Major events in the Ukraine proxy war, 2026

Main article: NATO war in Ukraine

Ukraine had been warned that any attack on Russian infrastructure would be responded to in kind. But Ukraine continued attacks on Russian cities which led to deaths and serious problems in Belgorod and elsewhere.

For three years Russia had mostly refrained from attacking Ukrainian infrastructure. Electricity and heat supply operated at peace time levels with foreign funding. Only since 2025 did NATO/Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilian infrastructure increase. In March 2025 President Trump announced a 30-day infrastructure ceasefire. Russia committed to it. Ukraine did not.

In January 2026, Siversk, the longest ongoing battle in the NATO/Ukraine war, fell.

The Pokrovsk cauldron, January 2026.

Assassination attempt on President Putin

Former Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev's reaction to the 2025 Assassination attempt on President Putin.

On the night of December 28-29, 2025, 91 drones were launched against the strategic command center located at Russian President Vladimir Putin's personal residence in the Novgorod region. All drones were reported shot down. The incident, occurring during the personal meeting between Ukrainian dictator Volodymyr Zelensky and US President Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, Florida created much anger and speculation in the Russian Federation about who was responsible for the attack.

Flight path of drone attack.

The Ukrainian dictator at first denied knowledge or involvement. Speculation quickly shifted the UK's MI6 because they had the means and motivation to disrupt and stall President Trump's 28 point peace plan. Questions quickly emerged about President Trump, or his inner circle's own possible involvement. Given the way the negotiations were being handled by the Trump 2.0 administration outside regular diplomatic channels between the Russian Federation and the US Deep State, the questions were entirely valid.

Trump called Putin shortly before Zelensky arrived, and asked him to stand by and he would be called back after Trump and Zelensky conferred. Meanwhile, the origination of Putin's phone call was GPS located, and the massive drone attack commenced. When Trump called Putin back, Putin informed him of the attack. Speculation immediately arose in Russian intelligence services whether President Trump personally could be trusted, or if there were leaks within Trump's immediate inner circle.

The attack obviously was intended to derail President Trump's peace negotiations. The ex-comedian and television star Zelensky is largely viewed as a figurehead who has outlived his usefulness as a fundraiser for the corrupt money laundering war mafia as the loss of US contributions have dried up. Speculation abounded that Zelensky's opponents in the Ukrainian war party with UK and possibly American deep state CIA aid launched the attack to embarrass Zelensky.

The Russian Duma began talk about upgrading the Special Military Operation to a state of war which would grant the President special powers and allow the use of conscripts outside Russian territory. Mobile Oreshnik systems began combat service in Belarus on December 30, 2025.

Ukraine drone strike on New Year's Eve celebration

As the clock struck midnite, a Ukrainian drone strike carrying incendiary bombs killed at least 24 civilians, including a 5 year old and injured more than 50 during New Year celebrations in the village of Khorly, Kherson region. Russian authorities claim the attack targeted a hotel and café filled with civilians, sparking a massive fire and widespread chaos. Graphic images from the scene show burned buildings and casualties. The bodies of the dead victims were burnt beyond recognition.

Another drone occurred in Moscow shortly after President Putin concluded his televised News Years Greeting to the nation and world minutes before midnite.

Oreshnik strike on Lvov State Aviation Repair Plant

Oreshnik strike on the Lvov State Aviation Repair Plant, January 9, 2026.

Russia's second-ever use of the Oreshnik was a response to three recent provocations. These are the CIA/MI6/Ukraine's attempted assassination of Putin right before New Year's, France and the UK's official plans to deploy troops to Ukraine if a ceasefire is agreed to, and the US' seizure of a Russian-flagged tanker in the Atlantic Ocean.

Reports indicate the Bilche-Volitsko-Uhersky underground gas storage facility in Stryi was struck a few minutes before midnite on January 8, 2026, which has a storage capacity of 17.05 billion cubic meters or more than 50% of the total capacity of all storage facilities in Ukraine and the largest in Europe. According to the Military Air Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Oreshnik was traveling at 13,000kmph or Mach 10.9 (10.9 times the speed of sound).

