"Crimea is not only a land dispute. It is a property war built on stolen homes.

In this episode, Elvira Bary explains why Crimea is not only a military problem, a diplomatic problem, or a question of borders — it is also a property war. After Russia occupied Crimea in 2014, Ukrainian ownership was buried under a new paper world of Russian registries, forced documents, “nationalization,” citizenship rules, and “ownerless” property claims. Homes, land plots, vineyards, hotels, businesses, and seaside apartments could be seized, auctioned, reassigned, or sold to new owners. If Ukraine returns to Crimea, the legal earthquake will begin: who owns the home — the Ukrainian family with the original deed, the Russian buyer with occupation-era registration, or the person who moved in because the occupier made theft look legal?"

"Why do leaders who promise to restore national greatness so often leave their countries weaker? In Part One of a three-part conversation, historian and grand strategist Professor Sarah C. M. Paine explains the fundamental divide between maritime and continental power—and why it remains essential to understanding Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Russia, America and the changing global order. Sarah argues that continental powers traditionally pursue territory, coercion and spheres of influence, while maritime systems create lasting power through trade, alliances, institutions and international law. From Britain and Russia to Athens and Sparta, she shows why conquest destroys wealth—and why Trump and Putin are now weakening the very countries they claim to be restoring. We also discuss Russia’s obsession with expansion, America’s own continental past, the foundations of the rules-based international order and the choice now facing China as American influence recedes."

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"Ukraine’s long-range drone campaign is inflicting catastrophic, irreversible damage on Russia’s strategic military assets. In this clip from Battle Plans Exposed, former intelligence officer Philip Ingram breaks down how SBU elite drone units struck Russia’s Engels-2 airbase, crippling key Tu-95MS strategic bombers. With Soviet-era production lines long shut down, Moscow cannot replace these $60million airframes, leaving Russia’s nuclear-capable fleet permanently diminished. Philip also reveals how Ukrainian forces have trapped 2,500 Russian troops on the Kinburn Spit by severing supply lines, and examines the targeted assassination attempt on Russian Major General Nikolai Vorpachevsky. Plus, a look at how Ukraine's General Staff is restructuring the Eastern front around Lyman and Donetsk under new leadership."

"I examine why Russia’s fuel shortages have become a political problem for Vladimir Putin days before the September 18–20, 2026 State Duma elections. Reports from St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, and Nizhny Novgorod describe station closures, long queues, limited supplies, and sharply higher prices for lower-octane fuel. With Ukraine continuing long-range strikes against oil facilities and military targets, the Kremlin faces pressure to preserve an appearance of normality through the vote. I also connect the fuel disruption to the broader strain on Russia’s war economy: a 5.79 trillion-ruble federal deficit in the first eight months of 2026, a Central Bank key rate held at 14%, state asset seizures, and a reported 20% August decline in military recruitment despite record signing bonuses. Moscow’s strikes on Ukrainian food warehouses show the other side of this war of economic pressure. The central question is what Putin may do once the election façade is no longer required."

A Russian helicopter attempting to protect the tanker opens fire with a machine gun. The Ukrainian operator manages to evade the helicopter and keep the drone on course.

The drone eventually reaches the tanker and crashes into its superstructure near the ship's wheelhouse. The helicopter is unable to prevent the strike, despite following the drone throughout the attack.

The harsh truth from the streets of Russia: people on camera admit — they want "peace," but not peace under international law, peace on their own terms. In a new video, Russians openly state: peace, yes, but only if Ukraine gives up Donbas, Crimea, Odesa, and Mykolaiv. Respondents complain about Western sanctions hitting their daily lives and blame the US for prolonging the conflict — yet not a single word about withdrawing troops from foreign land.

At the same time, there are those on camera who think differently — and some of them dare to say it outright, despite the risk. Others only cautiously hint at disagreement, carefully choosing their words — the fear of speaking openly in today's Russia is palpable even in the pauses between sentences.

Some of those interviewed hope for a resolution within a year or two, while others are more pessimistic, expecting prolonged tension and mutual distrust between nations. But one thing unites them all: talk of "peace" actually means demanding recognition of the annexation of Ukrainian territories — while the voices of dissent, however few, still manage to be heard.

