News & views related to the war in Ukraine …
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August 16, 2026
Ukraine Open Thread 2026-176
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Ukraine and World Affairs (Includes Iran/ME): Weekly Update, 14th August 2026: May be Useful to Some: Ukraine and World Affairs (includes Iran/ME): Weekly Update
Posted by: The Busker | Aug 16 2026 15:08 utc | 1
I am interested in whether anything is going on in Transnistria/Moldova/Romania now that the port of Odessa is under blockade. It seems that traffic to and from Romania should be picking up. The was a fluffy and not very informative article in the NYT haranguing on election politics in Moldova with a decided anti-Russian bent if that is of interest. Will the war arrive in the carpathians?
Posted by: countrumford | Aug 16 2026 15:50 utc | 3
Posted by: The Busker | Aug 16 2026 15:08 utc | 1
Thanks again for your weekly updates. They are very much appreciated.
Posted by: Vragtes | Aug 16 2026 15:55 utc | 4
I am interested in whether anything is going on in Transnistria/Moldova/Romania
Posted by: countrumford | Aug 16 2026 15:50 utc | 3
—
Romanian news reports dubbed in English ==> https://www.youtube.com/@ObservatorTV
Posted by: too scents | Aug 16 2026 16:02 utc | 5
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 16 2026 16:11 utc | 6
Russia is doomed, a warehouse DEEP IN THE HEART OF RUSSIA got hit. remember, if its DEEP IN THE HEART OF RUSSIA that means its REALLY BAD, way worse than hitting gathering points or ammo dumps on the front lines, ESPECIALLY if its a citizen internet retail hub warehouse.
Posted by: UWDude | Aug 16 2026 15:28 utc | 2
Not a single Russian media outlet confirms this alleged hit “deep inside Russia.”
Nor do any Asian or Arab media outlets report anything about it…
Which reinforces the assumption that it’s a PR stunt—though *you* certainly love spreading that sort of thing here.
Posted by: genesiss | Aug 16 2026 16:29 utc | 7
Here Stan confirms that Ukraine only uses drones because it doesn’t have artillery. It doesn’t mean artillery isn’t being used and isn’t doing a lot of absolute damage to AFU.
The New Role of Drones: How the Russian Army Is Changing — Krapivnik & Davis
00:00 Drones and artillery reshape modern warfare03:38 Refinery strikes raise questions over fuel06:43 Donbas defenses rely on fortified depth09:21 Russian forces attempt a wider encirclement12:07 Tanks adapt to the drone threat15:35 Electromagnetic weapons could reshape drone warfare18:38 Russia reorganizes its military drone units21:46 NATO faces a transformed battlefield24:47 Drones restrict large-scale ground maneuvers
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRCeEcF-fhU
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 16 2026 16:31 utc | 8
Stas says AFU has lost a lot of drone operators. The FPV drones RUAF see say they are operated in a more janky way, don’t have as good as flight quality or control as before. The operators are less tactically advanced.
RUAF recon drones are constantly looking for potential AFU drone operating sources and use artillery to pummel it.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 16 2026 16:42 utc | 9
@genesiss | Aug 16 2026 16:29 utc | 7
Not a single Russian media outlet confirms this alleged hit “deep inside Russia.” Nor do any Asian or Arab media outlets report anything about it…Which reinforces the assumption that it’s a PR stunt—though *you* certainly love spreading that sort of thing here.
I have been trying to confirm whether this attack on ‘Wildberries’ in Moscow happened or not, but without any conclusion. One Norwegian MSM is ‘reporting’ that it happened, citing BBC as a source. Can anyone here establish the facts on this please?
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 18:32 utc | 10
Ukrainian ‘news’:
“According to the most conservative estimates, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will arrive in Moscow as early as September”
https://t.me/Slavyangrad/173484
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 18:36 utc | 11
ESPECIALLY if its a citizen internet retail hub warehouse.
Posted by: UWDude | Aug 16 2026 15:28 utc | 2
Imagine surviving the winter without a cheap waffle iron and K-cup pods … surely no Russian can survive the winter without Wildberry’s.
For the love of God Putin … move your air defences from airfields, military bunkers and the Kremlin and defend these vital warehouses before Russian women have to go without makeup all winter.
Posted by: HB_Norica | Aug 16 2026 18:47 utc | 12
The wildberries owner paid compensation to customers and producers who lost inventory. This wasn’t even a prerequisite.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 16 2026 18:50 utc | 13
@unimperator | Aug 16 2026 18:50 utc | 13
Are you claiming that a large attack on Wildberries in Moscow happened on the night between Saturday and Sunday? “One of the greatest attacks in modern times”. That is what is being claimed by MSM.
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 18:55 utc | 14
Toasty in Kiev last night.
UK has openly admitted boasted that drones manufactured in the UK have been used for deep strikes on civilian targets in Russia.
Posted by: Suresh | Aug 16 2026 19:06 utc | 15
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 18:55 utc | 14
I don’t know whether what MSM/Ukraine claims is true or not, just that the owner paid some compensation to customers and suppliers for lost inventory. Apparently this wasn’t obligatory due to force majeure but they did it anyway.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 16 2026 19:14 utc | 16
@16
It could have been related to earlier wildberry attacks, and we don’t know if the latest ‘biggest attack in the galaxy’ is true. Probably not. It could easily be another smoke generator drone.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 16 2026 19:18 utc | 17
My idle thought on the Wildberries attacks is that it could lead to an unintended revitalization of mom and pop, brick and mortar stores somewhat like the unexpected sanctions blowback that only helped the Russian economy. Lots of malls and downtowns across Russia half empty just like the USA and UK and EU, the west probably did the Russian retail economy a big favor, Russia should take out the Amazon warehouses across the west and return the favor but I doubt they want to help pull us out of the neoliberal online economy death spiral.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 16 2026 19:18 utc | 18
In case there is any need to clarify who is at war with whom,
someone should point this out to the Zionists who control the Russian government
.
