JP Lindsley | Journalist

I’m JP Lindsley, an American journalist advocating for freedom + truth in Ukraine every day since February 24 2022. Follow me to feel the reality of resistance and war. I share what I see with whomever I can—especially skeptics. See 🧵below for story of why I am here ⤵️

Taking a walk on a hilltop promenade in Kyiv this evening, I heard music below me: Ukrainians singing Louis Armstrong’s « It’s a Wonderful World, » around an outdoor piano. It was suitable—today was nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the first proper hot day after just about the worst winter, a season of minus zero, sometimes even minus 20, often without electricty or heat and sometimes without water—and with frequent intense air raids. So today, the people of Kyiv, war-weary but also war-strengthened, emerged into the light. Even as Moscow frets about its own safety for its beloved May 9th war-festival, Kyiv, four years-plus into Moscow’s three-day invasion was today at least a scene of triumph in the works. By the time I reached the people singing, they were moving on to their next song, from Hozier. —— Every day, our Under Fire News team publishes one piece of intelligent journalism plus our Daily Notebook at underfirenews.substack.com Subscribe on Substack to support our work—and unlock full access plus our daily email. Mil-tech. Geo-politics. Ukrainian Resistance. Western Virtue.

@MultipolarA better than your war-losing lord putin singing 'blueberry hill' tbh

@JPLindsley Absolutely cringe 😬

Armenia rolled out the welcome for European leaders at the European Political Community Summit—especially French President Emmanuel Macron. Here he is singing Charles Aznavour's "La Bohème" in Yerevan—a nod to the Armenian-French legend whose music still bridges the two countries. Macron was the driving force behind the EPC, founded after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia still keeps a military base in Armenia—but Armenians are making clear they'd rather be with Europe. The Armenian PM joined in—on drums. —— Every day, our Under Fire News team publishes one piece of intelligent journalism plus our Daily Notebook at underfirenews.substack.com Subscribe on Substack to support our work—and unlock full access plus our daily email. Mil-tech. Geo-politics. Ukrainian Resistance. Western Virtue.

Russia’s War Machine Takes Another Major Hit— Ukraine’s drone campaign has now reached Kirishi in the Leningrad region, where one of Russia’s largest refineries caught fire after an overnight strike. The facility, Kirishinefteorgsintez, is not a symbolic target: it processed around 17.5 million tons of crude in 2024, roughly 6.6 percent of Russia’s total refining output, and produces gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, bitumen and other products Moscow needs for both civilian stability and military logistics. militarnyi.com/en/news/larges… Get our daily insights: underfirenews.substack.com

Trump just called Ukrainians the best fighting force in Europe. Now it’s crucial that we amplify this moment before the Russians pull Trump back the other way. Yes, really. Conservative talk radio host Hugh Hewitt asked Trump whether he now respects Ukraine—and Trump didn’t dodge. He’s no longer just calling Ukrainians brave. He’s calling them competent. The best in Europe. As we have long reported, Trump and Zelensky—save for a few rough moments—have actually gotten along well. Today confirms it. The Russians, after seeing this clip, will be scrambling to pull Trump back toward their pit of darkness. It’s our task to give energy to the spark of light. —— Every day, our Under Fire News team publishes one piece of intelligent journalism plus our Daily Notebook at underfirenews.substack.com Subscribe on Substack to support our work—and unlock full access plus our daily email. Mil-tech. Geo-politics. Ukrainian Resistance. Western Virtue.

Long live free Taiwan. Taiwan is its own country, with its own spirit, plans, hopes—and with actual freedom. China, like Russia, would be well advised not to touch free people.

Flamingo Flamboyance is Stopping Russian Oil— Ukraine appears to have used its FP-5 Flamingo cruise missile to hit the VNIIIR-Progress defense plant in Cheboksary, far inside Russia, targeting a facility tied to the kind of components Moscow needs to keep its drone and missile war running. The plant is linked to the production of Kometa navigation modules, precisely the sort of jamming-resistant electronics that help Russian UAVs, cruise missiles and ballistic systems stay useful in Ukraine’s brutal EW environment. Ukraine appears to have followed up this strike with a wave of Lyutyi drones, hitting the same Russian defense plant again within hours. militarnyi.com/en/news/lyutyi… Get our daily insights: underfirenews.substack.com

American political pollster and trend observer Frank Luntz notes that at its current rate of "advance," it would take Russia 234 years to take over Ukraine. Obviously, Ukrainains wouldn't stand for that—but this highlighs just how absurd Russia's invasion has become. Time to call it a day and go home? —— Every day, our Under Fire News team publishes one piece of intelligent journalism plus our Daily Notebook at underfirenews.substack.com Subscribe on Substack to support our work—and unlock full access plus our daily email. Mil-tech. Geo-politics. Ukrainian Resistance. Western Virtue.