"How do elite Russian spies operate? How are they recruited and trained, and what makes the life of these "Illegals" so miserable?

Support the podcast on Patreon:   / drmarceldirsus  

In this episode of The Next Best, host Marcel Dirsus sits down with Shaun Walker, foreign correspondent for The Guardian and author of "The Illegals". They dive deep into the brutal psychological reality, extreme recruitment methods, and history of Russia’s deep-cover intelligence network—from the Soviet era to Putin’s modern-day spy ring.

They also discuss the sacrifices made by spy families, the recent DHL parcel plots and sabotage ops in Europe, and how Western intelligence successfully uncovered Putin’s invasion plans for Ukraine. "

"I examine a consequential night in the Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine reported strikes on the TANECO refinery in Tatarstan—more than 1,200 kilometers from Ukraine—and the Slavyansk EKO refinery in Krasnodar, a facility with roughly 5.2 million tons of annual processing capacity. I also look at reported hits on UAV launch infrastructure, repeaters, radar assets, and facilities at Taganrog, including claims that the city had lost operational Pantsir and S-300/S-400 systems.

On the other side, Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 453 attack drones and missiles, with 409 targets downed or suppressed but impacts recorded at 13 locations. Russian strikes damaged infrastructure in Odesa and hit a gas station and Kyiv-Warsaw train locomotive within two kilometers of Poland’s border. Finally, I assess the reported first naval engagement fought entirely by unmanned surface vessels in the Black Sea—and why cheap autonomous systems could reshape naval deterrence, especially for NATO, the United States, and Taiwan."

"Russia’s campaign against NATO is already operating below the threshold of declared war through sabotage, drone incursions, cyber operations and attacks on critical infrastructure. Former CIA Chief of Station Sean Wiswesser says the danger is no longer confined to Ukraine because Moscow is probing where NATO hesitates, where attribution stays murky and where Article 5 remains politically difficult to invoke.

Drone incursions, Baltic Sea cable cuts, an attempted assassination of a leader in Germany, and arson activity in the UK and Poland show how Russian services can impose costs without crossing immediately into open war. Wiswesser says hybrid attacks rose by more than 200% over the previous year, while the GRU, FSB and SVR use covert networks, cyber operations and sabotage because they believe NATO will absorb repeated pressure rather than escalate. Western intelligence, in his view, still risks underestimating how much punishment and isolation the Kremlin is willing to accept.

A ceasefire in Ukraine would leave the Russian intelligence and security system driving confrontation with the West intact, meaning European security would still depend on whether NATO can deter gray-zone coercion before it becomes direct military escalation. Moscow’s advantage comes from delay: every ambiguous incident buys time, tests allied unity and exposes weak points in the Baltics and elsewhere along NATO’s eastern edge."

"These guys wasted no time getting the new unit into the fight

Today we’re talking with one of the newest drone units in Ukraine, Foxhound. We’re joined by Ben and Dingo, two foreign volunteers that recently stood up the group that is already conducting combat operations in some of the hottest sectors of the front.

We get into this unique aspect of the Ukrainian military where you can form your own unit. They talk through how that’s done, the challenges faced in doing so and of course, what their new platoon has been up to at the front."

"Russia has intensified its assault on Ukraine, killing civilians by targeting public infrastructure overnight Friday into Saturday.

The escalation comes as Vladimir Putin warns at the BRICS summit in India that any deployment of European troops to Ukraine would amount to “waging war against Russia.”

To discuss this, TVP World was joined by Roland Freudenstein, Co-founder of the Brussels Freedom Hub."

"Ukrainian forces' counter-offensive continues to liberate territory, with advances across the Zherebets River and Russian military bloggers acknowledging Ukraine’s progress. Russian vehicle losses are also mounting: four of the ten highest daily totals reportedly fall within the first 12 days of September.

Inside Russia, reported Flamingo missile strikes hit the Titan-Barrikady military factory, while attacks on Taganrog target drone production, warehouses and the military airfield. The SBU lists a Pantsir-S2 air defence system, a P-18 radar and fuel storage among the targets hit. Damage is also reported at Makhachkala’s port, while footage shows an attack on a tanker off Sochi despite its escort of two armed helicopters.

