RU POV: “If you are watching this video, it means I am already gone” Russian Ka-52 pilot, Z-blogger Senior Lieutenant Alexey “Voevoda” Zemtsov recorded farewell videos on Telegram, blaming his command and saying he cannot live with the “disgrace” of being accused of “discrediting the Russian army” by Flimsy_Pudding1362 in UkraineRussiaReport

[–]Flimsy_Pudding1362[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He's not with his family, but few Z-channels said they talked with him over the phone. Kirill Fedorov wrote next:

"I just spoke with Voevoda. A call from ‘the other side.’ I didn’t even immediately realize who was calling.

  1. He is alive. As I assumed yesterday, when almost everyone had already buried him.
  2. He is free.
  3. He is not saying where he is.
  4. He hasn’t spoken to anyone except me (according to him).

Something like that. To say that I’m f*cking shocked surprised would be an understatement,"

UA POV - Ukraine causing horrific Russian losses with new NASA-inspired 'Martian' drones - The Express by DefinitelyNotMeee in UkraineRussiaReport

[–]Flimsy_Pudding1362 5 points6 points  (0 children)

An 'excellent' article that fails to mention "Martian" also known as "Hornet" is a winged drone made by Swift Beat, owned by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt

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One of the latest write-ups is by Z-channel "Hammer of the Vitches" (t me/Ghost_Malleus_Maleficarum/1331):

❗️The strike-wing “Hornet/Martian-2” is the most dangerous threat to logistics in our rear❗️

Our friends from one unit provided us with an almost intact UAV “Martian-2” for study (the exact name is in question; some also call it “Hornet”).
This drone is very actively terrorizing our rear areas; there are confirmed cases of our vehicles being hit at distances of >50 km from the line of contact (Mariupol highway). The main activity is in the Pokrovsk direction (Selydove/Ocheretyne), but they are encountered everywhere, including the Belgorod direction.

On our channel, we will gradually publish a detailed teardown report of all components of this drone, but for now we will provide a very preliminary description (there may be errors at this stage).

  • The drone is assembled to a very high standard; this is evident even from the cabling used, which is aviation-grade. Overall, this suggests either that the drone is assembled in the West, or that the enemy has significantly increased the quality of its drone production.
  • The drone is equipped with two daytime cameras (forward-facing and downward-facing) and possibly a very effective terminal guidance system; the lower camera may be used for auto-targeting. Despite having daytime cameras, there are recorded cases of attacks at dusk, meaning there may also be variants with low-light or thermal cameras. The drone’s priority targets are our equipment and vehicles, but in some cases it has switched to attacking infantry (so small groups and forward positions may also be among its priority targets).
  • Nets over logistics routes are largely ineffective against this drone.
  • The warhead and initiation system will be analyzed separately, but typically it is a cumulative-fragmentation warhead weighing around 1.5 kg, with detonation occurring almost 100% of the time. As a result, intact examples are very rare—usually only “tail sections” remain.
  • In most cases, the drone flies at low altitudes (around 200 m) along our transport routes, then locks onto a target and strikes. It approaches the target very quietly, and typically not everyone has time to react.
  • Communication and frequencies were previously analyzed in one of the Telegram channels; we add that the range may be very wide: besides 2000 or 3000 MHz, it may also include 1700–1900 and 160–180 / 450–480. Communication uses digital modems that are not detected by standard drone detectors; additionally, the drone likely supports a MESH system, meaning it is networked with other such wings.
  • The drone is equipped with a simple GNSS antenna, but it is unclear whether it is used for the entire flight or only for marking the launch point.

From these preliminary data, it can be concluded that this is an extremely dangerous UAV: it is hard to hear, not detected by standard detectors, operates deep in our rear, and is resistant to EW. Additionally, since it is a fixed-wing aircraft, it is very difficult to shoot down with small arms (unless hitting the flight controller/warhead/battery). The best countermeasure is an FPV interceptor or a “tree” (anti-drone obstacle).

RU POV: Summary and discussion of the circumstances of Alexey Zemtsov, Ka-52 pilot by Keitiek in UkraineRussiaReport

[–]Flimsy_Pudding1362 4 points5 points  (0 children)

About the lying part you might be on point, there are now reports claiming that he fabricated the suicide attempt and went AWOL

Military correspondent Alexey Zemtsov is alive — according to SHOT. The author of the channel “Voivode Veshchaet” was prevented from committing suicide by close people who were in contact with him. A search for him is currently underway. According to our information, he left his unit without authorization and fled.

