When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

Welcome to The Ukraine Compass, a weekly digest of Ukrainian commentary and analysis from across the political spectrum only for War on the Rocks members. Each Monday, we bring you a curated selection of articles from Ukrainian media offering insight into how Ukrainians themselves debate the issues shaping their country.American coverage often narrows the view to the battlefield — these pieces widen it, revealing the texture of daily life, politics, and public argument in a nation at war. The perspectives gathered here are varied, candid, and often surprising, together forming a more complete picture of Ukraine as it really is.Frontline and StrategyОбозреватель — Obozrevatel (“Observer”)Major Ukrainian outlet that sits center-right in its editorial voice“Flamingo in Cheboksary, Fire in the Baltics, and Hysteria with Iskanders: Ukraine Strikes the Enemy’s Military Industrial Complex”By Kyrylo Danylchenko/May 8, 2026Kyrylo Danylchenko, a Ukrainian military analyst, details a series of successful Ukrainian strikes on Russian defense industry targets using Flamingo cruise missiles — most recently hitting a navigation module factory in Cheboksary that produces components allowing Russian drones and guided bombs to resist electronic warfare jamming. Six other confirmed strikes have targeted missile assembly facilities, ammunition arsenals, explosives plants, and oil infrastructure. Russia responded with a barrage of Iskander ballistic missiles, including a deliberate double-tap strike on emergency responders — which the author reads as a hysterical reaction rather than planned retaliation. His broader argument is that Ukraine is systematically degrading Russia’s defense industrial capacity faster than Russia can sustain it.“It would be ideal to send as many false targets and simulated drones to Moscow to deplete air defense missiles, and in the meantime work on military chemistry, refineries and military-industrial complex plants. Let there be an intrigue for the Russian air defense: where to run and what to protect – oil in Tuapse, electronics in Cheboksary or dacha on