“On US (“Ukrainian”) Strikes on Russia’s Progress Rocket and Space Center in Samara
▪️The facility is responsible for manufacturing the Soyuz launch system which not only is launching Russia’s Rasvett satellite constellation (Russia’s “Starlink/Starsheild” alternative), but also Soyuz supply and crew missions to the International Space Station upon which US astronauts also depend;
▪️Soyuz rockets are built months/years in advance of scheduled missions, so disruptions might not be immediate, and that is only if the strikes actually significantly damaged the facilities involved in Soyuz production, including facilities producing crticial electronic components;
▪️Again, these are US strikes simply laundered through “Ukraine,” depending entirely on US ISR for target and up to date Russian air defense posture and positions;
▪️Through such strikes, the US succeeds in degrading Russian capabilities, while Ukraine takes the full brunt of Russian retaliation = proxy war;”
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 16 2026 19:21 utc | 19
@unimperator | Aug 16 2026 19:14 utc | 16
The question is whether Wildberries in Moscow was hit (“largest-scale attack of 2026“) last night or not, as claimed by the BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/c61k110gny00t
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 19:22 utc | 20
“If Russia is determined to avoid wider war with the US or its European proxies – eliminating any real deterrence against such attacks, it must at least ensure it eliminates any single point of failure for critical economic, industrial and military capabilities – hardening and dispersing critical processes, assuming ALL of them will eventually be targeted.”
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 16 2026 19:22 utc | 21
Dialogue Works
Stanislav Krapivnik: Europe Begs U.S. to Call Russia NOW—Fear of ‘Catastrophic’ Winter Strikes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJP0DC-ETqY
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 16 2026 19:24 utc | 23
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 16 2026 19:18 utc | 18
I had this thought as well, though, you cant stop progress. Amazon/Wildberries works because it is convenient. Furthermore, a delivery route is more energy efficient than every body making solitary trips to various shops.
https://www.propublica.org/article/general-dynamics-artillery-factory-failed
Reporting Highlights
- Ready, Fire, Aim: In a rushed process exempted from normal rules, the Army hired General Dynamics, which brought on a Turkish subcontractor with little vetting, to make artillery shells.
- Money for Nothing: Despite being paid $533 million, General Dynamics did not produce a single usable shell at its new factory — and has not been held publicly accountable.
- Wages of Failure: Since the Army halted two production lines at the factory, the General Dynamics unit responsible for the debacle has received contract awards totaling $2.5 billion.
Mercouris made a good point that at this point any Wildberries warehouses have been emptied out, probably no shortage of empty retail and commercial space for Wildberries to rent out and decentralize around. Wildberries made good its affiliated sellers and the Russian state made good Wildberries, few months lag until the small decentralized warehouses restock. Mercouris also stressed what an overarching stupid strategy concentrating on Wildberries is, he’s absolutely right but Nazi military minds can be dogged like the pitbull with a rope in his mouth that you can swing around in the air but he’ll never let go. Think Azovstal, Rabotino, Krinky, Kursk… all a means to a (dead) end.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 16 2026 19:38 utc | 26
America does not want to wage war on Russia;
America wants its proxies to wage war on Russia,
supplying them with money, weapons, and leadership personnel;
the goal is to wear down the victim—in this case, Russia—economically and psychologically, and from what we can tell, the Russians are suffering from Stockholm syndrome and will ultimately meet the same fate as Phaedrus’s lamb at the hands of the wolf.
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 16 2026 20:11 utc | 27
…you cant stop progress.
No, but you can give it a new vector.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 16 2026 20:17 utc | 28
@Norwegian
voenhronika_DOT_ru has several videos concerning the hit on the wildberries object close to Moscow (55.38613 N, 37.57926 E). Seems to be full destruction and no doubt about the fact. Warehouses, malls and logistic centers seems to need an upgrade in architecture – adding at least some fire walls, or building smaller, separate units
Posted by: BG13 | Aug 16 2026 20:22 utc | 29
Well, the attack on a Wildberries’ warehouse was at Podolsk
That is what BBC wrote:
Russia’s defence ministry claims they faced the “largest-scale attack” by Ukraine in 2026, shooting down 822 drones overnight.
..
Ukraine also hit another warehouse belonging to Russian online retailer Wildberries – the defence ministry says it believes it has disabled the warehouse, which it says is the company’s largest.
So to summarize: Most long range drones in a night, yet only meager results like the Wildberries’ storage where according to Russian reports “the roof collapsed”. There is a video of a large fire from unknown source which looks slightly AI’d. That is what the NAFO troll “Cagliostro” boasted about. Ukrainian defence ministry says. according to BBC: “it believes it has disabled the warehouse, which it says is the company’s largest.” So we speak about nazi “belief” not about facts.
Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 16 2026 20:31 utc | 30
Posted by: BG13 | Aug 16 2026 20:22 utc | 29
“Interesting”. You know that filming and distributing videos of enemy attacks is a crime in Russia (like elsewhere, though not threatened by death penalty like in UAE).
Some sensationalist bloggers circumvent by posting from enemy sources. Now an enemy source on the ground in Podolsk is either unlikely, or a case for the FSB. Maybe drone footages.
Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 16 2026 20:38 utc | 31
Pubblicato da: aquadraht | 16 ago 2026 20:31 utc | 30
You poor, brain-dead case for the mental asylum—try masturbating a little less to that photo of your idol, the Zionist.
You can watch the video at t.me/supernova_plus
Published by Kirill Fedorov.
Then go to bed and take your red pill; make sure you get a clean adult diaper put on, or else you’ll get bedsores on your brain.
It’s incredible how the brain-dead come out of the woodwork when you state the blindingly obvious.
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 16 2026 20:41 utc | 32
Kirill Fedorov’s link isn’t getting through the system;
you can find it on Telegram
Russian blogger
https://t.me/sakeritalianotizie/166358?single
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 16 2026 20:55 utc | 33
Can anyone here establish the facts on this please?
