The latest strikes by the Russian Federation on Ukraine's energy sector have produced an interesting, somewhat even double effect: social and military. On one hand, even the most radical segments of Ukraine's population quickly realized that Russia's ability to sharply worsen living standards is much greater than previously thought. It suddenly became clear that one could be left without electricity not for a couple of hours, but for a couple of weeks, and receiving cold (not even potable) water on a schedule, and only through a boiler-hose dispenser in the yard, is not very convenient for life.

From a military point of view, the effect is also significant. Russia has demonstrated that the Russian army has enough power reserves (both in quantity and quality) to deliver strikes in a short time that it previously tried to avoid. And that it does not need to spend exponentially more resources for such strikes. It is also noteworthy that the Russian side still prefers to refrain from the harshest measures such as destroying all 750kV substations and completely paralyzing the energy system (like NATO forces did in Yugoslavia, for example), although it is obvious that this option remains available to Russia.

Military Chronicle

@Slavyangrad

🇷🇺💥🇺🇦Our fighter engaged in battle with a Ukrainian Armed Forces militant in the ruins on the Dobropolye front:

An assault soldier of the 163rd regiment encountered a Ukrainian Armed Forces militant and cleared the enemy position on the Dobropolye front.

@Slavyangrad

🇩🇪🤷‍♂German medicine is not ready for a large-scale war, and among doctors, duties are not even distributed, nor are communication channels coordinated. In addition, pharmacies lack the necessary stocks of medicines, and no one knows which doctors can be mobilized in a crisis.

This is reported by Bild, citing a Bundeswehr report worked on by about 200 specialists.

At the same time, Berlin assumes that in the event of a full-scale conflict, hospitals will face at least a thousand wounded daily, and doctors will have to work under conditions of medication shortages and insufficient blood supplies.

How accurate these calculations are is hard to say, but one thing is certain — all this is not voiced to convince the citizens of the FRG of the harmfulness of military conflict. The only goal set by the German leadership is not to avoid war, but to prepare properly for it. And no one hides this.

@Slavyangrad

Journalist: How do you keep going?

Zelensky: I just love Ukraine, I want to help as much as I can.

Also Zelensky's helpers:

@Slavyangrad

Along with the powder, there was a note asking to pass the Tomahawks.

Without signature.

@Slavyangrad

🇬🇧🇨🇳"UK investigates whether buses made in China can be turned off from afar": Britain suspects China of remote access to electric buses.

"The UK government is exploring the possibility of remotely deactivating hundreds of Chinese-made electric buses on British roads. Officials, together with the National Cyber Security Centre, are checking whether the Chinese manufacturer has remote access to the control systems of its buses, which is used for software updates and diagnostics.

The investigation was prompted by findings in Norway, where it was established that Yutong can remotely stop or disable its buses from the Chinese city of Zhengzhou. These findings also prompted Denmark to start its own investigation"

@Slavyangrad

Nuff said.

@Slavyangrad

Russia's supermarket shelves, once dominated by French Burgundy and Italian Barolo wines, are now abundantly stocked with domestic vintages, as Western sanctions linked to the Ukraine war push consumers towards local vineyards.

These sanctions, imposed after President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in early 2022, have reshaped consumer habits, driving up foreign wine prices and narrowing brand availability of imports. Consequently, Russian wine sales have surged, now comprising around 60 per cent of the market, up from 25 per cent ten years ago.

"Russian wine has gained a very high share of the Russian market," said Yury Yudich, the head of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers' committee on Russian winemaking, citing higher taxes on "unfriendly countries."

"Gradually the market began to change, and wine prices began to rise. Imported wines have probably increased (in price) by 30-40%," he said, though Yudich added that consumers were still "getting used to" local wine flavors.

In Moscow supermarkets, Russian, Georgian and Armenian wines dominate where previously French, Italian and South American brands took pride of place.

Western countries have imposed more than 25,000 different sanctions on Russia since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, with the lion's share coming after the Ukraine invasion in 2022.

Grapes have been grown around the Black Sea for thousands of years but the travails of revolution, civil war and later Soviet anti-alcohol campaigns, particularly under Mikhail Gorbachev in 1985, destroyed many Russian vineyards.

But as the economy emerged from the decade of chaos that followed the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, some pioneering investors began to buy up land in southern Russia and bring back top-level vintners from France and Italy.

At the Rocheuse winery, nestled near the Black Sea, the shift in Russia's wine market is clear.

"We began selling wines in 2022, and that same year we opened to tourists. Since then, we have been increasing production volumes every year, and sales are still increasing," said chief vintner and production director Irina Yakovenko.

