Ukraine was to be the electric Bonanza for EU when they transmigrated to the Western grid.
Now who is paying their bill now?

Posted by: Catilina | Aug 2 2026 13:21 utc | 3

Ukraine and World Affairs (includes Iran/ME): Weekly Update, 31st July, 2026: May be Useful to Some: Ukraine and World Affairs (including Iran/ME): Weekly Update.

Posted by: The Busker | Aug 2 2026 13:38 utc | 5

I feel like the Wildberries strikes serve two primary purposes, really;

• To harm Russian state finances. Wildberries is already requesting financial support, something that Russia can’t fully ignore in the long run. Too many jobs/too much credibility at risk.
• To spread air defence thinner. There’s more warehouses than let’s say, oil refineries for Ukraine to target, and having no dedicated air defence would mean that Ukraine can genuinely bankrupt the company which, again, I don’t think the Russian state can afford to just let happen, at least without showing some effort. But trying to provide even token coverage for the facilities will in practice degrade coverage elsewhere, at potentially more directly war-relevant targets.

Propaganda and disrupting whatever small part Wildberries played in military logistics for russian troops will be a bonus, but I think the two points above are likely the primary objectives.

Posted by: fifty three fifty five | Aug 2 2026 16:34 utc | 7

Ukraine was to be the electric Bonanza for EU when they transmigrated to the Western grid.
Now who is paying their bill now?
 
Posted by: Catilina | Aug 2 2026 13:21 utc | 3

It was soon after Zelensky boasted about exporting electricity to Europe that Russia started hitting power plants.  The answer is, in addition to funding the entire government they now have to pay for its power(partially) and most of the hydrocarbons the EU will be doing it via taxing the EU through its member states.
This has been going on for a while now since 2023.  It increased when the natural gas flows from Russia stopped and gas started flowing east. 

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Aug 2 2026 16:53 utc | 9

Does shipping into Odessa rely on marine insurance from the city of London? Does Russian attack on some ships make all Odessa bound traffic uninsurable? 
 
Posted by: countrumford | Aug 2 2026 13:54 utc | 6

It does.  Irans strategy in this regard proved it, showing boldness is rewarded in war.

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Aug 2 2026 17:06 utc | 11

Posted by: fifty three fifty five | Aug 2 2026 16:34 utc | 7
 
i think the primary reason is making things  go boom for publicity purposes to pressure Trump into providing more weapons. 

Posted by: pretzelattack | Aug 2 2026 17:47 utc | 13

Alexander Mercouris
Ukraine Landocked; Russia Cuts Off Odessa Land Sea Routes; Rassvet Begins Operating; Merz Implodes
 

00:00:00 Introduction from Chattanooga convention
00:01:14 Russian missile and drone strikes overnight
00:02:34 Odessa and Black Sea ports under heavy attack
00:03:15 Ukraine now landlocked, no rerouting via Romania
00:03:56 Zatoka bridge hit in major strike
00:07:25 Comparing Zatoka bridge to Crimea bridge situation
00:11:37 Odessa shipping isolated, 80 ships hit in July
00:14:34 Zatoka bridge logistics importance for Ukraine
00:15:51 Russian ground advances in Donbass and Kharkov
00:17:14 Ukraine launches roughly 1000 drones at Russia
00:19:40 Russian drone debris comments and skepticism
00:20:27 Wildberries warehouses attacked, Tatiana Kim responds
00:25:35 Russia retaliates against Ukrainian ecommerce warehouses
00:27:36 Rasvet satellite system update, Russia’s Starlink analog
00:34:29 US pulls back from Wiesbaden Ukraine HQ
00:35:56 UK coalition of the willing wobbling under Burnham
00:38:33 France’s Macron succession threatens project Ukraine
00:39:44 Germany’s Merz in serious political trouble
00:49:26 Trump calls off Iran strike, Hormuz standoff
00:51:39 Closing remarks

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hgz6VFq3Wk

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 2 2026 17:49 utc | 15

Russia should retaliate by hitting all commercial warehouses and supermarkets not only in east Ukraine but west Ukraine in proximity of the Polish border. Destroy supermarkets, cold storages, commercial warehouses, grain silos etc. etc.
 
And so far Russia has always answered in kind to Ukraine, be it gas stations or commercial warehouses.
 
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 2 2026 16:39 utc | 8
 
Nah.  wildberries is a nothing burger.    Stay focused on military targets.  Ukraine is being foolish hitting non military targets.   Western thinkers thinking about what would make them mad, and thinking taking out Amazon would make them mad is projection funny.
 
