Ukrainian drones struck the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region for the second time in a month, regional authorities said. Reuters calculations show that recent strikes on Russian oil refineries have cut its refining capacity by 17%.

Investigation by @financialtimes.com reveals how Ireland, a non-NATO member, is particularly vulnerable to Russian sabotage of vital undersea data cables. ● Experts suggest that Irish waters are “a blind spot in the defensive architecture" around the UK. www.ft.com/content/0b35...

The city’s mayor declared a local state of emergency, as videos showed burning parking lots and students taking cover in school hallways.

Half of gas stations in annexed #Crimea have stopped selling gasoline due to supply disruptions, Kommersant reports. ● Russia's gasoline crisis is spreading with reports of rationing across the country. #OOTT theins.ru/news/285243?

A Ukrainian #drone hit the centre of Novorossiysk, killing at least two people and damaging a hotel building: RIA Novosti ● Debris fell on parked cars, and two more residents were also injured, according to Veniamin Kondratyev, head of the Krasnodar Krai.

Quite significant downward revisions of #Russia GDP forecasts. In 2025 from 2.5% to 1% In 2026 from 2.4% to 1.3%

Russia's Ministry of Economic Development today significantly downgraded its forecast for the Russian economy. ● Kommersant, the business newspaper, published and immediately deleted the news item as it hadn't been made public. Source: @the_ins_ru theins.ru/news/285214?

Alexei #Navalny was poisoned before his death in Putin's gulag. ● In a video statement, Navalny’s widow, Yulia revealed that the politician’s supporters managed to smuggle his biological samples abroad. Tests confirmed that he had been poisoned.

My @themoscowtimes.com OpEd: Trump's #Sanctions Strategy Has All The Cunning of Baldrick www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/16/t...

#OpEd Cut off from the free internet, suffering from power cuts and even turning to cash payments and bartering in international trade — Russia's future looks like its past, writes Jason Corcoran.

#OpEd Trump pressuring the EU to put secondary sanctions on China in return for more U.S. sanctions collapses under the weight of its ridiculousness, argues Jason Corcoran.

Fire in the hole: Russia close to cutting oil output due to drone attacks, Reuters reports #oott www.reuters.com/business/ene...

My @themoscowtimes.com OpEd: Trump's #Sanctions Strategy Has All The Cunning of Baldrick www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/16/t...

The 'Army of Russia' chain of stores is closing due to losses. All 35 stores will cease operations, and all employees will be fired. ● The flagship store, located next to my old apartment on Novinsky boulevard and opposite the US Embassy, has already removed its sign today. Source: Baza

The U.S. is lifting #sanctions on the Belarusian airline "Belavia" as announced by Trump's Special Representative John Koel during a visit to Minsk. ● It's just a matter of time before US sanctions are lifted on the Kremlin airline @aeroflot.bsky.social

Dystopian news in Putin's press: fuel shortages and inflated prices are rampant due to done attacks, a looming #ruble devaluation, stagflation, and alternative holiday getaways in North Korea and the partly-occupied Kherson war zone.

Money Talks: At least seven European Union member states have backed Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s bid to overturn the bloc’s sanctions against him. Source: El Mundo www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/04/7...

My @themoscowtimes.com OpEd: 'Shanghai Surprise: Putin’s Bond Bonanza Is a Pipe Dream' www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/03/p...

My @themoscowtimes.com OpEd: 'Shanghai Surprise: Putin’s Bond Bonanza Is a Pipe Dream' www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/09/03/p...

#OpEd The value of global financial institutions lies in transparency and predictability. Putin's for a new monetary infrastructure has none of that, writes Jason Corcoran.

The verdict is in on Gazprom's new PoS 2 pipeline.

The Shanghai Surprise ! The idea of a second larger pipeline was first floated by the Kremlin in the mid-2000s as the "Altai pipeline." #OOTT

Trump's "Little Green Men !" Gotta wonder where Comrade Trump gets his ideas from...

It's funny how Russia, the world's largest oil exporter, can't fill its own tanks. Maybe they should try invading a gas station instead of a country. #OOTT

Tried and failed to call friends and family this evening in Moscow on #Telegram and #WhatsApp ● Kremlin's internet crackdown has made connections pretty much unusable.

