23 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

My main sources for information about how Trump favors Russia over Ukraine (which is a FACT) are Jake Broe and Professor Gerdes Explains (youtube) both traditional conservative (non maga fascist) conservative republicans.

You tagged the HT stuff. It's always rubbish.

1 minute ago, nauseus said:

You tagged the HT stuff. It's always rubbish.

It was just a random hit. I don't regularly watch them. Cheers.

I do watch most of the Jake Broe and Gerdes videos and there are a lot

Edited May 15May 15 by Jingthing

While Ukraine is winning now we can't predict the final outcome.

It's good to be conscious of the brutal beating Ukrainians have taken by the bloody hands of genocidal war criminal dictator Putin.

The human safari is rarely mentioned here.

So here's a true story of a brave Ukrainian boy who fought off a human safari drone with his own hands probably saving the lives of children.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/05/15/russian-drones-hunt-ukrainians-human-safari-boy-fought-back/

.In northern Ukraine, it was boy vs. Russian drone. The boy won.

A soldier taught a 12-year-old how to disable the fiber-optic drones that Russia has been using to hunt Ukrainian civilians in a campaign the U.N. has labeled a war crime.

Today at 5:00 a.m. EDT

Edited May 15May 15 by Jingthing

Not sure if they've hit this refinery before, but it's getting lit up.

Lots of thick heavy oily smoke to remind the locals that there is a war on

Edited May 15May 15 by Cave Johnson

I'm not sure if they are deliberately targeting UN vehicle's or they just don't give a xxit

They Kremlin seems convinced they are fighting NATO not Ukraine, don't know where the UN fits in there thinking

I doubt many people a few years ago could have even imagined Ukraine's incredible success hitting these important energy targets DEEP inside Russia with Russia being more or less helpless to stop them.

"No cards" my ass!

8 hours ago, Jingthing said:

I doubt many people a few years ago could have even imagined Ukraine's incredible success hitting these important energy targets DEEP inside Russia with Russia being more or less helpless to stop them.

"No cards" my ass!

Proof of the saying: necessity is the mother of invention

Drones Slam Russian Chemical Plant as Fire Rips Through Stavropol Facility

A major chemical plant in southern Russia was engulfed in flames overnight after what residents described as a direct drone strike deep inside the country’s territory. Explosions rocked the city of Nevinnomyssk in Stavropol Krai in the early hours of Friday, with footage circulating online showing a huge blaze tearing through the sprawling Nevinnomysskiy Azot complex.

The strike marks another escalation in Ukraine’s expanding long-range drone campaign against Russian industrial and military infrastructure — and raises fresh questions about Moscow’s ability to defend strategic sites far from the front line.

‘Not One Air Defence Shot’

Residents said the attack began around 2.30am local time, when multiple explosions echoed across the industrial city. Videos posted to social media appeared to show flames rapidly spreading across part of the chemical facility, lighting up the night sky.

What alarmed locals most was not only the scale of the fire, but the apparent absence of any Russian response. Witnesses quoted by monitoring channels and Russian opposition-linked outlets said they did not hear a single air defence system activate during the assault.

That detail is likely to deepen scrutiny of Russia’s internal air defence coverage as Ukrainian drones increasingly penetrate hundreds of miles into Russian territory.

Strategic Site Hit Deep Inside Russia

Nevinnomysskiy Azot is one of Russia’s largest chemical enterprises and a key industrial asset in Stavropol Krai. The plant produces fertilisers and chemical products critical to several sectors of the Russian economy.

Russian authorities had not released official details about casualties or damage by Friday morning. There was also no immediate confirmation of how many drones were involved.

Ukraine Expands Pressure Campaign

The strike follows a string of increasingly ambitious Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy and military infrastructure. In recent days, drones reportedly hit the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in Krasnodar Krai, triggering another major fire.

Russian oil refineries, fuel depots and air defence systems in regions including Yaroslavl have also come under attack. Kyiv rarely claims responsibility directly, but the pattern is becoming harder for Moscow to dismiss.

The pressure point is clear: Ukraine is trying to raise the cost of war far beyond the battlefield — while exposing vulnerabilities inside Russia itself.

