The fuel crisis in Russia has long ceased to be a problem solely for drivers and farmers. It is gradually becoming a problem for the state budget. Russian authorities had projected that the deficit for all of 2026 would amount to 3.786 trillion rubles ($48,9 billion) (1.6% of GDP)⤵️

A Russian tourist who arrived in Georgia for a holiday is feeling a little bit uncomfortable due to the ongoing protests in the country.

Some Russians are openly saying they hope Putin dies. "Putin is a criminal and a murderer. I hope some illness takes him as soon as possible."

Furthermore, the new version of the bill imposes sanctions on Russia's "shadow fleet" of tankers, Russian financial institutions, including the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, and major state-owned energy projects, including Yamal LNG, Arctic LNG 1, Arctic LNG 2, and Arctic LNG 3. 4/4

The bill also provides an exemption for countries that import less than 15% of Russian natural gas and take significant steps to reduce these supplies. Japan, France, Hungary, and Belgium could fall under this category. 3/4

🇺🇸👀 The US has introduced an updated version of the Graham sanctions bill against Russia. The document, according to Reuters, proposes a relaxation of several provisions compared to the original version. 1/4

Part two 🔽

🇷🇺 Finally! 🔽 “I believe the president should resign.” Russian journalist Dmitry Borisenko is calling for Putin and the State Duma to resign, saying that, in his view, it is the only way to prevent civil war and the collapse of Russia.

⚡ Nine EU countries push to cut funding for the International Olympic Committee over Russian and Belarusian athletes’ return. 🔗 united24media.com/world/eu-cou...

"The constitutional amendment is primarily designed to remove the incumbent president, while also establishing a precedent that could enable similar removals in the future." @euronews.com www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

😁 Meanwhile in Russia 🔽 — Say something optimistic. — Someday, this will end. Pavel Ivanov and Dmitry Demushkin discuss the Russian economy.

1/ An interview with Russian oligarch Alexey Melnichenko in The Economist is prompting strong interest among Russian commentators. Some see it as a valuable insight into elite thinking about Russia's future; others see it as a Western provocation. ⬇️ bsky.app/profile/econ...

A Russian milblogger started whining after the Trump-Zelensky press conference.

"Delivery routes to Crimea have been blocked – no heavy duty trucks are able to cross the Kerch Bridge, and private logistics carriers are struggling to get insurance for vehicles." @rusi.bsky.social www.rusi.org/explore-our-...

This is the story of Norwegian volunteer Ole Kvåle, who helped deliver 500 vehicles to Ukrainian defenders. 🧵 1/14 ⬇️

Russians are starting to realize the huge costs Putin spends on war instead of improving the lives of Russians: Putin decided to invest 25 trillion rubles not into developing his own country but to occupy a foreign one.

Vasyl Zvarych, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Czech Republic: "Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, To those who claim that Ukraine should not be given weapons or military aid because it will supposedly bring the end closer, I invite you to look at reality.

NEW: Russian President Vladimir Putin used a staged meeting with several Russian commanders on July 3 to make greatly exaggerated claims of Russian advances that do not match battlefield realities in order to construct a narrative of continuous Russian military successes. 🧵(1/6)

Free weekend update. Can Russia can come up with a counter (soon) to the Ukrainian long-range strike campaign on their oil production? There may have been another analytical mistake in this war, assuming fast adaptation cycles. That is always been the case. open.substack.com/pub/phillips...

Ukraine is striking Russian energy infrastructure at an unprecedented rate, according to an FT data analysis showing that Kyiv’s intensified drone campaign is spurring Russia’s worst fuel crisis in decades. w/ @theboysmithy.ft.com Anastasia Stognei @maxseddon.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/1368...

1/ The Russian authorities are trying to address the current fuel crisis by persuading the population, improbably, that having a full tank of gas is dangerous. Russian bloggers are gleefully trashing what they see as a stunningly inept 'anti-crisis' campaign. ⬇️

Modern Russian humor is becoming increasingly similar to the humor of the Soviet times. Friends, do you like it?

Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries have reduced gasoline production in Russia by approximately a quarter compared to June of last year,while emergency shutdowns at plants have also decreased exports of petroleum products⤵️

Crimean "authorities"stated that large quantities of fuel will not be available for sale in the near future&urged residents to "be patient" Responding to complaints about power outages,they said there’re"difficulties due to efforts to counter the enemy&the technical condition of certain substations"

What the Republicans/Conservatives don't seem to understand or admit, is that with their tolerance of massive Presidential corruption and their huge expansion of Presidential power, they are setting the stage for the most powerful and extreme, left-wing President in US history.