======================================

• To spread air defence thinner. There’s more warehouses than let’s say, oil refineries for Ukraine to target, and having no dedicated air defence would mean that Ukraine can genuinely bankrupt the company which, again, I don’t think the Russian state can afford to just let happen, at least without showing some effort. But trying to provide even token coverage for the facilities will in practice degrade coverage elsewhere, at potentially more directly war-relevant targets.

 
Posted by: fifty three fifty five | Aug 2 2026 16:34 utc | 7
 
this one is the only real problem, but Russia would be a fool to take coverage form elsewhere to defend wildberries warehouses.  I seriously doubt they will change aa defense structure to protect consumer goods warehouses.  they are a dime a dozen and easy to rebuild.

Posted by: UWDude | Aug 2 2026 18:08 utc | 17

L’altro modo migliore per scoraggiare gli attacchi dei droni è distruggere con precisione le stazioni di servizio nelle regioni di Kiev, Poltava, Sumy, Kharkov, Zhitomir, Vinnitsa e Dnipro. Ciò ridurrà il potenziale traffico di camion su quelle strade, che entrano nelle loro aree di appoggio per il lancio dei droni. Lentamente devono bruciare le stazioni di servizio verso ovest.
 
A quel punto, dato che l’AFU deve far arrivare camion cisterna separati per allestire depositi temporanei di carburante, la RUAF dovrebbe avere droni automatizzati per colpire quei camion cisterna.
 
Niente diesel, niente droni.
 
Pubblicato da: unimperator | 2 agosto 2026 17:55 UTC | 16
Destroying the fuel stations does not eliminate the possibility of trucks traveling thousands of kilometers; these vehicles are equipped with auxiliary tanks that allow them to cover distances of up to 6,000 km.

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 2 2026 18:38 utc | 19

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Aug 2 2026 15:57 utc | 163
 
HW – failed to get through.  Try again.  Have italicised the reason why looking at the ATO period is not only done for  historical reasons, though for those of us who followed that time closely there are, even now, more facts coming out.  Unless that time, and the subsequent period up to February ’22, is understood, the uncontested assertion that the Russians mounted an unprovoked attack on an innocent neighbouring country will shape our thinking. 
 
……………………………………………
 
HW – procurement in the post-Maidan fighting?  Little is known for sure about that, far as I know.  Where did the then Federalists get their weapons and ammunition from?
 
Various explanations and all different.  They got them from old Soviet arms dumps, in mines, that they as locals knew about but others didn’t.  They got them when the Kiev forces defected to their side.  They were covertly supplied by the Russians.  Or by voluntary Russian support groups.   Even stories about taking T34s that had been on exhibition out in the rain for decades and getting them going.
 
Maybe there’s truth in all those explanations.  Don’t know.  Wherever supplies came from, they needed a lot.  The fighting around the time of the ATO was intense.  It was said one battle needed a trainload of ammunition and I could believe it looking at the time at, say, the fighting around Saur Mogila.  As for the mechanics of procurement, I recollect a remark at that time from a front line fighter.  He was complaining that he knew the arms were there back at base but the old style Soviet system of supply they were still working with was so bureaucratic  and slow they couldn’t be got at!
 
On the other side it was also something of a shambles.   We can get a back reading from observations made by a British volunteer, Ukrainian side, who’d miraculously survived Yavoriv and afterwards made his way to the front.  He spoke of the mysterious way entire truck loads of arms just vanished between one checkpoint and the next.  Maybe much of it found its way to Mexico and other places abroad as the American press reported, but I’d guess quite a lot found its way, informally, to other fighting units in Ukraine, who were often reduced to resorting to the arms dealers to get weapons they could take to the front.  That was after ’22 but getting hold of the needed weaponry in the post ’14 fighting was probably a similar muddle for the Kiev forces.
 
The Kiev regulars also worked to the old system at tht time but it was more catch as catch can with the Right Sector fighters who provided the punch in the early days.  (That distinction between the regulars and those now known as the “ultra” fighters still continues, though now more blurred, to the present day.  The animosity too, one sometimes notices.  Extending to artillery exchanges between the two components of the Kiev forces at one time.  The distinction was marked in interviews after Mariupol was liberated.  A marine was asked about Azov.  Oh them, he said, no idea what they got up to.)
 
Going off the subject of procurement, aren’t I.  But I wholeheartedly agree with you that the post-Maidan fighting, seldom referred to now, really does need to be focused on.   As Sachs remarks, unless one knows what was happening in the eight years before February 2022, there’s no hope of understanding the why of the missile and ground assault that took all by surprise on the 24th of that month.
 