Reports stated Russia notified the US three hours prior to the launch, which makes sense because the launch of an ICBM-like vehicle could be interpreted by early warning missile detection systems as a nuclear first strike. It's clear the US knew well in advance given there was “unusual activity” reported in Kapustin Yar.

On Monday January 12, 2026 the Russian Ministry of Defense corrected the misperception which appeared in media over the weekend. The true target of the Oreshnik strike was the Lvov State Aviation Repair Plant. The plant was being used to service Ukraine F-16s and MiG-29s supplied by Western countries. The plant also produced long-range and medium-range attack UAVs used to hit Russian facilities inside Russia.

War at sea

John Helmer reported:

“

As Lavrov pointed out, as clear as day, while the Americans have been negotiating a tactical withdrawal from the Ukrainian battlefield because they are losing and want to conserve their forces from total capitulation and destruction, the Americans have been escalating at sea. So, they’re attacking every single major sea route. They seized the Russian flag vessel the Marinara was reflagged as it sailed off the coast of Scotland near Iceland. They are expanding in the Baltic through Estonia, Poland, and Germany. They’ve expanded in the south in the central Atlantic off the coast of France. They’ve expanded aggressively in the Danish straits through Denmark. We’ve talked about all of these incidents. Attacks off the coast of Crete in the Mediterranean. Vessels, Russian vessels have been sunk. So-called sabotage off the coast of Algeria at the end of 2024. And I’m not even including the war at sea in the Black Sea. So what we have, including the most recent seizure of vessels, is what Lavrov called piracy. Now piracy happens when vessels are not Russian flagged … not all working for Russia, only about 15% of them, are Russian flagged, but the speed at which Russian flagging has occurred is now accelerating. The question then becomes—and it’s a fraught question, a controversial question in Moscow right now—What can the Russian Navy, what can the Russian air force, what will the commander-in-chief agree to do, to defend this fleet from US attack? And you can very well understand when Lavrov says this level of attack on our vessels, on our trade, whether it’s flagged or not, it’s still Russian trade, is an escalation that violates—no matter what understanding was reached in Anchorage. So now they’re having an argument. And in December, Admiral Alexander Moiseyev, the Russian naval commander, published a piece in a military magazine, Military Thought it’s called in English, arguing that you must have Russian naval protection to keep the trade routes open. Now, that’s easier said for the Arctic route because there’s a Russian shore, there are Russian bases. It’s not so easy to project Russian naval power far off Russian shores where the US has bases. And we’ve just seen a major interception and seizure of a vessel, not a Russian flagged vessel, in the Indian Ocean. The Americans, for the time, have been keeping it secret. It appears to have been in the western Indian Ocean and it takes a lot of effort for the US Navy and its shore bases—Singapore, Diego Garcia, and elsewhere—to mount these operations. However, it’s clear it’s a war against Russia at sea, it’s clear it’s got an economic target, and it’s clear that Dmitriev and that faction in Moscow have nothing to add to the defense and they don’t want their business-as-usual doctrine to be undermined if there’s a clash between Russian naval support for Russian flagged vessels.

”

Ukrainian casualties

The Blob is ready to throw in the towel.

Acting commander of the Azov Brigade Bohdan Krotevych told an interviewer that he does not believe official Ukrainian statistics on Russian losses at all, and in fact claims that the real losses are "significantly smaller" than what is claimed. Top Ukrainian officer channel run by Stanislav Bunyatov, a Junior Sergeant in the AFU's 24th Separate Assault Battalion "Aidar" shocked followers by stating that after the war, Ukraine's true losses will be found to have been 5 times higher than official figures.

Escalation: Maritime Strikes

Ahead of Orthodox Easter, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a ceasefire during the holiday. The temporary truce took effect at 4:00 p.m. on April 11, 2026 and end at the close of April 12, 2026. During this period, hostilities were suspended on all fronts, including deep strikes against Ukrainian energy and military infrastructure. The Ukrainian side has not yet responded clearly to this initiative. Kyiv used the lull on the front lines to its advantage, but the situation did not change strategically. Therefore, Ukraine was prepared to take the riskiest steps just to prolong the war.