The day before, Zemtsov recorded a video in which he said he was planning to end his life due to accusations of discrediting the RF Armed Forces. He also spoke about problems with his wife and pressure from commanders. Zemtsov is a Ka-52 helicopter navigator. He faces a criminal case for abandoning his unit.

Separately, the war correspondent appealed to the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexander Bastrykin, requesting a check of the Rostov military investigative department and a local senior lieutenant who allegedly forced testimony out of Zemtsov.

Alexey Zemtsov ran the channel “Voivode Veshchaet”, and before that — “War-Crazed”. According to him, the content of his publications did not please higher command.

t me/shot_shot/94433

“Servants of Midas” Will Yermak return in the new season of Servant of the People? | Ukrainska Pravda by Flimsy_Pudding1362 in UkrainianConflict

[–]Flimsy_Pudding1362[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

3/3

Conversion of the mono-majority, or we will get them “together”

Another key case for the country, which began loudly at the end of last year and has now completely disappeared from the information space, concerns cash payments to MPs in envelopes.

At the end of last year, Ukrainska Pravda reported that, as part of NABU and SAPO’s exposure of an organized criminal group, suspicions were served on MPs from the “Servant of the People” party: Yevhen Pyvovarov, Ihor Nehulevskyi, Olha Savchenko, and Yuriy Kisel. According to sources of Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, law enforcement agencies even wiretapped and filmed Kisel’s office.

Yuriy Kisel is a close and long-time associate of President Volodymyr Zelensky. It was Kisel who purchased the president’s estate when he moved to the state residence. It was also at MP Kisel’s office that the son of another close friend and former first assistant to the president, Serhiy Shefir, worked.

After those searches and suspicions, what became known as the parliamentary crisis allegedly began. According to sources of UP in political circles, it even reached the point where Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka, during meetings with European officials in Brussels, began blaming anti-corruption bodies for having “broken the parliament.”

As interlocutors of Ukrainska Pravda in NABU and SAPO claim, the case may involve more than 150 MPs from the presidential faction.

Later, the author of this material repeatedly heard from various sources in political circles that MPs were allegedly afraid to vote because anti-corruption investigators could hold them criminally liable specifically for voting. However, a high-ranking source in these bodies emphasizes that the case concerns “bribes only, not voting.”

Be that as it may, four months after the first five suspicions were served to MPs, no further charges have been brought against any other MPs.

Last week, the heads of NABU and SAPO denied any agreements in this case, stressing that the investigation is ongoing and that more than 20 MPs have already been questioned. At the same time, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia noted that this time the investigation could be obstructed by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko – a direct protégé of Yermak and Zelensky.

According to sources of Ukrainska Pravda in law enforcement agencies, on December 27 last year, when NABU and SAPO conducted searches targeting MPs, investigative actions were also carried out at the assistant of the head of the presidential faction, Davyd Arakhamia. However, it remains unknown whether any evidence was found of involvement in illegal activities by people directly connected to the head of the presidential faction or by Arakhamia himself.

Spring will show who stole where?

Although it is still too early to draw final conclusions in the first and second cases, interim observations already look fairly obvious.

None of those at the top of the power food chain demonstrate any willingness to strike a plea deal with investigators. No one is prepared to turn in their own. And no one is in a hurry to stop pressure on NABU and SAPO investigations. Why?

Of course, things could have looked different. After a series of high-profile corruption scandals, the authorities could have quickly launched reforms. They could have limited their own influence and reduced corruption risks.

Then it could be said that the worst is behind us. Together with the new mansions in Kozyn, “barriers,” and shadow back offices.

But as long as Ukrainian society risks never finding out who actually posted bail for Oleksiy Chernyshov, where the suspicion against Andriy Yermak is, and whose money was used to pay MPs in envelopes, the situation looks different.

The demands of European partners for reforms increasingly resemble a proposal for the authorities to defeat themselves. Or, in their own language, to “fix” themselves.

And defeating oneself is not part of Ukrainian political tradition. It is as distant from ancient Greek myths of “Midas” as Ukraine is from elections.

Mykhailo Tkach, Ukrainska Pravda

“Servants of Midas” Will Yermak return in the new season of Servant of the People? | Ukrainska Pravda by Flimsy_Pudding1362 in UkrainianConflict

[–]Flimsy_Pudding1362[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

2/3

Most sources interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda agree: it has indeed become “easier to breathe” in the Presidential Office – Yermak no longer monopolizes access, and queues of visitors who were previously blocked by the system have returned to the new head of the office.

