International Russia/Ukraine Megathread V15

[aerius]

This scenario gives the Ukrainian Army way too much credit. Is the Ukrainian Army better than the US Army? No.
To be fair to NATO European Armies, they were not fighting with the same drone capabilities Ukraine had. Had the tables been turned, the Ukrainian unit would have been destroyed. As is usually the case, we tend to fight future wars with strategy from the last war. Artillery and missile strikes alone would have defeated the Ukrainian unit. Where were they in this exercise?

A similar exercise issue from 2021:

"In a November 2021 Exercise Green Dagger at Twentynine Palms, California, British Royal Marines dominated U.S. Marine Corps forces, leading to reports that the Americans were forced to ask for a "reset" after significant simulated losses. The British commandos utilized advanced, flexible tactics to control 65% of the battlespace and "destroy" most U.S. assets."
The Core Dispute:

• British Media Claims: Outlets like The Daily Telegraph reported that the 40 Commando Royal Marines "dominated" their American counterparts, forcing them into a surrender halfway through the five-day exercise. Reports suggested the British ended the drill controlling 65% of the area after starting with less than 20%.
• U.S. Marine Corps Refutation: A USMC spokesperson told Military Times that the claims were inaccurate, stating the exercise has no "winners," "surrenders," or "resets." They clarified it was a non-scored training event designed to test new concepts like the Littoral Response Group.

So, just like the U.S. Marines can obliterate British Royal Marines, British military units (with artillery and missiles) can obliterate Ukrainian units. Can the Ukrainian Army defeat the Israeli Army? No. Will the Ukrainian Army defeat the Russian Army in 2026? No.

1. Europeans don't have anywhere close to the drone capabilities of either the Ukrainians or Russians. They don't have nearly as many drones nor do they have a full drone ecosystem consisting of recon, strike, and communications drones, plus they don't have the electronic warfare capabilities either. Most importantly, they do not have the training and systems integration, they have very little experience with drones and no clue at all on how to defend against them. This was likely the first time anyone in Europe has seen what a modern drone team can do.

2. As for artillery & missile strikes, well, you gotta find the drone operators first. Not going to be easy when the Ukrainians have anti-drone and air defence systems to deny ISR, plus they've gotten real good at concealment over the past few years. The Russians can simply erase a few grid squares with mass artillery & rocket barrages to eliminate drone teams but this isn't an option for NATO since they don't have nearly as much artillery or ammo. Artillery is also within drone range so it's going to be spotted & whacked. The Russians have enough guns so it doesn't matter if some of them are lost, NATO does not.

3. The British military has a grand total of about 150 guns and a few dozen MLRS with 1-2 weeks of ammo at best, with most of them being 105mm guns which are out-ranged by drones. They'd have to concentrate their artillery and burn through a significant portion of their ammo stocks to defeat a few Ukrainian units while eating heavy losses of their own. Even then, they'd be out of ammo after a couple weeks at which point the Ukrainians can roll them up.

War has changed drastically in recent years. The only NATO member which has remotely kept up is the US and even they are quite a bit behind.

 

[SandisLL]

EC trade commision had started 3 rd negotiations attempts cycle with China. Without consultations with U.S and their bottlemates in Russia.

 

[Rholk]

1. Europeans don't have anywhere close to the drone capabilities of either the Ukrainians or Russians. They don't have nearly as many drones nor do they have a full drone ecosystem consisting of recon, strike, and communications drones, plus they don't have the electronic warfare capabilities either. Most importantly, they do not have the training and systems integration, they have very little experience with drones and no clue at all on how to defend against them. This was likely the first time anyone in Europe has seen what a modern drone team can do.

2. As for artillery & missile strikes, well, you gotta find the drone operators first. Not going to be easy when the Ukrainians have anti-drone and air defence systems to deny ISR, plus they've gotten real good at concealment over the past few years. The Russians can simply erase a few grid squares with mass artillery & rocket barrages to eliminate drone teams but this isn't an option for NATO since they don't have nearly as much artillery or ammo. Artillery is also within drone range so it's going to be spotted & whacked. The Russians have enough guns so it doesn't matter if some of them are lost, NATO does not.

