Right now, over a million people inside Vladimir Putin’s priced crown jewel have been plunged into total darkness.
I’m talking about Crimea.
Crimea is burning.
The power grid is failing.
And a mass exodus of panic Russian citizens has just hit a terrifying dead end.
But you see, the craziest part of this disaster is actually how Ukraine pulled it off.
Over the last 48 hours, Ukrainian forces executed an absolute masterclass in psychological warfare and tactical misdirection.
They set a massive trap and the Russian military walked right into it completely blind.
Now, critical supply lines are cut off, property prices are collapsing, and severe fuel shortages mean thousands of fleeing Russians are literally trapped on this peninsula.
The situation is deteriorating so fast that for the first time in this entire war, top Russian propagandists are desperately trying to convince the public that Putin will not lose his greatest geopolitical prize.
More specifically, how we got here in Crimea.
Now, to understand why last night’s strike worked, we have to understand the setup that made it possible.
So, let’s go back two nights ago, June 21st.
That’s the night when this whole thing started and it turned out to be one of the cleanest strategic deception that we have seen so far in this war.
On the night of 21st, Ukrainian forces ran a precision strike that didn’t just go after refineries or fuel depots.
That’s something Ukraine has been doing on a regular basis.
But they went after one thing that Russia truly needs, Russian air defenses.
Take a look at this report.
They destroyed four radar stations belonging to Russia’s S400 anti-aircraft missile systems and on top of that they destroyed two Pansier gun and missile system that Russia was using.
Now these systems were really important because all six of those were situated on the Kirch bridge.
The bridge that connected mainland Russia to occupied Crimea.
Now this is where I want you guys to imagine something.
Imagine you’re a Russian general and you just saw this strike take place.
strike that successfully took out six of your air defenses that were situated on this bridge that Putin desperately wants to protect.
What are you thinking? You’re probably thinking that Ukraine is going to go after the bridge right after they take out the air defenses.
In fact, many people including myself and and people a lot smarter than me like the former Navy Seal Chuck Far said the same thing.
The bridge was open for destruction.
So that’s exactly where Ukraine is going to hit next.
And this is exactly why Russia started panicking.
Russian general started panicking and we actually have satellite footage to show exactly what they did next.
These satellite images were taken within hours of June 21st strike.
You can see Russian crew rushing to build up the Brits defenses.
They were building protective barriers.
They were replacing air defenses that were destroyed and they were also putting in naval defenses so Ukraine cannot use like a sea-based drone to destroy the bottom of the bridge.
The Kremlin was preparing for an obvious incoming strike on the bridge itself.
But Ukraine was quietly planning to hit something else entirely.
You see, even though the air defenses that Ukraine destroyed previously, they were situated on the Kurge bridge, they protected the whole peninsula.
And now that those air defenses were gone, that meant there were a lot more options on the Crimean Peninsula that Ukraine could go after.
That’s exactly what Ukraine did.
Take a look at this map.
This is the map of Ukrainian drone activity from last night.
The strikes mostly targeted Crimea and southern Russia.
And here’s what the aftermath of that strike looked like.
That fire that you’re seeing, well, that’s the Kur thermal power plant, the single largest power facility in eastern Crimea.
Now, that plant is producing a lot of power in terms of fire, but unfortunately, Russia cannot use it to light houses.
The result of this strike is what we opened our video with, more than a million Crimeans without power.
And this is a peninsula whose population is 2.
4 million people.
That means half of the people just don’t have power.
Russian officials are publicly claiming that the blackout is the result of an electrical grid failure.
But the smoke that you see on your screen tells a completely different story.
In fact, the smoke is so massive that you can see it from 30 miles away if you’re on the peninsula.
You can also see it from NASA’s fire detection satellites that probably millions of miles above in the sky.
And guess what? This wasn’t the only power plant that Ukraine targeted.
Here’s the full picture of what Ukraine hit last night.
Just in terms of power plants, there are other targets that we’ll go over in just a second, but just count the power plants that Chuck Far made the map of.
I count at least four separate electrical sites across the peninsula in a single night.
This is exactly why over a million people don’t have power.