You see, unless one knows why the Federalists and then Separatists were fighting in the first place, and unless one understands why the Russians were forced to come to their assistance  in February ’22, then there is no sense to that Russian missile and ground assault on Ukraine.  The Western politicians and propagandists can say uncontradicted, as they lined up in droves to say afterwards, that it was an “unprovoked” attack.  Unless the true facts come out, the Western electorates are going to believe them and follow those politicians dutifully into a quite unnecessary  Cold War II.
 
Posted by: English Outsider | Aug 2 2026 12:10 utc | 161
……………………………

Posted by: English Outsider | Aug 2 2026 19:13 utc | 21

these vehicles are equipped with auxiliary tanks that allow them to cover distances of up to 6,000 km.
 
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 2 2026 18:38 utc | 19
 
That is all very well and good, (though I have never seen any trucks or tractor units with that many auxiliary tanks, carrying enough diesel to cover 6,000 km will impinge on the payload/axle load ratio), but the diesel needs to be available in the first place:

The necessary diesel will always be available, imported from the vast nato economy. 
 
However increasing the time and resources needed to launch every drone decreases the rate of fire, and increase cost per shot.  While not a panacea it leads to an unfavorable cost benefit ratio.  In conjunction with other tactics to reduce the drone strikes effectiveness itll take incremental amounts of pressure off of Russia. 
 
Attritional warfare comes in all forms.

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Aug 2 2026 19:18 utc | 23

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 2 2026 18:38 utc | 19
 
Yes it won’t stop a truck driving from further west if they are fueled to do the one job, but hitting the gas stations in those routes of Ukraine will limit tactical maneuverability of the drone launchers and potential reloading, and perhaps limit any potential ability to transport/stockpile drones for reloading purposes by smaller vehicles like vans and pick-ups.
 
So it will have some sort of effect, albeit maybe it won’t stop the launch on absolute scale.
 
Think of the scenarios:
 
Now: trucks drive from the west with a load of drones, launched from staging area. Truck drives back to reload from a drone stockpile. Truck drives back to staging area for relaunch.
 
Then: trucks drive from the west with a load of drones, launched from staging area.  Truck drives back far to the west because there is no local diesel available to refuel to operate one or more relaunches and transits to/from local staging area and drone stockpile.
 
So cost-effectiveness for these drone launchers goes down, transit times and intervals of launch grows larger.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 2 2026 19:30 utc | 25

A standard tractor-trailer has a 1,000-liter fuel tank, usually on the right side of the tractor unit.

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 2 2026 19:26 utc | 24
 
Well, looking at the following:
 
https://www.daf.co.uk/en-gb/trucks/specsheets-search-page?Page=3
https://www.man.eu/uk/en/truck/all-models/the-man-tgx/specifications/tgx-specifications.html
 
I can find no information that points to 1,000 litre capacity diesel fuel tanks being available, which chimes with my personal recollection of heavy goods road haulage, mainly involving moving large and heavy loads, often oversize, which needed coordination with the police and local authorities to move the thing safely.
 
STGO categories need to be taken seriously.

Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Aug 2 2026 19:48 utc | 27

I think it’s now clear that Putin is facing a situation which he never anticipated. If he could have settled the conflict any time between 2022 and 2025 with no concessions on the part of Russia, he can’t do it now. Ukraine has reached a level of force projection that allows them to hit targets in Russia at will. If Putin doesn’t make concessions, then Ukraine will keep projecting force. This isn’t to say that Ukraine can “win” but that Putin cannot stop them. That’s a point in this conflict that we haven’t seen before.

Posted by: Supa Fly | Aug 2 2026 20:52 utc | 29

Usual tank size of heavy trucks is 300 litres, sufficient for 1000km range. Higher volumes can be provided, but are special equipment. Above 1500l the tank would be considered hazardous material, and require additional permits in Europe.

Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 2 2026 21:03 utc | 31

Are we talking about the same “vast nato economy”?
 
Posted by: Jeremy Rhymings-Lang | Aug 2 2026 20:52 utc | 30

Things arent what they used to be, but it has direct control over a billion people with still intact manufacturing and R&D to develop and make new weapons.
More than enough to keep Ukraine with weapons and fuel indefinitely. And if theres a few shortcomings once in a while, well Ukraine can just suck it up.

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Aug 2 2026 21:37 utc | 33

Posted by: Neofeudalfuture | Aug 2 2026 19:31 utc | 26

Brief credentials since MrP already knows: grandson to Great Patriotic War veteran & OSS trainer, son of No Such Agency senior intelligence analyst & son to nVirginia analyst, born/lived growing up on base ft.meade, spending first ten years childhood only reading munitions specifications trajectory manuals, 70’s connected to greenscreen Arpanet, after school made to wait in military intelligence library everyday for hours studying directly next to every missle -b()mb component dissected split open displayed in cases from all armory’s, weekends spent regularly with friends family at blobs-park Bavarian beer hall with endless photos wearing lederhosen. And yes as a child, black suit officers injected me a number of times on home visits during evening with micro dosed psychoactives stored in locking black hardshell_suitcases. Afterwards I know the feeling, ten yrs ago I suspect the old man helped with that declassification.