3. The British military has a grand total of about 150 guns and a few dozen MLRS with 1-2 weeks of ammo at best, with most of them being 105mm guns which are out-ranged by drones. They'd have to concentrate their artillery and burn through a significant portion of their ammo stocks to defeat a few Ukrainian units while eating heavy losses of their own. Even then, they'd be out of ammo after a couple weeks at which point the Ukrainians can roll them up.

War has changed drastically in recent years. The only NATO member which has remotely kept up is the US and even they are quite a bit behind.

Loving this the final stages of cope,

Russia is stuck, 20 miles (and in most cases 0 miles) from their border in an invasion they launched and are now almost 4(!) years into.
But theoretically Russia is still a world power bro! Please believe us!!

Make no mistake usefull idiots, the only reason Russia was even deemed a threat is because European nations put close to literally 1% of their budget towards their militaries.
Demographic issues make you less than irrelevant in the future

 

[Rational Poster]

Loving this the final stages of cope,

Russia is stuck, 20 miles (and in most cases 0 miles) from their border in an invasion they launched and are now almost 4(!) years into.
But theoretically Russia is still a world power bro! Please believe us!!

Make no mistake usefull idiots, the only reason Russia was even deemed a threat is because European nations put close to literally 1% of their budget towards their militaries.
Demographic issues make you less than irrelevant in the future

The real Russian army is massing.

 

[SandisLL]

Telegram is well known stuff as very popular for propagandists and paid trolls plus ofc for just money hungry bloggers etc specimens.
Ofc also very popular for KGB and GRU agents.
It is widely used tool for curators to communicate with informants and saboteurs, diversants worldwide.
Ofc KGB and GRU does have infiltrated agents and hired informants worldwide.

However more is better, therefore new informants, saboteurs and diversants are hired.
In order to communicate with agents curators might use messengers.
Residents / curators agents might place stuff in certain places, curator after this might message informants, saboteurs and diversants that stuff is in place and they might collect this.
This eliminates necessity for agent to meet with hired saboteurs, informants and diversants in person.

 

[SandisLL]

Russia is pushing messenger called MAX as part of new cheburashka net future land ...
MAX is programmed under direct KGB supervision with KGB ( FSB ) officers supervising programmers in person. Some % of KGB specialists supervising this stuff does have IT education and decent experience in IT field.

 

[SandisLL]

Russia ofc does have yandex but Putin does wants to create new search engine with close FSB ( KGB ) superwision in order to reduce malingant threats from unfriendly countries.
Also it is reccomended to create new browser or at least add ons for existing browsers....
As part of cheburashka net mega project.

 

[SandisLL]

Cheburashka net should have centralized network of clusters and databases clusters chains for total control.

From streets CCTV cameras recording and databases till total communiciations monitoring in order to prevent enemies to impact ppl in russia.

 

[Devil's_Advocate]

Ukraine is the best army in NATO and it's not even close.
EU armies got absolutely shit-kicked by the Ukrainians in war games, as in a single drone team wiped out 2 NATO battalions.
And yet we still have retards who still think the Ukrainian & Russian armies are some shitty 3rd rate powers that NATO can just roll right over in a weekend if they wanted to.

Ukrainian troops defeated opponent with drones at 2025 NATO exercise – WSJ

During military exercises in Estonia in spring 2025, a group of Ukrainian drone operators demonstrated that drones and battlefield analysis systems are changing the approach to modern warfare.

www.pravda.com.ua

Details: The article describes the Hedgehog 2025 exercise, which involved more than 16,000 service members from 12 NATO countries. Ukrainian drone experts also trained alongside them, including soldiers deployed from the front.

Quote: "In Ukraine the front line is largely frozen, but Hedgehog envisioned a battlefield where tanks and troops still have some ability to move. During one scenario, a battle group of several thousand troops, including a British brigade and an Estonian division, sought to conduct an attack. As they advanced, they failed to account for how drones have made the battlefield more transparent, several sources say.

The NATO battle group was 'just walking around, not using any kind of disguise, parking tents and armored vehicles', recalls one participant, who played an enemy role. 'It was all destroyed'."

Details: Melchior notes that during the exercise Ukrainian personnel used the Delta system, which gathers battlefield intelligence in real time, analyses it, identifies targets and coordinates strikes between command and units.