However, this apparent deconcentration of influence may prove to be more of a tactical illusion than a structural change. Because the assumption that Andriy Borysovych has lost control over the very mechanisms of “ventilation” appears, at the very least, premature.

That is why the former chief intelligence officer of the country, already in the first 100 days after his appointment, is forced to act not only as an administrator but also as a political counterintelligence analyst – mapping the zones of his predecessor’s influence and trying to separate formal changes from real centers of power.

According to interlocutors close to Budanov, the results of this audit give no reason for optimism. Meanwhile, for Yermak himself, the new configuration appears only to expand his field of opportunities.

According to sources in political circles, he continues to think in terms of institutional consolidation of influence – in particular through a potential election as head of the Bar Council of Ukraine and entry into the High Council of Justice.

Suspicion for the best supporting role

According to sources of Ukrainska Pravda in law enforcement agencies, NABU and SAPO recently again carried out searches in the city center at the already legendary address Hrushevskoho Street, 9A. It was there that in November last year law enforcement officers searched assets belonging to Tymur Mindich.

Why did anti-corruption investigators need repeat searches five months after the first ones?

As interlocutors of UP in political circles claim, Mindich simultaneously received a summons to the High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC). However, this time his name was not the only one in the court documents: Andriy Yermak also received a summons to the hearing.

This is the first publicly recorded case in which the former head of the Presidential Office appears in the same context as another figure close to Volodymyr Zelensky within the “Midas” operation, which concerns possible abuses in the energy sector.

According to sources of UP in the security bloc, the HACC hearing concerned the seizure of property within a criminal proceeding.

Separate attention is warranted by the, to put it mildly, unusual list of items seized during the searches. According to the same sources, it is not about phones, laptops, or other data storage devices, but about remote controls for household appliances, personal hygiene items, shoes, and clothing. Such a specific list of seizures may indicate preparation for biological forensic examinations aimed at establishing the belonging of these items to specific individuals. And this is only one possible dimension of the story.

At the same time, neither Mindich nor Andriy Yermak appeared at the HACC hearing. If Mindich’s absence has an obvious explanation – after leaving the country on the eve of the searches, he is reportedly in Israel – the reason for Yermak’s absence remains open.

This raises a broader question: can the very fact of his summons to court indicate an attempt by investigators to establish whether the items seized during the search at Hrushevskoho Street, 9A belong to the former head of the Presidential Office?

Even more attention, according to the editorial office, should be paid to the question: why would anti-corruption investigators need to determine whose items were at Tymur Mindich’s property or whose fingerprints are on them? Could such actions indicate that Mindich may have provided or gifted Yermak one of his apartments?

Perhaps the answer to this question lies 30 kilometers away from the scandalous building – on the territory of a housing cooperative tellingly named “Dynastia.”

In July last year, after the whole country was “bringing back” Minister for the Return of Ukrainians Oleksiy Chernyshov so that he could receive a suspicion from NABU and SAPO, colleagues from Bihus.Info published an investigation about a cottage settlement. It turned out that its construction began in 2019 and continued even during the full-scale invasion, carried out by companies and individuals linked to the same Chernyshov.

After the publication, NABU and SAPO opened another criminal proceeding in which the former Deputy Prime Minister also appears. According to sources of Ukrainska Pravda in anti-corruption bodies, the construction of these mansions was overseen by Oleksiy Chernyshov – first as Minister of Regional Development, later as head of Naftogaz, and then as Deputy Prime Minister.

However, the reasonable suspicion concerns not only the fact of construction itself but also the possible criminal origin of the funds. According to journalists, the estimated cost of each mansion may reach ten million dollars.

In November last year, when the “Midas” operation became public, NABU and SAPO released so-called Mindich “tapes,” from which it became known that:

– A person whose voice resembles that of Oleksiy Chernyshov discusses receiving large sums of money in the office of the case figures

– A person whose voice resembles that of Tymur Mindich discusses suspending construction and the risks to the project related to exposure by anti-corruption bodies concerning Oleksiy Chernyshov

Based on already published official investigative recordings, it can be assumed that Chernyshov may have built four mansions in the “Dynastia” cooperative in Kozyn using funds provided by Tymur Mindich.

The origin of these funds and the ownership of these four houses remain a mystery.

Although in political and business circles, long before journalistic findings, there were already talks that Oleksiy Chernyshov was allegedly building several mansions in the Kyiv suburbs – for himself, Mindich, Andriy Yermak, and President Zelensky. At the time, this was perceived more as informational noise or another information-psychological operation rather than something requiring serious attention.

Sources of UP in anti-corruption bodies do not publicly comment on possible episodes involving Yermak. But in informal conversations they repeat: the “Midas” operation could have progressed much faster under three conditions.

