The last drone parade: Ukraine tries to reset a war it already lost
By: Sergey Poletaev (RT News)
Yes, this is from RT News. There's no arguing that RT News is an unreliable source of objective reporting. But you can bet your ass that western analysts and military planners read RT News every day.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
On Monday, a fresh round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine kicks off in Istanbul. Both sides are expected to present ceasefire terms, though few anticipate surprises. Russia is bringing a detailed proposal rooted in its long-standing demands – essentially a “Istanbul-22 plus territory” formula. That means Ukraine must abandon its military ties with the West, reject what Moscow calls an “anti-Russian ideology,” and recognize the current frontlines as de facto borders.
Skeptics will argue: as long as the war grinds on, talks are meaningless. But this is the first time in three years that Russia’s position is being codified on paper – a shift that makes it harder to dismiss. Putin has been repeating these demands for years, mostly to little effect. Now, even an unsigned document gives the Kremlin a firmer diplomatic foothold.
Ukraine, for its part, is arriving with a proposal of its own. According to Reuters, it closely mirrors the draft Kiev took to London in April – a proposal that met firm resistance from Washington and ultimately derailed that summit. Central to Ukraine’s demands is a call for binding international security guarantees. In plain terms, Kiev is asking the West to commit to defending Ukraine – not just in theory, but militarily. It’s a request Western capitals have been reluctant to honor since 2022, when then UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson walked away from the table. That hesitation is unlikely to change now.
Drones, disruption, and the battle for leverage
Perhaps aware of the limited traction its peace terms are likely to get, Ukraine appears to be trying to bolster its negotiating posture through force. On Sunday, just a day before the talks, drones struck five long-range Russian airbases across Murmansk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Ryazan, and Amur regions. Russia’s Defense Ministry says three attacks were fully repelled, while two partially succeeded.
The drones, reportedly launched from cargo trucks and remotely guided via mobile networks, bear echoes of earlier operations – like the 2022 strike on the Crimean Bridge. In that case, truck drivers were allegedly used as unwitting participants. Whether that’s true this time remains unclear.
What does this mean? For the last three years, Ukraine has launched a bold, high-risk move to break the stalemate and force a strategic shift. In 2022, it was the Kharkov and Kherson offensives – their only successful campaigns to date – followed by Russia’s incorporation of four additional regions. In 2023, it was the ill-fated counteroffensive, which failed to gain ground and marked a turning point in the conflict. In 2024, Ukraine tried to establish a foothold in Russia’s Kursk region, only to be pushed back into its own Sumy oblast.
Whether Sunday’s airbase attacks mark another such pivot remains to be seen. But the pattern is familiar: a dramatic gesture aimed at reshuffling a strategic deck that’s increasingly stacked against Ukraine.
Media blitz vs. military reality
The challenge for Russian leadership is that, while Russia fights for concrete territorial and strategic goals, it does so with little public fanfare. Battlefield updates have faded into background noise. But in a country as vast and largely peaceful as Russia, Ukraine is betting that symbolic strikes – even rare ones – can pierce the political surface. The hope is that such provocations either force Moscow into risky overreach or draw the US deeper into the war.
Over time, Ukraine’s objectives have shifted – from military breakthroughs to media impact. Like last year’s failed push into Kursk, these efforts aren’t meant to win the war outright, but to disrupt Russia’s slow, methodical advance. That advance, however, is accelerating. According to data from Lostarmour, Russian forces gained nearly 580 square kilometers in May alone – the second-highest monthly figure since 2022.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian defenses are crumbling. Drone strikes on Moscow have disrupted civilian air traffic but have done little to halt Russia’s daily barrage – attacks Ukraine’s depleted air defenses increasingly struggle to repel. In October 2024, Russia launched around 2,000 ‘Geran’-type drones in one month. Today, it’s sending hundreds per day.
Manpower, morale, and the limits of spectacle
The Ukrainian army is in steep decline. Troops are retreating slowly, but desertions are surging. In 2024 alone, nearly 90,000 criminal cases were opened for desertion or unauthorized leave. In the first three months of 2025, that number is already over 45,000 – around 15,000 a month.
Weapons are also in short supply. US aid is winding down, and Europe lacks the capacity to make up the gap. But the bigger crisis is manpower: many Ukrainian units are operating at just 40–50% strength – some even less.
These structural issues, more than any drone strike or headline-grabbing attack, are what shape the real context for the Istanbul talks. Tactical stunts may buy media attention, but they don’t reverse battlefield trends. Sunday’s attack was likely a one-off – not just because Russia will tighten base security and jam mobile signals, but because such operations require years to plan and a deep human network that’s unlikely to survive exposure.
A final note
Near the end of World War II, Germany pinned its hopes on the V-2 rocket – a weapon launched by the hundreds, against which no defense was possible. It was powerful, terrifying, and militarily useless. The term “wonder weapon” it inspired now carries only irony.