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 18:32 utc | 10
I heard Krapivnik confirm it on one of the pods he guested on. He detailed how the billionaire owner (a woman) personally compensated all of the suppliers and also paid compensation to the families of those killed in the strikes. Three large warehouses struck, apparently, goods now being distributed slightly more slowly but reliably from a series of smaller facilities such as the domestic suppliers own warehouses, I guess.
Posted by: nwwoods | Aug 16 2026 20:55 utc | 34
@ aquadraht | Aug 16 2026 20:38 utc
While videos concerning BDA are prohibited in principle, this is true only for military objects, and it is a completely different story with damage on pure civilian objects, as the wildberries warehouse is. Russia wants the world to know that UA and their overlords are hitting civilian objects.
Another aspect is the distance from the object. A big fire around XY from the distance reveals much less info than a close-up from nearby. The Russian society is well aware of the problems. You can’t address a problem by first hiding it. So no, it’s all over the place that this warehouse was hit and destroyed. As someone has argued above – seems to be a favor for the shops in the cities and towns.
Posted by: BG13 | Aug 16 2026 20:58 utc | 35
@nwwoods | Aug 16 2026 20:55 utc | 34
I heard Krapivnik confirm it on one of the pods he guested on. He detailed how the billionaire owner (a woman) personally compensated all of the suppliers and also paid compensation to the families of those killed in the strikes.
The owner compensated the suppliers for the attack last night? I think we are mixing up things here.
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 21:07 utc | 36
Ukraine and its Owners droning Russian Amazon Warehouses. Akin to Uke Gott Adolf, bombing the crap out of London, killing scarce German pilots and wrecking valuable aircraft needed for Barbarossa.
Same tiny brains with the same tiny Richards. You might think they were cousins of our newfound jock itch, Caligula.
Posted by: kupkee | Aug 16 2026 21:21 utc | 37
Lol, that Kirill Fyodorov whom Vladimir Solovyov kicked out of his show after he loudly praised ukrainian superiority and predicted a war against China? Funny “witness”.
On the link suggested we see an 18s video, and a photo. The photo shows the storage area widely intact, the video all in flames, with loud noises (not very consistent with the distance the vid is taken). Also, the smoke clouds appear quite alike, on the photo and the vid, though at the latter, all is in flames. That is what raised the AI suspicion. Both vid and photo obviously stem from ukrainian drone footage.
Russian sources report about the roof of the warehouse collapsed, but all employees brought into a protected area in time, no casualties or wounded. Only the attack on the dacha colony with splinter ammo yielded a dead and 3 wounded, all pensioners.
Posted by: aquadraht | Aug 16 2026 21:22 utc | 38
@Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 21:07 utc
Wildberries is mostly a service provider, a “plattform” where small enterprises sell their products by using warehouses of WB, the website of WB and the distribution chain of WB. When such warehouse is destroyed, some of the products may have been already sold to the customer (who will not get the order and need reimbursement) others are unsold and still property of the seller (who entrusted the things to WB and need compensations as well). This topic is much discussed in RU. I have not seen any agreement between WB and a seller – but usually in such agreements there is a force majeur clause, where WB would be exempted from payments for damage done by war/terror on entrusted values – paying compensation is an act of goodwill (and PR) by WB
Posted by: BG13 | Aug 16 2026 21:39 utc | 39
Cagliostro | Aug 16 2026 19:21 utc | 19
Not great news, we’re not talking about a civilian warehouse here so hopefully the air defense was sufficient to prevent serious damage (the Flamingo hit on MIT didn’t manage to slow Iskander production). NATO must be concerned that the Russian Starlink-analogue is about to eliminate one of Ukraine’s few remaining advantages. It only provides coverage over Ukraine for a couple of hours a day but this will steadily increase as launches ramp up. NATO is trying to preempt this by attacking its ride to orbit.
The Chinese Starlink-analogues are much closer to global coverage due to their much higher rate of launches and satellite production. It’s my fondest wish that Russia gets access to these systems asap, a ‘no limits’ partnership should include earth orbit! It would be disappointing if pride is preventing such an agreement and the county of Sputnik refuses to seek help from ‘upstart’ China. If Russia wants a space industry to rival China’s a bit of old-fashioned Cultural Revolution / 5 Year Plan thinking is required, failing that it may be easier to ask to borrow one.
Posted by: S.P. Korolev | Aug 16 2026 21:45 utc | 40
Posted by: S.P. Korolev | Aug 16 2026 21:45 utc | 40
Pride is not the issue. Being able to trust everyone in China with access to their satellites is just not possible. Corruption is a rule that can never be ignored.
It’s not so much about Wildberries, it’s concerning that NATO-U attacked Soyuz rocket facility. Ukies deserve a nuke strike for that. This terror attack should not go unpunished. Russia should invest in air defenses that can defend these. If kinetic air defenses are not viable at least metal nets should be placed around them. Ugly but works. Russia should also locate storage and production facilities of Ukie missiles and wipe them out regularly.
Posted by: Jason | Aug 16 2026 22:02 utc | 42
It makes sense for Russia to buy drones and missiles from North Korea to complement own production. NK is beyond Ukie attacks and production cost is low. They have done very well despite sanctions. NK can be supplied with resources and expertise and trading opportunities. UN sanctions are useless. NK can supply up to 400,000 drones a year and 4,000 KN series missiles a year if contracted and materials are supplied. NK also has cheap but accurate torpedoes. Much cheaper than drone boats. A strike on South Korea to coincide with China’s takeover of Taiwan next year can seriously disrupt NATO’s AI industry. NK is potentially the most important military partner of Russia.
Since the earthquake in Colombia the largest stock of foreign cannonfodder has left Ukraine exposing its frontlines.
Posted by: Jason | Aug 16 2026 22:14 utc | 43
The attack on Roscosmos in Samara is strange, no comment from Russia at all or from any of the many TG channels, absolute zero follow up info, but also not much other than initial boasting from Ukraine; serious stuff and it all went out of sight out of mind right afterward.
