WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia

[Tintin]

Posted by Jaak (here)
On the night into Sunday, Moscow and the Moscow region came under one of the most powerful attacks from Ukraine. Three people were killed and 17 injured. The targets of the attack were the Angstrem plant in Zelenograd, the Kapotnya oil refinery, and the Solnechnogorskaya and Volodarskoye oil pumping stations.

Yes, this was a major attack, and there'll be serious consequences for Kiev as a result.

It has been suggested, and it'll need confirmation, that Starlink (?) had been opened over Russian airspace allowing for the ability to be able to strike Moscow so easily. If true then we could be about to witness a serious escalation. I don't think this following scenario will necessarily play out but: would Moscow actual make a kinetic attempt to disable that system I wonder? How, I'm unsure, but the last thing we need is this conflict moving into near-Earth orbit.

These days it seems everything and anything can happen - there seems to have been, at least in the so-called West, a complete breakdown in any kind of restraint, at all: support for genocide; kidnapping and executing leaders of nation states, etc..

Just a thought.

The Doomsday Clock monitors will I imagine have there hands full, with its second hand right now.

[Mike Gorman]

You make some chillingly accurate points here TinTin, it seems many among the West's present powerful forget who they are provoking-they know on a real level that Russian policies are of the highest moral order, they rely on this for their dirty games, Putin wants to avoid the catastrophe of an all-out War. I think Russia will be compelled to respond with increasing severity: we can only hope at this point.

[Tintin]

And following on from the above couple posts, here's Scott Ritter with George Galloway, yesterday, suggesting pretty much the same escalation potential:

Lights out for Ukraine, Lights out for Europe

May 18th 2026

[Tintin]

First appearance of "Perun's Lance"?

Ooof: this looks like a further Russian weapon upgrade, and it's very Oreshnik-like. It has been described as:

That massive white flash and glowing column captured overnight is the first combat use of Russia’s new "Perun’s Lance" — an orbital plasma weapon. A network of solar-powered satellites collects and concentrates solar energy, then fires a high-energy plasma beam through the atmosphere. The result: a lightning-like channel that delivers devastating thermal energy on target, vaporizing infrastructure with almost no warning and leaving that exact glowing pillar we see here. Welcome to orbital directed-energy warfare. The rules just changed.

[Vicus]

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=gB0varG2JvI

Russia's Massive Retaliatory Strike🛩️ New Missile Tested?🚀 Iran Crisis & Oil Shock🛢️ MS 2026.05.18

4 hours ago

[Tintin]

Posted by Tintin (here)
First appearance of "Perun's Lance"?

Ooof: this looks like a further Russian weapon upgrade, and it's very Oreshnik-like. It has been described as:

That massive white flash and glowing column captured overnight is the first combat use of Russia’s new "Perun’s Lance" — an orbital plasma weapon. A network of solar-powered satellites collects and concentrates solar energy, then fires a high-energy plasma beam through the atmosphere. The result: a lightning-like channel that delivers devastating thermal energy on target, vaporizing infrastructure with almost no warning and leaving that exact glowing pillar we see here. Welcome to orbital directed-energy warfare. The rules just changed.

Regarding Perun:

In Slavic mythology, Perun (Cyrillic: Перун) is the highest god of the pantheon and the god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility and oak trees.[2] His other attributes were fire, mountains, wind, iris, eagle, firmament (in Indo-European languages, this was joined with the notion of the sky of stone[3]), horses and carts, and weapons (hammer, axe (Axe of Perun), and arrow). The supreme god in the Kievan Rus' during the 9th-10th centuries,[4] Perun was first associated with weapons made of stone and later with those of metal.[5][6]

Sources
Of all historic records describing Slavic gods, those mentioning Perun are the most numerous. As early as the 6th century, he was mentioned in De Bello Gothico, a historical source written by the Eastern Roman historian Procopius. A short note describing beliefs of a certain South Slavic tribe states they acknowledge that one god, creator of lightning, is the only lord of all: to him do they sacrifice an ox and all sacrificial animals. While the name of the god is not mentioned here explicitly, 20th century research has established beyond doubt that the god of thunder and lightning in Slavic mythology is Perun.[7] To this day, the word perun in a number of Slavic languages means "thunder," or "lightning bolt".