Russia’s Stavropol region chemical facility hit by drones, fire erupts

1 hour ago, bannork said:

Proof of the saying: necessity is the mother of invention

Drones Slam Russian Chemical Plant as Fire Rips Through Stavropol Facility

A major chemical plant in southern Russia was engulfed in flames overnight after what residents described as a direct drone strike deep inside the country’s territory. Explosions rocked the city of Nevinnomyssk in Stavropol Krai in the early hours of Friday, with footage circulating online showing a huge blaze tearing through the sprawling Nevinnomysskiy Azot complex.

The strike marks another escalation in Ukraine’s expanding long-range drone campaign against Russian industrial and military infrastructure — and raises fresh questions about Moscow’s ability to defend strategic sites far from the front line.

‘Not One Air Defence Shot’

Residents said the attack began around 2.30am local time, when multiple explosions echoed across the industrial city. Videos posted to social media appeared to show flames rapidly spreading across part of the chemical facility, lighting up the night sky.

What alarmed locals most was not only the scale of the fire, but the apparent absence of any Russian response. Witnesses quoted by monitoring channels and Russian opposition-linked outlets said they did not hear a single air defence system activate during the assault.

That detail is likely to deepen scrutiny of Russia’s internal air defence coverage as Ukrainian drones increasingly penetrate hundreds of miles into Russian territory.

Strategic Site Hit Deep Inside Russia

Nevinnomysskiy Azot is one of Russia’s largest chemical enterprises and a key industrial asset in Stavropol Krai. The plant produces fertilisers and chemical products critical to several sectors of the Russian economy.

Russian authorities had not released official details about casualties or damage by Friday morning. There was also no immediate confirmation of how many drones were involved.

Ukraine Expands Pressure Campaign

The strike follows a string of increasingly ambitious Ukrainian attacks on Russian energy and military infrastructure. In recent days, drones reportedly hit the Tamanneftegaz oil terminal in Krasnodar Krai, triggering another major fire.

Russian oil refineries, fuel depots and air defence systems in regions including Yaroslavl have also come under attack. Kyiv rarely claims responsibility directly, but the pattern is becoming harder for Moscow to dismiss.

The pressure point is clear: Ukraine is trying to raise the cost of war far beyond the battlefield — while exposing vulnerabilities inside Russia itself.

Russia’s Stavropol region chemical facility hit by drones, fire erupts

Escalating the conflict, more explosions, more violence, more people gonna die, more money for ukraks and gangsters = nazi banderites and reterded ukrainophiles happy 😬

On 5/15/2026 at 8:44 AM, candide said:

So why doesn't Putin do that? 🤣

LOL ! Like all this mess was his decision only, you blind dunce.

20 minutes ago, t0mt0m said:

LOL ! Like all this mess was his decision only, you blind dunce.

LOL! Like he wasn't the main culprit! You Russia propagandist! 🤣

Main Chemical plant going up in flames, producer of ammonium and ammonium nitrate for bomb production

A major drone strike was launched on Moscow during the early hours of Sunday, according to local authorities. Images spreading across social media show blasts occurring in multiple parts of the Russian capital and its surroundings, including at an oil refinery.

The drone strike claimed at least three lives across the Moscow region and wounded 12 others, Russian officials have stated. Moscow regional Governor Andrei Vorobyov claimed two men died in the Pogorelki village, while a woman was killed in Khimki, north of Moscow.

He also stated that several tower blocks and infrastructure sites had been damaged in the strike. All four Moscow airports experienced operational disruption on several occasions since late Saturday following the attack.

Moscow on fire as three killed and tower blocks hit in devastating drone attack

Electronic factory in a industrial park

Ukrainian drones struck targets in Zelenograd, an administrative district of Moscow. The likely target was the ELMA technopark, where companies involved in electronics production are located.

Ukraine is definitely bring the hammer down

During May 16–17, 2026, the Unmanned Systems Forces grouping delivered middle strikes on a "Tor-M2" SAM system, logistics infrastructure, command and communication nodes, UAV control points, a border patrol ship, and other enemy targets

On 5/16/2026 at 3:35 PM, t0mt0m said:

Escalating the conflict, more explosions, more violence, more people gonna die, more money for ukraks and gangsters = nazi banderites and reterded ukrainophiles happy 😬

Tell us about the word ukraks.

Drone with rockets now.

Drones with shotguns

Drones with flamethrowers

Ukraine’s Drone Revolution Puts Russia Under Pressure as Summer Fighting Intensifies

Ukraine is entering the most dangerous phase of the war in its strongest military position for years, with a rapid battlefield transformation driven by drones, robotics and relentless long-range strikes beginning to erode Russia’s core advantages.