It's like if WhatsApp and Big Brother had a baby, and the Kremlin made sure it was the overbearing mother-in-law.

Russian gas stations are running out of petrol as kilometre-long queues have formed at stations in Primorsky Krai, occupied Crimea and Transbaikalia. ● Ukrainian #drone attacks on oil refineries are said to have disrupted domestic supplies. #OOTT

The Arse of the Deal The new Private Eye is out now.

Chinese refiners have increased their purchases of Russian crude for October and November, analysts told Reuters, as weakening Indian demand for Moscow’s exports opens the door for China to take on more supply.

My @themoscowtimes.com OpEd: Cut off from the free internet, suffering from power cuts and even turning to cash payments and bartering in international trade — Russia's future looks like its past. www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/08/20/w...

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov rocks up at the #Alaska summit wearing a USSR sweater. Nothing like a bit of Cold War cosplay to break the ice !

Kremlin propagandists have been granted American visas and will fly to #Alaska to serve Putin. ● For the first time in 4 years, the Consular Section of the US Embassy in Moscow accepted documents from the journalists of the Kremlin Pool. Source: Russian Channel One.

Someone should probably tell him it's still just Alaska, not 'Alaska-Grad.'

In 2014, after Russia seized Crimea, Putin’s rumored girlfriend Alina Kabaeva quipped: “I asked for krem (cream), not Krym (Crimea)… now I’m scared to say kolyaska (baby carriage) in case he takes #Alaska.”

For any truce, Putin is demanding the transfer of the entire Donetsk region to him, promising to stop the offensive in Zaporizhia and Kherson: Bloomberg News ● Over to Tacolini Trump to unleash secondary sanctions hellfire as his deadline expires.

The Moscow Stock Exchange index jumped by 2.5% led by gas monopoly Gazprom on the news that Trump could meet with Putin in person as early as next week

An "Air-Truce" that allows Comrade Trump to save face while giving Russia the cover to push forward unchecked. ● It’s not peace; it’s a delay tactic enabling Moscow to achieve its goals with less Western scrutiny and its trading partners to evade onerous secondary sanctions

My @themoscowtimes.com OpEd: Trump’s Break-Up With Putin Is a Slap on the Wrist, Not a Knock-Out Punch www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/08/04/t...

Trump tells US pharma companies they must “return excess overseas revenue to American patients and taxpayers”, warning he will "deploy every tool in our arsenal" to end abusive drug pricing practices. Irish taxpayers should probably be getting nervous www.reuters.com/business/hea...

What a loss. Derk was a pioneering force in Russian media, bringing Western-style independent journalism to post-Soviet Russia. Rest in peace.

This is how the earthquake in #Kamchatka was felt during a delicate operation. ● The doctors held the patient for a minute and did not leave the place when everything around them started shaking. Baza Telegram

My @themoscowtimes.com OpEd: Russian Banks Will Fall. The Question Is How Hard www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/22/r...

My @themoscowtimes.com OpEd: Russian Banks Will Fall. The Question Is How Hard www.themoscowtimes.com/2025/07/22/r...

It's great to see delicious Ukrainian blueberries on sale in Dunnes Stores supermarkets in Dublin today. ● I can't recall seeing wonderful Ukrainian produce on sale in Ireland before, even in Polo Stores, which focuses on fruit and veg from Eastern Europe.

1) Bloomberg sources inside the banks say that everything is not as good as it looks on paper. That reminds me of Putin's first post-invasion decree allowing state entities to cook the books !!

Is Russia's banking system about to finally implode ? ● @bloomberg.com reports Putin's largest lenders, inc Sberbank and VTB, are asking the Central Bank for help due to the growth of problem loans that people and companies aren't able to pay.

Moscow City is urgently transferring office employees to remote work due to the threat of Ukrainian #drones ● Kremlin Bank VTB warned employees about a possible attack in the next two weeks and ordered them not to stay at home. Other employers are likely to follow. Source: Interfax

Putin has broken the one thing holding Russia together. No, not NATO - it's vodka. ● Production of vodka in Russia has plunged amid a potato shortage www.google.com/amp/s/www.ex...

Cheeky hen weekend to Kabul !

In Putin’s court, falling out of favour can be a terminal condition...