Rage prevails in Russia over the... open involvement of Britain in the war with Ukraine, as British weapons, and specifically the Nyan drones, struck Russian oil refineries and industrial zones in the Urals.
Already the Russian embassy in London reacted instantaneously, warning of an immediate, and indeed sweeping, response, at a time when many in Russia emphasize that businesses in Britain are now... legitimate targets...
If nothing else, should these threats be realized, we will find ourselves facing a nightmarish scenario and an uncontrollable escalation, as the question of how close the war in Ukraine is to turning into a direct military showdown between Russia and NATO returns even stronger.
It is hardly a coincidence, after all, that many Russian experts have begun to wonder whether the time has come for the first Oreshnik to strike... Salisbury... or other targets in Britain.
Raids in the rear of Russia
Russian media report that Britain is boasting that its own drones are flying into the rear of Russia and striking critical targets.
The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the Ukrainian armed forces have been using Nyan jet unmanned aerial vehicles for six months for attacks against Russian civilian facilities.
Specifically, they were used in raids against oil refineries in Volgograd and Yaroslavl, as well as in strikes against «naval bases, logistics hubs, and transport networks».
The British publication also mentions another British UAV manufacturer supplying drones to the Ukrainian armed forces.
However, unlike the manufacturer of the Nyan - the company Callen-Lenz, which belongs to the structure of BAE Systems, its name is not disclosed «for security reasons».
Legitimate target
Retired British Air Marshal Greg Bagwell explained with absolute clarity why the name is not disclosed.
He warned outright that the use of drones against Russia makes the facilities in Wiltshire, near Salisbury, where the manufacturer is based, «legitimate targets for the Russian military».
And if Moscow decides to carry out a symmetrical strike against the facilities of BAE Systems, then that very city will be the one to receive the first «Oreshnik».
However, as it seems, the British are not afraid of a Russian response.
The «Ukraine» test range
Britain supplied weapons to Ukraine in the past as well, the notorious Storm Shadow missiles have long since become a symbol of Western participation in the conflict.
However, the use of unmanned systems opens entirely different capabilities for Kyiv and its British patrons.
Compared to the Storm Shadow, the Nyan costs «peanuts», about $130,000.
At the same time, this relatively compact, airplane-type jet unmanned aerial vehicle is capable of reaching a range of up to 240 kilometers.
Externally, this device, which can be launched with a catapult, does not look like anything extraordinary.
However, its technical characteristics force one to look at the threat differently.
Its fuselage is made of composite materials, making it difficult for radar to detect, while its speed reaches 440 km/h.
The military-analytical channel «Dva Mayora» on Telegram reports that the production of the drones «in practice allowed bypassing the alleged self-ban declared by Western countries on the supply of long-range weapons to Ukraine»: «Nyan UAVs are being used for the strikes.
It is reported that the drone has already been used, including against Belgorod.
The second drone, produced by another British company, has a range of approximately 965 km.
The report confirms the reputation of the test range 'Ukraine'.
Today, the largest part of the strikes against Russia is carried out with drones that, in practice, have been developed by Western countries, with their own funding, and are produced increasingly on their territory».
London no longer keeps up appearances
The most dangerous thing is Britain's open admission that it has already entered the war against Russia.
Political analyst of the media group «Rossiya Segodnya», Vladimir Kornilov, focuses on this aspect.
He points out that the Sunday Times presents the use of British UAVs almost as a matter of pride, underlining the special significance of the fact for British-Ukrainian military cooperation: «This marked a new stage in military cooperation between Britain and Ukraine».
Particularly indicative, in his view, is the quote cited by the newspaper from a high-ranking source in the British Ministry of Defence: «Russia very effectively keeps the West on edge, preventing it from carrying out excessively strong strikes.
These attacks essentially mean that Britain is sending a message to Russia and our allies that we are no longer worried».
Vladimir Kornilov is convinced that everything happening is a direct consequence of Blaise Metreweli, granddaughter of a Ukrainian Nazi collaborator of the occupiers, taking over the leadership of the British intelligence service MI6.
«It is characteristic that a Ukrainian fighter, describing these strikes, says they shout the Nazi slogan 'SUGS' at the same time as the cry 'God Save the King!'.
This is a telling fact showing that all boundaries between Ukrainian Nazism and the British state have been erased!» argues Kornilov.