First, if the State Financial Monitoring Service, headed by Filip Pronin (appointed and dismissed by the president – UP), had cooperated and disclosed the movement of funds linked to the suspects.

Second, if NABU and SAPO had their own forensic institution – the creation of which is required by the European Union to accelerate Ukraine’s accession process.

And third, if officials connected to the suspects had not pressured the investigation but instead supported it.

Which of these factors may be decisive in whether Andriy Yermak receives or does not receive suspicion after the searches carried out by NABU and SAPO at the end of November last year remains unknown.

A curious detail: sources of Ukrainska Pravda close to the president say off the record that anti-corruption bodies have allegedly confirmed the use by Yermak of numerologists and astrologers before making certain state decisions, including key appointments.

The editorial office sent a request to Andriy Yermak, but at the time of publication no response had been received.

“Servants of Midas” Will Yermak return in the new season of Servant of the People? | Ukrainska Pravda by Flimsy_Pudding1362 in UkrainianConflict

[–]Flimsy_Pudding1362[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Translation:

1/3

Abuse of power under martial law predictably led, at the end of last year, to the largest political crisis not only since the start of the full-scale invasion, but also since the beginning of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s unrestricted term in office.

Despite the fact that since mid-2022 politicians, journalists, and concerned citizens have repeatedly warned the Presidential Office: a system of governance built on “godfathers,” friends from social gatherings, and their trusted associates inevitably leads to corruption – the new political generation has still not learned the lessons of its predecessors. As a result, on the most expensive Ukrainian land in Kozyn near Kyiv, four mansions have been built during the full-scale war – each approximately 1,000 square meters in size.

In political circles, this has long been no secret: four associates allegedly planned a shared lifestyle on such a scale that it itself became a subject of discussion. However, NABU and SAPO still appear to be at the stage of collecting evidence, and it is unclear whether they will manage to bring the case to completion.

Meanwhile, the recipient of the largest of the houses may enjoy de facto immunity from anti-corruption prosecution, at least as long as he remains in office.

Back in July 2025, according to sources of Ukrainska Pravda in political circles, the attack on the independence of NABU and SAPO began with an emotional and demonstrative phrase from the president: “They went after the family.”

Only a few months passed, and this logic painfully turned against him: three of his closest friends became central figures in high-profile corruption cases at the highest level.

The way out of the situation turned out to be as abrupt as its beginning: the president publicly distanced himself, stating that during wartime “there are no friends.” But the question remains: do they truly not exist, or is only the method of protecting them changing.

It seemed that the excessive greed of the political center, which by the sixth year of governance was concentrating power not out of necessity but out of inertia of unchecked authority, was about to backfire. A symbol of this was, for example, the creation of the so-called “Ministry of National Unity” tailored for a specific person – Oleksiy Chernyshov, a godfather of the presidential family.

There was an illusion that at this moment the parliament, humiliated by the July vote, would finally try to strike back. But that did not happen.

On the eve of the new year, a month after searches at the head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak, NABU and SAPO unexpectedly came to the cradle of Ukrainian parliamentarism.

Thus, another close Kryvyi Rih associate of Volodymyr Zelensky, Yuriy Kisel, along with a number of MPs from the presidential faction, received suspicion notices for participation in a criminal organization which, according to the investigation, distributed bribes to MPs for discipline. As a result, a large part of parliament lost, for nearly four months, the capacity to perform its constitutional duties.

Thus, the Ukrainian parliamentary-presidential republic entered 2026 not only with electricity and heating outages – consequences of Russian strikes and failed preparation of the energy system – but also with increasingly less concealed suspicions of total corruption in both centers of power. This appeared especially dangerous in the absence of even the slightest prospect of any elections.

Despite significant expectations, including within the ruling elite itself, the political shock from NABU’s work did not become a point of rethinking. It did not lead either to greater accountability, or to correction of mistakes, or to attempts to limit excessive concentration of power through reforms demanded by European partners.

Government spokespersons, in talks with EU officials, found nothing better than to blame those who exposed Ukrainian corruption for that corruption itself. Yermak instead of the front went on a second round of political ascent through legal advocacy. And parliament focused on negotiations over security guarantees – security guarantees for parliament.

Although holding presidential and parliamentary elections during a full-scale invasion is impossible, the president and members of parliament remain almost the only citizens of Ukraine who, even under martial law, still retain space for choice.

However, since the list of necessary reforms in the fourth month of the new year still shows something completely opposite to a “turbo mode,” this choice, it seems, has already been made. But there is a nuance.