In fact, we actually have a clip of one of the strikes taking place.
Take a look.
This was published by a Russian resident in Crimea.
We are >> That’s it.
We are completely [ __ ] >> My hands are shaking.
So, if you’re a Russian living in Crimea right now, the obvious answer is to leave, pack up your stuff, and just get on the road, go back to safety, which would be very, very far away.
But unfortunately, you need fuel to drive a car.
You need fuel to get on a train, maybe even fuel to get on a plane, but I think planes are pretty much shut down in Crimea.
So, you can’t really go anywhere.
And this is not me just speculating.
In fact, we have clips coming out from Moscow resident who are stuck in Crimea right now and they’re saying the exact same thing.
Take a look.
>> We arrived at the station, but this is not a station.
This is not a station at all.
We are standing in the middle of nowhere surrounded by rocks.
This is just total trash.
My god, why am I here? I want to go back to Moscow.
[ __ ] what are these ruins? Now, just a side note for anyone who’s watching this who’s from Moscow, from the looks of it, I still think Crimea might actually be safer than Moscow.
We just saw oil depot get shot up into the space.
So, Moscow doesn’t look that safe, at least to me.
Now, on top of this, Ukraine also announced that they destroyed a railway bridge over the North Crimean Canal in northern Crimea.
This bridge is part of a transport corridor used to move cargo, resources, and even military equipment in two direction.
It goes from Russia to Crimea to resupply forces on the front lines.
Then on top of that, it also moves stuff within the peninsula so the Russian military can sustain itself.
Now though, that route is closed off because of the Ukrainian attack that took place last night.
This is part of the Ukrainian campaign that we have covered before.
It’s called logistical lockdown.
And guess what? It’s really going after Russian logistics.
Now Ukraine started this operation to go after Russia’s military logistics.
But now that Russia is having hard time supplying the troops on the front lines, what they’re doing is they’re using civilian logistical routes or civilian trucks, civilian whatever else you can use to supply the military.
And that’s creating a problem for Russian citizens who are living in Crimea because they are now facing shortages of all sorts.
Food is running out, butter is running out, like whatever you can think of.
Just take a listen to this clip that a Russian woman published inside of Crimea and how the daily life has become a struggle.
I hate to ask, is this panic over petrol spreading to everything else, too? >> We came to the shop and went to the meat aisle.
What can you get here? Only wings, which nobody wants.
Where is everything else? It’s unclear.
Either it’s just sold out or the panic has already started for food, too.
Now, this same operation is also creating issues inside of Russia, too.
Not just in occupied territories.
And Russian citizens are facing a lot of shortages, not just in fuel, but but pretty much anything you can think of.
But before we get into the bigger strategic picture of what all this means, we need a quick meme break.
Last time you guys really enjoyed this segment, so I have more memes.
As you guys know, internet loves to have fun.
And guess what? Because of all the Ukrainian strikes that Putin is dealing with, internet has come up with new content.
So, let’s take a look.
Now, here’s the important part.
As Sunzu said in Out of War, meme them until they cry, then make memes about them crying.
That’s how you win a war.
And that’s exactly what Ukrainians are doing.
Now, with these memes that are coming up, well, we just have one rule.
If you enjoy any of the memes, tell me which one is your favorite down below in the comments.
And if you aren’t subscribed yet, be sure to hit the subscribe button.
Now, let’s look at the memes.
The first one we have is from the biggest Russian propagandist there is.
And he says, “The attack in Moscow, well, that wasn’t a Ukrainian attack.
It’s just a SSO, much like the SMO that Putin started.
But this time, it’s a special smoke screen operation.
” Now, I know people are joking about this, but I feel like Russia is going to start using this as an excuse very soon.
An official excuse, by the way.
Next one, we have someone popping a champagne bottle and the cap is just going out of this world.
Pretty funny.
And the last one, this might be my favorite one because I used to game a lot.
We have a new poster for Angry Birds 2026.
I get a feeling that Russia is not going to enjoy this game very much.
And finally, we have my favorite one.
It’s Putin himself.
Putin says, “I promised you guys that we are no longer known as China’s gas station.
” But there’s a twist.