Something similar may be said of Ukraine’s recent raids. Their leadership has become adept at orchestrating dramatic military theater. But bold visuals aside, these attacks are unlikely to change the war’s trajectory – or Kiev’s negotiating hand.
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What's the tone and tenor of the reporting? Is the reporting beating war drums? Is there a call for retaliation? Where do peace negotiations fit in the story?
Yeah, it's easy to bad mouth the reporting. But it's also an opportunity to read between the lines and do a little analysis. So, what's your take away?
Bullshit baffles brains comes to mind ... it's an art form hanging out in a forum.
ROFL
You are seeding from a Russian propaganda site.
Detailed Report
Reasoning: Russian Propaganda, Conspiracy, Lack of Transparency, Some Fake News
Bias Rating: RIGHT-CENTER (4.70)
Factual Reporting: VERY LOW (9.0)
Country: Russia
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rank: TOTAL OPPRESSION
Media Type: TV Station
Traffic/Popularity: High Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY
Your souce is "Trus me bro"?
Was it MSNBC or CNN?
It's right there in the header, no need to guess. It is funny though how quickly some try to dodge the truth about how they and other rightwing conservative Trump supporters are literally using 'RT' as their source for information when anyone with more than half a brain that isn't stuffed up either Trump or Putin's ass knows that RT is literally Putin's mouthpiece. Nothing goes on air or gets printed that wasn't pre-approved by Putin's government, but that's exactly how some conservatives like it, hot off the Putin presses. I'm sure they would be ashamed if they actually had any shame left. Sadly, that ship sailed about a decade ago and now they are completely devoid of any morals, standards or principles as was made apparent in their choice of leader.
Exactly! And what is Putin trying to tell both the Russian people and western adversaries?
Nuttin' ... RT's mandate is to sow dissension in the West.
RT's mandate is to speak to the Russian people. Sort of like NPR and Voice of America spreading propaganda for Americans. (And Canadians, too.)
That's TASS's mandate.
LOL! Yeah, that's a bunch of horse shit. RT's mandate is to push pro-Putin propaganda and to lie to the Russian people, that's it. NPR and Voice of America actually speak truth to power, which is why the occupant of the white house and those who lick his feet and worship the tangerine tyrant hate NPR and any media that doesn't grovel like a Trump sycophant prostrating themselves before their gold painted god.
I already told you that. Can't you read?
Yes, I saw you brag about it.
How does anyone win a war with your attitude?
Perhaps the little shit eating genocidal Russian Dictator shouldn't have started this completely unprovoked war. It's tough to worry about people's 'attitudes' when a vile demonstrably evil fuck wad like Putin is currently murdering his neighbors for no fucking reason other than he's a fucking greedy dick head who wants more land and resources.
And how effective was Ukraine's drone strike in bringing Putin to justice? The Russian's don't appear to be quaking in their boots. Putin isn't trying explain away Ukraine's drone attack. Putin isn't even promising retribution for Ukraine's drone attack.
Tu-95 bombers aren't stealthy or supersonic. The F-16 aircraft provided Ukraine could intercept Tu-95 aircraft. I'm not aware of any of the Cold War powers planning to use highly vulnerable aircraft to deliver nuclear weapons so Ukraine's drone strike wasn't even a deterrent. Ukraine has claimed Russia delivers drone attacks using bombers but how credible is that claim?
So, they should just give up? Is that what you would have told our allies on the eastern front in WWII when things were looking grim? I mean, I guess some might have made that call. We know there were many white rightwing Christian conservatives in America who felt in their heart of hearts that such a powerful strong man like Hitler wouldn't be such a bad leader, and he only wanted to make sure white Christians stayed at the top of the heap in the world. "Is that so bad?" they no doubt asked themselves.
A pro-Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden, New York City, in 1939.
I'm no expert, but it would seem to me that often, those who are secretly supporting genocidal dictators don't often do so by openly supporting the genocidal dictator. No, they seem to prefer just maliciously and surreptitiously attacking the dictator's opponent. That kind of folk, to put it mildly, are the crumbling corroding crust around the edges of the corrupt rightwing conservative swamp.
Yeah, this is so much better.
Did you happen to catch Zelensky telling the press that the drone strike had been in the works for a year and half? Maybe I'm no expert but it sounds like Zelensky has been planning on a protracted war.
I'd ask you why that might be so but you seem to be stuck in the post World War I past. Has Lucky Lindy made it to Germany yet? Let us know when you get to the Nuremberg trials. Betcha the armchair generals on this board haven't a clue about the irony of holding the war crime trials in Nuremberg.