Putin’s Iran Policy: Help Tehran, Charm Trump. Does Trump See He's Being Played?—WSJ editorial: Russia is not a neutral bystander in the Iran war, it is increasingly one of Tehran’s most useful military partners. European officials say Moscow has helped Iran with information on potential targets, in addition to mil-tech shares and more. The relationship is no longer a simple “Iran sends drones to Russia” story. Russia has learned from using Shahed drones against Ukraine, improved them, and is now feeding that knowledge back into Iran’s arsenal, including jamming-resistant hardware reportedly found in a drone used against a British base in Cyprus. Moscow has also helped Iran’s space program, with Russian launches putting Iranian satellites into low-earth orbit, while Tehran has reportedly secured a major deal for Russian shoulder-fired air-defense systems. The political punchline is hard to miss: Trump may still talk about “strategic stability” with Putin, but Putin is helping a regime that targets Americans, threatens Gulf shipping, and arms the same anti-Western axis Russia now needs for its own war. wsj.com/opinion/how-ru… Get our daily insights: underfirenews.substack.com

Taiwan Travels, Beijing Screeches— Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te visited Eswatini, one of the 12 countries that still formally recognizes Taipei, after Beijing allegedly pressured several Indian Ocean states into blocking his original flight route. Eswatini, with about 1.2 million people, is a landlocked monarchy between South Africa and Mozambique. Lai used the surprise visit to make a simple point China hates hearing: Taiwan is a self-governing nation of 23 million people with the right to engage the world without asking the Communist Party for permission. Beijing responded with its usual diplomatic elegance, with whiffs of Russia’s diplomatic style, calling Lai a “rat” who had “skulked” into the country. reuters.com/world/china/ta… Get our daily insights: underfirenews.substack.com

The math is accurate ⤵️

Maybe this will help more people understand: Ukrainains are defending the borders of European civilization from maurauding illegal immigrants sent by the Kremlin literally to destroy cities, churches, freedom, and families. Russians are the worst kind of illegal migrant—they arrive with tanks, bullets, misisles, and drones. Help stop illegal immigrants. Support Ukraine in defeating the Russian invaders. —— Every day, our Under Fire News team posts one intelligent piece of journalism plus our Daily Notebook at underfirenews.substack.com Subscribe at Substack to support our work—and to unlock full access and receive our daily email. Mil-tech. Geo-politics. Ukrainian Resistance. Western Virtue.

Giorgia Meloni, Italian PM, used to be beloved by Trump and now? Now, with Trump treatening to pull US soldiers out of Europe, she seems scorned. But she holds her ground, saying, "Italy keeps its promises." The soundtrck: "Almeno tu nell'universo" by Italy's Mia Martini. The title means "at least you, in the universe," and it's about the one person who didn't change, didn't lie, didn't disappear. —— Every day, our Under Fire News team posts one intelligent piece of journalism plus our Daily Notebook at underfirenews.substack.com Subscribe at Substack to support our work—and to unlock full access and receive our daily email. Mil-tech. Geo-politics. Ukrainian Resistance. Western Virtue.

Ukraine’s All-Women Drone Unit— Interesting piece from the @FT: Yana Zalevska, call sign “Multik,” commands an all-women FPV drone unit on Ukraine’s south-eastern front, where the war is no longer fought only by artillery and infantry, but by small suicide drones skimming low over snow, trenches and shattered roads. Her unit, the Amazon Banshees, flies fibre-optic drones that are harder to jam, more reliable in the electronic fog of the battlefield, and lethal enough to destroy vehicles or kill Russian troops in real time, often under the guidance of rear command posts watching multiple drone feeds at once. But the real story is not simply “women in combat” or “technology changes war.” It is the psychological cost of turning ordinary civilians into precision killers because Russia left them no other choice. Zalevska was a dancer from occupied Kherson, then a protester, press officer, medic, and finally drone pilot after seeing what Russian occupation did to her home. She has survived a Russian FPV strike, carries shrapnel in her body and eye, and openly describes herself as split between Yana, the mother and daughter who wants peace, and Multik, the commander who hunts Russians with cold focus. Ukraine’s drone war is often discussed in numbers—70 or 80 percent of battlefield kills, monthly “killboards,” point systems, mass production—but behind the statistics are people burning themselves out in bunkers, watching death through goggles and calling it necessity. Russia wanted to break Ukraine. Instead, it helped create a generation of soldiers who can fly a drone like a dancer moves, and then spend the rest of the night trying to live with what they saw. ft.com/content/95f501… Get our daily insights: underfirenews.substack.com

