Today my readers have the chance to spend their Saturday reading about western gamers at the frontlines, ‘demonic’ Ukrainian commanders beating and killing their subordinates (in the same unit the foreign gamers are being sent!), badly built fortifications, the war for logistics, and close analysis of the battles for Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk, as well as a postmortum of a suicidal Ukrainian counter-offensive at the city of Toretsk. Much of this 5,000 word article is free, but paid subscribers will receive not only my eternal gratitude, but also access to otherwise locked content.
As I wrote in my last post on the war, Russian advances have sped up of late due to the reemergence of greenery, allowing infantry groups to better avoid drones.
To combat this, video game veterans have been brought into the fray. This was covered by a NYpost article on May 12 titled “Ukraine relies on secret weapon in its drone attacks on Russia: gamers”.
The Independent put out a longer article on May 12 on the topic:
These gamers are now fighting for real in Ukraine’s war against Russia
Volunteers from the UK and the US tend to have a lot of Xbox experience, course co-ordinator Oleg Grabovyy tells Harry Stourton: ‘The best drone pilot I ever met was a relentless gamer
In it, we learn that “Many found their way here via a single Reddit post.” You don’t say.
Not only are they importing gamers, but also gamer ethics. The western press gave coverage to the new Ukrainian system of ‘ePoints’, where drone teams win ‘points’ for each documented kill.
The program — called Army of Drones bonus — rewards soldiers with points if they upload videos proving their drones have hit Russian targets. It will soon be integrated with a new online marketplace called Brave 1 Market, which will allow troops to convert those points into new equipment for their units.
“Brave 1 Market will be like Amazon for the military, [it] will allow military units to directly purchase technologies they need on the war front,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister and minister for digital transformation, speaking at a weekend military tech conference in Kyiv.
The program assigns points for each type of kill: 20 points for damaging and 40 for destroying a tank; up to 50 points for destroying a mobile rocket system, depending on the caliber; and six points for killing an enemy soldier.
Soldiers have to download the video footage taken by their drones confirming the kill to the military's Delta communication and situational awareness system.
Units will soon be able to use the special digital points they’ve been getting since last year by trading them in for new weapons. A Vampire drone, for example, costs 43 points. The drone, nicknamed Baba Yaga, or witch, is a large multi-rotor drone able to carry a 15-kilogram warhead. The Ukrainian government will pay for the drones that are ordered and will deliver them to the front-line unit within a week.
However, Ukrainian military commander Stanislav Buniatov had some criticisms of the new system on May 15:
The very idea of the E-point system is sound and useful. However, there is a critical imbalance: enemy infantry, which poses the most immediate threat on the battlefield, is assigned significantly fewer points than vehicles. This creates a problem.
Battlefield scenario:
During an assault—two BMPs and one MT-LB, fully loaded with infantry.
Attack drones strike the first BMP. The other two vehicles stop, the infantry dismounts, and the vehicles retreat.
FPV drones attempt to finish off the retreating vehicles, while the dismounted infantry pushes forward to our positions and launches an assault.Conclusion:
The undervaluation of enemy infantry in the E-points system leads to flawed strike prioritization, loss of positions, and personnel casualties.
Demonic and brutal officers
But it isn’t only Russian “faggots” creeping up through tree lines that Ukrainian troops have to worry about. The demons higher up are also a formidable enemy. Here’s what Ukrainian military telegrammer “Officer” had to say on it on May 4:
The Role of demons in the Army
In the Armed Forces, not all problems arise solely from the so-called "Soviet mentality," though that’s not entirely false either.
Most of the crap happens because of people who have no moral principles or values in life. These are individuals who likely carry childhood psychological traumas, complexes, or were bullied and ostracized by society—resulting in traits like cowardice, cruelty, selfishness, and pettiness. And such people are extremely convenient for the system. That’s right—the system doesn’t always shape them; they’re already molded this way by society and their parents. The system simply pushes them forward, and unfortunately, they end up in leadership positions. Right now, the fate of many depends on these kinds of people. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about—I’ve seen it since my cadet years, when those with a grudge against everything and everyone were given power… and it was a total shitshow.Such commanders act solely in their own interests or those of the system they either worship or fear. Their goal isn’t the unit’s effectiveness—they only care about praise from their superiors and saving their own asses. At the brigade level, these commanders build their own little kingdoms (literally like kings—good luck getting an audience with them). They surround themselves with snitches who report every breath taken in the unit, and if anyone "deviates" from the system, the regime punishes them with every available method. There’s no brotherhood, integrity, or honesty here—just pettiness, selfishness, betrayal, and so on.
Just like my last commander, who was too chickenshit to talk to me one-on-one, man to man, to sort out any issues and move forward (because I genuinely had big plans and ambitions in that unit). Instead, the big boss decided to use flimsy, far-fetched formalities to kick me out of the unit—for no damn reason.
If he or any of his rats manage to read this far (which I highly doubt), I just want to say: all the troubles and problems in the unit (which we’ll discuss later) are because of you. And I feel sorry for your subordinates—because there are actually decent people there. I hope they get a proper commander. And purely out of moral conviction, I won’t publish your names or the unit, nor air this mess publicly. Besides, cases like this are a dime a dozen these days—as they say, I’m neither the first nor the last, and no different from other victims of such petty tyrants.
