Tag: russia

Ukraine’s Drones Reach Russia’s Arctic “Gas Capital”; Is Nornickel’s Palladium Next?

For most of the war, Russia’s Arctic was the part of the map nobody bothered to defend. That changed a month ago.

On September 9, Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces said their drones flew “more than 3,000 kilometers” to hit two gas condensate plants in the Yamalo-Nenets region: Gazprom’s Novy Urengoy condensate treatment plant, with a design capacity of 19.5 million tons of feedstock a year, and Novatek’s Purovsky plant near Tarko-Sale, which processed 13.4 million tons of condensate in 2025 (Hromadske, Al Jazeera). “Until today, this was considered an absolutely safe rear area for the aggressor,” the SOF said. Bloomberg and Reuters both picked up the claim; the Kremlin’s envoy to the Urals, Artem Zhoga, confirmed it was the first attack to reach the Arctic.

On Tuesday Moscow gave its answer: cash. The Yamalo-Nenets government approved a payment of 1 million rubles (about $11,700) for every drone destroyed over the region, the highest bounty any Russian region has offered, according to TASS (others pay 20,000-200,000 rubles). The money goes to local “mobile fire groups,” and there is a catch: per the decree, it is paid only if the defended facility suffers no damage, and the kill has to be confirmed by the military commissariat. Joining a fire group pays 100,000 rubles if you have a job and 150,000 if you don’t, and requires signing a Defense Ministry contract (Barents Observer).

Paying the unemployed more than the employed to stand on the tundra with a machine gun: nothing says confident air defense quite like it.

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After Trump Push To End Ukraine War, European Capitals, Legacy Media Push Russian False Flags

European capitals and legacy media launched a combined arms approach overnight to counter U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for peace in Ukraine and for the war-torn nation to hold elections.

The globalist empire has struck back. It’s so obvious, it’s comical.

As part of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, U.S. President Donald Trump described Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Friday as “very strongly wanting to make a deal” with regard to the conflict in Ukraine, while at the same time harshly criticizing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for not wanting to achieve peace, with Trump even calling for new leadership in the country. In addition, following long talks with the EU, the U.S. President announced a temporary solution for allowing the exports of Russian diesel fuel to the U.S. in order to alleviate the fuel crisis now affecting the country.

What many may not see is that the push to destroy Russian energy is tied to forcing a loss for Trump in the mid-term elections, pushing up energy costs globally.

European officials are discussing stricter rules for Russians traveling to the EU as tourists or even ex-combatants, fearing sabotage, arson and other forms of hybrid warfare, report the usual legacy media suspects.

There is also information spreading about an attempt to assassinate Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defence Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

As reported by POLITICO on October 11, 2026, the European Commission is going to introduce stricter Schengen visa rules by early January 2027. Poland, Sweden and Estonia have been pushing for the new measures that were to be unveiled yesterday by European Commission. In 2025, as many as 478,000 Schengen tourist visas were issued to Russian citizens, many of them with multi-entry permits that do not require reapplication for each subsequent trip. Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer of Sweden has earlier called for stronger control of new Schengen visa regime due to hybrid threat from Moscow.

However, some of the measures which were previously considered to be too radical for EU as a whole, have already been implemented by frontline countries (the Baltics, Poland, etc.). Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna even estimated the number of former Russian soldiers to be banned from entering the EU to be around 650,000 people who are to be checked “person by person”. It is also possible that some of them could be supported by Russian services to commit crimes or attacks.

These new measures are a further step in the measures already implemented by the EU in relation to Russian travelers, when most of them are no longer granted multiple-entry visas, and their total number has fallen drastically since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in 2022. Limitations of a similar nature are applied by the so-called frontline states, including the Baltic States, Poland, and others.

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Ukraine Reportedly Bombs Russian Oil Terminal Which is Part of Deal to Lower Price of Diesel to the US

The war machine extending the Ukrainian-Russian War is not our friend. They are doing everything to hurt President Trump and the US economy!

Ukraine Reportedly Bombs Russian Oil Terminal, Which is Part of Deal to Lower the Price of Diesel to the United States.

On Friday, President Trump announced that the price of diesel was coming down fast after he reached a deal with Ukraine on Truth Social.

I have just concluded a highly successful discussion with President Vladimir Putin, of Russia, wherein it was agreed that Russia will immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during the month of November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter. Additionally, based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel. Between our TOTAL CONTROL of the Strait of Hormuz, and this great announcement on Russian Energy, Diesel Prices for Americans and, indeed, the World, will be COMING DOWN, IN RECORD NUMBERS, AND FAST! Lower prices for Americans, especially our Great Farmers, Ranchers, and Truckers, is my Greatest Priority. This is a very big and important announcement. Additionally, it must be understood, that Iran will not have a Nuclear Weapon! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP

Overnight, a massive Russian terminal is bombed by Ukraine.  The following was reported:

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British chemical warfare commentator’s MI6 ties exposed in leaked emails

Private messages show show Hamish De Bretton-Gordon, a top British pundit on the Salisbury poisoning incident, was a close associate of the MI6 officer who handled the Russian intelligence defector at the center of the scandal — and reaped considerable benefits from his proximity to the case.

