# Russia invades Ukraine -- The regional situation **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [December 30, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349 "2023-12-30T18:43:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 83
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1643 "2026-02-26T19:13:53Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > this puts human faces on it: I thought this article from AP News did as well. Sometimes I get distracted by the politics or execution of the war and forget that it is, well, a war. PHOTO ESSAY: Portraits of Ukrainians on the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion > **[PHOTO ESSAY: Portraits of Ukrainians on the anniversary of Russia's...](https://apnews.com/photo-essay/ukraine-photo-essay-portraits-anniversary-war-d7bb463924e7cad9cfaa45e59600fc60)** > > KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainians have now lived with four years of war. They have lost limbs, loved ones, livelihoods and homes, but not hope. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1644 "2026-02-26T19:21:54Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > PHOTO ESSAY: Portraits of Ukrainians on the anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion Are there more than just the two photos somewhere? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1645 "2026-02-26T19:33:35Z")
I see two photos for each of the seven stories. On my phone the web page stops scrolling at each pair of photos, then you can continue to scroll. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2026, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1646 "2026-02-26T19:40:41Z")
OK, it took me some time to type out my response that showed there was nothing other than a picture that would change after a minute. When I went back, there was more to the page. It must just be incredibly slow to load. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1647 "2026-02-27T03:04:14Z")
Long article. It raises several interesting points. Morale in Ukraine is still reasonably good. PTSD has to be very bad for FPV drone operators. They’re seeing the weapon impacts on people. 20km = 12.4 miles > **[Bowen: Why Ukraine remains defiant and does not feel close to defeat](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9g2ggq4epo)** > > This month marks four gruelling years since the full‑scale invasion began and a genuine ceasefire still feels far from assured > [@](#): > > The three most feared letters on the battlefield are FPV, standing for “first-person view.” FPV drones are major killers, used by both Ukraine and Russia. They have cameras that feed information back to their controllers in a command centre that might be 30 or 40km away. We visited a few of them, hidden away in basements of wrecked buildings or nondescript village houses. > [@](#): > > But now drones have transformed the way the war is fought, and armies across the world are watching closely, being forced to change their ideas of how to fight. > > The narrow confrontation line that used to exist between the two sides is now extended across a broad swathe of land that both sides call the kill zone, stretching **perhaps 20km either side of the forward positions of the two armies.** Rear positions for logistics and dealing with casualties that used to be relatively safe are now as lethal as the old front line. > > The skies above get saturated with surveillance drones, making movement extremely dangerous. Social media feeds are full of terrifying videos filmed from FPV drones as they swoop into their targets, sometimes chasing down individuals in the open, or even entering buildings, threading their way through rooms and doorways until they find their quarry. The last shot is often of a horrified man about to die. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2026, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1648 "2026-02-27T07:57:31Z")
> **[Nato intercepts Russian drone in 'serious security alert' in Malmo](https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/nato-intercepts-russian-drone-security-alert-malmo-b1272687.html)** > > Swedish forces spotted the drone approaching the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle during exercises in Malmo ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2026, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1649 "2026-02-28T02:36:01Z")
Not sure how readable this is for non-subscribers to New Scientist, but it’s a look into the drone war from Ukraine’s POV: > **[How Ukraine became a drone factory and invented the future of war](https://www.newscientist.com/article/2514976-how-ukraine-became-a-drone-factory-and-invented-the-future-of-war/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=currents)** > > Ukraine has responded to a war it didn’t start by creating an industry it doesn’t want, but could the nation's drone expertise help it rebuild? To learn more, New Scientist gained exclusive access to the research labs, factories and military training... ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1650 "2026-03-01T05:52:10Z")
The USA and Israel bombing Iran may not be the best of ideas, but it will likely at least have the beneficial effect of disrupting Iranian support to Russia in some sort of way. Perhaps fewer Shahed drones striking Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1651 "2026-03-01T23:35:39Z")
The Iranian manufacturers of Shahed drones should be on the target list. They’re a threat to the Middle East if Iran expands the war. Ukraine will also get some relief if Russia’s inventory runs low. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1652 "2026-03-01T23:37:08Z")
Russia has domestic shahed manufacturing too so perhaps some relief, but not all. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2026, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1653 "2026-03-01T23:38:20Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Ukraine will also get some relief if Russia’s inventory runs low. Reason enough for the current administration to not target them. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1654 "2026-03-02T03:06:34Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The Iranian manufacturers of Shahed drones should be on the target list. Early on Iran was sending drones to Russia. Then it was sending kit drones for assembly at the Alaburga facility. Now Russia is building them entirely under license after paying Iran a couple billion (purportedly in nicely fungible gold ingots). It has been claimed that Iran’s limited industrial capacity was just not up to the strain of keeping Russia adequately supplied as the drone war intensified. It’s almost certainly too late for attacks on Iran to have any significant impact on the course of the war in Ukraine. ---