Otherwise, there’s no other way to describe these commanders except as demons.
In my new unit, I really notice the contrast—when you work with decent people, all that unnecessary shit and constant problems just disappear. So let me emphasize: human nature has a hell of an impact on the atmosphere, and consequently, the work and effectiveness of a unit.
P.S. I always tell my subordinates: No matter what, be human first. Have principles in life, and don’t sell your ass or your honor for praise or threats.
No doubt it is with such devils in mind that Buniatov lashed out in the following May 1 post:
Who do we need to reach out to so they start covering the road from Druzhkivka to Kramatorsk with nets?An enemy FPV drone has already hit our armored vehicle in Kostyantynivka, right at the exit toward Druzhkivka. Not long ago, I was talking about the Chasiv Yar–Kostyantynivka route — and still, absolutely fucking nothing has been done between Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka.Why is no one listening? Why the fuck not?!
On May 15, Officer shared a video seemingly showing an example of brutal officerial despotism in the Ukrainian army. Though the Ukrainian government soon declared the video to be fake, Officer stated he wasn’t convinced:
Another fucked-up situation in the 25th Separate Assault Brigade
Two absolute pieces of shit—there’s no other way to describe them—are beating up some poor guy to force him to sign some report (likely for a transfer to another position or unit).
I hope higher-ups take notice of this, because chances are, it’s happening with the approval of the very same unit commanders.
P.S. Unconfirmed reports suggest the soldier who was abused has since been killed.
Interestingly, note that it is precisely this Pokrovsk unit to which the idealistic foreign gamers have been deployed to, as per the previously cited Independent article. No doubt they will enjoy their time defending democracy.
There are also issues with military salaries.
Buniatov and Officer have been raging of late about the fact that young people in the army aren’t getting their promised 1 million hryvnia. The case they bring up involves a man who was refused the payment because he became an officer after joining the army as a 21 year old in February 2022.
In turn, the Presidential Administration’s representative on military affairs, Dmytro Palysa, confirmed this to be the case on May 13, which was met with ridicule by Ukrainian military telegrams:
Fortification woes
While higher-ups are busy beating their subordinates and appropriating financial flows, fortification lines aren’t receiving the same attention.
Officer’s May 2 worries about ineffectual defensive positions is the latest case of an old motif in Ukrainian military telegrams. Indifferent command and corrupt construction contractors are likely cooperating in this drama:
Do you think there is much benefit from defensive positions built this way?
The problem is that such defensive positions were constructed in 2023 in Zaporizhzhia region, in 2024 in Sumy region, and in 2025 in Dnipropetrovsk region, and the benefit from them is absolutely zero.
Not only are these positions designed without taking into account the specifics of combat in this war as it stands now, but they are also built right in the middle of a field…
They continue to build defensive lines in the same way, and no one wants to take such an important factor as CAMOUFLAGE into consideration, which is critical when underground burrows dominate the battlefield, yet we are building a fucking fortress that even the lazy can hit.
It’s long past time to dig underground communications, though the command posts for the guys with big stars are being dug properly.
P.S. The photo was taken from the enemy's video.
Meanwhile, the demons at the very top find it difficult to communicate with the masses. Buniatov ridiculed state war propaganda on May 4. Many ‘draft dodgers’ justify their decision on the basis of the fact that their government has never helped them, yet it expects them to die for its preservation. Even the ultra-patriotic Buniatov has to agree with the draft-dodger logic, but suggests using them as forced labour to build trenches instead:
I laugh at the narratives pushed by some of our propagandists about “Repaying your debt to the state” — while their own kids are abroad or “studying” at university.
Volunteers, did you go to war because you felt indebted to the state for financial benefits, or because you believed in the idea of defending your homeland?
Personally, I believe those who fight should be either ideologically motivated or financially incentivized.
You can’t rely on “debtors” for long — in a short time, they turn into deserters or “lightly wounded” cases trying to get out.Their real debt is to dig us zigzag trenches and bunkers in the tree lines.
Despite the cries for attention, Ukrainian OSINT project DeepState reported more on May 13 on the ongoing fortification crisis:
🚩 Defensive Fortifications on the Front Line
🚜 Fortified Defense Structures (FDS) have always been a hot topic for discussion and debate, and the conversation still hasn’t died down. As often happens, the problem became so well-known that it turned into a routine—one that, over time, triggers less and less emotion. But the issue is not even the presence or absence of fortifications anymore. After public outcry, more attention began to be paid to the issue, and defenses are now being constructed in many areas, often continuously. The real problem is the quality of these fortifications, which must keep pace with the times and be planned with foresight—because war does not stand still.
✈️ Most losses on the front lines now come from air-dropped munitions and FPV drones. Recently, the Russians have started to completely obliterate positions, making it impossible to hold them. An even bigger issue has become the targeting of logistics, which makes it impossible to even reach those positions. This has been well described by our friends from Rozvidka Noem (source):