Now, this is actually becoming reality.
It’s not a meme anymore.
Because of Ukrainian drone strikes, Russia is actually being forced to import oil.
Not just ban exports.
They’re now importing oil from other countries.
This is the world’s second largest oil reserve country, and now they’re importing.
I guess Putin is a rarity when it comes to politicians.
He does fulfill his promises, just not in a way anyone would have assumed he would.
Drop your favorite meme in the comments down below.
Now, let’s get back to the serious side of the story.
Now, as you guys might have guessed, because of all the strikes that Crimea is facing, Russian residents are just not enjoying the peninsula like they used to.
It used to be a popular vacation spot where people went away to, you know, forget about their problems.
Well, guess what? Now, Russians are saying that it just doesn’t feel the same.
Even though the weather is all the same, it’s nice and beautiful.
The people who are on the peninsula, well, they don’t have the same happiness in their eyes that they used to have before.
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Now, let’s get into this message from Crimea where a Russian residents is saying why she just feels like something has changed.
Take a listen.
>> You know, lately one can experience a somewhat decadent mood, feeling suppressed, perhaps even depressed.
It’s hard to say what it is caused by.
Perhaps it’s worth cleaning the diet.
Exclude sugars.
Maybe add vitamin C supplements.
It’s rather hard to understand.
Seemingly you live in Crimea.
There is sun.
There’s sea.
What’s wrong? What’s missing? To be calm, happy.
It’s not very clear at all to be honest.
>> So now let’s shift our focus to the bigger picture.
What does this mean for Putin and Crimea? Can Russia actually hold on to it? Well, here’s a really good analysis from Shan Penner.
Take a look.
Crimea is beginning to feel like a maropole moment for Russia.
Fuel shortages are spreading across the peninsula.
Strikes are hitting logistics and the Kurch bridge now appears higher on Ukraine’s target list than any point in the war.
We’re also hearing from reliable local sources that property prices are being heavily discounted as Russians seek to leave the peninsula, taking whatever they can for apartments before the situation deteriorates further.
For years, Crimea was presented as Putin’s greatest geopolitical triumph and home to the priced Black Sea fleet.
Today, the peninsula is facing fuel shortages, transport disruption, and growing economic uncertainty, and now even abandonment.
The bridge that you see on your screen is more than infrastructure.
It’s a symbol.
If it were rendered unusable for a prolonged period, military consequences would be significant and political consequences could be even greater, especially for Putin.
The last line is very important for Putin.
As we have covered before, Crimea is much more than just territory.
This was the peninsula when he captured it.
His political polling basically turned around.
The Russian population wasn’t a big fan of him before 20 2014 because he had just taken on an unprecedented third term as a president.
Russia believed that the country was going back into the Soviet times where Azar was going to rule the country until he dies.
Well, taking over Crimea kind of changed that because Russians were proud of taking back this territory that they believe belongs to Russia.
But now, if Putin actually loses this, well, that’s going to be a big problem because he started this special military operation to protect Russia.
And that’s not exactly how it’s playing out.
This is why we’re seeing something unique in Russian social media.
Propagandists are explaining to people why Russia will never lose Crimea.
And this is something we haven’t seen before.
It’s interesting that they’re talking about this now, exactly when Ukraine is basically tightening its grip on the logistics around the peninsula.
Take a listen to this clip.
>> So, who will Crimea ultimately belong to? The thing is, lately I’ve been seeing on Tik Tok and Instagram that Ukrainians are pushing the idea that they’ll take Crimea back by the end of the summer.
But let’s look at things from a more alternative perspective.
Officially, the court and the HEG recognize Crimea as Russian.
Second, capturing territory requires infantry and manpower.
And as we know, Ukraine has already run out of men.
The only thing they can do is terrorize the peninsula with UAVs.
Yes, of course, drones are frightening.
They cause damage and financial losses.
But it’s impossible to capture territory with drones alone.
Third, let’s look at the situation along the front line.
No matter how much Ukrainians may not want it, the Russian army is making gains along the front line.
For example, Constantinovka was recently captured, which had been under Ukrainian control since 2014.