1/ Five years into the full-scale war in Ukraine, the Russian army appears to be exhausted and in low morale. An account from a serving Russian soldier at the front line highlights the current mood of dejection and frustration with incompetent commanders. ⬇️

‘What the he’ll do we need your Crimea for».

⚡ Putin claims Ukrainian forces are encircled near the "Staryi Oskil River"—a body of water that does not actually exist. united24media.com/war-in-ukrai...

❗️Ukrainian military analyst and Armed Forces Colonel Kostyantyn Mashovets, coordinator of the Information Resistance group, said Ukrainian forces have resumed counterattacking actions on the Novooleksandrivka, Zaporizhzhia, and Lyman axes. He said it is too early to assess the results. #Ukraine

Let's stop lying to the president. Who needs a war on borrowed money? Everyone kept lying to him - Russian Z-blogger Golman believes that as soon as Putin learns the truth, he will fix everything.

“Please tell me how you are even holding up with all of this happening?” — asks a Russian woman after 4.5 years of the war her country started.

After two hours in a gas line, a Russian woman urged fellow citizens to start caring about politics because it "has come to their homes." But she forgot it's not politics that came home - it's war returning to where it started.

Putin, results 😂😂😂😂😂

Russians are getting ideas that the fuel shortage in Russia is somehow related to Putin's "special military operation."

👀👀👀👀

"If the spirit of Anchorage existed, it's dead now," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha says. Any peace plan without Ukraine's participation is doomed to fail, he adds. Moscow should stop believing in "spirits" and respond to Ukraine's serious proposals instead, Sybiha says.

‼️‼️ For several months, members of Black Spark worked inside that very "special economic zone" Alabuga. They gathered information from servers and discreetly downloaded databases on everyone involved in the assembly of "Geran-2" and "Geran-3" drones. 1/3

Crimea calling: “There are widespread layoffs everywhere.”

Another video has emerged of Russian servicemen appearing to back earlier statements by Russian soldier Alexander Lunin, who called for a meeting with Putin and threatened a military coup. In the latest clip,the soldiers say they are “ready to turn their weapons against those who cause them pain.”

Rus milblogger Alex Kharchenko believes Ukraine is preparing a major counteroffensive, possibly in the second half of July. He argues that recent strikes on Russian oil infrastructure are intended to deepen fuel shortages and disrupt frontline logistics ahead of a push towards the Zaporizhzhia axis.

Perhaps the greatest miscalculation of leaders who commit great powers to war is believing they can wage war abroad without it eventually coming home in some shape or form. That has never been true in history, and it is unlikely ever to be.

Crimea 🔽 “Every day it just keeps getting worse and worse. There are very bad rumors circulating. I just want to get away.” By this woman’s own admission, she is not allowed to leave the country. What could be the reason for that? 🤔

"The army will turn its weapons against the Kremlin": an "SMO" veteran has threatened Putin with a mutiny. Lunin from Voronezh region wants a meeting with Putin and a joint live television appearance. As I've said before, Putin is very scared of his army returning home.

1/ Russia's blocking of Telegram has had a disastrous impact on the reach and income of many Russians. This includes Russia's professional warbloggers, who have suffered a drastic drop in income that threatens to make their work financially unviable. ⬇️

Thursday 25 June is Day 1583 of Russia's attempt to remove Ukraine from the map, and eradicate its culture and history. Each day I round up all the significant news, with analysis and local knowledge to put together a new thread - all the news you need in one place. Let's go:

What Putin's end will look like - Nemtsov's prediction. It seems that Putin will be stopped not by the Russian people, as Nemtsov suggested, but by the Ukrainian people.

Alexander Browder, a 17-year-old London teenager, has become Russia's youngest ever sanctions target. He has built a database exposing the crypto networks helping Russia and other rogue states dodge Western sanctions⤵️

Burn.

The reaction of Muscovites in Moscow. Live broadcast from the scene.

Ukraine has just struck a Russian defence plant with its new long-range FP-5 missiles and damaged a key bridge to Crimea. Things keep getting worse for Putin and Gerasimov. My Part 2 assessment of Russia's losing war and how Putin might reverse things. mickryan.substack.com/p/rescuing-a...