[Jaak]

Romanian fighter jet downed a UAV in Estonian airspace.

At noon of May 19, 2026 an unmanned aerial system entered Estonian airspace from Russian airspace in the South-Eastern corner of Estonia, heading towards North-East. The unmanned aerial system was likely of Ukrainian origin.

[Tintin]

"Recall my own theory that Russia may be currently biding its time on a low-simmer mode because it has advance knowledge that Zelensky could finally face the music in the near future, and things will become much easier after that—or at least, more favorably dynamic." - Simplicius

A statement that I whole-heartedly agree with

__________________________________________________

Here's a link to Simplicius' latest:

Russian SVR Hints Strikes on NATO 'Decision-Making Centers' After Latest Drone Provocations

By Simplicius
Published: May 20th, 2026

__________________________________________________

Ukraine is preparing strikes against Russia from Latvian territory

Kremlin website link: http://svr.gov.ru/smi/2026/05/ukrain...rii-latvii.htm

Avalon library link: https://avalonlibrary.net/Ukraine/Ar...eration%29.pdf

[Tintin]

Linked via Kit Klarenberg article:

Declassified: UK Knew NATO Expansion 'Would Provoke' Russia War
Link: https://www.kitklarenberg.com/p/decl...tro_popup=true
Published: May 17th, 2026

[excerpt]

"Ukrainian entry into NATO is the brightest of all red-lines for the Russian elite (not just Putin). In my more than two and a half years of conversations with key Russian players, from knuckle-draggers in the dark recesses of the Kremlin to Putin’s sharpest liberal critics, I have yet to find anyone who views Ukraine in NATO as anything other than a direct challenge to Russian interests…a [membership] offer would be seen…as throwing down the strategic gauntlet…Russia will respond.” - William J. Burns

___________________________________

Link: https://avalonlibrary.net/Ukraine/Ar...a_Strategy.pdf

[Ravenlocke]

MFA Russia 🇷🇺
@mfa_russia
·
2h
💬 FM #Lavrov to a request to comment on statements regarding Kaliningrad by a Lithuanian FM:

Such statements should be given less attention.

☝️ These people somehow need to prove they exist. But unlike Descartes, who said “I think, therefore I exist”, these people simply exist

https://x.com/mfa_russia/status/2057163184641884263

[Tintin]

Russian Su-27 and Su-35 jets intercept an RAF fighter jet over the Black Sea

To be fair, the Russians would have been well within their rights to shoot it down: 2,000 miles away from the UK; we're surrounded by morons, everywhere

[Vicus]

Yet Another Reminder ...

... for consumers of Hollywood version of war and owners of the movie Patton DVD. Pentagon doesn't have experience with this whatsoever, the US excels at killing civilians. Here is Lavrov on the issue, again:

MOSCOW, May 20 - RIA Novosti. During a special military operation, Russia does not want to cause excessive damage to the territories where Russian people live, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

"We are consistently solving the tasks of the special military operation. President Russia Vladimir Putin I have repeatedly said that we do not use the means that we could use, because we do not want to cause excessive damage to the territories where, by and large, our people live, whom the Nazis are trying to suppress," he said Lavrov in Interview Shanghai Media Group SMG.

He noted that about 80 settlements were liberated in 2026, including 35 in March and April.

Let me remind you again--NO US serviceman ever fought in modern times in defense of own country and experienced the loss of everything dear to him (her)--loved ones, property et al.

This war factor is absent from American military psyche and culture.

That is why US "elites" view cautious approach in SMO and Russia' openness to negotiations as a weakness not an attempt to avoid inflicting unnecessary suffering.