MONDAY MIL-TECH BRIEFING— ⚫️General Cherry (@generalcherry) Leads Interception Rankings—General Cherry’s interceptor drones reportedly led all Ukrainian domestic producers in Russian UAV kills in March. The company’s AIR and Bullet lines are built to stop Russia’s cheap, mass-produced drones. General Cherry is also pushing beyond Ukraine, including a planned U.S. production venture with Wilcox Industries (@wilcoxindcorp) and cooperation with Croatia’s @OrqaFPV. pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/… ⚫️8,000 Octopuses—Ukraine is preparing to field 8,000 Octopus-100 interceptor drones, designed specifically, with automatic guidance, to hunt Shahed-type loitering munitions. militarnyi.com/en/news/ukrain… ⚫️EU + Ukraine Mil-Tech Hub—Ukraine and the EU are formalizing BraveTech EU, a joint defense-tech track meant to connect Ukraine’s battlefield-tested innovation ecosystem with European money, procurement structures and industry. Ukrainian companies bring speed, adaptation and real combat feedback, while Europe brings scale, funding and access to larger industrial networks. The initiative links Ukraine’s @BRAVE1ua ecosystem with EU defense programmes. ⚫️Farsight Vision Cuts the Upload Ritual—Farsight Vision has added in-flight video streaming to its UAV intelligence platform, shrinking the old reconnaissance workflow from “fly, return, upload, process” into something much closer to “fly, transmit, process.” Video can now be streamed directly into the FSV Platform while the drone is still airborne, allowing the system to begin preparing media for orthophotos and 3D models before the crew even lands. ⚫️MITS Booster—MITS Capital has launched the third and largest cohort in its accelerator’s history, taking in eight Ukrainian defence-tech companies for a six-month programme built around scaling, regulation, international markets and integration into global defense supply chains. thedefender.media/en/2026/04/mit… ⚫️Online Mil-Tech Bootcamp—The Defence Tech Bootcamp: Go Global returns May 11–15, aimed at helping Ukrainian companies enter European markets, understand local defense ecosystems, and deal with the people who actually move procurement. thedefender.media/en/2026/05/def… ⚫️Less China—Brave1 is launching a new grant competition for Ukrainian drone-component makers, offering up to €75,000 each to 11 teams making electric motors, flight controllers, ESCs, VTXs, cameras, thermal imagers, onboard computers, and UAV sensors. Applications welcome through June 13, with projects judged by Brave1, defense officials, EU representatives and an anti-corruption observer. Ukrainians know they cannot build a serious wartime drone industry if the critical parts still come through fragile foreign supply chains, especially those connected to China. thedefender.media/en/2026/04/bra… ⚫️Ukraine’s Mortar Crews Get a Simulator Before They Get the Shells—Ukrainian firm L7 has unveiled a full-scale 82 mm mortar simulator designed to train crews on KBA-48M1, KBA-48M and UPIK-82 systems without wasting live ammunition. The simulator reproduces the mortar’s components in real dimensions and weight, allowing crews to practice the full cycle: deployment, aiming, fire correction, displacement and maintenance. thedefender.media/en/2026/04/l7-… ⚫️Private Air Defense—Ukraine is now allowing private companies to help protect factories, energy sites and critical infrastructure from Russia’s nightly drone barrages. Two firms, Carmine Sky and Gvardiia are already in operation. militarnyi.com/en/news/ukrain… ⚫️Polish-Ukrainian Drone Armada—Poland is moving to create a “drone fleet” with Ukrainian expertise and EU support. Poland has already seen Russian drones violate its airspace. militarnyi.com/en/news/poland… ⚫️Odd Systems (@SystemsOdd) Builds the Camera Before Someone Else Controls It—Odd Systems has unveiled the Svitlych-662, its first daytime digital camera built specifically for drones, ground robots and fixed observation points using computer vision. The device offers Full HD imagery, works in low-light conditions, supports up to 60 frames per second at 1080p, and is compatible with Raspberry Pi, Jetson, and Orange Pi microcomputers, the kind of boring-sounding technical plumbing that increasingly decides whether a drone sees, tracks and kills before the enemy does. Odd Systems wants to reduce dependence on foreign components by building its own camera-sensor production in Ukraine, while also considering a similar facility in the United States. ⚫️Firestorm—Fire Point, one of Ukraine’s most closely watched missile and drone companies, is now caught in a wartime triangle: battlefield urgency, huge private valuations, and politics that smells of backroom access. Leaked recordings allegedly show businessman Timur Mindich discussing Fire Point financing with then-defense minister and current Zelensky advisor Rustem Umerov, including funding gaps, production volumes, and a possible investor deal for a major stake in the company. Get our daily insights: underfirenews.substack.com