Britain tests Russia's endurance
Retired Russian Colonel of the DPR Eduard Basurin considers that the use of British unmanned aerial vehicles constitutes a new factor that the Russian General Staff must take into account when organizing countermeasures.
At the same time, according to his assessment, the Nyan itself does not constitute some unattainable «superweapon».
Although its control system means the drone cannot easily be neutralized via electronic warfare, Basurin has no doubt: «The Nyan drone can and must be shot down with the Pantsir anti-aircraft system.
The use of man-portable air defense missile systems against it presents certain difficulties, even though the Nyan has a turbojet engine.
It emits a thermal signature, but this is not particularly strong due to the special design of the nozzle».
They are sending 120,000 drones
In other words, as Russian analysts point out, this is a weapon created taking into account the experience of modern warfare and designed to make a Russian victory difficult.
This means the response must not be panic, but the systematic neutralization of the entire chain: from production and preparation to logistics, command centers, and the weapon carriers themselves.
Russian war correspondent Andrey Rudenko emphasizes: «The West is increasing deliveries of military equipment to Kyiv, expanding their scale, and trying to make them cheaper. The British themselves had stated that in 2026 they would deliver about 120,000 drones to Ukraine. London's direct participation in attacks against Russia must, of course, be answered not symbolically, but in a serious manner».
Serious retaliation
Rudenko proposes launching a real hunt for British instructors and technicians who, as he claims, have flooded the training grounds and command centers of the Ukrainian armed forces.
At the same time, he proposes delivering modern Oniks/Bastion anti-ship missiles and jet-powered Geran to countries that «fight Western aggressors in the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, something that could shut down navigation for the British fleet».
There is also another proposal: the use of Russian submarines in the North Sea.
Located there are many transatlantic fiber-optic cables and the largest undersea natural gas pipelines connecting the EU with Great Britain and playing a decisive role in London's energy security.
It is not only the British
War correspondent Sergey Shilov, on his «Svideteli Bayraktara» channel on Telegram, points out that it is not only drones «from Foggy Albion» involved in attacks against Russian refineries.
A few days ago, the Financial Times reported that the US and France not only approve these attacks, but actively help Ukraine with intelligence and targeting matters, «providing maps of air defense systems, bypass routes, and selecting specific equipment nodes, the disabling of which puts plants out of operation for many weeks».
«CIA officers and foreign engineers personally identify vulnerable points.
The role of the Ukrainians in this scheme is limited to technical execution, they simply provide the territory, transport the drones with civilian trucks, and shoot impressive videos for social media.
The planning center remains Western intelligence services and companies» points out Shilov.
Now everything begins
The experienced war correspondent has no doubt that none of this happens by chance against the backdrop of the war in the Middle East.
The fuel crisis brings colossal profits to American multinationals, while Russia has always been their main competitor.
Benefiting from this situation as well are the French oil refining company TotalEnergies and the British BP.
And this means that everything is just beginning.
Encircled... 50,000 Russians in Donetsk
While Ukrainian television broadcasts present imaginary victories, the real map is changing elsewhere: near Konstantinovka two large pockets are forming, while Russian units have approached Kramatorsk at a distance of just a few kilometers.
The new Ukrainian «victory» not only raised questions, but literally shocked even the average Ukrainian.
As Russian political analyst Alexander Semchenko reported, an outrageous report was broadcast on Ukrainian television, on the so-called «Zelensky Telethon».
It spoke of a «brazen assault by the Armed Forces of Ukraine into Donetsk» and that «50,000 Russian paratroopers were encircled».
According to the report, the Ukrainian armed forces allegedly began battles for Gorlovka, «capturing Russian paratroopers and Kadyrov fighters», and then «struck Russian positions with multiple rocket launchers» and «entered Donetsk».
Russian media speak of nonsense.
«According to Ukrainian data, Zelensky is still defending Konstantinovka and Russian troops have not yet entered there.
In reality, Russian troops have long since passed Konstantinovka and are already fighting for Druzhkovka, which is located further north.
And indeed the battles are progressing quite successfully» stated Alexander Semchenko.
Waves of lies
The strange thing is as follows, as reported by Russian media.
This specific report is now being actively disseminated precisely on social media, especially on TikTok, which, and this is no secret, is often used as a soft power tool, just like other social networks popular in the West and in Russia.