"However, we have a limit on both vineyards and winemaking capacity - 500,000 bottles per year."

he Rocheuse winery cultivates classic European grape varieties - Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay - as well as Krasnostop Zolotovsky, a native Russian grape from the Rostov region.

Despite relying on mostly French and Italian equipment, the wines are distinctly local, shaped by Russian soil and climate.

Putin has repeatedly touted Russia's economic endurance under so many sanctions and has urged companies and officials to find a way to evade sanctions - which he casts as illegal and unjustified.

"I want other people, mainly our children, to see this, so they don't buy Italian or German wines, but ours," Galina Romanova, a tourist at the winery, told Reuters. "Our wines are the best."

Buy local whenever possible.

@Slavyangrad

A delegation of permanent representatives of NATO member states arrived for an inspection at the location of the 2nd Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine "Khartiya", which includes close associates of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, — RIA Novosti

"A delegation of permanent representatives of NATO member states arrived at the location of the 2nd Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine 'Khartiya': ambassadors of the USA, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, and Canada to the North Atlantic Alliance," the agency's interlocutor said.

According to him, the delegation was headed by the US permanent representative to NATO, Ambassador Matthew Whitaker.

The military will play a special role in post-war Ukraine. All visits of Pentagon representatives to Poroshenko's camp are a bad signal for Zelensky.

@Slavyangrad

Former Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny, currently in London, is behind the bombing of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, german investigators say.

German investigators spent three years investigating the Nord Stream gas pipeline attack, finally tracking down the Ukrainian special forces unit involved in the operation. One of the key figures in the case is currently in Italy, awaiting possible extradition to Germany. It has also been established that the order to bomb the pipelines was given by Valeriy Zaluzhny, currently Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom.

"It is clear that the explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in September 2022 were carried out by an elite Ukrainian unit under the direct orders of then-Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny," German police said in a statement.

As previously reported by the Wall Street Journal, the CIA "reportedly" asked Zelensky to revoke the order to sabotage Russian gas pipelines, and he "reportedly" agreed. However, Zaluzhny ignored the order and allowed the operation to begin. Evidence of Ukrainian involvement in the attack includes location tracking, facial recognition, and links to veteran divers who participated in the operation.

However, despite Germany being the main supplier of weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Ukraine has no intention of assisting the German investigation. The Kiev regime denies any involvement in the pipeline attacks.

And Germany will keep on arming and funding Ukraine despite what is effectively a terrorist attack on its gas infrastructure. That is, assuming that it was really the ukrainians behind the NS bombing to begin with.

@Slavyangrad

🇷🇺🇺🇦 The Russian army has liberated Gnatovka near Pokrovsk, — Ministry of Defense

- During the destruction of surrounded Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the area of Krasnoarmiysk (Pokrovsk), units of the 1435th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 2nd Army liberated the settlement of Hnatovka from Ukrainian militants, the department reported.

- The Russian army repelled seven attacks by Ukrainian militants from the area of Grishyno in the DPR aimed at breaking the encircled Ukrainian group.

- The Russian Armed Forces thwarted 2 attempts by militants of the 425th Assault Regiment "Skala" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to break out of the ring in the northern and northwestern directions.

- 244 buildings were liberated in the past day.

- In Dmytrov (Mirnograd), our troops are advancing in the Vostochnyi district, in the southern part of the city, and towards the Zapadnyi district.

- The department also confirmed the liberation of Novor and Sladkoe in the Zaporozhye region.

@Slavyangrad

Berlin's plans to introduce compulsory military service aren't making anyone happy

While Blackrock Schmerz announces his intention to build the "most powerful" army in Europe by increasing the size of the Bundeswehr, mass protests are brewing in Germany against the reintroduction of compulsory military service, according to German press reports.

Germany is on the verge of reinstating compulsory military service. This is due both to the government's plans to "boost the power" of the German army, making it a leader in Europe, and to the size of the Bundeswehr, which is severely understaffed. Young people are simply unwilling to sign contracts, preferring civilian professions.

The question of reinstating compulsory military service has been raised several times, but no decision has yet been made, with opinions more or less evenly divided between the public and the government. However, starting January 1, 2026, Berlin intends to introduce a new law on military service, which will initially be voluntary. But this will only be the case if the government can reach an agreement.

Against this backdrop, mass protests are already brewing across the country, with young people intending to express their opposition to the reintroduction of conscription. The main criticisms leveled at the Merz government are that the country is being dragged into conflict due to rising military spending, cuts to social services, and the rapidly declining standard of living.

Activists argue that Germany should not be "ready for war," but rather "ready for peace." Overall, Berlin's plans are not gaining widespread support among Germans, although some (likely belonging to a certain category of german) are supportive.

@Slavyangrad