Dangerous game being played and both sides are well aware of it. The West is absolutely desperate for the Russians to nuke someone for some reason I can’t get my head around. There are no nuke worthy targets in Ukraine, so I wonder who NATO is so eager to sacrifice?
All I can figure is that the Pentagon’s 30ys of profiling concludes with 99.9% accuracy that if they can get Putin into a corner where he has to use nukes that he’ll instead do a Delcy Rodríguez and hand over the country. Either that or they really need to get the European population reduced by a couple hundred million and they’d rather have the Russians do their dirty work.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 16 2026 22:37 utc | 44
Jason @ 43
China could easily launder military aide to Russia through N.Korea.
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 16 2026 22:43 utc | 45
…. starlink…
Exploit vectors in starlinkx Plat_error_handler embedded rom fault injection before sha512 certificate handshake &modifying binary & repatching arm bootloader dspacex_catson_boot.hcats_bootfip allows root access, use side channel uart for diag. Field identify terminals color laser channels Freq ghz 192700 Itu channel 27 whereas Blue color Laser Freq ghz 193500 Itu channel 36. As source code details, terminals cut power automatically by default during high temperatures ttripping module thresholds,examples include Cpu0 Power cut >128°C, Reboot delayed min 10minutes offline. Telemetry data is always on as development is geofenced via hq IP ranges allowing spoofing dev terminals.
Starlink & u.s. spaceforce according to public documents are the same thing. USA is directly involved, an act of war legally justified. Choose a side mf
Posted by: Time will tell | Aug 16 2026 23:22 utc | 46
@LightYearsFromHome #44 To seize long-term control of the energy supplies of the planet they need a permanent-ish (like a couple generations) embargo on Russian energy.
Russian use of a nuke might just do it. Remember how quickly the financial sanctions were put into effect. Locked and loaded.
Posted by: BillB | Aug 16 2026 23:42 utc | 47
The reason NATO wants so badly to get the people of Russia to oust Putin themselves is because he is doing such a piss poor job fighting NATO.
Goodness gracious! 😮
Can you imagine the howls of agony if a Costco, Tesco, Jusco, or Sam’s Club suffered such an assault? It would be an attack upon the West’s divinity! There’d be $1.50 hotdog & drink memorials in parking lots across the land and military recruitment would hit their goals in days!
Or maybe not. I dunno, hot dog bun sesame seeds and crumbs are rather important to me and my fellow feathered friends. Perhaps my perspective is a bit skewed here. Maybe the Russians have a calmer perspective on things with regards to assaults on Wildberry warehouses.
Posted by: titmouse | Aug 17 2026 0:15 utc | 49
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 16 2026 22:37 utc | 44
Russia has a plausible deniability option to punish Nato. They could reverse the tables and start droning LNG and fuel tankers in the Atlantic, headed from US refineries to Yoorp. And drone attacks can’t be connected to anyone, especially that happen in the open ocean. These tankers that serve Nato and hence Ukraine, are legitimate targets, even if the attack is still plausible deniability.
That would screw up the British insurance industry and EU economy even more.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 0:41 utc | 50
@LightYearsFromHome #44 To seize long-term control of the energy supplies of the planet they need a permanent-ish (like a couple generations) embargo on Russian energy.Russian use of a nuke might just do it. Remember how quickly the financial sanctions were put into effect. Locked and loaded.
Posted by: BillB | Aug 16 2026 23:42 utc | 47
It’s a joke. The west is actually trying to embargo Russian oil, while buy Russian oil refined in India, China and other SE Asia. EU is also buying Russian LNG from Yamal, while publicly claiming they aren’t getting a single cubic millimeter of Russian originated energy.
There is no further action they can take to ’embargo’ Russian anything.
That said, I agree that they are desperately trying to get Russia to nuke something. What Brussels and London think is Russia would nuke something in Ukraine, they might even think Russia is going to nuke Kiev.
More likely Russia won’t nuke Kiev or even Lwow but they could nuke things that actually hurt EU/UK. But the better option is droning tankers in the Atlantic. That could rattle Nato and force it to back down. Once London city starts losing more than trivial amounts of money things quiet down again, for a while at least.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 0:54 utc | 51
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 16 2026 18:50 utc | 13 “The wildberries owner paid compensation to customers and producers who lost inventory. This wasn’t even a prerequisite.”
.
They have been paying out compensation to their employees who were killed or injured for a couple of months. There are now some stories they will pay users of their warehouses. But the % of loss they pay out is unclear. Their announcement about it makes it clear they don’t have to pay anything but are going to pay something at least at this point.
Posted by: ed4 | Aug 17 2026 1:29 utc | 52
Russia has a plausible deniability option to punish Nato. They could reverse the tables and start droning LNG and fuel tankers in the Atlantic, headed from US refineries to Yoorp. And drone attacks can’t be connected to anyone, especially that happen in the open ocean. These tankers that serve Nato and hence Ukraine, are legitimate targets, even if the attack is still plausible deniability.
That would screw up the British insurance industry and EU economy even more.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 0:41 utc | 50
I think that taking out tankers delivering LNG from the US to EU will be a target sometime. If anything, Russia would prefer to get international CREDIT for these actions.
On the other hand, Russia using a nuke, anywhere, would destroy the whole narrative that they have been building up for years. Of course, if US/NATO/Israel launches nukes anywhere in the world, then Russia would be justified in launching at least a comparable number of nuclear weapons into mainland US. Israeli and European nukes would be considered US controlled nukes, and fallout from Russian nukes over mainland US would be far away from Russia or Belarus or West Asia. No Russian nukes unless the US or one of its vassals launches first, and then a measured proportionate number of nukes launched in retaliation.
Sinking 4 or 5 LNG tankers on the way from the US to Europe would be shots heard round the world. Every leader not on the US payroll would understand Russia’s actions, and a huge majority would be quite supportive.