Quote: "A single team of some 10 Ukrainians, acting as the adversary, counterattacked the NATO forces. In about half a day they mock-destroyed 17 armored vehicles and conducted 30 'strikes' on other targets."

Details: One participant stated that the team managed to "eliminate two battalions in a day".

Full article with more details just dropped on the archives. The adversary force was 100 men including the 10 man Ukrainian drone team. They wiped out 2 NATO battalions in a single day. In other words, they were outnumbered more than 10:1 by NATO forces and they still won without breaking a sweat. Anyone who still thinks Ukraine is some shitty ex-Soviet military or Russia is a paper tiger is absolutely fucking retarded. Either one of them would casually rack up absurd kill ratios vs. a NATO army.

https://archive.ph/SdcJ6

NATO Has Seen the Future and Is Unprepared​

A simulation of drone warfare shows how far the alliance has to go to learn the lessons of Ukraine.​

Russia and Ukraine have shown the world the future of warfare—and America and its allies aren’t ready for it. That’s the lesson of a major exercise that North Atlantic Treaty Organization members conducted in Estonia last May. What transpired during the exercise, with the details reported here for the first time, exposed serious tactical shortcomings and vulnerabilities in high-intensity drone combat.

The exercise, known as Hedgehog 2025, involved more than 16,000 troops from 12 NATO countries who drilled alongside Ukrainian drone experts, including soldiers borrowed from the front line. It simulated a “contested and congested” battlefield with various kinds of drones, says Lt. Col. Arbo Probal, head of the unmanned systems program for the Estonian Defence Forces. “The aim was really to create friction, the stress for units, and the cognitive overload as soon as possible,” he says. That tests the soldiers’ ability to adapt under fire.

In Ukraine the front line is largely frozen, but Hedgehog envisioned a battlefield where tanks and troops still have some ability to move. During one scenario, a battle group of several thousand troops, including a British brigade and an Estonian division, sought to conduct an attack. As they advanced, they failed to account for how drones have made the battlefield more transparent, several sources say.

The NATO battle group was “just walking around, not using any kind of disguise, parking tents and armored vehicles,” recalls one participant, who played an enemy role. “It was all destroyed.”
During Hedgehog Ukrainians used Delta, their sophisticated battlefield-management system. It collects real-time battlefield intelligence, uses artificial intelligence to analyze huge amounts of data, identifies targets, and coordinates strikes across command and units. That enables a fast “kill chain”: See it, share it, shoot it—all within minutes or less.

A single team of some 10 Ukrainians, acting as the adversary, counterattacked the NATO forces. In about half a day they mock-destroyed 17 armored vehicles and conducted 30 “strikes” on other targets.

Aivar Hanniotti, an Estonian Defense League unmanned aerial systems coordinator, led an adversary unit of about 100 that included Estonians and Ukrainians. Mr. Hanniotti, who has since left the regular military, describes how they deployed more than 30 drones against NATO troops in an area of less than 4 square miles. That’s only about half the drone saturation Ukrainians currently see at the front, though Col. Probal says the Hedgehog umpires sometimes offset that discrepancy by recording the drone strikes as twice as damaging or more. But even with less reconnaissance than in real life, “there was no possibility to hide,” Mr. Hanniotti says. “We quite easily found cars and mechanized units, and we were able to take them out quite fast with strike drones.”

Overall, the results were “horrible” for NATO forces, says Mr. Hanniotti, who now works in the private sector as an unmanned systems expert. The adversary forces were “able to eliminate two battalions in a day,” so that “in an exercise sense, basically, they were not able to fight anymore after that.” The NATO side “didn’t even get our drone teams.”

Credit the Estonians for forcing NATO partners to confront these weak spots. Hedgehog was also an example of how Ukrainians can contribute to overall European security. There’s only so much you can learn from watching online footage or reading about what’s transpiring in Ukraine, says Sten Reimann, a former commander of Estonia’s Military Intelligence Center who helped bring in Ukrainian drone experts for Hedgehog. He said the results of this exercise were “shocking” to military officials and troops on the ground.