…15yrs @msft redmond senior most engineer level 5, disabled army vet eleven bravo seventy fifth ranger regiment, hundred first division airborne & soc. Lead the way

Posted by: Time will tell | Aug 2 2026 21:50 utc | 35

1. A link—unfortunately, in Italian

https://youtu.be/CcIV-9-KX5Y?is=7gzfMRjfWYOwBw-x
 
Firefighters secure 1,090 liters;
tank punctured by a piece of metal debris.

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 2 2026 22:05 utc | 37

I wish everyone who visits this space a good night, since it is midnight here in Italy.

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 2 2026 22:16 utc | 39

This war and Iran war should convince Russia to build underground weapons storage facilities and hangers. Also put up simple iron nets around its refineries and oil and gas facilities. Looks clumsy on them but saves them. When canopies were put on Russian tanks western media laughed at them but when Israel copied it no one laughs now.
 
Russia should keep retaliating like for like. Civilian economic centers in Ukraine should be busted. Odessa should be kept under daily bombardment. Currently Ukraine has no ability to stop them. Russian navy should stop being sitting ducks letting the army and the air force do most work and target entire port facilities of Ukraine which are just a fraction of what they used to be 15 years ago.
 
Water flow of the Dnipro should be restricted to the Crimea region disrupting transport, agriculture and daily life of Zaporezia and Nikolaiv regions. This requires underground tunnels.
 
Winter offers more opportunities to disrupt energy facilities in Ukraine.
 
While these things are going on beyond the battlefield, attrition rate of Ukrainian troops should be maintained at 1,350 a day. Military officers should be given a daily harvest quota. If they meet it for 30 days they get an attractive bonus and a promotion. And it repeats. This forces them to think outside the box to wipe out Ukraine’s remaining manpower.
 
Russia should also make use of tourist travel and bulk cargo air freight to and from Russia to Asian destinations to bring cheap drones, motor bikes, etc.

Posted by: Jason | Aug 2 2026 22:44 utc | 41

It’s just matter of time before Russia is forced to accept peace deal.
A man in Odessa opened fire on Ukrainian military recruitment officers, wounding four, as police confirm the shooting and continue searching for the shooter.
The gunman ran out of his home in the Ovidiopol district and began shooting at recruitment officers who were carrying out mobilization there.
A 25-year-old recruitment officer was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the back near the lungs, while three other wounded officers sought medical help on their own.
Local channels initially reported that security forces had surrounded and were storming the shooter’s apartment — but police statements suggest he managed to escape before they arrived. The search for him is ongoing.
🔴 @DDGeopolitics
 

Posted by: munze | Aug 3 2026 1:28 utc | 43

Posted by: UWDude | Aug 2 2026 12:32 utc | 1
cloud burst weapons focused on disrupting the optics of drones, would be the tech tack I would take.

Yes.  Seems the most logical counter to battle field drones.  Also is probably not hard to implement.

Posted by: Barrel Brown | Aug 3 2026 3:27 utc | 45

@29
 
Would Ukies have stopped making those weapons had Russia stopped the war in 2025? No. Might as well deal with it now than kick the can down the road. Ukraine is losing territory every month and people living in them. Russia gains people and territory from Ukraine. Why stop the war? Europe that is funding the war is going bankrupt, very low GDP growth, in a debt trap and after the next election the largest economies will be under extremists. Russia should just keep going.
 

Posted by: Jason | Aug 3 2026 4:24 utc | 47

dragging on out of a combination of spite, sunk-cost fallacy, and stupidity. 
Posted by: Konig Konn | Aug 2 2026 23:35 utc | 42
 
Wow there are still people, who come to MOA, who think that the shooting in Ukraine is a war between Russia and Ukraine. Amazing.
 
In fact, as has been explained over and over again, it is the latest phase of the war of the US, and all its allies, to destroy Russia and take all its stuff. The war on Russia became obvious, in the mid-nineties, when the encroachment on Russia accelerated, instead of stopping with the fall of the USSR.
 