Why is Congress asking questions about missing aerospace scientists? It started in December 2025 with the killing of MIT plasma physicist Nuno Loureiro, who was shot at his Brookline, Mass., home in a case the Kash Patel-led FBI has since closed as a personal grievance attack by a former Lisbon classmate. But Loureiro's field—fusion, magnetic reconnection, plasma turbulence—is foundational to directed energy weapons, advanced propulsion, and other frontier defense tech. His death was the moment people started looking around. Two months later a pattern emerged, culminating with this: In February 2026, a day before the American war on Iran, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Neil McCasland—former commander of the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson, dubbed the "UFO general" for his role overseeing the Pentagon's most classified aerospace research—disappeared from his Albuquerque home. House Oversight has now opened a probe. Rep. Eric Burlison says his staff had been trying to interview McCasland on UFO-related matters before he vanished. Other names surfaced. And as the last slide shows, this isn't new—in the late 1980s, a cluster of defense-tech scientists turned up dead under strange circumstances, reported at the time by Barbara Walters. Four of the scientists disappeared in New Mexico, home to the US government's Los Alamos Lab—and to a Jeffrey Epstein ranch strangely getting less scrutiny that the Andrew formerly known as Prince. Epstein was funding research into theoretical physics, genetic engineering, and cryogenics. —— Every day, our Under Fire News team posts one intelligent piece of journalism plus our Daily Notebook at underfirenews.substack.com Subscribe at Substack to support our work—and to unlock full access and receive our daily email. Mil-tech. Geo-politics. Ukrainian Resistance. Western Virtue.

Russian-backed bots, amplified by some right-wing voices, have been stirring up lies about King Charles III for weeks, claiming that he is not Christian. Last week, 23 days after Easter Sunday, the King told the U.S. Congress that it was still the Easter Season according to the Church. Sounds like the King's a pretty serious Christian. I'm not sure that even new Catholic J.D. Vance is quite aware that Easter is a season lasting 50 days, 10 days longer than Lent. But the King, who is Supreme Governor of the Church of England and a big fan of Catholic philospher Cardinal Newman, (a) knows his faith and (b) chose to include this detail in his speech to Congress, because, as he said, "Easter is the season that most strengthens my hope." —— Every day, our Under Fire News team posts one intelligent piece of journalism plus our Daily Notebook at underfirenews.substack.com Subscribe at Substack to support our work—and to unlock full access and receive our daily email. Mil-tech. Geo-politics. Ukrainian Resistance. Western Virtue.

8,000 Octopuses—Ukraine is preparing to field 8,000 Octopus-100 interceptor drones, a major step toward turning cheap drone-on-drone air defence into an industrial system rather than a boutique battlefield trick. The Octopus is designed specifically to hunt Shahed-type loitering munitions, using automatic guidance to raise the kill rate against the nightly drone swarms Russia keeps throwing at Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. The production base is also widening fast: 29 Ukrainian companies have received licenses, four domestic manufacturers have already signed state contracts, and Britain is tied into the programme as part of the first major Ukraine-UK combat-drone production track. The British side is expected to produce around 2,000 interceptors per month, while Ukrainian manufacturers are working around component bottlenecks to scale faster. militarnyi.com/en/news/ukrain… Get our daily insights: underfirenews.substack.com