Posted by: Woke American | Aug 17 2026 2:11 utc | 53
The biggest conclusion from this war is that a country can be prosperous if for one reason or another domestic capitalists cannot move their money abroad. Not even Lenin could think of that!
Posted by: 667 | Aug 17 2026 3:18 utc | 54
Ukies deserve a nuke strike for that.
Posted by: Jason | Aug 16 2026 22:02 utc | 42
Rather silly comment, by that logic then having nukes means you should use them? How about Israel or the US nuking Iran, by said logic no different. That aside Ukraine is the puppet of NATO, NATO doesn’t seem to care how much punishment the Russians inflict on Ukraine as their own territory appears sacrosanct.
Russia has for years ignored NATO provocations, as to why we can all think as we wish, but ignoring provocations usually leads to bigger provocations, it could be argued that as Russia didn’t respond way back that is why they are going up the escalation ladder. Presumably at some point they will invoke a response, but who knows?
Posted by: Organic | Aug 17 2026 3:24 utc | 55
Which reinforces the assumption that it’s a PR stunt—though *you* certainly love spreading that sort of thing here.
Posted by: genesiss | Aug 16 2026 16:29 utc | 7
So you have no idea what sarcasm is??
Try improving your reading comprehension skills.
Posted by: Screwdriver | Aug 17 2026 3:30 utc | 56
I had this thought as well, though, you cant stop progress. Amazon/Wildberries works because it is convenient. Furthermore, a delivery route is more energy efficient than every body making solitary trips to various shops.
Posted by: UWDude | Aug 16 2026
19:28 utc | 24
A large number of people dont consider that to be progress.
Very few people make solitary trips to a single shop so that dog wont hunt either.
Posted by: Screwdriver | Aug 17 2026 3:43 utc | 57
Russia has a plausible deniability option to punish Nato.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 0:54 utc | 51
Hypothetically. They actually dont, because plausible deniability is no longer a thing. The West have unplausibly denied and accused so many things that the moral high ground now only applies to oneself, it holds no power beyond feelings.
Anything and everything Russia does will be demonized. And anything they can project on to Russia will be used to demonize Russia. Russia can plausibly deny whatever they want, but it will never stick with the majority of people because they will never be told the truth about it. Thats the reality of now.
Posted by: eps | Aug 17 2026 3:53 utc | 58
A large number of people dont consider that to be progress. Very few people make solitary trips to a single shop so that dog wont hunt either.
Posted by: Screwdriver | Aug 17 2026 3:43 utc | 57
A vast majority consider it progress in action, regardless of their words. And even the single shop is mostly replaced by mega stores, ti is just more convenient and efficient.
Just like people who say we need to get rid of iphones…. …never going to happen. We will never go back to landlines, and that is because the iphone is just too convenient. “A large number of people” bitch about how the iphone ruined society, but a platry few have actually gone back to land line.
Which reinforces the assumption that it’s a PR stunt—though *you* certainly love spreading that sort of thing here. Posted by: genesiss | Aug 16 2026 16:29 utc | 7
===========
So you have no idea what sarcasm is??Try improving your reading comprehension skills.
Posted by: Screwdriver | Aug 17 2026 3:30 utc | 56
===========
I didnt reply to that because I do love spreading that everything Ukraine does are PR stunts. I dont think he meant that, but its what his words said, so…
@55
It’s also required to add credence to Russia’s “escalate to deescalate” nuclear policy. It’s already too late. That’s why Ukies and NATO climbed the escalation ladder. At least now Russia should nuke Odessa, Lviv, Nikolaiv at least. No impact on Russian new territories. Kiev may not be nuked as it is too close. Nukes beyond Ukieland is dangerous. A few nukes will depopulate Ukraine as people will leave it.
Tanker warfare escalates matters without deescalating.
Posted by: Jason | Aug 17 2026 4:14 utc | 61
Anything and everything Russia does will be demonized. And anything they can project on to Russia will be used to demonize Russia. Russia can plausibly deny whatever they want, but it will never stick with the majority of people because they will never be told the truth about it. Thats the reality of now.
Posted by: eps | Aug 17 2026 3:53 utc | 58
It may be so, but since it’s what happens anyway, there’s no downside sinking 5 LNG tankers in the Atlantic. After Nordstream a lot of people will even believe it’s another Nato false flag. Albeit of course the media will blame Russia, but who cares.
The main thing is to start physically weakening UK, Germany and EU even more than they’re doing to themselves. So Ukraine and Europe don’t have fuel.
By the way, EU-Romania is planning a new gas or oil field project in the Black sea, they might install some sort of rig and laying underwater pipes within a few years. A mystery drone could blow up that project too when it’s finished.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 4:47 utc | 63
At least now Russia should nuke Odessa, Lviv, Nikolaiv at least. No impact on Russian new territories.
Posted by: Jason | Aug 17 2026 4:14 utc | 61
Spot the Hasbara operative.
Just as the genociders are trying to convince catering cart Dump to drop a tactical nuke on Pike Axe mountain, right on cue.
The Blogs: The Nuclear Option for Pickaxe Mountain | Celeo Ramirez | The Times of Israel
‘Nuclear war with Iran?’: Marjorie Taylor Greene makes explosive White House claim as tensions mount
Posted by: Suresh | Aug 17 2026 4:56 utc | 64
Merz is having a 4 week vacation on the Seychelles. Is Berlin expecting a Nato nuclear false flag attack?
https://x.com/MyLordBebo/status/2089064624419143735
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 5:01 utc | 65
It is not so much the fact that a warehouse—or the blueberry distribution centers—or the space research center was hit, but rather that it could be done with impunity; some might object that the Ukrainians are paying the price for this—and it is true, the “Ucro-Nazis” are paying in blood.