The Ukrainian conflict could expand significantly and extend beyond the country’s borders. Reports indicate that the Kyiv regime, with the help of Norwegian Navy military specialists, is planning terrorist attacks against Russian ships traveling by sea in the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea from the port of Murmansk and back. A group of 50 Ukrainian servicemen from the 385th Separate Brigade of Special-Purpose Naval Unmanned Systems arrived in Norway. Together with Norwegian Navy Special Forces Command specialists, Ukrainian military personnel are practicing using unmanned underwater and surface systems in the Norwegian Sea.

Modern naval science has yet to find an effective way to counter maritime drones. These weapons are relatively simple to manufacture, making it possible to produce them on a large scale. Instances of unmanned boats have been reported not only in the Black Sea, but also in Middle Eastern waters. Neither military nor civilian ships have effective means of countering these drones.

Vessels from Russia or linked to Russia have long been at risk of not only attacks but also hijacking. Tankers have repeatedly been seized by NATO countries. The seizing has occurred under various pretexts. Europe’s primary goal is to disrupt the supply of Russian energy resources to global markets. Consequently, the situation in the Northern Seas is escalating significantly. The Russian Navy has begun escorting some of its tankers through international waters.

NATO would not dare engage in an open confrontation with Russia at sea to disrupt its maritime logistics routes. Therefore, a relatively independent actor is needed to carry out attacks on Russian ships, and Ukraine is ideally suited for this role. However, this shortsighted move could also backfire. An attack on any vessel in northern waters will increase insurance costs for everyone traveling that route. Ultimately, the end consumer, primarily in Europe, will pay the increased price.

NATO attacks from the Baltic States

IN early 2026 the NATO Baltic States began to allow Western-financed Ukrainian drones to transit in attacking Russia, but some of the Ukrainians decided to betray their benefactors and attack a Latvian oil facility for reasons that remain unknown—one theory being that Russian electronic warfare specialists took control of the Ukrainian drones and “landed them” in the appropriate place as payback.

A diplomatic kerfuffle blew up into a full-on crisis in Latvia, with the announced resignation of the Latvian defense minister over this dangerous violation of international norms and law. But the shocking news came a day later, when it was revealed the defense minister had not actually resigned as believed, but was in fact fired by Latvian prime minister Evika Silina: Only a day after that, the Latvian prime minister herself suddenly resigned, as the entire government essentially collapsed within a week over this very issue of unchecked Ukrainian drone incursions.

Ukraine expands the war: Belarus threat and southern logistics collapse

A new area of tension emerged in northern Ukraine. It refers to the entire border region with Belarus. On May 22, 2026 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of a potential attack from Belarus. ‘The threat is not just to Kyiv and Chernihiv, but also to the Volyn, Zhytomyr, and Rivne regions,’ he said in an evening address from Rivne. Zelensky even threatened a preemptive strike against Belarus. ‘If there is a threat from Belarusian or Russian border regions, Ukraine is prepared to act preemptively,’ he said.

These statements are not empty rhetoric or political PR. According to reports, the Ukrainian leadership has already begun rapidly fortifying the terrain in border areas for defensive operations. Madyar, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Unmanned Systems Forces, said that Ukraine has identified the first 500 targets in Belarus that will be struck if Lukashenko decides to go to war on Russia’s side. Preparations are also underway to evacuate some populated areas.

Ukrainian troops are using drones to scout targets in Belarus. On May 26, 2026 Alexander Volfovich, Secretary of the country’s Security Council, reported this. ‘Every day, our air defense systems detect combat drones crossing the border between Belarus and Ukraine. In some cases, these are not accidental attacks, but rather, attempts to strike border infrastructure. There were 116 such incidents late May 2026 alone. Forces on duty responded to them 59 times,’ Volfovich stated. He also addressed the issue of Ukrainians illegally crossing the border to flee forced mobilization. ‘Over the past month, 76 violators have been detained. Some of them are spies with specific missions.’

Overall, an armed conflict with Minsk would be advantageous for Kyiv. The Belarusian army lacks combat experience and advanced technology for producing and using unmanned systems of all types. Consequently, holding onto the territories under its control will not require diverting too many forces and resources from the main theaters of the Ukrainian conflict. At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky will have a compelling reason to demand new financial assistance and large quantities of arms from his Western allies.

