Is Russian implosion imminent?
The normally deathly dull Institute for the Study of War is reporting that the Russian high command have officially lost the plot:
"The seniormost Russian military command presented a highly inaccurate assessment of the battlefield situation for the fifth consecutive month, absurdly claiming that Russian forces are advancing west of Kupyansk, which they have not, in fact, taken."
and
"These aggrandized claims of fictional advances along with milblogger complaints may indicate that the highest echelon of the Russian military command is either unaware of or unwilling to admit the realities of the battlefield even to itself, and is therefore allowing its own falsehoods to influence Russian operational and strategic planning."
I have never seen the ISW openly ridicule the Russian's reports. Is this a sign that Russia's 3 day operation is about to fall apart? I hope so but I'm also worried what the dying giant might do as it flails for anything.
#slavaUkraine
#Ukraine

https://understandingwar.org/research/russia-ukraine/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-may-16-2026/