Hedgehog didn’t deal with political or strategic issues like drone procurement. Estonia is small, and land-use limitations sometimes constrained how troops could move. No single exercise can reflect how quickly drone technology evolves during an actual war. Still, Hedgehog showed how visible the battlefield has become—and how vulnerable that makes anyone or anything moving on it. NATO will need to adjust its tactics and find better ways to protect its tanks and armored vehicles.

Another lesson is the need for a faster kill chain, which requires more efficient cooperation on strikes. During a future war game, NATO might consider pitting Delta against a similar battlefield-management platform developed by the U.S. to see how they stack up. There’s also room to improve communication and coordination between units. Ukrainians accelerate attacks by sharing large amounts of data between command and units. But that runs counter to NATO’s instinct to restrict sensitive information.

“Lessons are not learned when they are identified,” says retired Gen. David Petraeus. “Rather, they are only learned when you develop new concepts, write new doctrine, change organizational structures, overhaul your training, refine leader development courses, set out new materiel requirements that drive the procurement process, and even make changes to your personnel policies, recruiting, and facilities.”

Estonia is trying to implement such major changes. It has updated its training, tactics and military doctrine for the drone era. It is also increasing defense spending and building deeper relationships with its vibrant private tech industry to work on drones and other military innovations.

Yet too many NATO members continue to show “a fundamental lack of understanding of the modern battlefield” and train their soldiers “based on doctrines and manuals that are not adapted to today’s realities,” says Maria Lemberg of the Ukrainian nonprofit Aerorozvidka, which supported Delta’s development. She helped coordinate Ukraine’s participation in Hedgehog and hopes it can serve as a wake-up call and basis for more knowledge-sharing between Kyiv and its partners.

Multiple sources told the story of one commander, who observed the drill and concluded, “We are f—.” I asked Estonia’s Col. Probal about this reaction. He said that one aim of the exercise was to help participants “think more, to make them critical toward themselves, to make sure they are not complacent in what they are doing right now.” Was it a success? “From my point of view, mission accomplished.”

1. Europeans don't have anywhere close to the drone capabilities of either the Ukrainians or Russians. They don't have nearly as many drones nor do they have a full drone ecosystem consisting of recon, strike, and communications drones, plus they don't have the electronic warfare capabilities either. Most importantly, they do not have the training and systems integration, they have very little experience with drones and no clue at all on how to defend against them. This was likely the first time anyone in Europe has seen what a modern drone team can do.

2. As for artillery & missile strikes, well, you gotta find the drone operators first. Not going to be easy when the Ukrainians have anti-drone and air defence systems to deny ISR, plus they've gotten real good at concealment over the past few years. The Russians can simply erase a few grid squares with mass artillery & rocket barrages to eliminate drone teams but this isn't an option for NATO since they don't have nearly as much artillery or ammo. Artillery is also within drone range so it's going to be spotted & whacked. The Russians have enough guns so it doesn't matter if some of them are lost, NATO does not.

3. The British military has a grand total of about 150 guns and a few dozen MLRS with 1-2 weeks of ammo at best, with most of them being 105mm guns which are out-ranged by drones. They'd have to concentrate their artillery and burn through a significant portion of their ammo stocks to defeat a few Ukrainian units while eating heavy losses of their own. Even then, they'd be out of ammo after a couple weeks at which point the Ukrainians can roll them up.

War has changed drastically in recent years. The only NATO member which has remotely kept up is the US and even they are quite a bit behind.

I think there are some valid points and concerns for the West no doubt.

If Ukraine was able to achieve kill ratios of 10 to 1 vs NATO during the war games what type of ratios is Ukraine achieving vs Russia? Even a smaller ratio could explain a stalemate despite Russian advantages in manpower, drones and artillery.

To me it ultimately comes down to the difference between causing terroristic type chaos and accomplishing military goals. Russia is more than capable using drones to cause major terror type disruptions. However as has been demonstrated in Ukraine(as well as Middle East, Caucases, and South America) they are incapable of exerting force far from home. Russia would inevitably get bogged down with logistics.

We also have to remember Ukraine is very limited as far as the long range weapons it has or can produce. You're correct that Europe has been sleep walking for decades however once they transition into war economy then whatever initial advantages Russia has will quickly disappear. This also heavily relies on the idea that US would just abandon Europe. Even with the current squabbles I believe US would step in to provide all the necessary assistance. Russia is simply incapable of handling NATO even with an initial drone advantage.