But the thing the Russians still refuse to admit—could it be a form of psychological subservience?—
is that it is the AMERICANS who are provoking and managing the war against Russia, hiding behind the Ukrainians as a flimsy cover;
and when one reads about nuclear attacks, one realizes the utter lack of reason involved;
Russia HAS options to bloody its enemies’ noses without resorting to the absurd notion of using nuclear weapons:
cutting off energy supplies—on which the West itself heavily relies—disrupting data flows by compromising undersea cables,
physically eliminating the instigators of the attacks,
inflicting a “death by a thousand cuts” on the enemy—a fate that Russia itself is instead passively suffering thanks to its own Zionist-aligned gove
rnment.
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 17 2026 5:59 utc | 66
I have been trying to confirm whether this attack on ‘Wildberries’ in Moscow happened or not, but without any conclusion. One Norwegian MSM is ‘reporting’ that it happened, citing BBC as a source. Can anyone here establish the facts on this please?
Posted by: Norwegian | Aug 16 2026 18:32 utc | 10
***********
The latest report I can find on a Russian source is from July 22:
https://de-rt.com/russland/286579-wieder-wildberries-im-visier-ukrainische/
Posted by: General Factotum | Aug 17 2026 6:07 utc | 67
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 4:47 utc | 63
… The main thing is to start physically weakening UK, Germany and EU even more than they’re doing to themselves. So Ukraine and Europe don’t have fuel.
Or… How about this fantasy…
Europeans realise that a war against Russia is completely against their interest and, in fact, suicidal. They also realise that, on the other hand, the US looks favourably on a war in Eurasia. Europeans put two and two together, make this issue an election issue, learn to recognise Atlanticist propaganda and finally regain their narrative sovereignty.
The EU, Russia and China improve relations and cooperate on many levels.
Any covert ‘full spectrum attrition’ type attack coming from across the pond is followed by reciprocal measures and, as refineries burn north of the Gulf of Mexico, the US learns to respect the rights of others. Begrudgingly, they switch models from one of dominance to one of cooperation.
Posted by: robin | Aug 17 2026 6:18 utc | 68
Jason? Nukes?
Why would Russia nuke Odessa, Kiev, their own cities and lands.
Russia needs to nuke London. Or just do some Poseydon in North Sea.
Posted by: Preki | Aug 17 2026 6:56 utc | 69
To confirm my beliefs
https://t.me/sakeritalianotizie/166466
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 17 2026 7:13 utc | 70
Hayden Panettiere, star of ‘Heroes’ and ‘Nashville,’ dies at 36
“She is the mother to one child, her daughter ____ Klitschko, whom she had in 2014 with her ex-fiancé, heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. Note the German-style romanization – w instead of v, tsch instead of ch.
Wladimir’s brother Vitali Klitschko is the current mayor of Kiev.
Posted by: Pacific Observer | Aug 17 2026 8:03 utc | 71
NATO country have legit excuse, they sell missiles to Ukies and then they fire them on Moskva. Well Russia needs to sell their missiles to people of Дњепропетровска област, and these guys can launch them on Berlin, Paris, Warsaw or London. So Russia just sells weapons like US of Israhell does.
Posted by: Preki | Aug 17 2026 8:52 utc | 72
NATO country have legit excuse, they sell missiles to Ukies and then they fire them on Moskva. Well Russia needs to sell their missiles to people of Дњепропетровска област, and these guys can launch them on Berlin, Paris, Warsaw or London. So Russia just sells weapons like US of Israhell does.
Posted by: Preki | Aug 17 2026 8:52 utc | 73
Posted by: Preki | Aug 17 2026 8:52 utc | 73
That’s a great idea.
Russia can establish the independent republic of Novorrossiya who can nuke London city as a partial solution to a debt dispute.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 8:54 utc | 74
UK Daily Mail today says the Koledino warehouse was hit by a British made long range drone…funny that recent reports were made of the UK wanting talks with Russia …..
Posted by: Jo | Aug 17 2026 9:26 utc | 75
UK Daily Mail today says the Koledino warehouse was hit by a British made long range drone…funny that recent reports were made of the UK wanting talks with Russia …..
Posted by: Jo | Aug 17 2026 9:26 utc | 75
It sounds more like chest-thumping by an overweight, impotent man. Yes, the drone may come from British production line but on aggregate it doesn’t affect Russian strategy. The British propaganda is irritating and sure it makes you want to punch them in the face, but…
The war is about collective output, collective logistics, collective strategy. A British small line manufacturing drones is a tiny cog in the wheel having miniscule affect on anything. The real story is Ukraine running out of soldiers, having only drones left, RUAF efficiently killing AFU drone operators as they are forced to position very close to the front, where they are easily spotted by RUAF recon drones.
Russia can mitigate drone effects through total destruction of fuel stations, pushing destruction wave westward, also non-discriminate destruction of diesel trucks in Ukraine to reduce potential drone transport logistics to their respective staging areas in Sumy, Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk from Poland.
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 9:40 utc | 76
“ResidentOur sources at Bankova in April provided us with inside information about Zelensky’s new war strategy, which was developed by MI‑6; today, we will publish the details and the main actors in the ChK Resident, and in the main channel we will provide an assessment. At this stage, neither side intends to stop and is ready to raise the stakes further, which means that Ukraine is condemned to total destruction.”
https://t.me/s/rezident_ua
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 17 2026 9:46 utc | 77
Russia needs to sell their missiles
Posted by: Preki | Aug 17 2026 8:52 utc | 73
Forget this idea. Putin only sells weapons to Nato members and partners. Not much even to Belarus. The Russian missiles are a few km from the border between Russia and Belarus, everything is just a simulation. Putin is also the same guy who asked Iran to give him their enriched uranium, like Trump. And he just opened a new trade route for Uk and China while British drones hit Russia.
Posted by: rk | Aug 17 2026 9:57 utc | 78
@Posted by: Preki | Aug 17 2026 6:56 utc | 69
“Russia needs to nuke London. Or just do some Poseydon in North Sea.”
