Yes, Russian Stuff Blowing Up is back after my two-week trip to Cambodia and Laos, which included flying over eastern Siberia and the city of Okhotsk on the way over there. 😱
This is great news.
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⚡️Ukraine destroys half of Russia's 'key' Pantsir air defense systems, security service says.
The Alpha unit of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) destroyed half of Russia's stockpile of the coveted Pantsir air defense system, the SBU announced Feb. 14.
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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 14, 2026 at 6:44 PM
More great news.
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Free weekend update is out. The leading story is Ukrainian claims that for two months now Russian losses have significantly exceeded replacements. If that is happening, it will prove a major problem for the Russian military going forward. Armies rarely tread water. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...
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— Phillips OBrien (@phillipspobrien.bsky.social) February 15, 2026 at 4:12 AM
This is the oil terminal on the Russian side of the Kerch bridge. It went all bavovna.
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Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces confirmed the strike on the Tamanneftegaz oil export terminal in Russia’s Krasnodar region on Feb 15. Operators acted with special forces and military intelligence. Explosions were recorded. Damage assessment is still ongoing. #Ukraine
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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) February 15, 2026 at 7:06 AM
Speaking of the Kerch bridge.
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The Crimea Bridge was closed for almost 12 hours.
It's the longest closure ever without obvious damage and visible explosions.
Some trains are 7 hours behind schedule and hundreds of cars also had to queue for as long to either get on to, or leave, occupied Crimea.
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— Tim White (@twmcltd.bsky.social) February 15, 2026 at 6:16 AM
The Black Sea resort city of Sochi came under a blistering attack from Ukraine. I haven’t seen word on what was hit.
This city is literally in the middle of nowhere about 1,300 km north east of St. Petersburg. Interesting note: In the last 15 years the city lost an estimated 22% of its population of about 100k.
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The successful strike upon the Ukhta refinery in Russia triggered a run to the local gas stations. Citizens are in panic to run out fuel in the middle of the winter. Temperatures in Ukhta are very low with - 18 Celsius degrees during the day.
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— (((Tendar))) (@tendar.bsky.social) February 12, 2026 at 4:10 AM
It kind of looks like the PT-73 from McHale’s Navy.
How to Blow Up Russians Hiding in Buildings 101:
They got stuck, then they got dead.
WARNING: Video shows dead Russians.
Somebody left the damn door open again.
I suppose a stick is better than nothing, but not much.
Can’t wait to see this monster join the Moskva at the bottom of the sea as a $5 billion coral reef.
Does anyone else see Nakhimov and pronounce it Knock Him Off?
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New article: a Soviet-era steel titan, Admiral Nakhimov, has recently emerged from a hugely expensive modernization. Yet in the meantime drone warfare, like we are seeing the Black Sea, is challenging this investment.
Complete with MS Paint/Gimp artwork…
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...
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— H I Sutton (@covertshores.bsky.social) February 11, 2026 at 3:52 AM
The Russian Government has spent billions of dollars, some estimate as much as $5 billion, to modernize the Kirov-class battlecruiser Admiral Nakhimov. The nuclear-powered ship is, together with her remaining sister ship Pyotr Velikiy (Peter the Great), is by far the largest surface combatant afloat, surpassed only by aircraft carriers. And her modernized vertical launch systems (VLS) will be unrivalled in terms of number of cells, a popular point of comparison for such ships.
Yet this project, as impressive as the ships might be, appears to be flying in the face of naval developments. It comes as Ukrainian surface drones (USVs) present seemingly unwinnable defensive conundrums to the much larger Russian fleet in the Black Sea, and China is rapidly expanding the envelope for uncrewed platforms in open water. So as Ukrainian naval drones bottle up the Black Sea Fleet in port, the Russian Navy has effectively saddled itself with a self-inflicted burden, desperately clinging to faded Cold War grandeur.
Oops. Gonna have to take that out of the captain’s paycheck.
I’ll take 7,000 Colombians over 10k North Koreans any day.
Azerbaijan has no more fucks to give about Russia.
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⚡️Azerbaijan's president accuses Russia of 'deliberate attack' on country's embassy in Ukraine.
Russia's strikes on Azerbaijan's energy infrastructure and embassy in Ukraine represent "a deliberate attack on the diplomatic mission of Azerbaijan," President Ilham Aliyev said on Feb. 14.
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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 14, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Another 1,250 Russians who should have stayed home, plus 4 tanks.
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Rising numbers of invaders are losing their lives, limbs or liberty, but there is no increase in Russia's hardware losses.
Any explanation is guesswork. Most saying it's due to Russia losing Starlink, yet they are still advancing (slowly) in many areas of the frontline.
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— Tim White (@twmcltd.bsky.social) February 15, 2026 at 6:25 AM
Trump’s ICE goons are going after refugees, including from Ukraine.
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“I am too scared to drive my 5-year-old daughter to school in my husband’s car. I’m terrified ICE will detain me and our daughter will end up alone,” she said. “This is just as scary as the war in Ukraine, except now we don’t have Dmytro with us..."
www.thedailybeast.com/laughing-ice...
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— Rachel Maddow (@maddow.bsky.social) February 14, 2026 at 5:50 PM
In an effort to control the information flow, Russia put the clamps on Telegram use at the front, which might suppress a lot of criticism reaching folks back home but creates major problems for their war effort.