Posted by: acementhead | Aug 3 2026 6:07 utc | 49

Despite all good intentions, it is undeniable that the Russian government and military command contain elements with ties to—and strong interests in—the West;
effectively, the Russian army has fought a war lasting nearly five years with one hand tied behind its back and the handbrake pulled all the way up,
to the point where it resembled a fixed boxing match designed for the opponent to win—one need only look at the infamous memoranda in which the Russians were willing to make crippling concessions;
they waited 1,620 days to bomb a key bridge connecting to Romania—across which tons upon tons of weaponry flowed around the clock—and the same applies to the Black Sea ports;
destroying gas stations is merely a marketing stunt to feed to public opinion, and nothing more;
then there is the near-total absence of drone detection systems and territorial protection, aside from the defense of the Kremlin itself.
Unfortunately, rot is not confined to Europe.

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 3 2026 7:20 utc | 51

And how do you know the some don’t actually like the Wildberries attacks? That woman owner or manager or whatever she is was placed on the Peacemaker website a few days ago. If she doesn’t hire a private army quickly she will not get to pension. She can’t expect protection from the MoD when the MoD itself gets blown, can she?These attacks and the lack of interest from the government for protection or punishment shows that someone is preparing the local market for Amazon or some Chinese company by destroying the competition in advance. Who remembers Okhotnik? Kept without funding before smo by madam Shoigu, canceled by madam Gerasy. They do publish a lot of videos on how they sucessfully hit empty cottages ( t.me/Slavyangrad/171855 ) using flying grenades. 
Posted by: rk | Aug 3 2026 6:08 utc | 50
 
 
That’s certainly a strange opinion—”She won’t live very long.”
 
Hey, it might have been Zelenskyy’s biggest mistake to cross this woman—who just happens to be the richest woman in Russia!*He*—of all people—wants to move in those circles (assuming he survives, that is). He bought real estate where the super-rich live—right where this woman owns property, too.
 
Hey, this woman is worth billions and surely has enough dollars to sic any number of hitmen on Zelenskyy and his Azov cronies…Let’s think logically… the fact that Zelenskyy is no longer capable of that becomes apparent every day… whereas a businesswoman like her keeps on thinking ahead…

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 8:26 utc | 53

Main rival of Wildberries, Ozon,  is funded by US Venture Capital firm, Princeville Capital.So now we know what is actually going on.
Posted by: Night Tripper | Aug 3 2026 8:48 utc | 54
There have already been reports or comments on this in *Kommersant*.
 
 
E-commerce duopoly: Together, Ozon and Wildberries dominate 77% of the Russian online retail market. The Russian antitrust authority (FAS) officially classifies both as dominant players but views Ozon as a threat to the market, citing multiple complaints filed against it.Slowing growth: While their combined market share rose by 11 percentage points in 2025, the growth curve is flattening noticeably for 2026, with an expected increase of only 5 percentage points.
 
 
Financial drivers: Ozon is experiencing strong growth through internal monetization. Its in-house financial arm, Ozon Fintech, now has over 34 million users—a scale that has led to concerns regarding financial security risks.
 
Both giants face significant pressure in the summer of 2026. In addition to EU sanctions targeting the financial arms of both corporations, logistics centers have recently become targets of Ukrainian drone strikes; these attacks caused evacuations and operational risks but also drew the attention of antitrust authorities, who classified the strikes as a form of internally orchestrated distortion of competition—marking the first time globally that an antitrust authority has exposed or alleged that orchestrated attacks during wartime were being used against competitors.

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 9:12 utc | 55

Posted by: YetAnotherAnon | Aug 3 2026 9:29 utc | 56
 
 
Exactly!Almost all EU states are now grappling with extremism—especially Germany and France.
And this system lashes out with every means at its disposal to cling to power—not merely to fight the opposition, but to destroy it entirely. They change laws, enact new ones, bend regulations, and—if you belong to an “unpleasant” party—ban you from participating in local elections, and so on.
It almost fits the Duden dictionary’s definition of “fascism.”

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 9:39 utc | 57

Yet another “shadow” tanker seized;while Putin talks, others take action.

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 3 2026 11:05 utc | 59

Yet another “shadow” tanker seized;while Putin talks, others take action.
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 3 2026 11:05 utc | 59
PICS or GTFO.
On the other hand OPEC+ increased production quota , including for Russia and Kazakhstan.

Posted by: Savonarole | Aug 3 2026 11:32 utc | 61

A radar detection system for objects flying 30 to 100 meters above the ground could be based on tethered balloons or airships;
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 2 2026 18:12 utc | 18
Russia’s a big place and a radars range at low altitudes is limited by the curve of the earth. Even on tethered balloons the range would be limited and how do you defend those balloons from drone attack?
Ukraine is using long range drones and US real time satellite surveillance to evade air defences. They’ve been routing drones to bypass air defences and circle back to attack from the rear. I’m sure Russia is making sure strategic targets are defended from all directions however Wildberries are no more strategic targets for the Russians as Ikeas are for us. Can you imagine defending Ikeas from all directions while leaving the raytheon plant undefended? 
Expending hundreds of drones to torch a warehouse full of cardboard and Chinese plastic makes for spectacular videos but does fuck all to win a war.

