Since mid-2023, Moscow has almost certainly upgraded its Iranian-supplied Shahed suicide drones with similar weapons made in facilities in Russia, the UK Defense Intelligence reported in its latest update on Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Dec. 6.
The Russian authorities are trying to suppress public protests by the wives of Russian soldiers, including through pay-offs and discrediting them online, following small protests in Moscow in November, UK Defense Intelligence said in a report posted on X on Dec. 2.
Russian forces have in recent days likely reinforced their defenses around the occupied town of Tokmak in southern Ukraine, which is approximately 16 kilometers behind the current front line, the UK Defense Intelligence said in its daily Ukraine situation report for Sept. 17.