As warmer weather hardens the ground and clears the skies for major operations, Ukrainian forces are increasingly using mass-produced unmanned systems to blunt Russian assaults, disrupt logistics and strike deep behind enemy lines. Military analysts say the shift is reshaping the conflict faster than many Western planners anticipated.

Russia’s Manpower Edge Starts to Crack

For much of the past two years, Moscow relied on sheer numbers to sustain pressure across the 800-mile frontline. But Ukrainian officials now claim Russian casualties are outpacing recruitment for the first time since the war escalated, with losses between December and April exceeding replacement rates.

That matters because Russia’s strategy in 2025 has depended heavily on constant infantry infiltration and drone saturation. Ukrainian forces are now responding with vast numbers of cheaper, faster and increasingly autonomous systems designed to detect and eliminate small Russian assault groups before they can break through defensive lines.

Millions of Drones Flood the Battlefield

Kyiv plans to produce more than seven million drones this year, almost doubling previous output. Interceptor drones are already being deployed in huge numbers against Russian reconnaissance and attack systems, with Ukrainian forces claiming tens of thousands of enemy drones destroyed in recent months alone.

The battlefield economics are brutal. Small FPV drones assembled from commercial parts are increasingly destroying vehicles and equipment worth hundreds of times more than the systems attacking them. The war is becoming a contest of industrial adaptation as much as firepower.

Long-Range Strikes Push the War Into Russia

Ukraine’s expanding strike campaign is also reaching deeper into Russian territory than at any point in the war. Oil infrastructure, military warehouses, rail logistics and air defence systems are all coming under sustained attack from low-cost one-way drones flying below radar coverage.

The strategy is designed to stretch Russian defences across the vast geography of the country, forcing Moscow into difficult decisions over what it can realistically protect. Even senior Russian officials have reportedly acknowledged that parts of western Russia can no longer be fully shielded from Ukrainian drone attacks.

Technology Buys Time — Not Victory

Ukraine’s gains do not erase its vulnerabilities. Manpower shortages remain severe, while Russian ballistic missile strikes continue to threaten cities and infrastructure.

But after years spent largely reacting to Russian pressure, Kyiv is once again shaping events on the battlefield. For the first time in years, Ukraine is not simply trying to survive the war — it is forcing Russia to adapt to it.

Ukraine in strongest position for years as war enters critical phase

Russia Claims Breakthrough Near Kupiansk — But Analysts Say the Offensive Is Stalling

Russians claim advances in Kharkiv region: ISW assesses the situation© RBC-Ukraine (UK)

Russia’s military leadership is facing growing scrutiny after making sweeping claims of battlefield gains in eastern Ukraine that analysts say bear little resemblance to reality on the ground.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, senior Russian officials have spent months exaggerating advances around the strategically important city of Kupiansk in an apparent attempt to project momentum as Moscow’s wider offensive loses pace.

Gerasimov’s Claims Clash With Battlefield Reality

Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov claimed this week that Russian troops were advancing west of Kupiansk and moving toward nearby settlements including Shevchenkove, Velyka Shapkivka and Kutkivka.

But ISW analysts say the assertions are highly misleading. Ukrainian forces still control the overwhelming majority of the territory in question, while Russian units reportedly hold only limited and fragmented positions near the frontline.

The think tank assessed that Russian troops have penetrated just small portions of key settlements and remain kilometres away from some of the areas Moscow publicly claims to influence.

Ukraine Holds the Line as Russia Burns Through Resources

The dispute over battlefield maps comes at a sensitive moment for the Kremlin. After more than a year of grinding offensives, Russian forces have struggled to produce a decisive breakthrough despite enormous manpower and equipment losses.

Analysts say Ukraine’s expanding use of drones, counterattacks and layered defensive positions is slowing Russian advances and forcing Moscow into costly assaults with diminishing returns. In several sectors, Ukrainian units are reportedly regaining the tactical initiative.

The Kremlin’s Narrative Problem Deepens

The repeated inflation of Russian battlefield claims is now raising wider questions about decision-making inside Moscow’s military command structure. ISW warned that exaggerated reporting risks distorting strategic planning if senior officials begin relying on their own propaganda.

