 11mo agoLyman and Beyond The situation around Lyman is pretty straightforward: secure the flanks, cut the supply routes, and only then take the town. Everything else depends on that. Yarova and Yampil are the keys on the sides, and cutting the roads feeding Lyman is the other half of the job.
Mass missile attack. 142/166 — Drones 31/32 — Kh-101 / Iskander-K 2/? — Ballistic 29 locations were hit, with 9 more damaged by debris. More than half of the 166 drones were reported as jet-powered. Main targets were Odesa and Kyiv oblasts
Network should be the main determinant of strike efficiency. A jet drone is just a shitty missile, but add guidance and a stable connection, and it becomes a scalpel. The same drones can only operate within connection range on both sides.