**Author:** ![Calder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e99b99/32.png) [@Calder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calder)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1655 "2026-03-04T17:13:06Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Early on Iran was sending drones to Russia. Then it was sending kit drones for assembly at the Alaburga facility. Now Russia is building them entirely under license after paying Iran a couple billion (purportedly in nicely fungible gold ingots). It has been claimed that Iran’s limited industrial capacity was just not up to the strain of keeping Russia adequately supplied as the drone war intensified. > > It’s almost certainly too late for attacks on Iran to have any significant impact on the course of the war in Ukraine. I am going to quible a bit with this. I will agree with your overall point that losing Iranian support will not be decisive in Ukraine. I do however, think it will be significant. You are correct, that the majority of Russian Shahed drones are now made in Russia. However, Russia is till buying weapons from Iran and it wasn’t just Shahed drones. Russia has been purchasing Drones, 122mm Artillery shells, Grad 122mm rockets, and other weapons from Iran. I don’t think the USA can totally stop all of these deliveries but we can certainly massive reduce them. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2026, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1656 "2026-03-06T21:08:06Z")
WTH? Banks are still transferring millions in gold in 2026? Especially during a war? Armed Troops with heavy, military weapons could crack open armored cars like a tuna can. > **[Hungary detains Ukrainians carrying $82 million in cash and gold; Kyiv calls...](https://www.nbcnews.com/world/ukraine/hungary-detains-ukrainians-carrying-82-million-cash-gold-kyiv-calls-ho-rcna262063)** > > The incident further inflamed tensions between Hungary and Ukraine, which are embroiled in a bitter feud over Hungary’s access to Russian oil through a pipeline that crosses Ukrainian territory. > [@](#): > > The seven were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, and they were traveling in two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and Ukraine when they were detained, Sybiha said. > > The armored cars were carrying cash as part of regular services between state banks, he said, adding that the status of the employees was unknown. > > In a separate statement, Oschadbank wrote that 40 million U.S. dollars as well as 35 million euros and 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) of gold — worth around $1.5 million at current prices — had been apprehended by Hungary. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2026, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1657 "2026-03-20T04:11:13Z")
Best news of the year…………..so far: > **[Russia suffers deadliest day of year with 1,700 troops lost](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/russia-suffers-deadliest-day-1-171107087.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cucmVkZGl0LmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALYZIEL4EQjtLmeHEax4vXwkRgKZ7larO4-tPhne3QPrBlYrRslrpLKwx7I5sdDTwOMnm7_nAyDdiq-4y1WLVkd8tMluc9EnLWoyHG6Lb1Xq02jBfY-VICBrMDe1dax6sg50fT5hLF8nCR__4Agpl5n8ARBwYoP9eKYdKR73gbvm)** > > Russia suffered its deadliest day of the year in Ukraine on Tuesday, losing more than 1,700 troops in 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2026, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1658 "2026-03-21T20:02:12Z")
Well, they’re certainly trying everything to replenish their losses. Who wouldn’t want to raise 10 kids in Putin’s Russia? [https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/20/putin-sends-childless-russian-women-psychologists/](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/03/20/putin-sends-childless-russian-women-psychologists/) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1659 "2026-03-26T10:40:43Z")
The Strait of Hormus is closed, the Bosphorus is getting narrower too. An oil tanker coming from Russia had an explosion, probably caused by an underwater drone, reports the **[Handelsblatt](https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/international/ukraine-krieg-explosion-auf-oeltanker-im-schwarzen-meer-angriff-vermutet/100211986.html)**. Link in German and so on, lazily **DeepL** translated: > Sources familiar with the incident told the German Press Agency that the tanker had been attacked off the Turkish coast, near the entrance to the Bosphorus Strait, which runs through Istanbul. There is currently no danger of the ship sinking. > > According to official sources, the tanker is carrying crude oil; media reports put the cargo at 140,000 tonnes. It was initially unclear whether the incident was linked to the war in Ukraine. On Saturday, an underwater drone loaded with explosives was found off the coast of Ordu province on the Black Sea. It was detonated in a controlled manner. Its origin was initially unclear. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1660 "2026-03-26T10:58:09Z")
I wonder how > an underwater drone loaded with explosives was found off the coast of Ordu province on the Black Sea. What detected and captured that drone? Presumably some flavor of Turkish military / coast guard. But what tools, was it luck or skill that found it, etc. Not that anyone here has those answers, but they’re interesting questions. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1661 "2026-03-26T13:00:08Z")
Entirely underwater drones have extremely short ranges, due to the limitations of maintaining communications with them while underwater. It’s more likely they’re surface drones that then submerge when attacking. Surface drones are difficult to detect, but still easier than while underwater. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349/1662 "2026-03-26T17:56:14Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > > [@Handelsblatt](#): > > > > It was initially unclear whether the incident was linked to the war in Ukraine. I’m having trouble believing that people are uncertain about who attacked a Russian tanker in the Black Sea during this war. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349.md?page=82) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/russia-invades-ukraine-the-regional-situation/995349.md?page=84)