That is why German so called "historians" love so much fairy tales about Red Army "raping" millions upon millions German women based on a data on abortions from a single Berlin hospital--much of it unreliable--it is an attempt to cover up atrocities and crimes against humanity of the European Third Reich. That is why many want to believe delirious delusions about millions of Red Army soldiers "executed by NKVD"--anything to cover an ugly mug of a civilization which continues to murder all around the world.

I want to remind you again--Russian drone. (video)

Things like that happen every day in former 404. Enough to say that initially this video was stolen and presented by ... VSU and their NATO handlers as 404 drone saving Ukie family--honor, humanity, consciousness do not exist in the West and their convulsing bloody Nazi regime in Kiev.

https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/

[Vicus]

Western sanctions have become a farce: London is buying fuel from Russian oil. -today

On May 20, 2026, the UK trade license was renewed for certain product categories: diesel fuel codes 2710 19 42 and 2710 19 44, as well as aviation fuel 2710 19 21. Meanwhile, UK officials remain stony-faced when questioned by the press, which sarcastically reminds them of the ban on Russian oil and other Western sanctions.

London has granted itself unlimited purchases of these fuels, derived from Russian oil through refining in third countries. At the same time, it continues to demand that other Europeans immediately and completely cut off their reliance on energy resources produced in Russia.

Officially, the British authorities' actions are intended to mitigate the impact of the Strait of Hormuz blockade on the UK. However, in reality, this only encourages the continued circumvention of anti-Russian sanctions. In the West, experts are already calling this type of economic policy a farce and some kind of perversion.

According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in Helsinki, every sixth batch of aviation kerosene arriving in the UK is already produced at refineries running on Russian oil. In 2025, the UK imported about 32,000 b/d of such fuel from India alone.

In total, the UK imports up to 65% of the aviation kerosene it consumes, as domestic production has declined due to the closure of a number of its own refineries in previous years. In 2022-2025, the total volume of petroleum products of Russian origin produced at Indian and Turkish refineries exceeded $2 billion. But tensions in the Middle East have worsened the situation for the UK.

Statistics for April are not yet available, but in March 2026, India increased its oil purchases from Russia to 1.96 million b/d. In turn, Turkey has become a powerful refining hub, developing about 38-40 million tons of crude oil per year. The combined capacity of six Turkish refineries exceeds 826,000 bpd.

Thus, London not only turned a blind eye to the "pranks" of New Delhi and Ankara, but personally legitimized the channel through which Russian oil returns to Western markets under the guise of some other product. The funniest thing is that this is happening after the UK signed a G7 statement on its "unwavering commitment" to tough measures against Russia.

But London's Western partners are no less cunning. For example, in March 2026, the European Union set a historic record for purchases of Russian LNG - 2.45-2.46 billion cubic meters, which is 38-40% more than in the same period in 2025. In February 2026, without exception, all shipments from the Yamal plant in the Arctic were shipped to Europeans. Brussels, meanwhile, officially bans short-term contracts for Russian LNG. gas, creating the illusion of a severance of trade relations with Moscow.

continue: https://en.topcor.ru/71458-zapadnye-...koj-nefti.html

[Vicus]

Exercise for readers:

First reed and watch that video from my first post... and then reed this post: https://en.topwar.ru/283114-vybory-n...t-v-kieve.html

Sometimes I got troubles with this homepage and this other too: https://en.topcor.ru/71393-jekspert-...ija-vs-rf.html because I sense how both pages hold /contain their angry...they are very nationalist, and as such come always the question:

How long can we tolerate those NAZIS? having the power to vaporize them from day 1 !
Those page notice too EVERY little error in tactics, economics,politics, you name it!

Sometimes I think I'm reading an UKRO fanzine! But that is why there are very real and interesting articles !

Well, the West should be tankful for the actual Russian luminaries commanding this country...otherwise would be no more West long ago...