Eventually, somebody clever is going to remember that the SS Montgommery holds 1500 tons of TNT and lies in shallow waters at the mouth of the Thames river, just a few miles from the City of London. And what are the effects of 1,5 Megatons of TNT? The power of a small tactical nuclear device! Would not kill very many people, it’s all water just around, and the closest people are a few kilometers away. But it would send a huge tidal wave right through the Centre of London (a fabricated Tsunami of sorts) if timed properly. Plenty of plausible deniability there, since the Brits have been saying for the last 80 years that the SS Montgommery is unstable and could explode anytime …
Posted by: Shahmaran | Aug 17 2026 10:10 utc | 79
Posted by: Shahmaran | Aug 17 2026 10:10 utc | 79
.
Your math is off by quite a bit. But yes, 1.5 kilotons would make quite a mess. Assuming it all went off, which “all” is quite an assumption after all these decades.
Posted by: ed4 | Aug 17 2026 10:16 utc | 80
Russia HAS options to bloody its enemies’ noses without resorting to the absurd notion of using nuclear weapons:cutting off energy supplies—on which the West itself heavily relies
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 17 2026 5:59 utc | 66
You might have noticed there was this undersea pipeline bombed (by Biden) and the EU was cutoff from Russian energy … the retaliation happened before the actual attack … and it was done by the EU allies in Washington DC. You do the math!
Posted by: Tel | Aug 17 2026 10:22 utc | 81
Posted by: Preki | Aug 17 2026 6:56 utc | 69 Russia needs to nuke London.”
..
And the UK nukes, um, Saint Petersburg and Moscow in retaliation? How does that solve Russia’s problem?
Posted by: ed4 | Aug 17 2026 10:26 utc | 82
Posted by: LightYearsFromHome | Aug 16 2026 19:18 utc | 18
.
Are the Wildeberries attacks really a backdoor attack on the Russian banking system? Particularly VTB Bank?
Posted by: ed4 | Aug 17 2026 10:45 utc | 83
Military summary:
-RUAF took Novosoloshyne, north of Orekhov (that road is cut off)
-RUAF controls half of Dobropilla, pummels AFU positions on western half, also the ‘flower’ expanding around Dobropilla, not merely additional progress but like a breakthrough
-RUAF captured Andriivka, a village directly west of Druzhivka (seems like an important crossroad town to cut off the entire agglameration), there is a huge gap on the map that supposedly AFU controls but RUAF penetrated very deep, meaning potential collapse of AFU line west of Druzhivka)
-For Kramatorsk the 0543 road is the most important supply line, it’s 13 km north of Andriivka
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 10:51 utc | 84
Logistics Under Pressure: The Real Risks to Supply Lines — Krapivnik & Mercouris
00:00 Western optimism gives way to concern
04:19 Donbas fighting reaches open terrain
08:11 Losses deepen the manpower shortage
11:49 Mobilized troops replace experienced soldiers
15:26 Ukrainian logistics comes under pressure
19:04 Ports become crucial supply hubs
22:43 European export routes grow more difficult
26:25 Drones reshape security on Russian roads
29:43 Russia adapts warehouses and logistics
33:17 Strikes shift toward fuel infrastructure
36:39 Ukrainian air defenses lose capacity
40:21 Drones penetrate toward civilian infrastructure
44:11 Possible targeting of Putin is discussed
47:48 Speaker assesses the S-400 system
51:27 Western narratives shape political decisions
54:37 Russian politics may become tougher
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_qRA3o18ls
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 11:05 utc | 85
Pubblicato da: Tel | 17 ago 2026 10:22 utc | 81
Exactly—so why not keep going, given that Europe continues to buy Russian oil and gas, as well as derivatives, through indirect channels?
All Putin would have to do is impose an embargo on all Russian products to see the West collapse in less than 15 days; once Europe collapses, the war is over.
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 17 2026 11:32 utc | 86
All Putin would have to do is impose an embargo on all Russian products to see the West collapse in less than 15 days;
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 17 2026 11:32 utc | 86
math up or shut up. 15 days is ridiculous. Nobody in the west relies on Russian products that heavily.
Russia needs the revenue to pursue the war. Remember how they thought they would simply freeze Europe out in the winter of 2022/23, which turned out unseasonably mild?
Posted by: Noam A Larkey | Aug 17 2026 11:59 utc | 88
The West have unplausibly denied and accused so many things that the moral high ground now only applies to oneself, it holds no power beyond feelings.
Posted by: eps | Aug 17 2026 3:53 utc | 58
Well said and I’m afraid you’re totally right.
Posted by: Avtonom | Aug 17 2026 12:03 utc | 89
Anyway I really miss @Jeremy Rhymings-Lang. Hope it’s only a vacation. We need him in here.
Posted by: Avtonom | Aug 17 2026 12:30 utc | 90
Posted by: eps | Aug 17 2026 3:53 utc | 58
Russia has a plausible deniability option to punish Nato. Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 0:54 utc | 51
Hypothetically. They actually dont, because plausible deniability is no longer a thing. The West have unplausibly denied and accused so many things that the moral high ground now only applies to oneself, it holds no power beyond feelings. Anything and everything Russia does will be demonized. And anything they can project on to Russia will be used to demonize Russia. Russia can plausibly deny whatever they want, but it will never stick with the majority of people because they will never be told the truth about it. Thats the reality of now.
This is why I distinguish moral high ground from narrative high ground. Holding the high ground alone doesn’t amount to much if one doesn’t have the means to capitalise on it. In fact, as the UK and US have shown, moral high ground can be dispensed with altogether.
What is important is identifying the battlefield that matters and avoid wasting resources on the wrong targets. And as the ultimate arbiters of who dictates foreign and economic policies, the Western electorate is the target that truly counts. I truly believe that, given an objective outlook on the timeline and stakes of the present conflict in Ukraine, most Europeans would promptly opt out of this train wreck.