What's wrong with a picture of people peacefully protesting the fact that ICE is being used as a political weapon against free speech? I don't agree with much that kid was shouting about, but I defend his right to shout about it without having his visa revoked by some dick wad rightwing bigot who got their feelings hurt.
? That doesn't even make any sense. Just because something ended up taking a year and a half to plan doesn't mean they decided a year and a half ago to make it a year and a half long plan, that's not the way that shit works. I'm sure he would have been ecstatic if the vile aggressors Russia turned around and went back to their own fucking country, no doubt this attack would have been called off. As it happened, that's not what Russia has chosen to do as they have been emboldened by a reckless feckless dip shit in the white house and so this plan finally came to fruition. So no, this would not indicate Zelensky was planning on a protracted war, but I've no doubt RT or any other Russian propaganda misinformation sites and social media lie factories would love to borrow your bullshit idea. Perhaps they can spread it like manure through the minds of the MAGA, it's not tough to fool a mind that is just begging to be fooled.
The blatant propaganda is even thicker on RT than it is on Fox News, but let's face it, they're cut from the same cloth.
Honestly the pro-russian members on this site really turn my stomach..
Why is any comment here pro-Russian? The warmongers in the US have a ready scapegoat in Zelensky.
It doesn't fit within their little box. You aren't say EXACTLY what they want you to say.
If you don't pay attention to your enemy then there's no way to avoid being blindsided. Wars aren't won with good thoughts and wishful thinking. Or political check boxes. Besides, I was a damned gubmit worker so I'm familiar with the abuse.
What did Ukraine really accomplish? Is Russia going to be flying antiquated turboprop aircraft over Kiev to drop nuclear weapons? The F-16 aircraft gifted to Ukraine can take care Tu-95 aircraft. F-16 aircraft were used regularly to intercept Russian aircraft in the Alaskan exclusion zone. I had thought Russia had converted all their Tu-95 aircraft to reconnaissance and ELINT tasks but maybe they can still be used to deliver ordinance.
Ukraine claims Russia is delivering drones using these bomber aircraft. But Russia has been using Iranian drones and Iran uses Su-24 bombers. The Su-24 is a tactical bomber, not a strategic bomber.
I'm just glad that democrats are finally against a Russian leader and no longer making excuses for the old monsters like Stalin. It only took a grand hoax.
As to the article itself: There are historical lessons which many could learn from although Zelensky is not quite the leader Mannerheim was, nor does Putin have the luxury of Soviet leaders. Putin will have to explain to the Russian people the cost his nation has spent to acquire a bit of territory and why he rejected a peace deal that could have reduced the loss of life.
The Bolsheviks won't be making a comeback. Lenin has been pushed aside into a forgotten corner. Putin is not trying to recreate the Soviet Union. To understand what is happening in Russia, it's necessary to review the imperial history of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Sorry, we're not going to need Ronald Reagan again.
Putin doesn't seem to be quaking in his boots. Does it look like Putin is making excuses? Does it sound like Putin is calling for retribution and escalation? Does it sound like Putin plans to annex Ukraine?
The comparison to Hitler's desperate use of V2 rockets in hopes of punishing Britain and getting better terms was a nice dig, though. That ties the current situation to the justifications for invading Ukraine in 2022.
It's really sad how much total horse shit you were able to fit in those two sentences. It's really quite astounding. Of course, no one with more than half a brain would believe anything in the first sentence, it's moronic on the face of it. Though I guess the MAGA faithful would think to themselves with their less-than half a brain "Yup, them Democrats have always been siding with them commie Russians! Yeah, that's what we'll say, that makes us siding with them now and kneeling down and licking Putin's balls seem less egregious! Brilliant!".
Of course, the second sentence was the real brilliance. Just reference "hoax" and any rightwing conservative who has had their heads plugged in to all the right-wing media outlets, Fox News or stuffed up their leaders ass which amounts to the same thing, will immediately be triggered. It's like their collective hive rallying cry nowadays. "Hoax! Hoax! Hoax! Hoax!". They don't even know which one they're referencing anymore.
Is it their fantasy "Russia Hoax" where Donald and his campaign did in fact work with Russian agents to get dirt on their opponent and welcomed Russian assistance and even openly asked for Russian support as was proven by a Republican led Senate investigation?
Was it the Hunter laptop defense "Hoax" where some were warned not to believe everything as it might be Russian misinformation (which of course were a real thing and did happen regardless of whether Hunters laptop was one of their misinformation campaigns)?
Is it the other dozen or so Qanon conspiracy theories and other moronic conservative "hoax" beliefs? Who know?
But rightwing conservatives will just throw whatever they can at the wall of progress to see what might stick and slow the progress they know is coming to steamroll many of their archaic useless conservative status quo ideals into the base rock of the past so that a new future can be paved over their metaphorical fossilized remains.
And now Zelensky has upped the ante by blowing up the Crimea bridge again