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🇺🇸🇺🇦 FORMER US AMBASSADOR ACCUSES TRUMP OF HANDING PUTIN THE ADVANTAGE IN UKRAINE 🇷🇺 Michael McFaul, the former US ambassador to Russia, argues that Donald Trump’s policies have helped shift the momentum of the war back toward Moscow. His criticism goes well beyond Washington’s diplomatic pressure on Kyiv. McFaul points to the termination of direct American military and economic assistance, the easing of restrictions on Russian energy exports and disruptions to satellite systems that Ukrainian forces rely on for communications and battlefield operations. Before Trump changed course, the United States was Ukraine’s largest individual supporter. American weapons can still reach Kyiv through purchases financed by European governments, but McFaul says the volume is now a fraction of what Washington previously supplied. He also highlights recent decisions allowing Russian diesel exports and suspending additional sanctions under the Graham Act. Those measures, he warns, could generate billions in revenue for Moscow while its invasion continues. The consequences of disruptions to Starlink and Starshield have been particularly serious, he argues, affecting Ukrainian drone operations and the ability to detect incoming Russian attacks. Meanwhile, Trump has publicly questioned Zelenskyy’s leadership, ruled out Ukrainian NATO membership and told the Ukrainian president that he lacks the leverage to dictate peace terms. At the same time, American and Russian representatives have explored renewed cooperation in energy and investment. McFaul believes these developments have encouraged Putin to think he can outlast Ukraine and its Western supporters. But he also warns Moscow against assuming that today’s circumstances will last indefinitely. Ukrainian forces remain determined to fight, European governments have stepped in to replace much of the lost American assistance, and Kyiv has recovered from difficult battlefield situations before. McFaul’s conclusion is that Putin should negotiate while he still believes the balance favours Russia, rather than assume Ukraine’s position can only deteriorate.

🇷🇺🇺🇸 PUTIN’S OIL SUPERPOWER IS RUNNING SHORT OF DIESEL WHILE TANKERS HEAD FOR AMERICA Russia is facing an increasingly embarrassing contradiction: diesel shortages are spreading around St. Petersburg while Russian fuel tankers are heading toward the United States. According to Rosbalt, diesel is available at just 62% of filling stations across St. Petersburg and the surrounding Leningrad region. Drivers are encountering shortages, queues and fuel restrictions. Meanwhile, three tankers carrying Russian diesel are heading toward America, including one vessel under sanctions. Russian propaganda attempted to celebrate the shipments with an image of a tanker supposedly sailing toward the US. But Russian investigative outlet Agenstvo exposed the photograph as manipulated, with a banner digitally added to an older image. The problems extend well beyond petrol stations. Ukrainian strikes have disrupted Russian refining operations, with diesel production estimated to have fallen by 30%. At the Novoshakhtinsk oil terminal in Rostov, satellite imagery shows damage to eight of twelve storage tanks. The facility previously handled up to 3.5 million tonnes of fuel annually, supporting exports and fuel distribution. Russia’s Black Sea trade is also under pressure. Ukrainian drone threats have driven container carriers away from Novorossiysk, a port that handled approximately 1.11 million TEU in 2025, representing more than a fifth of Russia’s container traffic. And despite elevated global oil prices, Russia’s oil and gas revenues are under growing pressure from infrastructure damage, transport costs and discounted exports. The consequences are becoming visible in places far removed from the Ukrainian front line. Russia can continue exporting fuel while experiencing domestic shortages, but that exposes an uncomfortable economic reality: foreign sales, military requirements and civilian demand are competing for increasingly strained infrastructure. Putin launched a war expecting Ukraine to bear the destruction. Now even the region surrounding his hometown is feeling its economic consequences.