Russia has declared a counter-terrorist operation in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions. The decision was made by the Director of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Alexander Bortnikov. By calling it a "counter-terrorist operation," Russia is once again trying to
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downplay the seriousness of the situation. On the other hand, under a counter-terrorist operation, the FSB is handling the situation, not the Defense Ministry, which Vladimir Putin has long since lost confidence in. A breakthrough in the Kursk region will most likely provoke
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Putin to finally purge last from Shoigu's team. Gerasimov made decisions regarding the defense of these regions, and even seeing the concentration of Ukrainian troops in the Sumy region over the past 2 months, he did not consider them a threat. Perhaps, there will be quick
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resignations. They will look for those to blame. Ukraine has learned its lessons from its last attempt at a massive offensive and this time tried to determine the most vulnerable parts of the front. They turned out to be Russia's border territories. Previous sabotage and
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reconnaissance groups have scouted out how easy it is to penetrate the defenses in these areas, and this offensive was prepared with these factors in mind. Also today there were reports of Ukrainian troops appearing in the Belgorod region. Soldiers posted a video from
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the village of Poroz. Whether this is the site of another major breakthrough or rather a diversionary maneuver will become clear later. It is also possible that the offensive in the Kursk region is also a diversionary maneuver. There are many theories now. There are some
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about capturing the nuclear power plant and exchanging it for Zaporizhzhya, there are some about exchanging the Kursk region for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and the return of the 1991 border. Possibly. But it seems that Ukraine is not very inclined to
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bargain with Russia, and its main goal is to completely overthrow the Russian Army. Perhaps Ukraine will be able to issue an ultimatum in some point. Ukrainian special forces are supplying weapons to local resistance movements, stirring up the heat for a civil war. Russia
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entered Ukraine under the pretext of a popular uprising in Donetsk and Lugansk, and in response it will receive its own civil war. Something interesting is happening on the Internet. Apparently, there is also a massive information operation going on there. Firstly, before
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the operation, many information platforms covering the war received a warning to maintain complete silence. There is almost no information from the Ukrainian side. Rare videos and photos, which are most likely carefully selected and play a role in the overall strategy of
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the information part of this war. Secondly, Russian channels are littered with messages that greatly fuel panic. There are reports of sabotage and reconnaissance groups working or military equipment stolen by Ukrainians. In some messages, Russian soldiers were called upon
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to shoot to kill. In the confusion, the Russians could have started shooting at their own. In general, at the moment, Z-channels are in a fever and in the morning they write that the offensive has been stopped, and by the evening they write in panic that everything is
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lost. And so on in a circle. Also, a video has spread across the Internet that created the impression that the Ukrainians have access to surveillance cameras in the Kursk region. Russian publics have spread the news, apparently the cameras have been turned off. It turned
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out later that the video is old. The Ukrainians also faced a problem in the Kursk region - they lack transport to transport those who surrendered. However, Russia has also made progress, these are the same Toretsk and Pokrovsk. However, the progress is minimal and the
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intensity is falling. On the other hand, columns of equipment have already been noticed not only from the Kharkiv region, but also from the Donbas and other parts of the front, sent to reinforce the Kursk region. How long Russia will have enough resources to continue the
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offensive, which has already been going on for three months in the Avdiivka direction, is an open question. Ukraine expected the exhaustion of Russian resources to begin its offensive. Russia wore them down in the Donetsk region. The offensive on Kursk has greatly raised
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the morale of Ukrainian soldiers, and it has also restored faith in Ukraine in the West. Ukraine can advance, Ukraine can win. The success of this operation remains to be determined in the future, until there is objective data on what is happening and what the scale is.
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The defeat of Viktor Orban in the Hungarian elections, after he was strongly backed by Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, has become a turning point for Europe’s far right. According to Politico, many ultra-right parties are now distancing themselves from Trump,
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as his increasingly aggressive stance toward Europe and the new war in the Middle East has made him politically costly. It is becoming clear that closeness to him can damage electoral prospects. “We need to keep our distance from him,” Marine Le Pen told members of her party
at a National Rally meeting, according to a senior party official present. A further factor has been Trump’s attack on Pope Leo XIV. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had been one of the last European leaders trying to maintain good relations with Trump, but reportedly
russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that the government and the Central Bank explain why economic indicators are falling short of forecasts and again called for measures to restore growth, noting that GDP has been declining for two consecutive months. After slowing
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sharply to about 1% growth in 2025 due to weak domestic demand, high borrowing costs, and expanded Western sanctions, the economy has now shifted into contraction, shrinking by around 1.8% over the first two months of the year. The Ministry of Economic Development initially
attributed the decline to a calendar effect, citing fewer working days compared to the same period last year, but Putin dismissed this as insufficient and asked officials to explain why actual data is worse than their own projections. Speaking to senior economic officials,
The State Duma has approved in the first reading a bill expanding the powers of the President of russia to deploy troops abroad to “protect the rights of russian citizens.” According to the government proposal, Vladimir Putin would be able to use the military in response
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to the arrest, detention, or prosecution of russians in foreign countries, including decisions made by courts and international bodies that russia does not recognize. The president already has authority to send troops abroad under the law “On Security,” particularly if actions
by other states or institutions are seen as contradicting russia’s interests or public order. The new bill comes amid growing warnings from NATO and European intelligence agencies about a potential conflict involving russia and alliance members. In 2025, Germany’s BND warned
On average, from March 8 to April 5, russia exported 3.35 million barrels of oil per day - the highest export level since June 2022. Bloomberg reports this. The largest deliveries went to Asian countries, particularly India and China. In China, an average of 1.07 million
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barrels of oil per day was delivered, and to India - 1.9 million. Turkey also purchased 210 thousand barrels per day. Overall, russia earned about $2.02 billion per week from this export. Some russian tankers also do not have a specified destination. Instead, Suez or Port Sudan
is often listed as the final point. The number of such tankers is increasing, while the number of tankers officially heading to China and India is decreasing. In addition, the amount of oil loaded onto tankers at sea dropped to 105 million barrels. By mid-March, this figure was
Over the past couple of months, russian military sources have been reporting that the intensity of Ukrainian strikes on logistics has increased many times over. We are talking about so-called middle strike. Until 2025, despite innovations in drone technology, Ukraine was
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losing to russia in this segment. The “drone wall” developed by Ukraine is effective at relatively short distances - up to 20 km from the line of contact. At the same time, long-range drones were developed, which Ukraine has been actively using to strike oil refineries and
the military industry of russia, but until recently Ukraine could not effectively carry out middle strike. This problem began to be actively discussed in the summer of 2025, and since then the Armed Forces of Ukraine have taken the right steps in the right direction. In June,
The sharp rise in oil prices due to the war in Iran strongly plays into russia’s hands, as prices for russian oil grades have exceeded 100 dollars per barrel and Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are actively ordering russian
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oil, increasing the likelihood that demand in the region will exceed russian supply. This is driven by the easing of US sanctions. This allows russia, despite waging an aggressive war, to improve its standing on the international stage. Along with oil contracts, russia also
offers investments in other sectors and new business opportunities, including military cooperation. Thus, instead of isolation and toxicity, russia gains new markets and expands its influence. All thanks to Trump. However, oil is not only russia’s strength but also its most