The pressure is particularly acute around Kupiansk, a critical transport hub in the Kharkiv Oblast region that Russia has long sought to recapture. Without securing the city, analysts say Moscow cannot realistically advance further along key highways deeper into Ukrainian-held territory.

Summer Offensive Faces Growing Resistance

The fighting is expected to intensify through the summer months as drier conditions favour large-scale operations. But despite repeated declarations of progress from Moscow, Ukraine’s defensive lines are continuing to hold.

For the Kremlin, that creates a dangerous political gap between rhetoric and reality. The longer Russia struggles to convert costly offensives into meaningful territorial gains, the harder it becomes to sustain the image of inevitable advance that Moscow has spent years trying to project.

Russians claim advances in Kharkiv region: ISW assesses the situation

Welded Into a Pipeline: Russian Soldiers Describe Failed Underground Assault

“The pipe was welded shut” – Russian soldiers give harrowing truth about pipeline mission© Sergey Nikonov

Russian troops sent crawling through a gas pipeline toward Ukrainian positions were allegedly sealed inside the metal tube after entry, according to captured soldiers who described the operation as a suicidal mission designed to feed men into the frontline with no route back.

The failed infiltration attempt near the Orikhiv axis has become the latest symbol of the increasingly desperate tactics emerging as Russia struggles to achieve major battlefield breakthroughs.

A 13-Kilometre Crawl Into Combat

According to Ukrainian military accounts, Russian assault groups travelled more than 13 kilometres through a pipeline barely one metre wide in an attempt to bypass Ukrainian defensive positions undetected.

Troops reportedly entered through access points inside Russian-controlled territory before moving through makeshift bypass tunnels and underground communication posts constructed inside the pipe itself. The exits were positioned close to Ukrainian trenches.

But for the soldiers inside, the mission carried a grim condition from the beginning: retreat was impossible.

“We Were Sent as Cannon Fodder”

Footage released by Ukraine’s 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade showed a captured Russian soldier describing how the pipeline was welded shut after each assault group entered.

“It became clear that we were sent there as cannon fodder,” the prisoner said, according to Ukrainian reports. The claim could not be independently verified, but it reflects mounting allegations from both sides that frontline infantry are being pushed into increasingly high-risk operations with little chance of survival.

Ukraine Was Waiting

Ukrainian forces reportedly detected the operation in advance and prepared defensive positions around the pipeline exits. Instead of immediate firefights, troops scattered surrender leaflets instructing Russian soldiers how to give themselves up once they emerged.

There were no confirmed reports of casualties from the incident. Ukrainian officials say it marks the fourth known Russian attempt this year to use pipelines for covert infiltration operations.

Russia’s Battlefield Pressure Is Growing

The episode comes as Moscow faces intensifying difficulties along large sections of the frontline. Ukrainian forces reportedly reclaimed more than 100 square kilometres of territory in April while continuing to blunt Russian advances through drones, layered defences and long-range strikes.

That has forced Russian commanders to rely increasingly on small infiltration units, sabotage teams and unconventional tactics aimed at slipping behind Ukrainian lines. But operations like the pipeline assault also expose the growing strain on Russia’s ability to generate meaningful territorial gains after years of grinding warfare.

The pipe was welded shut – Russian soldiers give harrowing truth about pipeline mission

On 5/15/2026 at 7:59 PM, Jingthing said:

My main sources for information about how Trump favors Russia over Ukraine (which is a FACT) are Jake Broe and Professor Gerdes Explains (youtube) both traditional conservative (non maga fascist) conservative republicans.

What are some examples that your sources us to support their claims Trump favors Russia over Ukraine?

According to an analysis published in The Economist, various figures seem to be trending in Ukraine's favour in recent times, with Russian casualties mounting and Russia starting to lose ground.

Here are a couple of extracts:

We estimate that by May 12th between 280,000 and 518,000 Russian soldiers had been killed, with total casualties (including wounded) of between 1.1m and 1.5m—meaning that around 3% of Russia’s pre-war male population of fighting age has been killed or wounded. Our calculations combine credible casualty estimates from intelligence agencies, defence officials and independent researchers with data from our war tracker, which allows us to model daily death tolls based on the intensity of combat.

recently Ukraine has begun to claw back ground: a 30-day moving average shows it has recaptured around 189 square kilometres. Russia may be stalling before a summer push. This may also be a turning-point in the war.

https://archive.ph/2026.05.18-043523/https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2026/05/17/russia-is-starting-to-lose-ground-in-ukraine

Longer range missiles, guided glide bombs developed.