But most importantly, the people of Crimea have already gone through the water and power blockades, and I believe they will certainly endure a fuel blockade, too.
The purpose of all these strikes is to destabilize the population of the Russian Federation and create panic among the people.
That’s why you should filter everything you see on the internet through a critical mindset and draw your own conclusions accordingly.
>> And now I want to look at how the Russian state media is even attempting to cover all this because at some point the lies that they’re telling the Russian public, well, they just break down under the weight of reality.
People can see what’s happening in Crimea and they can hear from people who are fleeing the peninsula as to why they have to leave.
And this is exactly why it’s important to pay attention to the Russian state media.
So take a listen to this clip.
>> Which brings us onto the subject of Ukrainian drone attacks on Crimea and on many parts of Russia.
Clearly this is of major concern to Moscow.
As newsetta reminds us last Thursday several drones attacked the Moscow oil refinery.
Commerant reports strike on the peninsula.
Crimea attacked by drones.
Strikes were carried out on, among other things, the ferry at the Kirch crossing, the oil terminal, and several other energy infrastructure facilities.
Authorities said four people were killed and 28 others injured.
Back to Visa, which tells us that in Crimea, the sale of fuel to the public, as well as its release by ration coupons has been suspended.
Fuel will be released only to state services that ensure the vital functions and security of the republic.
What’s more, now there are problems with electricity in Crimea.
The key message in the Russian papers continues to be, “Yes, there are problems.
We admit that.
But Russians shouldn’t panic.
” This is how that sounds in Muskovski Kamsaw today, which says that the Ukrainian drone strikes aim to create a sense of crisis amongst Russians and a feeling of learned helplessness.
Learned helplessness is an acceptance of defeat, but there are no grounds for such a defeat.
The recent strikes by Kiev haven’t changed the geopolitical reality.
Russia is still one of the two main nuclear powers.
Russia is still stronger than Ukraine in all ways.
Zilinski is trying to redress the balance by using asymmetrical warfare against Moscow.
We mustn’t play by the rules our geopolitical enemies try to force on our country and its people.
The rules should be ours.
Now, our last story is actually a segment from an exclusive video that we made with former Navy Seal Chuck Far.
It’s Battlefield Breakdown where he just breaks down real clips that are coming out from Ukraine.
Now, this is something that was published on our website a while ago, so don’t be surprised if I look a bit young.
Take a look.
This is Ukrainian anti guns, and it just looks like it’s out of a movie, some kind of animation.
Yeah.
So, what we’re looking at there is AAA anti-aircraft artillery.
And that will be everything from uh 20 to 40 mm anti-aircraft fire.
And as you listen to the, you know, to the sounds of it, you can hear a certain piece going chug chug chug.
That is likely a radarg guided gun.
Because if you’re only going to shoot three bullets at a time, you want to make sure you’re aiming at But this is a pretty good example of what is called volume of fire.
Uh these things are mostly used, shooting like this, mostly against Shahed drones, which are somewhat more predictable and they’re slow.
And there you can actually see a spotlight uh going up.
And again, the spotlight, just like from World War II, they’re trying to identify the target, uh, illuminate it, and there we’ve got something uh on fire and making an unscheduled stop.
So, that was, uh, that was a, uh, a hit right there.
>> So, is this the same gun they would use against missile or that would be something else? >> Well, uh, these are short-range air defense systems for AAA.
uh it could be used against a cruise missile but you are going to get it kind of as a lucky uh lucky strike.
There are a number though of very highly developed AAA systems that in Ukraine.
One of them is called the Skynex system and it is kind of right out of the terminator.
It is a fully AI functioning autonomous autoc cannon radar guided.
So, you can put this thing out and you can program in what you want it to defend and throw the switch and it will find, lock on, and engage anything that flies in its area.
So, some of what you’re seeing are probably Skynex uh batteries as well, but what you’re seeing here is like the last ditch air defense, which is AAA.
you know, you’re you’ve got longer range uh air defense systems like the Patriot, shorter range like NASAMS and Croatel, and then even shorter ranges like Stingers, and the last line of defense is AAA like this.
Disclaimer : This content may be created by AI for entertainment purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, events, or places is coincidental.