Meanwhile, the situation for Russian forces in southern Ukraine risks deteriorating sharply. Ukrainian forces have increased the range of their guided drones significantly, in some cases extending it up to 100 km. Near Berdyansk, at roughly this distance, a rear supply convoy was destroyed. Similar strikes have increased sharply across the entire former Ukrainian territory. At the same time, the strikes have focused on supply tankers and trucks. By fall 2026, this will lead to the complete paralysis of logistics from the Kharkiv region to Crimea, which will make continuing hostilities impossible.

Starobilsk school bombing and retaliation

Ukraine dictator Volodymyr Zelensky ordered the targeting of a college dormitory in Starobilsk, Lugansk on May 22, 2026. Twenty-one students were killed and 46 seriously injured. It was not a military target. Yana Lantratova, Russia’s human rights commissioner, said that 86 ​teenagers aged 14 to 18 had been asleep inside the hostel belonging to Lugansk Pedagogical University’s Starobilsk college when three waves of Ukrainian drones attacked during ​the night.

Ukraine’s military denied the Russian accusations and said it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area. It said that ​Kyiv complied with international humanitarian law.

Putin said in a televised statement, “There are no military facilities, intelligence service facilities, or related services in the vicinity. Therefore, there ⁠is absolutely no basis for claiming that the munitions struck the building as a result of our air defense or electronic warfare systems. The ​strike was not accidental; it came in three waves, with 16 drones targeting the same location,” Putin told officials. Russia responded with an Oreshnik strike on decision making centers near Kyiv.

Ukraine's 425th assault unit

The flag of the 2nd battalion of the 425th assault regiment

The 425th is Ukraine’s largest regiment, having expanded tenfold in the first half of 2026 boasts more than 13,000 troops. It has absolute priority in receiving new recruits, receiving 20 times more troops than other brigades. Ukraine’s political and military leadership need the 425th for their frontline info-operations, and the 425th needs absolutely obedient, expendable meat for these operations.

According to Ukraine’s military ombudsman Olga Reshetilova, the 425th has 2000 soldiers dependent on methadone treatment. Ukraine has state-funded methadone treatment clinics as a way to wean drug addicts off of street opioids.

Now, the problem is that the commanders of the 425th seem to believe that they know best how to deal with drug addiction. The ‘Rock’, according to Babel, has the following approach:

First, officers from the 425th show up at state-registered methadone distribution clinics along with mobilization press gangs. There are 26,000 people registered for these programs across the country, mostly men, an excellent mobilization resource. Doctors in the Kropivnitsky methadone clinic told Babel of 160 patients mobilized in the 'hospital over the past few months. Officers from the 425th simply marched straight in and took them.

Then, the mobilized are taken to the 425th’s distribution warehouse. This has the evocative name ‘the chicken coop’. This long building, located on the edge of a village, resembles an abandoned agricultural facility. The 425th uses it as a sort of barracks, dividing the six living sections with fiberboard panels. In good industrial farming practices, there are no windows.

Eyewitnesses tell Babel that there are 1,000 to 1,200 men in the chicken coop at any time. Many are suffering from drug withdrawals. Naturally, all phones are confiscated long before they even get to the chicken coop. Oleksandr Zhykin, a man sent to the 425th despite his methadone dependence, told Babel about the prison conditions reigning at the chicken coop:

“

They brought us there, got us out like we were coming out of a prison transport van — stripped us naked, searched us, made us take off our underwear and squat.

”

Zhykin actually joined the army relatively willingly back in 2023. Due to his methadone dependence, he was not able to serve at the frontline, and says he was quite happy working as a medic and clerk at his old, non-assault unit. Everything change in mid-February 2026 when a new commander took charge. The new commander confiscated Zhykin’s methadone. Zhykin filed a police report because he could not live without the medication. Over-ruled, he was sent to a reserve battalion. He encountered the same problem there. When he left the unit to collect his methadone tablets, he was officially recorded as AWOL.

As punishment for his desertion, he was sent to the 425th. He would eventually be sent to the 3rd infantry battalion of the 425th, despite earlier military medical commission concluding that he was unfit for service in such assault activities.

Zhykin recalls that new recruits apparently spend several days in the chicken coop. They are collected by visiting officers from the many battalions of the 425th. Their new owners have the evocative name ‘internal buyers’.