Bomber drones, drones hunting russian infantry

Ukraine is advancing how wars are fought

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/lets-re-do-the-math-on-ukraine-vance-drones-support-war-russia-putin-trump

Russia supporting nations like China and the United States who have doubted Ukraine's capabilities have been proven inaccurate, none more so than the cheif Russia champion, JD Vance.

IN 2024, REPUBLICANS WHO WERE SOURING on Ukraine came up with lots of arguments for why the United States should cut off its support for the besieged democracy. They ranged from allegations that most of the aid was gobbled up by waste and corruption to warnings that helping Ukraine would lead to World War III to “we’re ignoring our own people’s problems.” Each of these arguments was flawed, but perhaps none exploded quite so spectacularly as the one championed by JD Vance and adopted by President Trump: that Ukraine is doomed to lose anyway, so American aid is a waste.

Vance became the chief proponent of this argument when he published an op-ed in the New York Times under the title “The Math on Ukraine Doesn’t Add Up.” His argument was simple: “Ukraine needs more soldiers than it can field, even with draconian conscription policies. And it needs more materiel than the United States can provide.”

WHEN VANCE PUBLISHED THAT New York Times article in 2024, he was thinking in terms of expensive and/or outdated U.S. weapons systems. He focused on surplus military equipment sent to Ukraine billed at the sticker price, such as 155-millimeter artillery shells.

almost all of the military items that Vance argued the United States would have to provide turned out to be largely irrelevant. Other particularly expensive U.S. systems, like Abrams tanks, Switchblade drones, and guided artillery have largely underperformed on the battlefield.

At the start of the war, Ukraine had to make do with whatever they could get their hands on. This was mostly “exquisite” Western weapons systems, but older and surplus model. By definition, Ukraine was getting the things the United States and other countries were most willing to part with. Since then, Ukraine has built up its own, far more cost-effective capabilities. As the effectiveness of PATRIOT has dropped over time, Ukraine has increasingly been using electronic warfare to severely degrade Russian Shahed drones, Kinzhal missiles, and thousands of precision glide bombs.

Ukraine’s use of drones in the air and on the ground means that, in the brutal and bloody arithmetic of war, Ukrainians now kill several Russians for every loss of their own. Russia, for the first time, is losing more troops than it is recruiting, while the quality of recruits fall—so Russia faces a manpower shortage. “Russia has nearly four times the population of Ukraine,” Vance declared in 2024. It doesn’t seem to have done them much good since then.

Ukraine’s goal is to produce 7 million short-range drones this year, and 10 million thereafter. This number is crucial: The Ukrainians estimate that with that many drones, they can reach their goal of causing 50,000 Russian casualties per month—at which point they predict the Russian Army will lose overall combat effectiveness.

Anywhere between 70 and 96 percent of Russian casualties are now caused by drones. In March, Zelensky said that among Russian forces, “out of 100 percent of losses, 62 percent are killed and 38 percent wounded.” This ratio is astounding; in modern warfare there is usually a killed-to-wounded ratio of between 1-to-3 and 1-to-5. Russian losses nearly invert this ratio due to their unsupported infiltration tactics, the lethality of drones, lack of transportation, poor battlefield medicine, and enormous “gray zone” on either side of the front lines where movement is all but impossible because of the profusion of drones.

Vance claimed to have done the math, but clearly he started with his preferred policy and fished around for numbers to support it without developing any real understanding of modern warfare. The moral, political strategic, and economic cases for supporting Ukraine remain as strong as ever. It’s Vance’s math that hasn’t held up.

More Ukrainian innovation.

https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/05/15/weaponizing-the-westerlies-ukrainian-balloons-sow-havoc-over-russia/

From fall 2025 through spring 2026, the words “aerostat notice” have appeared hundreds of times on Russian Telegram channels that monitor Ukrainian air threats. 

This means that somewhere high overhead, carried east by prevailing winds, are Ukrainian helium balloons carrying retroreflective decoys, surveillance equipment, bombs, attack drones, or radio repeaters that allow other drones to strike Russian targets. Ukrainian forces have launched in excess of 1,000 balloons into Russia and more are on the way. 

