You haven't missed much, I haven't actually covered that for a while...

Sources:
🔹 ru.themoscowtimes.com/2026/04/21/n...
🔹 frankmedia.ru/274788

9/ These measures are attributed by independent commentators to the government's increasingly urgent need to fund the war in Ukraine. As of 2025, the war was estimated to be costing $2.7 billion per week, or nearly $200 billion for the entire year – around 7.3% of GDP. /end

8/ Russian businesses have complained vociferously about the government's decision to raise VAT to 22% on 1 January 2026, revise insurance premiums, and reduce the VAT payment threshold for businesses operating under the simplified tax system (STS).

7/ Large state-owned companies are reported to be the worst offenders for non-payments. The crisis is attributed to a company of a decline in GDP, falling demand, and tax increases.

6/ Trade accounts for another 1.9 trillion rubles of debt ($25.5 billion). The petroleum sector is suffering particularly badly, with a debt of 1.6 trillion rubles ($21.3 billion). Hydrocarbon processing sites have been particularly badly affected by Ukrainian drone strikes.

5/ In this one sector, debt has increased by a trillion rubles ($13.3 billion) in 2025 alone, while debt grew by 1.4 trillion ($18.6 million) in all other sectors combined during 2025.

4/ Manufacturing and trade are suffering the worst. A third of the entire debt, 2.9 trillion rubles ($38 billion) is concentrated in manufacturing.

3/ This is equivalent to about 20% of the annual federal budget, 150% of Moscow's budget, and 1500% of the budget of large and wealthy regions such as the Sverdlovsk Region and the Krasnodar Krai.

2/ Russian media is reporting today that data from Rosstat, the official statistics agency, says that as of the end of January 2026 unpaid business debt has reached a record 8.2 trillion rubles ($109.3 billion). Non-payments have nearly tripled since 2022.

1/ Russia is entering a full-scale debt crisis, according to newly published official figures. Non-payments have reached an all-time high equivalent to nearly 4% of GDP or a fifth of the entire federal budget. It's a fresh sign of a deepening economic crisis worsened by war. ⬇️

Sources:
🔹 t.me/mod_russia/6...
🔹 t.me/vault8pro/54...
🔹 t.me/ne_zhdi_novo...
🔹 t.me/ne_zhdi_novo...

16/ Wounded soldiers and their relatives say they are denied medical treatment and are sent back under guard to the front lines, and into assaults, while hobbling on crutches, with unhealed and untreated injuries. /end

15/ Accounts from Russian soldiers corroborate 'Vault No. 8's' claims of widespread abuses in the units. Soldiers complain that they are savagely beaten for drunkenness, even though their commanders are routinely drunk but go unpunished.

14/ "Because quite a few military believers in our area consider this unit and this military formation to be either cursed or taken over by minions of the rivals of the dominant denomination in Russia. I am referring to rivals from the underworld."

13/ "Excommunicate them for at least 10 years.

If the church were to act in this manner, it would earn the respect of the soldiers and junior commanders who have served and are serving in our region.

12/ "At the same time, excommunicate from the church those commanders who have distinguished themselves in the way they have treated their personnel, and who have served in these units since 22 February 2022, if these distinguised individuals are believers.

11/ "For example, the first mobilised soldiers from Moscow were thrown into battle with just one or three combat training sessions at the end of September 2022, a week after the start of mobilisation. Several dozen soldiers died.

10/ "One can find countless examples of martyred soldiers who accomplished heroic deeds despite the complete indifference of the leadership of these two units.

9/ "It's logical to reward them in ways that are meaningful to the believing soldiers and the command of the airborne units.

In the case of the ground troops, however, the church erred in its choice of motivational methods.

8/ "I understand the church's collaboration with the Airborne Forces units and formations—the paratroopers fight very well, they have a rational combat training system and timely implementation of high-tech equipment.

7/ The military unit mentioned in the official news post is the same one [that fought in] the “butcher’s row.” The village of Novoselivske was the “Vuhledar” of our sector from the fall of 2022 to early 2024.

6/ The unit, whose number can be found in an official post on the military department’s Telegram channel (lol), grew out of a motorised rifle brigade that distinguished itself exclusively through bloody battles near Synkivka.

5/ "In fact, they chose the two least suitable ground forces units in our region to motivate the troops, set an example for the rest, and draw public attention to the church’s contribution to supporting the fighting army.

4/ "Regarding the flyover of a unit’s and a brigade’s positions by a transport helicopter carrying an icon. This is the perspective of someone who is completely uninterested in religion but who nonetheless pays attention to troop morale.

3/ One of those on the ground, the warblogger 'Vault No. 8' – a serving Russian soldier – points out that the 27th Motorised Rifle Brigade (military unit 61899) has a dire reputation for sending its men to their deaths en masse and otherwise abusing its soldiers.

2/ According to the Russian MOD, "an Mi-8 helicopter carrying an icon of the Archangel Michael flew along the operational zone of the 27th Motorised Rifle Brigade and the 68th Motorised Rifle Division of the "West" group of forces.

A Ka-52 helicopter provided escort."

1/ Russia's Ministry of Defence has hailed its first "airborne religious procession" – a fly-by of an icon of the Archangel Michael in a Mi-8 transport helicopter over Russian units in eastern Ukraine. However, it has received a sour response from those on the ground. ⬇️

14/ "P.S. In my view, total war isn’t about blocking the internet. Total war is the mobilisation of all available resources and their most effective use. Without the internet and communications, we won’t be able to wage a robot war." /end

Source:
t.me/bayraktar107...

13/ "So go ahead and sip your banana lattes while the politicians discuss peace. If the talks fail, we’ll pack our backpacks and learn how to operate drones on the fly. There are no other options.