"The war of the future is as many drones as possible and as few people as possible," Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov was quoted as saying by The New York Times in an article about how Ukraine has become a testing ground for the newest weapons. At the same time, it is not only about what is shooting, but also about, for example, the information system Delta developed jointly with NATO, which systematizes information about the location of enemy equipment. Delta significantly helped the Armed Forces of Ukraine back in February and March, when, thanks to its data, Ukrainian troops destroyed endless columns of Russian heavy equipment near Kyiv. The system also helped during the recent offensive in the Kherson region. On some days Delta showed the exact location of almost a thousand Russian targets ― and the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed approximately 300 of them per day. Another example of the latest weapons are naval drones, which, having a relatively low price, have proven dangerous even for flagships, not to mention the rest of the vessels. The Lithuanian anti-drone gun Sky Wiper, which was developed only two years ago and was first actively (and successfully) used in the Russian-Ukrainian war, also showed itself well. The newest German IRIS-T anti-missile system also demonstrates an excellent result with one hundred percent hitting the target ― now in Ukraine they are using samples that Germany itself does not even have in service yet. One of the conclusions that can already be drawn about this war: all the mentioned weapons or their analogues will now be actively developed and procured.
The American magazine Rolling Stone published a large article about how Ukraine has changed since the beginning of the war. Journalist Mac William Bishop talks about random civilians who told him about the horror of what they saw, about parents from the occupied territories whose children serve in the army or help fight against the Russians ― and therefore do not reveal their identities. And about dark cities as a result of recent Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. "Itʼs still the same Ukraine," writes the journalist. "And everyone understands that Russian attacks on transformers will not make Ukrainians surrender. But it is also clear that it will not be easy for people here ― and the most difficult times are yet to come with the cold." Due to the Russian attack, even the dreams of Ukrainian children have changed, says Bishop. If earlier the son of a journalistʼs Ukrainian friend Mykyta dreamed of football, now he dreams of hand grenades, with which he will kill Russian soldiers.
Axios writes about the attempts of Republicans to put sticks in the wheels in the case of American aid to Ukraine. Thanks to recent elections, Republicans will have more influence in the next session of Congress than they do today. And perhaps that part of the Republicans, which opposes the active assistance of the American government to Ukraine, will have more influence. Axios obtained several letters from conservative groups of the Republican Party to the leadership of the US Parliament, in which they call for a decision on aid to Ukraine next year ― after the new session of Congress begins. "Any package of aid to Ukraine should be thoroughly discussed, examined, and then voted on," they write. The fact is that the previous session of the Congress, in which there are more deputies from the Democratic Party, continues its last session. She is called a "lame duck" in American politics: everyone understands that soon the parliament will change, and the long-term decisions adopted at this session may soon be canceled. So, usually during the "lame duck" period, parliamentarians resolve minor issues that have not yet been resolved. This time, the White House wants the parliament to pass a nearly 40-billion aid package to Kyiv, guaranteeing Ukraine support next year, despite the wishes of some Republicans.
Forbes writes about the expected attack of Ukrainians on Russian positions from Zaporizhzhia. This, according to David Axe, an author of the article, would be more logical than, for example, an attempt to advance on the left-bank Kherson region across the Dnipro River. The wide river used to be a problem for the Russians, but now it protects them. If the Ukrainian Armed Forces try to cross the Dnipro, they may suffer significant losses and, ultimately, fail, Axe suggests, citing as an example the difficult and protracted struggle for the much narrower Ingulets River on the right bank of the Kherson region. Therefore, the best way to advance further would be a "left hook" in the direction of Melitopol, which would split the Russian group into two parts and deprive it of several important highways for the supply of cannon fodder and weapons. However, the Russians also understand this very well, and they started preparing for a possible Ukrainian offensive on Zaporizhzhia already in the summer, filling the occupied part of the region with de-conserved obsolete tanks. However, having several hundred modern tanks, it will be possible to knock out the Russians from there, Axe hopes. The best and most experienced Ukrainian groups ― the 92nd and 93rd mechanized brigades, as well as the 128th mountain brigade are involved in the eastern and southern areas of the front. However, it is possible that Ukraine will use the 5th and 14th tank brigades in Zaporizhzhia, which exist on paper, but have not yet shown themselves in combat. Axe hopes that in reality these brigades do exist, and already in the winter the front line in Zaporizhzhia region will undergo significant changes.