This September, a former British Army officer named Hamish De Bretton-Gordon filed a column with the UK Telegraph complaining that “Russian bots” had “tried to make out that I’m part of a security service conspiracy.” Having shot to prominence as a media commentator on chemical and biological weapons after the alleged poisoning of turncoat Russian spy Sergei Skripal, De Bretton-Gordon dismissed accusations that he collaborated with UK intelligence as the product of the “Kremlin’s malign tactics.”

Despite his fervent denials, leaked emails reviewed by The Grayzone indicate that De Bretton-Gordon has spent years privately coordinating his public statements with senior British military and intelligence figures. The correspondences show him training operatives in Turkey and instructing Israeli military figures on Syria’s still-elusive stockpile of chemical weapons, “and a bit of Novichok,” referring to the Russian toxin supposedly used to poison Skripal.

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Europe Simply Needs War

Merz does not care about the fate of Germany or its people. Here we are on precisely the week of October 5th and Merz is saying that Russia staged some armed attack on Leipzig airport. He is publicly stating that Germany is effectively at war with Russia. The EU is crumbling and the AfD has beaten Merz to a pulp, so its now time to go out with a bang and declare war has already begun.

Here is Merz declaring that Brussels is indeed very concerned about the rise of of what they call far-right parties that are anti-EU with the common thread being their migrant policies. The nature of that concern has also now shifted significantly. The current anxiety in EU institutions is not just about the imminent “exit” threat, but also I hear they fear a growing strategic objective by these parties to weaken and obstruct the EU from the inside.

They don’t worry the exit scenario, since they are pros at manipulating elections as they did in Italy, UK, Hungary and Romania or use the courts to block separatists as in Barcelona. They are now also examining the draft strategy document from AfD lawmakers, which shifts away from calling for an immediate German withdrawal from the EU and eurozone. Instead, it proposes prioritizing the reform of the EU into a “union of sovereign nations,” and advocates for a membership referendum only if those reforms fail. In other words – take back power like over migration.

This shift is partly pragmatic. The AfD is currently isolated in the European Parliament, and more moderate right-wing parties, like Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, have openly criticized the AfD’s “anti-European” stance. Dropping the exit demand makes the AfD a more palatable ally for these larger far-right groups.

This strategic change creates a more difficult problem for the EU than a simple exit campaign that they can fight with rigged elections. Here, a referendum requires a party to convince a majority to take a radical step. In contrast, internal disruption only requires enough power to block, dilute, and redirect policy from within the system. The EU’s existing tools, which were designed to reassure citizens about the benefits of membership, are ill-suited to counter this kind of internal gridlock. This is why they rigged both the Romanian and Hungarian elections.

Parties like the AfD and Hungary’s Fidesz can exploit unanimity rules to veto EU-wide decisions. For example, Hungary has blocked crucial sanctions and loans for Ukraine, and the far-right Patriots for Europe group has worked to dilute the Green Deal and the Migration Pact. This dysfunction then becomes campaign material for these parties, who position themselves as defenders of national interests against a “paralyzed” Brussels. This was why the Hungarian government has repeatedly accused Ukraine of interfering in its elections to remove Orban. Sources in Washington reveal that Ukraine is also interfering in US elections funding the opposition of anyone in Congress who is against sending money to Ukraine. Israel has been doing the same.

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“I Know The Truth”: Mother Breaks Silence On Daughter’s Mysterious Death At Russian Plague Lab

The mother of a Russian scientist who died under mysterious circumstances at a high-security plague laboratory is speaking out, accusing medical authorities of allowing her daughter to die as questions mount over what happened inside the facility.

Darya Shipilova, 28, died October 2 after developing a rapidly progressing illness while working at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, a facility that handles some of the world’s most dangerous pathogens.

This week, Shipilova’s mother raised explosive questions about the Russian government’s official account.

“They simply let my daughter die,” Svetlana Shipilova alleged, according to the Independent.

The grieving mother also challenged reports suggesting her daughter accidentally broke a test tube containing hazardous biological material, arguing that the laboratory’s protective containers were virtually impossible to shatter.

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Russia’s Crown Jewel Refinery Ablaze After Drone Strike, Data Center Also Hit In War First

Ukrainian drones have hit a major Russian industrial hub and oil refinery which lies very far away from the front lines of fighting, in Western Siberia, north of the Kazakh border.

The Omsk Oil refinery and industrial complex is located well over 1500 miles from the Ukrainian border. Regional Governor Vitaly Khotsenko announced Telegram that several drones were shot down by air defenses, but that one made it through to impact.