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1/ While Telegram is only part of a wider complex of communications systems used in the Russian army, it comprises a keystone without which the wider system falls apart. A commentary by a Russian warblogger explains the Russian army's communications ecosystem in detail. ⬇️
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— ChrisO_wiki (@chriso-wiki.bsky.social) February 15, 2026 at 7:49 AM
2/ Responding to comments earlier this week by presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, 'Vault No. 8' provides a "briefing note" on the role of Telegram in the Russian military communications ecosystem.
3/ "A typical motorised rifle regiment (today, the basic tactical unit—the military unit that holds the front line) utilises several tools to manage its troops:
4/ — Radio communications."This refers to the tactical level (command and control of regimental units, from commanders and superiors down to individual soldiers).— Landline telephone communications. Also at the tactical level.
5/ "— Long-distance communications. For information exchange between regimental headquarters and higher headquarters (division headquarters), as well as between regimental headquarters in the Northern Military District and the regimental headquarters at its…
6/ …permanent deployment point (PPP) in pre-war Russia.— Military courier postal service. For the exchange of original paper documents between regimental headquarters and division headquarters, as well as with the PPP.
7/ "All of these communication methods have their own limitations, which is why so many of them are needed—they only partially complement each other.
8/ "1. Radio communication only allows for conversation, and even then only in short sentences, overcoming interference and adhering to code values, as radio communications are easiest for the enemy to eavesdrop on, even when encrypted.
9/ "Furthermore, radio communication is built on a system of repeaters placed along the front line and in chains at a distance of up to 20-30 km from the front line. Furthermore, each regiment has its own radio frequencies.
10/ "Therefore, the same regiment commander can communicate by radio with subordinates at the front line and slightly to the rear, but cannot contact neighboring units (without prior preparation), with the rear of his own regiment, or with the permanent post.
….
20/ "The role of Telegram (and any similarly rated messenger) is that Telegram combines most of the above-mentioned functions into a single app, which is what makes it so popular.
Russians back home aren’t happy about Telegram restrictions either.
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🤷🏻 In the Sverdlovsk region, Russians protest against the ban on Telegram by launching paper airplanes.
Participants complain that the authorities have restricted their freedom of communication so that they cannot discuss tax increases and rising prices in Russia.
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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) February 15, 2026 at 5:22 AM
Speaking of suppressing information:
Russia is so paranoid it needs to lock up a 69-year-old woman for high treason.
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⚡️ Russian occupation authorities sentenced a 69-year-old Ukrainian pensioner to 15 years in prison for donating to the Ukrainian military.
An illegal, Russian-controlled court in occupied Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, issued a "guilty" verdict against Svitlana Loy for "high treason"
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— UNITED24 Media (@united24media.com) February 13, 2026 at 8:49 AM
There have been reports recently that the Kremlin had Navalny killed by poisoning. Russia says, “Who? Us?”
Meanwhile Zelenskyy says — big deal, what about all the Ukrainians who have been killed? He isn’t wrong.
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Navalny died in a Russian prison in February 2024, officially from heart problems
Five European countries now confirm their samples are positive for epibatidine, "extremely dangerous" frog toxin. A joint statement is expected at the Munich Security Conference euromaidanpress.com/2026/02/14/r...
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— Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) February 14, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Rubio develops a case of Susan Collins Syndrome.
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"Troubling," Rubio says of European revelations that Navalny was killed with a neurotoxin. "Doesn't mean we disagree with the outcome. We just... it wasn't, our endeavour. Sometimes countries go out and do their thing based on the intelligence they've gathered." Uh, okay, bud.
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— Kevin Rothrock (@kevinrothrock.me) February 15, 2026 at 9:36 AM
The problem with dealing with Russian is understanding the world from the perspective of an average Russian. You can’t project Western values on Russian society and expect good results.
Here’s an example — Russians mostly put up with shit like this:
Here’s another example:
Ukraine has come a long way from being a country that was eaten up with corruption.
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⚡Former Energy Minister detained at border in Ukraine's biggest corruption case, NABU says
Former Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko was detained while attempting to cross the border, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said on Feb. 15.
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— The Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent.com) February 15, 2026 at 5:06 AM
If that’s what Orban thinks, he shouldn’t let the door hit him in the ass on the way out of the EU and NATO.
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🇭🇺❗️🇪🇺 Orban: We must get used to the idea that those who love freedom should not fear the East, but Brussels, and should turn their concerned eyes toward Brussels.
Putin-bashing is primitive and unserious. Brussels, however, is a tangible reality and a direct source of danger.
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— MAKS 25 👀🇺🇦 (@maks23.bsky.social) February 15, 2026 at 3:26 AM
Russians complain that Austrians are being mean to them.
This is actually a bargain.
Let’s check in on the Russian economy.
I tried to think of a guns vs butter joke to use here but came up blank.
BREAKING NEWS: Medvedev was actually sober.
Then they shouldn’t have voted for a right-wing government.
It’s good to see Ponomarenko posting on Bluesky again but wish he had different news to report.
While I was away I’m sure y’all probably heard a lot about the idiotic actions of the IOC, which is eaten up with corruption and Russian sympathizers, regarding the helmet of remembrance that was banned in the Olympic skeleton competition.
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The IOC disqualified Ukrainian skeleton racer Heraskevych for a helmet honoring 22 athletes killed by Russia
Zelenskyy awarded him the Order of Freedom. "Medals are important ... but ... the main thing is who you are,” the president said euromaidanpress.com/2026/02/14/z...
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— Euromaidan Press (@euromaidanpress.bsky.social) February 14, 2026 at 11:38 AM
This is why Putin will be roasting in hell.