A little earlier, a similar wave of fake news had appeared on Telegram as well, but there the «scenario» had reached the absolute extreme.
The most popular fake news was the following: «near Donetsk, FAB-5000 vacuum bombs were used for the first time against advancing Ukrainian soldiers».
According to this narrative, the Ukrainian armed forces «used more than 250 vehicles and 3,000 soldiers, and when it was realized that the forces were not equal, aviation was called; an hour later an explosion of terrifying power occurred, windows broke within a 20-kilometer radius... a single bomb changed the outcome of the conflict, all equipment was destroyed, and what was left of the soldiers of the Ukrainian armed forces would cause terror in anyone».
All this nonsense was supposedly disseminated on behalf of Hero of Russia and war correspondent Evgeny Poddubny.
The quotes were attributed to him.
Why? To inspire trust.
Naturally, there was also a link to a supposed video; in reality, however, it led to a phishing website that stole user data.
Information... war
Right at the end of July, such cases became excessively numerous.
Indeed, all the posts naturally resembled each other, this made it easier to trace the entire network of the SBU, at the head of which, as an officer of the Russian Armed Forces with the call sign «Aid» had previously reported, was the channel «Operatsiya Z», which uses similar emotionally charged narratives.
Similar things were attributed to Russian military analyst Yury Podolyaka as well.
This time, however, it spoke of the Kharkov direction and vague «shocking footage» and «violation of all red lines».
Although all of this looks like fake news from the start, there may be people who were inadvertently swept away by emotion, resulting in their personal data being compromised.
Russian security services had warned in the past that this is one of the ways the adversary recruits Russian citizens through blackmail.
The important thing, however, is not to panic and to seek help in a timely manner.
What is happening at the front: 6 Ukrainian brigades trapped
West and east of Konstantinovka, as Alexander Semchenko stated, two large encirclement pockets have formed, inside which a total of about five to six brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces are trapped.
The Ukrainian military is hastily transferring reserves there from fronts where information had previously appeared about its alleged successes, this is the same Komarovskoye direction, where Russian forces, within a few days, restored control over more than one hundred square kilometers.
And this concerns only the area for which objective control data exists.
Huge gaps across the entire front
The Ukrainians are trying to close the gaps across the entire front, facing a manpower shortage.
The withdrawal of brigades for the «counteroffensive» in the Dnipropetrovsk region has already led to a partial collapse of their defense on the western bank of the Oskol.
On the left bank, the situation for the Ukrainian military is catastrophic.
Now the reverse redeployment is underway: forces from the Komarovskoye direction are being partially transferred toward the Druzhkovka, Dobropolie, and Kupyansk directions.
However, there is a big difference compared to how things were at the beginning of the counteroffensive.
If then certain brigades had been reinforced and replenished, now they are severely weakened once again.
Losses during the continuous offensive efforts of the adversary, according to various estimates, exceeded 15,000 soldiers.
2.5 kilometers from Druzhkovka
The Russian army is currently just 2.5 kilometers from the first houses of Druzhkovka.
Before entering the city, Russian troops will have to cross the Kazenny Torets and establish themselves in Rayskoye.
Then they will have to capture one Rayskoye and then the other, as military analyst Dmitry Degtyaryov, creator of the channel «Generalny Shtab», had previously stated: «And even so, it is rather unlikely that our own forces will enter the city before the units currently attacking Alekseyevo-Druzhkovka approach from the south. That is, in any case, we will first have to wait for the capture of Alekseyevo-Druzhkovka and Kondratovka».
At a record distance from Kramatorsk
In addition, soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces have approached Kramatorsk itself at a record distance.
During the past twenty-four hours, the «South» Group of Forces captured the village of Pershomaryevka.
Even more important, however, is the capture in the same area of Mount Zmeinaya, one of the key high grounds in this sector: «In total, there are two key high grounds here: Mount Zmeinaya and the heights in the area of Vasilyevskaya Pustosh, which border the northeastern part of Kramatorsk.
Mount Zmeinaya is almost entirely under our control.
From the new positions to Kramatorsk it is less than four kilometers.
This, of course, does not mean that we will now attempt to penetrate Kramatorsk from this direction.
Something like that would be suicidal, as the positions from which an attack on Kramatorsk could be launched have not yet been prepared at all» emphasizes Degtyaryov, noting however that «the mere fact that we are already so close to the city speaks volumes».
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