“

I was there for two days. But there were people who had been sitting there for two months. I even saw some who ended up staying there to work.

”

Once they have been chosen by the ‘internal buyers’, the fresh meat is sent to the training bases of the 425th. These are much more dangerous places than the chicken coop.

The Rock is deeply suffused with the lingo and practices of post-soviet prisons. Special armed men accompany newly mobilized men at the training bases. These armed men are called ‘vertukhai’, meaning ‘jailers’ in post-soviet prison slang. Below is an artistic depiction of a vertukhai.

“

Your priceless first experience of going to the toilet: moving in groups under the barrels of assault rifles, accompanied by ‘refined’ insults and rough kicks for not standing in a straight enough formation or not looking the way they wanted. Endless squats, planks, and the ‘one-and-a-half’ position—

”

“One-and-a-half,” according to the soldier, is something like a standing wall sit: thighs parallel to the ground, arms stretched forward.

“

—so that you ‘understand where you’ve ended up,’ don’t waste time, and get ready for your future ‘mission.’ To the toilet, to the dining hall—everywhere under armed escort. Like prisoners of war.

”

According to another interviewed soldier, new recruits are sorted upon arrival, Auschwitz-style:

“

The drug addicts go one way because they’re behaving erratically, some of them are already feeling sick. If they behave badly, they’re beaten severely. The calmer ones just wait their turn.

”

Naturally, the withdrawals often begin already in the chicken coop. Insomnia, omnipresent pain, nausea, diarrhea, suicidal ideation. Only a minority receive IV drips, which somewhat mitigates symptoms. Those hallucinating are isolated.

One mobilized soldier speaking to Babel on condition of anonymity recalls sitting in the punishment cell with four people that were seeing pink elephants. Even worse, he couldn’t join in. He was not going through any withdrawals, he was simply punished for refusing to do squats — two days in the tiny punishment cell, covered mainly with a double mattress. At one point there were six or seven people in it, with at least four going through methadone withdrawals: “Each of them was in their own little fantasy world, talking to people who weren’t there. They [the drug addicts] were trying to break down the door and causing chaos. The guards subdued them by spraying tear gas into the cell, and all of us had to breathe it”

The soldier also recalls not being allowed to go to the toilet. Only a bottle in the cell for urination was available. At one point, his hallucinating cellmates stripped naked and began jumping around while pouring water over themselves. Once the water ran out, they turned to the urine. The minority of prisoners not addicted to drugs managed to beat them into submission.

“

One of them later started freezing, but he refused to put his clothes back on and refused to eat. I remember he crawled under a blanket and, right there under it, defecated on himself. There was masturbation too.

”

After this ordeal, the soldiers and a few others were gathered for training. While travelling, several soldiers in a nearby minibus smashed a window and tried to escape. They were beaten by commanders in front of all the other recruits.

Babel was able to identify at least four separate bases used by the 425th. A number of new ones are also being built. Soldiers that went through these bases recall that the rules and conditions are largely the same everywhere, except that recruits live in tents in some, and in dugouts elsewhere.

Babel describes one base in a pine forest. The tent camps are located several kilometers from the training grounds. 35 to 40 men sleep in each tent’s bunk beds. One of the first rules they learn is that new recruits are not allowed to walk around the base without permission. One recruit who somehow managed to escape from this concentration camp told Babel the following:

“

Even if they want to go to the toilet, they’re only allowed to do so once enough people have gathered—at least five—and only under the escort of a guard carrying an assault rifle.

”

Babel continues, writing that each tent has two armed guards assigned to it. One guard accompanies troops going to the toilet, the other remains behind. Whenever recruits leave the tent, they must march in formation. Failure to do so or appropriately line up provokes guards to fire live ammunition into the ground or in the air. An anonymous soldier who escaped told Babel the following:

“

As they constantly emphasize, all the ammunition in their rifles is live. They can easily shoot a mobilized man in the legs, and nothing will happen to them. After seeing that, some people forgot they even wanted to go to the toilet—or they relieved themselves before they got there.

”

Zhykin also confirmed that no one was allowed to go to the toilet at night. New recruits were told to use a bottle instead.