“Yes, indeed, balloons are actively used by the Defense Forces of Ukraine mainly as support platforms and as means for medium and deep strikes,” said Viktor Kevliuk, a retired Ukrainian colonel and analyst with the Center for Defense Strategies. “They are inexpensive, inconspicuous on radars, can hang in the air for a long time and carry a payload.”

While balloons are indeed inconspicuous—most of them are translucent, blending with the sky—one source said that getting noticed is often the whole idea, to cause Russia’s air defenses to fire everything, from Pantsirs, Tors and Buks, to even their S-300 and S-400 missiles. 

“You want to be detected,” they told Euromaidan Press. “They cause panic for the Russians and they are very hard to shoot down,” at high altitudes, causing the Russians to waste their air defenses.

Ukraine was dragged into the full-scale war with many disadvantages. But it does have one advantage granted by nature and ripe for exploitation: the prevailing wind. 

At these latitudes, the Westerlies blow from the direction of Ukraine into Russia. That means that aerostatic balloons require no propulsion in order to make their way into enemy airspace. The Russians have aerostats too but the atmosphere is not on their side in this arena.

The Moscow oil refinery stopped processing oil following a Ukrainian drone strike on May 17.

According to a source, the strike did not cause critical damage to technological equipment, but operations were temporarily suspended to reduce potential risks.

The Moscow oil refinery is located in the southeastern part of the Russian capital and is considered one of the key facilities supplying fuel to Moscow and the region.

The General Staff said the refinery "is one of the largest oil refining enterprises of the Russian Federation" with a processing capacity of around 17 million tons of oil annually. According to the Ukrainian military, the facility produces gasoline, diesel fuel, and aviation fuel "used to support the needs of the Russian occupation forces."

Ukraine regularly strikes oil infrastructure deep inside Russia and the occupied territories in an effort to diminish Moscow's capacity to continue waging war on Ukraine.

Putin’s War Reaches Moscow as Ukrainian Drones Shatter Kremlin Illusion

For more than four years, Vladimir Putin kept the war at a distance from Russia’s capital. Now that shield is cracking. A wave of escalating Ukrainian drone attacks on Moscow is rattling residents, exposing gaps in Russia’s air defences and piling new political pressure on the Kremlin at a dangerous stage of the war.

The latest overnight barrage saw more than 500 drones launched toward Moscow, according to Russian authorities, in what Kyiv described as its largest strike on the capital region since the invasion began. Airports were shut, oil facilities were hit and panic spread across parts of the city long insulated from frontline realities.

Kyiv Targets Russia’s Nerve Centre

Ukraine’s strategy is shifting decisively toward deep strikes designed to erode Russia’s sense of security and overload its defences. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine’s growing long-range capabilities were “significantly changing the situation”.

The attacks are politically explosive because Moscow was supposed to remain untouchable. While Russian provinces absorbed the burden of recruitment and casualties, the capital continued functioning almost normally. That calculation is now under strain.

Residents and even loyalist Russian commentators are increasingly questioning how repeated attacks are penetrating the country’s most heavily defended airspace.

Drone Race Changes the Balance

Ukraine’s rapidly expanding drone industry is driving the pressure campaign. Kyiv says it aims to manufacture seven million drones this year, including dozens of long-range models capable of striking deep inside Russian territory.

Ukrainian defence company Fire Point said its new “Flamingo” system could soon reach Moscow. Officials are also signalling progress on domestically produced ballistic missiles, raising fears inside Russia that the threat will intensify rather than fade.

The Kremlin faces a brutal arithmetic problem. Russia’s air defence systems can protect key sites, but not every refinery, airfield and logistics hub spread across the country’s vast territory.

Pressure Builds Around Putin

The strikes come at a sensitive moment for Vladimir Putin as Russia struggles to secure major breakthroughs on the battlefield despite sustained offensives.

Analysts believe the growing vulnerability of Moscow could eventually force difficult strategic decisions inside the Kremlin. The political danger is no longer confined to military losses at the front. Ordinary Russians are beginning to feel the war arriving at their own doorstep.

For a leadership built on projecting control and stability, that may prove harder to contain than any drone attack itself.

