George Barros
@georgewbarros.bsky.social
5.6K followers 110 following 140 posts
Russia Team & GEOINT Team Lead at the Institute for the Study of War. I study war, 🇺🇦, 🇷🇺, & 🇧🇾. Maker of maps and fan of GIS. Led grassroots effort to provide Ukraine Javelins in 2014. W&M alum. https://understandingwar.org/press-media/staff-bios/g
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georgewbarros.bsky.social
Russia launches 500+ Shahed drones at Ukraine every few days. If Ukraine had tomahawk missiles, Ukraine could destroy the factory in Tatarstan that has the capacity to produce 2,700 of them monthly.
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Current Trump Administration policy is not working. Putin is emboldened. He will not stop unless we stop him.
Reposted by George Barros
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Maxar collected images of before / after damage to Russian aircraft as a result of Operation Spiderweb.

This is not a comprehensive view of the damage. Cloud cover obscured several of the other Russian airbases that were reportedly also struck by drones.

📷 @Maxar
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Ukraine demonstrated that it can cause strategic effects using FPV drones.

Small UAS are not confined to the tactical level of warfare.

Tremendous operation.
georgewbarros.bsky.social
There are things the US can do to *make* Vladimir stop.

Putin has vulnerabilities we are either overlooking or choosing not to leverage.

Putin is banking on the US letting Russia off the hook despite Russia's own precarious position
Reposted by George Barros
katstepanenko.bsky.social
The Kremlin falsely framed Ukraine's extension of martial law & continue mobilization through August as an effort to inhibit the peace process.

The Kremlin, however, failed to acknowledge that Russia also has been intensifying its recruitment campaign to continue its war.🧵
thestudyofwar.bsky.social
NEW: The Kremlin is using surge pricing for enlistment bonuses to recruit additional volunteers and attempt to sustain Russia's protracted war effort in Ukraine.

Russian Force Generation and Technological Adaptations Update April 15, 2025: isw.pub/RussianForce...

More key takeaways ⬇️🧵(1/11)
Reposted by George Barros
karolinahird.bsky.social
1/ Today's occupation update focuses heavily on Russia's efforts to deport Ukrainian children and teens to Russia and expose them to Russification programs. I discuss how programs such as "University Shifts" and "Cultural Map 4+85" are just a small part of a much larger ecosystem ⬇️
thestudyofwar.bsky.social
NEW: Russian officials continue to advertise programs that deport and Russify Ukrainian children and teenagers.

Read more in the April 17 Russian Occupation Update from @karolinahird.bsky.social: isw.pub/OccupationUp...
Reposted by George Barros
katstepanenko.bsky.social
Thrilled to share that @cnn.com cited my analysis on the news surrounding a popular Russian commander - Major General Ivan Popov - who attempted to weaponize his popularity & Russian information space to resist his removal from command in July 2023.
www.cnn.com/2025/04/15/e...

A quick 🧵on Popov:
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Interesting footage of Russian forces' tactical training to defeat FPV drone threats using shotguns.

Russian sport skeet shooters are helping instruct Russian soldiers learn how to hit fast-moving targets with shotguns.
Reposted by George Barros
katstepanenko.bsky.social
Putin is likely afraid of having over 700,000 Russian veterans return to Russia in the event of demobilization out of fear that veteran groups could threaten the stability of his regime upon their return.

Putin launched a deliberate campaign to suppress veteran civil societies.🧵
thestudyofwar.bsky.social
NEW: Putin is Unlikely to Demobilize in the Event of a Ceasefire Because He is Afraid of His Veterans, by ISW Deputy Russia Team Lead @katstepanenko.bsky.social

Read the special report: isw.pub/AfghanSyndrome
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Satellite imagery collected on March 21 shows damage from Ukrainian strikes on storage facilities at Russia’s Engels airbase.

An ammunition & weapons storage area on the airbase's NE edge was damaged. Destroyed buildings & storage bunkers with craters are visible.

Image Maxar Technologies
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Waiting for Moscow to offer one (1) concession.
juergennauditt.bsky.social
Keith Kellogg was suspended from the peace talks at Russia's request due to his pro-Ukrainian stance. — NBC News

James Hewitt, spokesman for the National Security Council, said Kellogg remains "a valuable part of the team, particularly as we negotiate with European allies."
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Available evidence from the battlefield does not indicate any Russian encirclements of Ukrainian forces at scale, and certainly not by the thousands.
georgewbarros.bsky.social
You're falling for Kremlin language and mind games if you think Putin's statement means he accepted the US-Ukrainian 30-day ceasefire deal.

Putin actually rejected the terms of President Trump's proposal and is now trying to change the proposal's substance.
georgewbarros.bsky.social
The Kremlin is not responding enthusiastically to the US-Ukraine proposal for a 30-day ceasefire.
hromadske.bsky.social
Russia is studying the statements following the talks between the Ukrainian and US delegations in Saudi Arabia. However, Russia does not want to "get ahead of ourselves" regarding the ceasefire agreed to by Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalists.
georgewbarros.bsky.social
The temporal correlation between the suspension of US intelligence sharing with Ukraine and the start of Russia's collapse of the Ukrainian Kursk salient is noteworthy.
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Russia, not Ukraine, is the obstacle to peace.

This is evident in the data. Russia has intensified its drone/missile strike campaign against Ukraine after President Trump was inaugurated.

Ukraine has offered many concessions to start peace processes.

Russia has offered zero.
thestudyofwar.bsky.social
NEW: Russian forces conducted one of the largest ever missile and drone strikes against Ukraine as Russian forces continue to adapt strike packages to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenss by increasing the total number of Shahed and decoy drones in each strike.(🧵1/11)

More: isw.pub/UkrWar030725
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Russia is the obstacle to peace in Ukraine. Not Ukraine.

The proper strategy should be to erode Russia's leverage and grant Ukraine leverage until peace talks.

Not the other way around.
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Terrible decision. Cutting intel sharing will grant Russian forces enhanced protection at the operational level. Russian battlefield gains have been dropping since late 2024, but this stands to help Russia rebuild lost momentum.
financialtimes.com
FT Exclusive: The US has cut off intelligence-sharing with Kyiv in a move that could seriously hamper the Ukrainian military’s ability to target Russian forces. www.ft.com/content/c58f...
Reposted by George Barros
berlinbridge.bsky.social
For the 58th time in two weeks:
Europe, stop freaking out over every crazy thing Trump says. He will keep saying crazy things every day, and he changes his mind constantly. Focus on what YOU are going to do to advance Ukrainian victory and undermine Russia.
georgewbarros.bsky.social
Interesting things are happening in Toretsk.