The combined arms of Europe and NATO should create many more challenges to Russia than anything Ukraine could ever muster. US and NATO would more than likely first work to achieve air superiority before any ground operations where drones would be a major difference maker.

US is already testing anti drone lasers. Ukraine has been rolling out AI defensive drones which I am sure would be shared with the West.

Let's also not forget about Russia relying on an American company to conduct their drone attacks. Now with Starlink turned off Russia is scrambling to find replacements and realistically they will not be able to find a similarly capable system.

Do you also envision a scenario where Russia sends hundreds or thousands of drones to Europe and Europe merely spends million dollar rockets to shoot down drones? Do you think there's also a fair chance Europe will start sending missiles to Moscow, St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, etc...can Russia realistically protect these cities in a tit for tat NATO confrontation?

So sure Europe, US and other Western nations need to get off the collective asses and take the issue of drone warfare much more seriously.

However to pretend that Russia is still some superpower is laughable as well. Russia has been absolutely incapable of asserting any force outside of its direct borders. They got trounced in Syria, embarrassed in Iran, and completely caught off guard in Venezuela. Let's also not forget the way Russia abandoned Armenia. Russia is not using donkeys and horses for their logistics because they are a military juggernaut. Russia has literally run out of even old unprotected/unarmored trucks.

I get it as someone from Russia you need to psychologically convince yourself and others of Russian might. While Russia does have many resources and capabilities its power is greatly waning and this war was an enormous blunder. But just because Russia has become greatly weakened doesn't mean it should be underestimated because if it starts acting like a terror state towards the West it could cause some very serious problems.

 

[SandisLL]

If you have normal VPN you might use TG, YT etc in Russia.

However Putin will increase financing for stuff called deep packets inspection ( DPI) and in ideal case cheburashka net will have all communications recorded and saved...from net traffic till phone calls and SMS etc.

for this Putin will need to purchase more hardware from China.....

 

[SandisLL]

Russian MoD accountants are using russian origin bookkeping soft but ... in a lot of cases databases used are Oracle stuff...still.
Plus most popular text editor for them is MS Word....still...

 

[San Marino]

Ukrainian army is level better than U.S special tasks forces. Even these are puffy cubicle level specialists nothing more.

Well, for one thing, you don't have U.S. soldiers deserting or going AWOL in Special Operation units.
No. I think (...I know) U.S. SOF would hand Ukrainian soldiers their asses in a real gunfight. Where is all this 'glorification' of Ukrainian soldiers coming from? Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting for 4 years straight without replacements. These guys are worn out. Many will die in 2026, and the Ukrainian Army will continue to get smaller. If Ukrainians are so good, why haven't they pushed the Russians back to their border?

 

[San Marino]

The real Russian army is massing.

The real Ukrainian Army is crumbling...

 

[SandisLL]

There are concerns that top reps are more and more inclined to think that reps after mid terms elections will loss control in House.
IF vancetrump will think that such scenario is reality, then obiviously they will press ukr to sign next batches with different papers before mid term elections.
Ofc ukr stuff isn't even close to top 45 priorities for U.S voters but ....business is $ and soul.

 

[San Marino]

1. Europeans don't have anywhere close to the drone capabilities of either the Ukrainians or Russians. They don't have nearly as many drones nor do they have a full drone ecosystem consisting of recon, strike, and communications drones, plus they don't have the electronic warfare capabilities either. Most importantly, they do not have the training and systems integration, they have very little experience with drones and no clue at all on how to defend against them. This was likely the first time anyone in Europe has seen what a modern drone team can do.

The Ukrainian Army is considered the most battle-hardened force in Europe with unmatched 21st-century combat experience, while the British Army offers superior, high-tech institutional doctrine and logistical depth. Ukraine excels in drone warfare and large-scale, high-intensity conflict, whereas the UK excels in training, airpower, and specialized operations. In essence, Ukraine has superior, direct, and recent combat experience, while the British Army provides superior technical depth and logistical, specialized, and airpower capabilities.

As of early 2026, comparing the Ukrainian and British armies involves a trade-off between combat experience and overall power projection. While the Ukrainian Armed Forces are significantly larger and possess unmatched experience in modern, high-intensity drone and trench warfare, the British Army remains part of a more technologically advanced, global military structure.