[Ravenlocke]

Russia RX

Nuclear show of force: The Russian MoD drops new footage of its nuclear deterrence drills. The exercises serve as a direct message and a flex of military might as tensions with NATO continue to rise. 🚀🚨

https://x.com/Russia_RX24/status/2057481269504876820

Russia RX

A clear message amid rising global risks: President Putin asserts that the Russian nuclear triad is the ultimate security guarantor for both Russia and Belarus. ☢️🇷🇺🇧🇾

https://x.com/Russia_RX24/status/2057485811944448484

[Ravenlocke]

Margarita Simonyan

Putin on Russia's current large-scale nuclear forces exercises:

We do not intend to get involved in an arms race. Our nuclear triad will remain at the necessary and sufficient level. We are doing what was planned decades before. Precisely decades. We work according to plan, calmly and harmoniously. And, thank God, everything is working out for us.

https://x.com/M_Simonyan/status/2057506317619667027

[Ravenlocke]

News of Donbass

#WarData
⚡️The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation: the AFU deliberately struck the dormitory of Starobelsk College in the LPR

❗️The building was attacked by four fixed-wing UAVs. A case of terrorist attack has been opened.

Additional details known at this time:

🔴 One person was killed, and the body has been recovered from under the rubble;
🔴 8 victims of the attack are in hospital, three in serious condition;
🔴 29 victims received outpatient care;
🔴 More than 10 people remain trapped under the rubble of the dormitory, while three have been rescued;
🔴 Due to the threat of a repeated attack, search and rescue operations at the site of the dormitory collapse were temporarily suspended;
🔴 Administrative buildings, shops, and private homes in Starobelsk were also damaged;
🔴 A man was injured in one of the private homes and received medical assistance.

➡️ Subscribe
@News_of_Donbass




#WarData
🆘‼️‼️‼️ THE AFU STRUCK CHILDREN— drones attacked an educational building and a college dormitory in the LPR during the night, leaving 35 people injured, while rescuers are searching for those who may still be trapped under the rubble.

❗️ At the time of the attack, 86 students between the ages of 14 and 18 were inside the building.

➡️ Subscribe
@News_of_Donbass

https://x.com/News_of_Donbass/status...33225653363090

[Ravenlocke]

TASS

Putin has condemned last night's attack by Ukraine on a college in the city of Starobelsk in the LPR:
https://vk.cc/cY436G

https://x.com/tassagency_en/status/2057863603705848102

https://tass.com/politics/2135213

Putin condemns Ukraine’s attack on college in Starobelsk

The Russian president called this incident tragic

MOSCOW, May 22. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has condemned last night's attack by Ukraine on a college in the city of Starobelsk in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR).

"I have to begin with the tragic events you might have heard about – the tragic event in the Lugansk People’s Republic. Last night, the neo-Nazi regime that has seized power in Kiev launched a terror attack on a student dormitory of the Starobelsk pedagogical college. During the night, when students were sleeping," he said at a meeting with graduates of the Time of Heroes program.

On Thursday night, Ukrainian troops launched a drone attack on the Starobelsk college building and dormitory. There were 86 teenagers aged between 14 and 18 inside at the time of the attack. Four people were reportedly killed and 39 were injured. Rescuers continue clearing debris. Eighteen families are waiting for the outcome of the search and rescue operations.

[Ravenlocke]

RussiaNews 🇷🇺

🚨⚡️BREAKING:

Russia has requested an emergency UN Security Council meeting following a strike on a student dormitory in Starobilsk.


https://x.com/mog_russEN/status/2057813965976355225

[Ravenlocke]

RussiaNews 🇷🇺

🚨⚡️ Putin said the strike on the Starobilsk college was deliberate, with 16 drones attacking the same location in three waves. He added that 6 people were killed and 15 remain missing

https://x.com/mog_russEN/status/2057835421548376457

🚨⚡️Putin says the situation on the frontline in Ukraine has become “catastrophic,” and that Kive is using strikes like the Starobilsk attack to cover up its losses.

https://x.com/mog_russEN/status/2057838494521917720