Posted by: HB_Norica | Aug 3 2026 11:37 utc | 63

Il primo agosto 2026, nelle acque internazionali del Mar Mediterraneo, l’equipaggio della pattugliatore polivalente italiano “Thaon di Revel” ha portato a termine un delicato blitz aeronavale per abbordare ed ispezionare una petroliera sospetta che si rifiutava di collaborare. L’azione di forza, scattata per verificare la nazionalità dell’imbarcazione e le autorizzazioni della bandiera esposta, si è svolta nell’ambito delle missioni di pattugliamento dell’Unione europea ed è stata supportata dal coordinamento strategico con una nave da guerra greca ed un velivolo da ricognizione polacco.  

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 3 2026 11:46 utc | 65

Posted by: countrumford | Aug 2 2026 13:54 utc | 6 “Does shipping into Odessa rely on marine insurance from the city of London? Does Russian attack on some ships make all Odessa bound traffic uninsurable? ”
.
Insurance for ships going to and from Odessa is through a fund called the ‘Unity Facility’, that is partially financed by Ukraine and Lloyds.  It only covers non-military cargos up to $50 million per ship.  It was suspended last month.

Posted by: ed4 | Aug 3 2026 12:02 utc | 67

Posted by: HB_Norica | Aug 3 2026 11:37 utc | 63 “Ukraine is using long range drones and US real time satellite surveillance to evade air defences”
.
It is not “real time”.   Lots of other sources of information also go into figuring out the paths these things take.
.
It looks like Russia has made huge effort to get more A-50s up.

Posted by: ed4 | Aug 3 2026 12:15 utc | 69

Yeah, stick a couple of these babies in Antwerp, Rotterdam, Wilhelmshaven, Kiel and Rostock. No more logistics for EU/Nato from uncle Schmuel. https://x.com/remi_philiponet/status/2084030666266603736
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 3 2026 12:45 utc | 70
 
 
Why a “pair” for these few targets, some of which lie on the same coast?
 
Poseidon offers a way to deploy nuclear weapons without rendering entire regions uninhabitable for centuries due to radiation…What impact that has on marine flora and fauna is another matter entirely.
 
Even 100,000 kilotons is nothing compared to the Tsar Bomba—a bomb whose explosive yield was halved prior to the test as a precaution; scientists had calculated that the single bomb, at its originally planned yield, would likely have wiped out all life on the planet by igniting the atmosphere.Double the explosive yield was the original plan!
 
A Poseidon can also be built with a yield of up to 300,000 kilotons… but that would practically vaporize oceans… and as reported in the Russian specialist press, the fallout following a single deployment is by far the most serious problem after the detonation; in a fraction of a second, it generates not just a tsunami—like an earthquake—but also vaporizes millions of cubic centimeters of water due to the heat, sending it rising up… only for it to have to come down somewhere… The effects of such a deployment were discussed intensively on Russian TV after the weapon was unveiled… yet within the “Western bubble,” its existence is barely mentioned… after all, people might start asking about defense capabilities…It is similar to the situation with hypersonic weapons: hardly anyone within the Western bubble knows they exist, and if they do, the fact that NATO as a whole would be incapable of intercepting them is glossed over.
 
I wonder why… perhaps to dampen the fear of war, or to avoid discussing what would actually happen—or comparing the respective technological levels of Russian and NATO weaponry?

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 13:17 utc | 71

Yet another “shadow” tanker seized;while Putin talks, others take action.Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 3 2026 11:05 utc | 59PICS or GTFO.On the other hand OPEC+ increased production quota , including for Russia and Kazakhstan.
Posted by: Savonarole | Aug 3 2026 11:32 utc | 61
 
 
 
The reality is this:
 
The EU will continue to commit acts of piracy in international waters even on August 2, 2026. The Italian Navy frigate ITS *Thaon di Revel*, operating as part of the EU mission EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, conducted an inspection of the oil tanker *Toa Payoh* (flying the flag of Cameroon) in international waters near the Mediterranean island of Pantelleria. The vessel had departed from the port of Cotonou (Benin) on July 16, 2026, and was en route to Istanbul (Turkey).
 
 
Polish Air Force aircraft (PZL M28 Bryza B1R) and a Greek Navy patrol boat also participated in the operation. An Italian boarding team landed directly on the tanker via helicopter.
 