1. Core Military Strength & Rankings
According to the Global Firepower Index 2026, the United Kingdom holds a higher overall military rank due to its superior naval, air, and economic resources.

2. Key Areas of Comparison

• Combat Experience: Ukraine's Army is described as the "most battle-hardened in Europe". Their mastery of drone warfare is so advanced that Ukrainian specialists now provide guidance to the British Army on drone pilot training and tactics.
• Technological Sophistication: The UK retains an edge in a modern Air Force, and integrated long-range strike systems that Ukraine largely lacks without Western support.
• Size and Sustainability: Ukraine has more than 10 times the active personnel of the British Army. However, the British Army is a fully professional force, whereas Ukraine relies heavily on mobilized recruits who require basic training programs like the UK-led Operation Interflex.

3. The "Student-Teacher" Dynamic
The relationship is currently symbiotic. While the UK provides essential training for Ukrainian recruits in basic Infantry skills, it is simultaneously learning from Ukrainian battlefield insights to modernize its own tactics—particularly in countering drone threats and adjusting NATO-standard drills for high-visibility environments.

As of 2026, sources rank the UK as the 7th strongest military in the world and Ukraine as the 19th, though this ranking is highly volatile.

War has changed drastically in recent years. The only NATO member which has remotely kept up is the US and even they are quite a bit behind.

The US military excels in high-end, strategic drone operations (e.g., MQ-9 Reaper) but is currently racing to catch up to adversaries like China in small, low-cost, and mass-produced tactical drones. While top-tier capabilities are advanced, the military is rapidly reforming acquisition to overcome hurdles in manufacturing, speed, and AI integration for future "force-on-force" drone warfare. The American Army holds significant, superior advantages in airpower, logistics, intelligence, and overall firepower, making it highly capable of defeating the Ukrainian Army in a conventional conflict.

The 3 major elite US ground SOF units (SEALs, Special Forces (Delta), and the 75th Ranger Regiment) are on par with Ukraine's drone use on the battlefield. Much of that knowledge came from watching 4 years of drone warfare between Russia and Ukraine.

A small, specialized US military drone team could potentially defeat a Ukrainian team, but success depends on electronic warfare (EW) capability, system sophistication, and situational awareness rather than just operator skill. While US forces possess advanced MQ-9 Reaper systems and AI-enabled targeting, Ukrainian operators hold an advantage in experience with high-volume, FPV-based "drone wall" tactics, having driven major combat attrition.

 

[San Marino]

13 February 2026

 

[Cid]

I never understood war games and I have a hard time taking them seriously. Am I supposed to believe that two countries who have the possibility of fighting each other or having their enemy watch their actions do exactly what they would do if a real war were to happen? Why would a country show their hand like that? Doesn't make sense to me.

I'm not in the military and don't know much about it though so maybe that is what happens. It just seems dumb to show your enemy exactly what you would do in a war.

We play them amongst friends to prevent our military personnel getting killed when they go to war. Up until Americans elected a moron with no understanding of geopolitics there really was little chance of the countries involved in war games going to war with one another so there's little drawback. It's insane how much he's fucked up the soft power of all of us in a year... but I digress.

They're very important... but you also can take the results with a grain of salt. Certainly don't embarrass yourself like @aerius by being amazed that Ukraine's situational awareness and battlefield management system Delta and a measly 10 of it's operators fuck everyone up in a war game designed for them to embarrass us.

This is the main reason we play war games. We like to lose. We want to find faults by playing games with friends and fix them. We want to see where we are lacking and where we need to improve to reduce deaths. Not very often do we get to play games with someone who's better better than us at something.

So we ask Ukraine with 4 years of ever evolving drone warfare experience to send the guys coordinating their drone war along with the systems they've developed to play a game where they would kick the ever living snot out of us. And they did.

Losing war games is a good thing. Learn a lot more than winning them.

 

[Strychnine]

The real Ukrainian Army is crumbling...

Kyiv in three days?

 

[Strychnine]

Over half of a Russian 10th separate guards unit is just... Gone.

 

[Strychnine]

Why doesn't Russia just use their own version of Starlink? Why'd they stop using Telegram?