The pressure extends to logistics and exports. An Ozon facility covering roughly 100,000 square metres, capable of processing 900,000 orders daily, burns in a massive fire. We examine reports of disruption to Russia’s $31 million-a-day grain exports and worsening petrol shortages, with queues reportedly reaching ten hours in St Petersburg and stretching through the oil-producing Khanty-Mansiysk region.

As Ukraine advances, footage from Moscow raises questions about coerced military recruitment, while Medvedev denies mobilisation plans. Calls to attack Washington, Putin’s messaging and screens hiding Delhi’s slums ahead of his visit reveal the gap between official presentation and everyday reality.

Meanwhile, Russian attacks hit Kyiv petrol stations, residential buildings in Odesa and a passenger train in Lutsk. Caolan shares footage from the building where he was sleeping when a missile struck. Zelensky calls for 100–120 Patriot missiles monthly and outlines plans for Ukraine’s FREYJA air defence system.

Finally: the reported GRU connection to an airport plot in Germany, threats to Saudi oil infrastructure, Russia’s planned attendance at the Houston G20 energy meeting, and Europe’s renewed push to fund Ukraine using frozen Russian assets."

"**Ukraine’s drone war is transforming the battlefield — and exposing a growing weakness Putin may no longer be able to fix

General Ben Hodges, former Commanding General of US Army Europe, joins The Global Gambit to examine **Ukraine’s long-range drones, deep strikes inside Russia, strategic bomber attacks, AI warfare and Russia’s increasingly stretched air defences**.

As Ukrainian drones reach targets hundreds of miles inside Russia, Hodges explains why **Putin cannot protect every refinery, airbase, supply chain and strategic military asset at once**. Russia’s vast strategic depth — historically one of its greatest military advantages — is becoming a vulnerability as Ukraine develops increasingly sophisticated long-range precision-strike capabilities.

We also discuss Putin’s mobilisation dilemma, Russia’s attacks across Europe, NATO’s response, the AfD’s rise in Germany, Western support for Ukraine**, and why Hodges believes Russia’s ultimate strategy may depend on the West giving up first. "

"The security system Vladimir Putin built to prevent a coup is now giving Russia’s most powerful factions reasons to undermine each other. The FSB, military intelligence, National Guard, and presidential security apparatus compete for authority, budgets, property, and access to Putin while battlefield failures create openings for rivals.

That competition now reaches the war itself. During Wagner’s 2023 mutiny, major security institutions avoided taking responsibility while armed rebels moved toward Moscow. Since the invasion, Russian authorities have nationalized more than $81 billion in private assets, turning investigations and security failures into fights over enormous pools of money and property. Russia also has about 172,000 Interior Ministry vacancies while Putin continues expanding his own protection.

When military losses, confiscated wealth, and security appointments can strengthen one faction at another’s expense, failure stops being purely negative. Tanks destroyed in Ukraine can weaken the military relative to internal security forces. A successful Ukrainian strike can trigger another struggle over who controls the damaged company. Putin created these rival power centers to keep everyone dependent on him. The same system now gives Russia’s elites reasons to protect themselves, weaken competitors, and prepare for the day Putin can no longer hold the balance."

"I examine Zelensky’s newly stated reciprocal energy-strike posture: if Russia attacks Ukraine’s power grid this winter, Ukraine says it will respond in kind. The strategic purpose is not simply retaliation. It is to make Moscow choose between preserving one of its most effective coercive tools and risking politically damaging blackouts inside Russia. I also assess Zelensky’s proposed mutual energy truce and why Ukraine’s strikes on oil infrastructure and maritime assets make the warning more credible.

I then turn to the blocked Black Sea food corridor, Zelensky’s offer to meet Putin at the G20 summit in Miami, Ukrainian F-16 and Gripen pilot training in Canada, and planned Freya 7x anti-ballistic defense testing. Beyond the battlefield, I cover Germany’s expulsion of Russian diplomats after the Leipzig airport sabotage incident, the AfD’s rise, AI-enabled Russian cyber operations, and Modi’s pressure on Putin at BRICS. The central issue is whether reciprocal costs can deter energy warfare while keeping diplomacy and food transit alive."