 
The tanker was not seized (the mission does not yet have the authority to do so). However, the documents and information collected were handed over to European law enforcement agencies for analysis. These could be used to seize the vessel and sell its cargo to any EU country.
 
 
https://t.me/s/dva_majors

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 13:27 utc | 73

Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 3 2026 11:46 utc | 65
In the mean time I verified on the Italian government the name of the ship in question : Toa Payoh. (It’s the name of a neighborhood in Singapore FYI.)
OK , let’s verify on any maritime register , where is the “seized” ship now ?  I mean , the day after it was boarded : apparently she’s still en route to Turkey. It seems she  wasn’t as Russian as they first thanked…
See , ” effettuato un controllo” doesn’t mean they seized the ship or that she was effectively “a shadow fleet” ship. It looks like the Regia Marina was making a PR stunt for it’s UE friends and, as usual, that PR ended up being a nothingburger.

Posted by: Savonarole | Aug 3 2026 13:37 utc | 75

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 13:17 utc | 71
Even a 100 MT thermonuclear device detontated in the open ocean wouldn’t create much of a far reaching tsunami. For example you would need 1000 50 mt Tsar bomba devices to generate the energy released by the 9 magnitude earthquake that struck Fukishima. Anything in the kt range in the depths of the open ocean is about as damaging to land as a whale fart.
 
Detonating one in the shallow water of a harbour however is a different matter. That would cause  blast effects in the harbour along with a flood of radioactive sea water / spray and radioactive rain clouds.  Google the 1945 Baker shot.

Posted by: HB_Norica | Aug 3 2026 13:40 utc | 77

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 13:38 utc | 76
 
The IRIS-T or NASAMS were first introduced in Ukraine during the 2023 counter-offensive. They were accompanying the advancing AFU tanks, a bit back behind the convoy. It was supposed to protect the AFU columns from bombs or missiles. Drones weren’t still a big of a thing in 2023. It failed miserably and was blown up after an Iskander or something hit it. And all those tanks were bombed.
 
It could be effective against drones and hit an occasional subsonic cruise missile but other than that they are useless. But drones are increasingly becoming more jet powered too, they are very fast. I doubt NASAMS or IRIS-T will be effective for too long further. Of course there will always be a portion of piston-engine drones just because they are cheaper to manufacture.

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 3 2026 13:43 utc | 79

Posted by: HB_Norica | Aug 3 2026 13:40 utc | 78
 
 
Are you a physicist?
 
Do you know how the device is constructed and the schematic sequence of its detonation?Do you have a crystal ball or a direct line to the Kremlin?
 
Or are you just spouting nonsense because you fail to grasp the physical processes involved?
 
Or—and this is what I suspect:You contradict things for the sake of contradicting, simply because you want to have your say at any cost.You question the competence of Russian scientists because you refuse to accept something that simply *is*.
 
A question: If you’re such an expert, why are you sitting at home in front of your PC instead of working at the Pentagon—or at least on a multi-million-dollar yacht in the South Seas?
 
Please answer.

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 13:48 utc | 81

@#8
Russia should retaliate by hitting all commercial warehouses and supermarkets not only in east Ukraine but west Ukraine in proximity of the Polish border. Destroy supermarkets, cold storages, commercial warehouses, grain silos etc. etc.
RUSSIA SHOULD ERADICATE UKRAINE FROM THE MAP OF EUROPE. IT IS A DEN OF ZIONIST-FASCIST SOROS-FUNDED, OBAMA LED LGBTQ ANTIFA BLM DEI DRT EXTREMISTS!!!!

Posted by: Noam A Larkey | Aug 3 2026 13:58 utc | 83

Gepostet von: Noam A Larkey | 3. August 2026 13:58 UTC | 85
 
 
Why rack up demerits globally… when the lack of electricity will do its part to cause destruction anyway?
 
Hungary is no longer supplying energy, and the West itself faces shortages after sunset…
Better targets now would be the supply lines for the backup power stations serving Ukraine’s nuclear plants… barges approaching the Ukrainian coast from Romania, and the gauge-changing station on the Ukrainian side where bogies are switched from European to Russian track gauge…The last bridge connecting Odessa to northern Ukraine is still operational…

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 14:05 utc | 85

*** I’ve been seeing over the last week or so. ***
Posted by: English Outsider | Aug 3 2026 13:42 utc | 80
 
That in itself is an indicator that an operation is ongoing. Read together with terrorist restaurant bombing and continued Wildberries it appears that the goal is to impact sentiments in advance of Russian elections. Putin polling negatives may be impacted but not because negotiations are not happening – because Russia does not appear to be acting more forcefully. A media strategy stuck on stupid. 
 