Mines surround the training camp to prevent escape

A number of mobilized men told Babel that all of the 425th’s training camps are surrounded by mines. Recruits are constantly reminded of this fact by large warning signs on the barriers encircling the tents. One mobilized man told Babel that explosions occurred every night. Sometimes wild animals fell victim, but not only.

One forty year old recruit from Kharkiv was particularly dissatisfied with his new fate, remaining withdrawn around other recruits. A witness remembers a loud explosion on the night of February 26, 2026, after everyone had already gone to sleep. Shouting followed, then another explosion. Guards entered the tent, ordering everyone to line up outside for counting. At this point, they discovered one man was missing.

The head of security arrived about 10 minutes later to restore discipline. His nom-de-guerre was ‘the Finn’. He was driving a quad bike. Sitting behind him was the missing man from Kharkiv. He may have originally escaped the tent by crawling underneath an opening. One of his eyes was covered with tape. Shrapnel-riddled flesh was visible under his torn pants. A guard lifted his shirt, showing recruits a hematoma across his abdomen.

The Finn used this as an educational opportunity for new recruits, illustrating that attempts to escape could cost you an eye. Then he ordered the wounded man to kneel on the ground. He didn’t react. Then he collapsed under the Finn’s blow. The Finn drew his pistol and fired towards the kneeling man. Those in the first column saw that the bullet entered the ground, not the man. Those in the second and third rows weren’t so sure. A witness recalled his legs giving way beneath him at the sight. Commanders told those present that escape was pointless, upon which they were allowed to go back to sleep.

The unlucky attempted escapee, whose name Babel believes to have been Oleksandr Isaev, was never seen again. According to official documents, he died on March 15, 2926 from ‘pulmonary and heart failure’. This is what the 425th officially stated regarding Isaev’s mine encounter:

“

During training on 26.02 he deviated from the designated route and blew himself up on an unknown device

”

Babel found another soldier in the 425th who fell afoul of a mine. A relative told Babel about it on conditions of anonymity and provided documents. He’d apparently been at the training camp for less than a month. One day he called his relatives, saying ‘I blew myself up’. He was discharged from duty and told to call his relatives to be taken home.

His relatives believe he was trying to commit suicide:

“

I don't think he wanted to escape. By and large, they all know that there are mines there. And if there is any quick movement, they shoot him in the back

”

When his relatives came to pick him up a few days after the incident, he was still bleeding. As usual in the 425th, he was not allowed to visit a hospital for medical treatment. His relatives counted 50 shrapnel fragments around the lower part of his body, confirmed to Babel by medical documents. His genitals suffered most, and expensive operations seem to have not helped. He is now understandably depressed.

The Rock still decided that it was time to return their property, and came to the man’s house to take him back to a ‘medical unit’. He is now in hiding.

When pressed about the minefields, 425th representative Andriy Suray eventually gave this answer:

“

If you see ‘mines’ written on signs, it isn’t worth testing that with your legs

”

Escape and duct tape

The aforementioned Oleksandr Zhykin tried to escape the 425th on his first day in the forest. Luckily, he was in an old camp that had not yet been mined. He ran away with a fellow soldier while going to the toilet, rushing in different directions while the guard was distracted. The guard shot at their legs with live ammunition, but they were saved by trees. They were also followed by drones. However, they were caught. Zhykin’s teeth were knocked out and his ribs broken.

“

It was hell. And that guard I ran away from said: ‘So, you little bitch, do you want me to go to the front instead of you?

”

As usual in Ukraine, whether in the assault units or the mobilization units, discipline is maintained by the constant threat of being sent to the front. If you fail to fulfill your mobilization target or lose fresh meat, you yourself become meat.

The 425th officially denied beating Zhykin.

After his beating, Zhykin says he and his fellow escapee were covered completely with duct tape and thrown onto a concrete floor. They spent a week in ‘the barn’, occasionally visited by guards for a new beating, sometime with the butt of a gun, sometimes kicked by boots. Zhykin didn’t eat or drink much because he feared going to the toilet.