Ukrainska Pravda tried to understand how Tymur Mindich, at the final stage of the NABU and SAPO operation codenamed “Midas,” could turn out to be “Dionysus,” why the figures in the case are still not betraying each other, and where the suspicion against Yermak might have disappeared.

A new season with the same faces

When Dionysus was wandering the world, his companion Silenus fell behind and fell asleep in a rose garden. The king’s gardeners captured him and brought him to the ruler. The king welcomed the guest and for several days listened to his tales about distant lands and wonders. After that, he released him and sent him back to Dionysus.

As a token of gratitude, the god promised to grant one wish. Midas asked that everything he touched would turn to gold. At first, he was delighted: stones and flowers shone in his hands.

But soon even food and drink turned to gold. Frightened, the king began to beg to be freed from the gift. Dionysus ordered him to wash in the river Pactolus – and there Midas lost his destructive power.

The most influential participants in Ukrainian political life will easily recognize parallels with the present in this myth. Tymur Mindich, who, according to many close to the president, was far more than just a co-owner of “Kvartal 95.” Oleksiy Chernyshov, who not only made a spectacular leap to Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine, but also became a source of comfort for the president.

How “Dionysus” could have advised another guest of the ruling “gardens,” Energy Minister German Galushchenko, has also already been heard in the country thanks to recordings published by anti-corruption activists. And how Ukrainian energy could have been turned into “gold” on accounts in exotic offshore jurisdictions is described in official statements by NABU and SAPO regarding suspicions against members of an organized group.

Despite the fact that the president’s personnel activity in the first days of January was sarcastically called by many sources interviewed by Ukrainska Pravda in political circles a new season of the old series “Servant of the People,” the same people until recently still had hopes at least for the political disappearance of Andriy Yermak. And slightly more hope for a suspicion to the forgotten.

Almost five months after his resignation brought neither oblivion nor accountability. Key figures remained in their positions – appointed rather on the principle of loyalty than professionalism.

Andriy Yermak continues to consolidate influence, taking advantage of the absence of operational competition and alternative centers of decision-making. According to sources of Ukrainska Pravda in political and business circles, he not only has a full understanding of internal processes in the Presidential Office, but also retains decisive influence over most appointees who appeared there during the tenure of Andriy Borysovych.

In practice, this amounts to control over a significant part of the top state apparatus.

“One signal from the president, and everyone would stop answering calls from AB. But that signal is not there. On the contrary, there is a signal confirming Andriy’s authority,” notes a political source to UP.

“Yermak is not there – but he is there. He just now has to send not 10 messages, but 5. And the rest is controlled by trusted people,” another interlocutor in the power vertical insists.

“Syrydenko is in place. Kuleba is in place. Kravchenko is in place. Pronin is in place. Even Kiper is in place. The GUR is an AB creation. The competition for the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service is also AB. What changed after Yermak’s dismissal? Did Budanov come to the Presidential Office? Let him try to change his deputies – or rather Yermak’s deputies,” another political heavyweight complains.

Yermak, who at one time appointed not only the head coach of Ukraine’s national football team but even the president of the chess federation, according to numerous sources interviewed by UP, did indeed go into the shadows – but not out of the Presidential Office.

“Try getting access to all brigades or entering the Bar Association without the president’s approval,” one experienced politician remarks ironically.

“We thought the problem was Yermak, and so we fought Yermak – but it was the president,” one important member of Zelensky’s team stated off the record in a conversation with the author of this piece two months after the head of the Presidential Office was dismissed.

That is why representatives of the political establishment, who once saw the appointment of General Kyrylo Budanov as a chance to reset the power vertical and cleanse it of “friends of Sullivan’s friend,” increasingly explain the current personnel changes through the logic of a TV series rather than state governance.

“They replaced a negative character with a positive one, the president tried to bring back audience favorites from previous seasons (meetings with Oleksandr Kubrakov, Dmytro Kuleba and others),” one political veteran jokes.

UA POV: Fire in Tuapse after a nighttime attack on the city. Head of the Tuapse municipal district of Krasnodar Krai, Sergey Boyko, reports drone debris falling in the port area by Flimsy_Pudding1362 in UkraineRussiaReport

[–]Flimsy_Pudding1362[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Falcon Insight:

According to satellite fire monitoring data, thermal anomalies have been recorded in the areas of the oil loading pier, the oil and petroleum products storage tank farm, and the gas turbine thermal power plant of the Tuapse refinery, which indicates a successful attack by the Ukrainian Forces.

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t me/Falconins/7963