Putin is in trouble as the war finally comes to Moscow

Russia loses quarter of its oil refining capacity due to drone attacks, Reuters says

Wed, May 20, 2026 - 20:20

3 min

Ukrainian drones hit critical enemy infrastructure

https://www.rbc.ua/static/img/p/h/photo_2024_04_10_12_57_242_0dd06d0281dba91c3d43b3f4f3c99ae9_60x60.jpgDaryna Vialko

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/static/img/5/_/5_9f04036a33cfa7a244cf8585cdcec8ee_650x410.jpgPhoto: Drone strikes have destroyed a quarter of Russia's oil refining capacity (Getty Images)

Practically all of the largest oil refineries in central Russia have either fully stopped or significantly reduced fuel production. This has occurred as a result of large-scale Ukrainian drone attacks, Reuters reports.

Read also: Ukraine strikes Lukoil refinery in Kstovo again and more key Russian targets

Scale of damage to Russian refineries

According to the outlet, the combined capacity of Russian facilities that have partially or fully halted operations exceeds 83 million metric tons per year (about 238,000 tons per day).

Reuters sources say this represents around a quarter of Russia’s total oil refining capacity. The affected plants accounted for more than 30% of gasoline production in Russia and about 25% of diesel fuel output. Among the struck facilities are key refineries in Moscow, Yaroslavl, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, and Kirishi.

In particular, one of Russia’s largest refineries, Kirishi, with a capacity of 20 million tons per year, has been completely shut down since May 5. Another major facility, Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez (NORSI) with a capacity of 17 million tons, was hit today, May 20. It is currently unknown whether the plant can continue even partial operations.

Some details in this Silicon Curtain video are absolutely MIND BLOWING.

Namely --

Noting the completely opposite difference in national reactions to being attacked.

Ukrainians -- incredible amazing very long lasting PERSISTANCE and acceptance that their cause is worth it.

Russians -- the complete opposite. Why are they doing this to us? What did we do to deserve this? Our internet is down. This is unacceptable. We were promised that the SMO wouldn't actually impact us at home. Crying like babies. NO PERSISTANCE AT ALL.

First time I've heard this phrase -- the inevitably of Ukrainian victory.

Key Z fascist philosopher finally talking about Ukraine as if it actually exists as country.

Noting that in Russian culture to get respect and attention you need to inspire fear. Ukraine is now doing that to Russians.

I make no predictions but the sum of this video certainly does.

Ukrainian strike obliterates Russian drone school in deadly night raid

A Ukrainian drone strike has wiped out a major Russian UAV training and production complex, killing dozens of personnel and dealing another blow to Moscow’s overstretched war machine.

Ukrainian officials said the overnight operation targeted a facility linked to the Russian Academy of Missile and Artillery Sciences in occupied territory, where drone pilots were trained, ammunition assembled and armoured vehicles repaired.

At least 65 Russian personnel were reportedly killed, including the commander of the school.

Training Hub Reduced to Rubble

Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces said operators from the 1st Separate Center worked alongside the Security Service of Ukraine to carry out the coordinated strike.

The target was reportedly tied to the 78th Special Purpose Motorized Regiment Sever-Akhmat, operating under Russia’s 42nd Division. According to Ukrainian commanders, 11 precision strikes using 100-kilogram warheads hit the compound during the night.

The main two-storey building housed drone assembly workshops, warhead production facilities and living quarters for personnel. Secondary explosions tore through the site after ammunition stored in the basement detonated.

Four Russian Tigr armoured vehicles undergoing repairs were also destroyed.

Command Structure Hit Hard

Among those killed was a lieutenant colonel known by the callsign “Buryi”, identified by Ukraine as the head of the school.

Ukrainian officials said the strike directly undermines Russia’s ability to train drone operators and maintain equipment critical to frontline operations. Commander Robert “Madyar” Brovdi said there had been three such Russian training centres in occupied territories. “Two remain. For now,” he wrote.

The operation forms part of Kyiv’s increasingly aggressive long-range drone campaign targeting Russian military infrastructure far behind the front line.

Ukraine Expands Deep Strike Campaign

Kyiv has accelerated attacks on Russian air defence systems, logistics hubs and drone facilities throughout 2026.

Ukrainian forces say they destroyed 38 Russian air defence systems in April alone, estimating the losses at more than $1.1 billion. Earlier this year, the same unit claimed responsibility for destroying four Orion drones and an An-72P maritime patrol aircraft in Crimea.

Recent strikes have also targeted Pantsir and Tor air defence systems as Ukraine intensifies efforts to punch holes in Russia’s battlefield protection network.

Ukrainian drone strike wipes out Russian pilot training school with dozens of soldiers inside