Tormod Malvin Sæther

🇺🇦 «Ukraine's best drone commander.» That's what his commander called Capt. Yehor Sobolev when I met them both in Lviv in 2024. This week he shared his deep insights into Ukraine's drone war against Russia. A game-changer in modern warfare.

St. Petersburg Russia is covered in smoke from the burning port of Ust Luga

Yaroslavl Oil Refinery this morning

I see the Bibi, Vance, and Trump endorsements for Orban really helped...I just don't think it helped Orban.

Thank you @DrnBmbr - using air alerts issued by the Russian side, the approximate path of the drones on the 25th can be modeled. I've added these to the airdefence simulation platform. Find the scenario here - airdefense.dev/ustluga

Russian port of Ust-Luga before and after the strikes

New research article at @tochnyi: Blinding the Bear and Pulling Its Fangs: Ukraine's Long-Range Campaign Against the Russian Air Defence 1. Since summer 2025, Ukraine has been running one of the most consequential long-range strike campaigns of the modern era.

🔥🛢️Russian port of Ust-Luga is again under drone attack

‼️Statement on the Orbán Government Accusing Me, an Investigative Journalist, of Espionage‼️ Today, the Hungarian government has filed a complaint against me for espionage. Accusing investigative journalists of espionage is virtually unprecedented in the 21st century for an EU member state. This is typical of Putin’s Russia, Belarus, and similar regimes. I have spent over a decade documenting how Russian spies and interests have penetrated Hungarian politics, so I am probably the least surprised by this. Despite growing signs that the Hungarian government acts as a Kremlin ally and copies the Russian model, I still trust that parts of the Hungarian state—and the judiciary—follow the Hungarian constitution, not that of the Russian Federation. I have never engaged in espionage. I see my work as journalistic counterintelligence—from exposing the hacking of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry by Russian actors to revealing the activities of Hungarian pro-Kremlin propagandists. Defending myself publicly would be easier if I were not bound by source protection. But that remains my top priority. I cannot reveal who provides me information or what I receive, including from within Hungarian state structures. If I were not a journalist, I could list many facts proving it is impossible for the Hungarian state to genuinely believe I am spying. Certain meetings, contacts, and information gathering could never have happened otherwise. This baseless accusation now forces me to share details of a specific investigation, including a conversation with a confidential source that appears to have been wiretapped. Normally, this would appear in a finished article or my upcoming book—not here. (It will appear there as well.) Since 2023, I have investigated whether the relationship between Péter Szijjártó and Russian officials exceeds legal limits. The published audio, where I’m heard talking to a source, mentions that communication between Szijjártó and Sergey Lavrov is recorded by EU intelligence services. Less attention has gone to my point that this relationship raises strong suspicion of political intelligence activity and influence operations in Russia’s interest. These are serious claims and hard to prove. As a journalist, I cannot force anyone to speak or hand over documents. That is why gathering this information has taken so long—and why I spoke to that sensitive source (while the conversation was secretly recorded). Serious claims require serious evidence, and I believe I have gathered some. I have not engaged in espionage. I have not cooperated with any foreign intelligence service in surveilling Szijjártó. Instead, I tried to verify earlier fragments of information about Szijjártó–Lavrov communication. I sought to identify the channels and phone numbers used, and whether a secret channel—possibly used by Russian intelligence—exists. In other words, whether Szijjártó uses a hidden device or number unknown even within the Hungarian Foreign Ministry. This was only one part of my research. The other, more serious topic is this: Since at least 2016–2017, EU and NATO intelligence services have had indications that large amounts of cash and precious stones may have been transported from Russia on Hungarian government aircraft or private jets used by government figures. Officials from at least six countries made such claims to me. These signals did not come from monitoring Hungarian targets, but, for example, from intercepting Russian officials discussing or preparing such shipments. Alongside Szijjártó–Lavrov communication, I examined how baggage screening and handling works on such flights, which officials travel with what luggage, whether more packages arrive from Moscow than depart, and how such shipments could be handled discreetly. I know how serious this is, and I would not have written even this much—but since I do not know what else may be taken from the edited recording, or what fabricated accusations (like, for example, that I was seeking such details to commit terrorism) may follow, I believe I must share this now. Why do I investigate all this? According to many sources familiar with the Hungarian state and counterintelligence, there is no independent body in the Orbán system able to investigate or act if a senior official is suspected of espionage. Government members direct intelligence services and set expectations. The services lack both tools and authority to investigate a government member. I knew this would be difficult when I chose to pursue it. But few people in Hungary can or dare to do this, so I felt it was my duty. We have now reached the point where the Orbán government—of which Szijjártó is still a member—aware of my reporting plans and the risk they pose, has preemptively accused me of espionage. I am a Hungarian patriot. I serve the public. As an investigative journalist, my job is to hold power accountable. Neither political theater nor legal threats will deter me.

Orbán trapper opp krigen mot journalister før valget 12 april. Ungarn sikter landets mest kjente gravejournalist for spionasje. Bakgrunnen er avsløringen om at Ungarns Umin ringer til Kreml fra lukkete møter i EU

If Orban tries to steal this — and he almost certainly will — it’ll be Euromaidan on steroids in an EU/NATO country. Watch closely, America….

Over the last 24 hours, Russia launched it's largest drone attack since their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, more than 900 drones were launched from 7 launch areas and drones reached as far as Lviv near the Polish border. It's difficult to explain just how big this attack was but I've put together a couple of graphics that might help. The last 24 hours saw more drones launched than the first 6 months of 2023, and more drones launched than any month indidivually between September 2022 and August 2024.

Russia's overnight strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure knocked out the 400kV Isaccea-Vulcănești line — Moldova's main electricity corridor to Europe. 🧵on some context, why this vulnerability matters, and how Moldova is addressing it:

The moment a Russian Shahed drone struck the center of Lviv. According to preliminary information, a UNESCO heritage site was damaged.

This morning, I personally witnessed pilots from Litavr remotely operating an interceptor drone. A confirmed Shahed kill followed. First remote interception! All this during one of the most massive air attacks on Ukraine. This changes how air defence is built.

Significant evidence of Ukrainian ground presence in a very important area for Ukrainian defensive lines.

I Slovenia tapte Janez Janša (EU-skeptisk politiker ikke ulik Viktor Orbán) valget knepent mot den sittende sentrumsregjeringen

Aftermath of the Ukrainian drone strike on the oil depot in the port of Primorsk, Leningrad Oblast, Russia, as seen in the @planet high-resolution image taken today at 6:50 UTC.

❗️According to the BBC, Ukrainian drone operators have already successfully shot down several Iranian drones in one of the countries of the Persian Gulf region.

Russians are posting footage they claim shows likely a Swedish Saab 340 AEW&C long-range radar and control aircraft flying over Ukraine.

Russian air defense shot down a civilian light aircraft in the Moscow region near Kolomna after mistaking it for a Ukrainian UAV. The aircraft lost control after being hit and crashed near the Oka River, killing both people on board.