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Drone bounties in Russia
El Mundo says Moscow is again under a massive missile and drone strike that leaves at least 23 dead, and it places the wider context in a war that is “back at home” as Russian authorities use wartime expressions like “air alert.”
“Ukraine: Forbidden to bathe, danger from drones: 'We don't want to live like zombies, but continue enjoying life' - War in Europe: Moscow again attacks Kyiv with a massive missile and drone strike that leaves at least 23 dead - Attacks: Terror falls from the sky in Zaporizhzhia: 'Get out of here, get out of here”
El Mundo reports that Russia is assembling a low-tech territorial defense against drones, with volunteers paid by the Ministry of Defense and bounties for downed drones to protect “the peaceful sky.”
The same article says the Moscow Brigade BARS-Moscow aims to create up to 500 mobile groups to protect the capital, the Moscow region, and neighboring areas such as Tula, Ryazan, and Kaluga.
El Mundo adds that BARS-Moscow is seeking about 2,500 volunteers aged 18 to 50, with preference given to Cossacks, people with experience, and reserve officers.
El Mundo also reports that volunteers will receive bonuses ranging from 1,100 to 5,500 euros for each drone shot down, framing the effort as a low-cost shield for civil and industrial infrastructure.
Putin’s framing and Kyiv’s
El Mundo quotes Vladimir Putin saying that Ukrainian attacks aim to destabilize society, adding: “Of course, with such influence and with all of the West working for them, these drones fly in large quantities and thus try to create uncertainty about the actions of our armed forces.”
In the same account, El Mundo says Ukraine’s plan is to make life as difficult as possible for Russian drivers through gas restrictions, queues at service stations, and prices rising ever higher.
El Mundo describes how the capital that was supposed to be fortified ends up defended with measures including airport closures, bans on recording impact, and armed patrols looking at the sky.
El Mundo also says the Russian regime has trouble involving Russians in the partial mobilization of 2022, and it now clings to historical analogies by using the term “people's militia.”
El Mundo reports that volunteers will not go to the front nor have combatant status, but will patrol forests and approaches at the limits of the Moscow region where intelligence services warn of drone activity.
A soldier’s Kremlin appeal
Il Foglio reports that a Russian soldier, Alexander Lunin, appears in a video threatening an ammutinamento and asking to be received at the Cremlino.
“Le notizie di oggi dal e sul Medio Oriente”
Il Foglio says Lunin speaks slowly and asks Putin to receive him at the Cremlino “per raccontare tutta la verità su ciò che sta accadendo nel nostro paese in questo momento”.
The same article ties Lunin’s message to the legacy of Evgeni Prigozhin, describing how Prigozhin had begun a march toward Mosca and had been “furioso non con Putin ma con l’allora ministro della Difesa Sergei Shoigu.”
Il Foglio says Lunin, like Prigozhin, “salva Putin dalle sue accuse,” while claiming he has been contacted by alte cariche dell’esercito and that he was tasked with speaking because Putin had watched one of his earlier videos.
Il Foglio also reports that Lunin says “migliaia di soldati” were interrati in fosse comuni and torturati for “essersi rifiutati di seguire ordini stupidi e suicidi” and for refusing to hand over their pay to commanders.