Ukraine’s General Staff was quick to own up to the Thursday attack, stating, “The destruction of such facilities is the exercise by Ukraine of its inalienable right to self-defense in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and is aimed at reducing the military-economic potential of the Russian Federation.”

While the extent of potential damage to the refinery itself remains unknown, images from local residents showed explosions and fire in the area near the oil refinery.

Emergency crews are active at the scene of the facility, Russia’s largest, which is owned by Gazprom Neft

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Putin’s Winter Strategy: Destroy Ukraine’s Infrastructure, Intimidate Berlin

Russia’s drone and missile campaign against Ukraine has entered a new phase, aimed at the infrastructure that keeps Ukraine’s cities functioning and at the countries that keep its military supplied. In Kyiv, Russian drone strikes have closed or restricted three of six road bridges linking the capital’s two banks.

In Germany, Ukraine’s largest European provider of military aid, the government has blamed Moscow for an explosive-laden drone found at Leipzig airport and says it expects more hybrid attacks. With ceasefire talks unlikely to produce results before spring 2027, Putin appears to be using the winter to raise the cost of the war for Ukrainians and for Berlin.

The bridge strikes on October 1 and 2 targeted a pressure point in how Kyiv is laid out. The South Bridge, which carries both road traffic and metro trains, was hit three times in 24 hours, and the city has no vehicle tunnel under the Dnipro.

Before the 2022 invasion, more than a third of the city’s roughly 3 million residents lived on the eastern, or left, bank. Most government institutions and companies sit on the western bank. After the October 2 strikes, the Paton Bridge was closed in both directions, restrictions were placed on the Metro Bridge, and public transport was rerouted.

The Kyiv Defense Council called an emergency meeting on cross-river traffic. Traffic was restored by midday, but the attacks showed that Russia can disrupt movement between the city’s two banks within hours. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it struck an automobile-railway bridge because it was being used to move troops and military supplies.

Ukrainian officials link the bridge strikes to a decision made in Moscow. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times that Putin ordered his military leadership in September to abandon previous restraints on drone and missile strikes, citing intercepted Kremlin communications. “He said there are no rules now,” Zelenskyy said. Since then, Russian strikes have hit schools, hospitals, and data centers in Kyiv.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the newspaper that Russian forces do not strike civilian infrastructure. The escalation followed a pause in strikes against Kyiv that Putin ordered during a visit by U.S. negotiators in September.

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Massive Smoke Plume As Tanker Erupts In Flames, Spills Oil Off Russia’s Sochi Coast

The Black Sea tanker wars have continued Tuesday. In the latest tit-for-tat episode, a large so-called ‘shadow fleet’ tanker is ablaze close to the Russian Black Sea port of Sochi.

The vessel, identified in reports as likely being the Aframax Rio, which was previously sanctioned by Ukraine for alleged involvement in Russian oil exports, is producing a massive smoke plume and has been photographed and filmed by shocked onlookers at Sochi’s shores. Images like the below are widely circulating on Russian Telegram channels.

Russian regional authorities in nearby Sirius have since confirmed in a public announcement that a tanker had caught fire in the Black Sea.

Reuters writes that “The beaches in the settlement in Russia’s south Krasnodar region are closed to the public, the authorities said, without giving any details of the cause of the fire.”

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NATO state preparing to strike St. Petersburg

Estonia is preparing to deploy weapons capable of striking the Russian city of St. Petersburg, the Financial Times has reported.

Amid unprecedented mis- and dis-information from NATO’s European members, Tallinn has presented the proposed buildup as a form of deterrence, should Moscow “test” NATO. However, Russia’s leadership has repeatedly stressed that it has no intention of attacking the US-led military bloc. Moscow has also warned that any direct conflict with NATO would likely escalate into nuclear war.

The British newspaper reported on Monday that Estonia is deploying additional troops along the Russian border and acquiring tactical missile systems capable of reaching St. Petersburg. They include US-made HIMARS and South Korean Chunmoo launchers, both of which can fire longer-range projectiles.

Estonia also trained with the UK during this year’s Spring Storm exercise using Nyan kamikaze jet drones, which can likewise reach Russia’s second-largest city from Estonian territory, according to the report.

The Baltic state has a standing army of just 4,200 troops, but plans to reinforce it with tens of thousands of reservists if tensions with Russia escalate.

Last month, Defense Minister Martin Herem said during a public lecture that Tallinn could not afford to keep mobilized troops in the field for long.

“I have jokingly said that if we get to the orange zone there and carry out mobilization, but Russia does not attack, then it would be economically more correct to attack ourselves,” he said. “Then at least we will know when it will start, and we will not waste food and air in vain”

Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to the remark with an idiom: “The circus has left, but the clowns remain.” He added that Moscow has no plans to attack Estonia or any other NATO member.

Commenting on the FT report, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova echoed the president, saying it belongs in the funny pages.

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