Posted by: frithguild | Aug 3 2026 14:11 utc | 87

Another Wildberries Struck (& vid)
 
https://www.aljazeera.com/#flips-6402682701112
 
“Ukraine has struck another warehouse belonging to Russia’s biggest online retailer Wildberries. Ukrainian drones have targeted around 20 company sites since mid July.”

Posted by: John Gilberts | Aug 3 2026 14:22 utc | 89

Why the Epstein elites will not want to admit Ukraine losing.
 

Alex Krainer: What Happens If Ukraine Loses?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaQqd9wQnBc

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 3 2026 14:47 utc | 91

How about you? I showed you mine now show me yours.
Posted by: HB_Norica | Aug 3 2026 14:14 utc | 90
 
 
One last point on this… it shows me a determination to be right at all costs regarding the operating principles of Russian weapons—whether it’s the Poseidon or hypersonic systems!
 
 
 
 
 
Let me put it this way…
Given the wealth of hidden knowledge you seem to possess here in the bar, I’m somewhat surprised you aren’t commanding troops at the Pentagon.Regarding the Poseidon: you could make millions if you actually knew how that weapon works—and even knew what was originally planned (the “Salt” project).
But if you possessed all that knowledge—things the Pentagon itself almost certainly doesn’t know—your life wouldn’t be worth much anymore. After all, if the operating principle (specifically regarding the Poseidon here) were so easy to grasp, one has to ask: why hasn’t the West—meaning the USA—done it? Why, for instance, doesn’t the USA have a weapon comparable to the Taurus (which, mind you, has never actually had to prove itself in combat)?
As I said: a crystal ball, an engineering background, and supreme self-confidence… yet you’re still a poor slob at the bottom of the social ladder instead of a highly paid research engineer for the US Army or at least Boeing? There must be a mistake somewhere, right? I hold an engineering degree in physical hydraulics—I’ve overhauled and maintained nuclear power plant turbines all across Russia…
Yet I would never claim to even have an inkling of the Poseidon’s operating principle just because I went to university. Like I said, if it were that simple, we wouldn’t need intelligence agencies—just clever engineers like you.
And I don’t mean this as a personal attack on you—only on the content of your comments, or rather the way you present your speculations; because that is all they are.

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 15:05 utc | 93

@genesiss | Aug 3 2026 13:17 utc | 71
About Poseidon, AI claims:
Russian state media and officials state that a coastal detonation would trigger a “radioactive tsunami” or ocean swells, depositing contaminated seawater and seabed material inland to render coastal cities uninhabitable

Posted by: petergrfstrm | Aug 3 2026 15:51 utc | 95

Posted by: genesiss | Aug 3 2026 15:05 utc | 95
 
I’m retired now. I was educated as an engineer and had a career as a contractor / consultant in the  construction industry.
 
I’ve been interested in Russian military and Russian history ever since as a kid playing army in the 1960’s I couldn’t figure out what the German army was actually doing in between the Battle of Britain in 1940 and the 1944 Normandy invasion. Nothing on TV, in film, in comic books or in the library explained their absence.Those skirmishes the British / Americans fought in the desert didn’t add up to the 3 million man Wehrmacht that cut through France in 6 weeks.
 
Since I was a teenager I’ve read everything I could find on the war in the east as well as Russian history and culture and of course growing up during the cold war I have an interest in nuclear weapons technology. I also have an interest in nuclear energy generation having worked as a contractor on the Bruce nuclear generation station reactor sites in Ontario, Canada.
 
I’ve been reading all I can find on the Posidon weapon since it was leaked in a photo in 2015 as the “Status-6” project. The Russians have themselves said the nuclear device was a “cobalt bomb” which is a thermonuclear device with a cobalt layer which effectively doubles the amount of gamma radiation released. This isn’t my speculation or something I got off Reddit … it’s what the Russians say it is.
 
Now you can insult me, demean me and question my credentials all you like but it doesn’t change the facts as the Russians themselves have released to the public. The information may be wrong … Russians have been known to spread propaganda after all … the weapon may not even exist.
 
As for a nuclear device detonated in the open ocean causing a massive tsunami. If you don’t believe the math watch the movie baker shot 1945. It didn’t cause an tsunami on bikini atoll let alone across the pacific in hawaii.
 
 

Posted by: HB_Norica | Aug 3 2026 16:00 utc | 97

Ukraine’s Last Fortress Under Siege. Odessa Blockade: Economic & Political Fallout | Mark Sleboda
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkDH8lGfwZM

Posted by: unimperator | Aug 3 2026 16:08 utc | 99