On the third day after leaving the barn, Zhykin ran away again. He and two other soldiers fled, with one lucky man successful. Zhykin and the other one were caught, beaten, thrown into the barn again, then taken out after a day. Handcuffed to each other, they were transported to the training ground. They spent a week there walking around with their hands cuffed to each other. They even slept on the second bunk like that. Climbing up was not easy.

A week later, they were given shovels and told to dig toilets and holes while handcuffed. Zhykin finally managed to be transferred to another unit after writing an official report.

Babel writes that all the men they spoke to recalled being taped. There was also a separate zone in the dugout of each training center for those refusing to serve for 'religious reasons. Those experiencing withdrawal were also sent there.

Three witnesses recalled particularly unruly elements being taped up. They also remembered being ‘tied to a pole inside the dugout where we were kept’. The pole, like the dugout, was built using wood. This is certainly not a practice invented by the assault units. Back in late 2024, Ukrainian media shared an image of a soldier tortured and crucified onto a wooden cross in a dugout.

Zhykin’s family looked for him while he was in the 425th. When he was eventually given a phone, he wrote and then deleted a message to relatives reading ‘Call the hotline every day. At least they’ll stop beating me. I’m in hell.’

It was a long time until he was allowed to make a phone call, and even then only under supervision, in speakerphone mode. Luckily, the guard didn’t suspect that Zhykin, sitting on the second bunk, might dial on video. He told his relatives he was ‘Alive, healthy, everything is fine’, while showing his bloodied, beaten face.

Zhykin’s father wrote an official complaint to the military law enforcement service. Of course, the 425th soon found out about it. The company officer visited Zhykin in his tent: ‘What are you doing, you wanted to f#ck everyone up around here? You video called?’ Zhykin thought he was about to be killed, and denied calling on video. The company officer said he had photo evidence. Nevertheless, they stopped beating him after that, though they forced him to record a message proving he was fine.

Zhikin only managed to escape from the 425th while being transferred to another location. It also helped that he was near his hometown.

The 425th continued to search for its lost material, and sent representatives to Zhykin’s father’s house, questioning him and waiting several days for the son to return. They also called Zhykin’s girlfriend using his tablet, which he’d left on the base.

The expendables

There were also men with psychological disorders to keep the drug addicts and conscientious objectors company. Unable to understand instructions, they were apparently constantly kicked, punched, and beaten with rifle butts by the guards.

Babel found the parents of one mobilized autistic man in the 425th. The man is clearly mentally disabled, unable to properly speak. He was approved as medically fit and kicked just as much as everyone else during training by the 425th.

Babel also recorded cases of men mobilized with HIV, tuberculosis and hepatitis C. As usual in the Rock, they were prevented from receiving necessary medications and medical aid.

The soldiers produced by this machine don’t have the highest morale. The aim seems to be to produce instruments forced to move forward, knowing that retreat or desertion is just as deadly as the enemy. That’s what mobilized witnesses told Babel. One overheard a conversation between the training ground leadership of the 425th about the next frontline deployment of new recruits:

NATO's 40 day "campaign of terrors"

Like Adolf Hitler's 1944 late war London Blitz with V-2 and V-1 "vengeance" weapons after all was lost and no hope to win the war, NATO and Ukraine unleashed a drone blitz against the Russian civilian population as the Russian army steadily advanced to achieve its objectives in Eastern Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the conflict, the United States, NATO, and Ukraine strategized under the theory that a modern war can be won by propaganda and information warfare alone, demonizing the "enemy" via internet, mainstream and social media, without conventional or nuclear weapons. The late war blitz with "wunder waffen" was a mark of desperation.

Unelected dictator Volodymyr Zelensky, who cancelled democratic elections in Ukraine 3 years earlier using the war as an excuse, openly admitted the terror campaign was aimed at interfering in Russian wartime elections to persuade public sentiment away from the Russian government. Like the London Blitz, the 9/11 attacks or Operation Epic Fury, history has shown terrorist attacks on the civilian population tend to create stiffer resistance to the attacker among the general public rather than anger at their own government or sympathy for the enemy.

See also

• American foreign policy
• Major events in the Ukraine proxy war, 2022‎‎
• Major events in the Ukraine proxy war, 2023‎‎
• Major events in the Ukraine proxy war, 2024
• Major events in the Ukraine proxy war, 2025