Drones, drugs, and memes

Thiel, Lucky, Prince, Musk, Trump. Drone political economy of the Trump regime. Oligarch deep politics - Kolomoisky and global drug trafficking? The limits of mobilization. Kurakhove

A more wide-ranging telegram roundup than usual. Among the topics covered by our knowledgeable Ukrainian analysts today:

• The political economy of Trumpian militarism. How the Thiel-Musk ecosystem (sounds like the symptoms of a venereal disease) is spawning new forms of ultra-reddit military-industrial imperialism. Their plans to accelerate the drone war in Ukraine and Israel at a fraction of the cost. A telling sign of what the new Trump era will look like - all the old wars, and even more, but cheaper. Of course, what happens when it turns out that these nifty wunderwaffen don’t do so well as hoped…

• The deep politics of Zelensky’s complex relationship with the Ukrainian oligarchy. From patronage, to conflict, to the current situation where Zelensky has even imprisoned his original benefactor, Kolomoisky. But could all this actually be Zelensky attempt to save his old master? And what does this have to do with international drug smuggling, Kosovo, and the Democrat Party?

• Ukrainian politics and memes. The latest show-drama over draft-dodging nationalists. Why Mariana Bezuhla is like drinking beer in the morning. How the government is encouraging the desertion epidemic through legislature

• Azov’s military analyst on why mobilizing 500,000 men won’t solve Ukraine’s frontline woes

• And worry not warnerds, there is also coverage of the current situation at the hottest section of the front - Kurakhove. The strategic importance of the town, why Ukrainian forces aren’t likely to be encircled there - but why this lack of encirclement is actually worse than encirclement itself.

Drone political economy of Trumpist militarism

Dimitriev, a political commentator originally from Odessa, now living in Russia. Here’s another interview with Palmer Luckey, where he says clearly what I think is Trump’s general aim with regard to US imperial management - the same, or even more effective military aid to US allies like Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan, but cheaper - so as to reduce domestic criticism. Anyway, here’s Dimitriev.

November 9:

Yesterday, we found out that the third person on the call between Zelensky and Trump was entrepreneur Elon Musk. A strange situation indeed. Let’s imagine how this might have played out: Zelensky calls, "Donald, congratulations from the bottom of my heart!" – "Thanks, Volodya. You know, Elon is here. He has some serious matters to discuss with you." Then the conversation shifts to who called whom what on social media. It’s odd, wouldn’t you agree? Especially since Americans keep telling us that they have no real interest in Ukraine, yet it’s not only the future president and vice president involved in these issues but also the most popular and wealthy person in their sphere. What’s going on in Ukraine that it’s so important at a time when the victors should be toasting their success at a party?

Let’s speculate on what makes Ukraine so interesting to Musk and his fellow tech oligarchs. Musk’s companies, as we know, played a significant role in Ukraine’s defense capabilities, with his satellites providing communication, coordination for units, and reconnaissance for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But support wasn’t consistent; sometimes, Musk manually disabled or restricted his equipment, even mocking the Ukrainian leadership in his blogs—especially Zelensky, whom he clearly dislikes.

Beyond Musk, Peter Thiel’s structures also made an appearance in Ukraine. The well-known company Palantir announced within the first months of the war that it was developing a unified system for intelligence data collection and analysis to create a comprehensive digital map. This could have significantly enhanced the effectiveness of Ukrainian strikes and improved troop coordination. Palantir wasn’t planning to make a profit in Ukraine (source); rather, it aimed to use Ukraine as a demonstration platform. However, the plans of the American intelligence giant weren’t realized. Perhaps this came up against resistance from the Ukrainian military, who weren’t prepared to be turned into units in a Palantir game. Remember the dispute over who would control high-precision weapon targeting at the end of 2022 and beginning of 2023, when Americans demanded complete control over this area?

Another company associated with Peter Thiel, Anduril Industries, founded by Palmer Luckey (the inventor of the Oculus virtual reality headset), has also shown interest in Ukraine (source). Today, the company is known for its AI-powered drones. They reported successful tests of new drone types in Ukraine.