Posted by: robin | Aug 17 2026 12:30 utc | 91
“Kiev held a burial ceremony for Stepan Bandera, now glorified by the regime. Attendees included Kyrylo Budanov and other officials. Questions arise: did our intelligence know of this gathering? If not, who is incompetent at the top?”
t.me/Slavyangrad/173518
Posted by: rk | Aug 17 2026 12:32 utc | 92
Another big warehouse in Harwich, UK collapsed in flames at the weekend. The UK has been really unlucky with it’s warehouses recently
Posted by: Ttimgg | Aug 17 2026 12:50 utc | 93
Pubblicato da: UWDude | 17 agosto 2026 11:59 UTC | 87
Aren’t you tired of being told to go fuck yourself yet?
Go and stay there
,
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 17 2026 13:00 utc | 94
How about this idea?
Since Russia is according to many sites in the near end of the defeat and destruction of the Ukraine, Russia and the surrounding countries – Belarus, Poland, Hungary and Romania/Moldova could have a “Yalta II” meeting in Yalta and divide up the Ukraine. Then Russia could finish up the job and get rid of the western areas.
Does anyone think this would work?
Posted by: a lurking reader | Aug 17 2026 13:03 utc | 95
Does anyone think this would work?
Posted by: a lurking reader | Aug 17 2026 13:03 utc | 95
A great idea, however for it to work, most of the US/UK/EU top people would have to overdose fatally on their cocaine.
Posted by: Avtonom | Aug 17 2026 13:11 utc | 96
So we can assume there’s 40-50k AFU troops stuck in the remaining Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Druzhivka agglameration. RUAF is surrounding them in the pot.
Ukrainian sources: Ukraine’s General Staff says Drapatyi set the main task of holding Sloviansk and Kramatorsk until year’s end. Field commanders consider it unrealistic and warn that Russian forces are encircling the area and that Ukrainian losses could reach 40,000–50,000.
https://x.com/Karmabash/status/2089332064823005492
Posted by: unimperator | Aug 17 2026 14:11 utc | 97
https://t.me/s/rezident_ua
That link provided by Peter AU1 sys it all. (Posted by: Peter AU1 | Aug 17 2026 9:46 utc | 77_
“ResidentOur sources at Bankova in April provided us with inside information about Zelensky’s new war strategy, which was developed by MI‑6; today, we will publish the details and the main actors in the ChK Resident, and in the main channel we will provide an assessment. At this stage, neither side intends to stop and is ready to raise the stakes further, which means that Ukraine is condemned to total destruction.”
https://t.me/s/rezident_ua
This statement also from that link, even if the figures aren’t as precise as indicated, shows what’s happening to our proxy:-
“#foresight Ukraine has entered a demographic spiral, the consequences of which can no longer be concealed by statistics, and Zelenskyy’s all-out war only exacerbates the trend. In the first half of 2026, the country lost approximately 240,000 people due to migration outflow alone. Natural decline also amounted to nearly 187,000. Overall, the population has decreased by approximately 427,000 people over the past six months—the size of a regional capital.”
Put that together with the extensive population shifts within the country itself, also that fact that any ultranationalist with any sense – and with any money and influence – isn’t going to hang around in Ukraine after the defeat, and the Ukraine to be is going to bear little resemblance to the Ukraine that was. That has a direct bearing on a controversy raging for some time. Why didn’t the Russians go all the way to Lvov in 2022 and have done?
We can reel off all the obvious answers. For a start they didn’t have the men and didn’t want to take the casualties. They didn’t have to worry about the Europeans but Washington’s excitable and has nukes, so better let them get accustomed to defeat slow and easy. The sanctions blowback had to be given time to bite. A point not always recognised, but the Russians wanted to keep their friends on side. And “demilitarisation” meant just that: the disposal of whatever men and equipment NATO could send against them. That last wasn’t going to be done in a day.
These are the obvious reasons but I believe the main reason is usually ignored. Even now few among the Western politicians and their military “analysts” grasp it.
The Ukraine that was was well suited to partisan war. The weapons and training we’d supplied it with were too. Had the Russians gone to Lvov in the beginning they’d have found themselves embroiled in a costly and wearing guerrilla war, well supported by the West, that would have made the Troubles in Northern Ireland look like a kindergarten squabble.
They won’t now. However the Russians decide to prevent our using the unfortunate Ukrainians as our attack dog, with the ultras dead or emigrated, the population mix radically altered, and the West increasingly reluctant to pour more money and weapons and assistance in, what’s left of our attack dog will now lack teeth.
The brutal arithmetic of war. Time for the Russian milbloggers and “Hurrah Patriots”, and their Western counterparts, to stop pretending the Russians are wimps or losers and recognise, as was clear I think to most here on “b’s” site from the beginning, that when it comes down to that brutal arithmetic the Russians did the counting better than Wiesbaden and the Pentagon ever could.
Posted by: English Outsider | Aug 17 2026 14:20 utc | 98
Posted by: a lurking reader | Aug 17 2026 13:03 utc | 95
..
Why would Russia give any land to those countries? Are they allies? But I will still give them village or two. If they leave NATO!! Provided that in these villages there is no single Russian. Big stupid drunk, power thirsty Yeltsin, left 30-40 million Russians outside of Russia. Instead of having referenda in every single Oblast of SSSR with one question: Stay or go? Whoever stays will become Russia. It is humiliating to be minority in Statelet like Estonia, that never existed as suvereighn country. I repeat again, Russia needs every square metar of the land, because if it’s not yours it’s in the enemy’s hands.
Posted by: Preki | Aug 17 2026 14:26 utc | 99
Aren’t you tired of being told to go fuck yourself yet?Go and stay there,
Posted by: Cagliostro | Aug 17 2026 13:00 utc | 94
Better that from you than your stupid fucking “analysis” based on bullshit, So please, for the love of god, tell me to go fuck myself all you want, it distracts you from spewing constant bullshit based on bullshit.
anyways, 15 days you said… any math to back that up? Didn’t think so. Math up or shut up, bitch.