Ukraine Expands Strikes on Russia’s Shadow Fleet

If Ukraine's attacks destroy Russian Army and Economy, why do NATO and Ukraine push Russia to NEGOTIATE for PEACE? March in to Moscow. Russia is a TOO BIG RIDDLE, Right? 😂

Still YT is not allowing Ukrainian flag emoji. well…just imagine a Ukrainian flag here –> [ ]

Christina Harward mentioned "compromises" at the negotiation table. I do hope that nobody expects Ukraine to concede occupied territories to Russia. Ukraine can't leave the population there to the Russian atrocities we are currently witnessing on a daily basis. A "compromise" might – might! – be not insisting on the immediate payment of reparations in full. But no Ukrainian territories must go to Russia.

Russia reaps what it sows: destruction. So glad to see Ukraine hit Russia back. Return the kidnapped children Vlad!!

That heart shaped crosshairs on the drone feed is diabolical

Good report & summary. Well done DW

Lovely young lady and certainly well informed.

From a Chinese TikToker :
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Russia’s Miscalculation: Thought they could sit back and reap the ultimate reward, but nearly ended up getting crushed in the crossfire!

Look at Russia’s situation right now. On the surface, they’re fighting Ukraine, but in reality, they’re surrounded and fighting a coalition of over thirty NATO countries. Yet, they’ve tied their own hands, acting all timid and restrained. Starlink is floating right up there in space—it’s the eyes for Ukrainian drones and the lifeline for their artillery—and Russia doesn't dare touch it. NATO’s munitions trains run continuously into Poland and Romania, delivering the ammo and supplies straight to the front lines, and Russia doesn't dare bomb them. Simply put, they don't dare let the flames of war spread to Europe’s backyard. Let’s just talk GDP. Russia’s entire economy for the whole year isn't even as big as a single Chinese province. With that kind of financial muscle, they’re trying to fight a war of attrition against NATO, which has a mobilization potential of a billion people. Isn't that like throwing an egg against a rock?

What’s even worse is that Putin still holds onto this misplaced sense of "magnanimity," always believing in leaving a way out so you can face each other later. He stares at Beijing and Washington every day, his internal calculator clicking away loudly. His ideal scenario is for the US and China to tear each other's faces off, fight to a standstill, and exhaust each other. Then, he can step in to snatch the prize, pick a side, and seize the opportunity to reclaim all their lost glory. Honestly, on this front, Putin is way behind the folks in Iran. Look at Iran—now they have real grit, true tough guys. They don't care about rules; as long as you're an enemy, you're getting hit. They bombed Israeli military bases and struck US outposts in the Middle East—blew up whatever they could and just walked away. After all, the barefoot aren't afraid of the shod. Ironically, this made nobody dare to mess with them lightly; everyone has to tread carefully. It just goes to show: if you aren't ruthless, people will walk all over you and hit you without holding back.

Russia and Iran are two extremes. Russia, by always leaving itself an out, has instead bogged itself down in the mud, fighting a sluggish, drawn-out war that's frustrating just to watch. Actually, this "free-rider" mentality isn't just Putin's; it's pretty common among many anti-American countries. Everyone has their own little calculations: "If we go head-to-head with the US right now, aren't we just being cannon fodder for the Eastern Great Power? Aren't we just helping them drain the US?" Since that's the logic, they usually adopt one of two models: either desperately squeeze us for concessions, or sit tight and wait for a complete rupture between China and the US. Then they can sit back and drive up the price, selling to the highest bidder, or just play both sides and become the ones holding the reins. Iran used to think the exact same way, but reality slapped them hard across the face. When the war was raging in Gaza, China was sticking its neck out for Palestine at the UN and in the international arena, lobbying all over the world and applying maximum pressure. Logically, Iran, as the boss of the "Axis of Resistance," should have stepped up to hold the fort. But what did they do? Iran literally sat at home playing dead, not daring to move, watching helplessly as their proxies were taken out one by one in targeted strikes, and the Axis of Resistance was dismantled piece by piece.

Back then, there was a narrative inside Iran that sounded all high and mighty: "Fighting Israel just means fighting the Eastern Great Power's war for them, right? We need our own independent strategy. We are the chess players, how can we be chess pieces?" Fine, since you all want to be the chess players and think so highly of yourselves, I'll step back, you guys play by yourselves. Later, when Iran's own homeland got bombed and they panicked, they rushed over to beg us for help. At that point, who could forget the Chinese diplomat's line: "We believe the Iranian people have the ability to resolve their own issues." It sounded polite, but translated into plain English, it meant: "I'm done dealing with this mess; you started this fire, you put it out."

At the end of the day, the current situation hasn't reached the point where the Eastern Great Power needs to flip the table. If Iran truly dared to go head-to-head with US forces in the Middle East, a certain country would absolutely be cheering them on from the sidelines and sending supplies. If Russia could truly hold the line against NATO's eastward expansion in Europe, there would naturally be countries willing to back them up economically and in trade. But the prerequisite is that you have to fight with real weapons and real grit. You can't hold back, trying to grab benefits on one hand while plotting to stab us in the back or waiting to pick up scraps on the other. Iran's earlier mindset reeked of this kind of "cleverness": let's preserve our strength first, keep our heads down and stay quiet. They figured a certain country has core interests in the Middle East and can't afford to leave the region. As for Russia, Putin's calculations aren't much different. "Can't hit Starlink, afraid of escalating things. Can't bomb NATO's rear, afraid of catching fire ourselves." So they just stall, waiting for a variable to emerge, just waiting for the US and China to fight to the death. Then, whether it's the US or China, they'll come begging us. Look at how he previously made a fuss over the Tumen River access to the sea, interacting with North Korea, cozying up to India, Japan, and Cambodia, doing all these little tactical micro-managements. The core goal is to not put all his eggs in one basket and leave himself a way out. Meanwhile, the Eastern Great Power is watching these maneuvers and probably laughing internally. "When we were playing the grand game of diplomatic alliances and geopolitical maneuvering one or two millennia ago, you guys were still freezing in Siberia and drinking sand in the desert."

Don't you all want to play out a "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" scenario, holding onto illusions about the US? Then keep acting, let's see who messes up in the end. What is the US really like? It's a greedy, insatiable gambler. It only has so many strategic resources; it's impossible for it to look after all its global interests at the same time. Its playbook is always to ally with one group to strike another, stabilize one front first, and free up its hands to devour the other. Now that it can't chew through the hard bone that is the Eastern Great Power, it will inevitably turn its spear toward the easy targets that look like they can be pushed around—namely, Russia and Iran. As long as you don't fight back desperately, just wait to be slaughtered. It's understandable that every country has its own calculations for its interests, but nobody is a fool. History has proven time and time again that as long as China doesn't make mistakes on its own, no one can do anything to us. As for those still dreaming of sitting on the mountaintop watching the tigers fight, they will ultimately discover that the tiger getting eaten might just be themselves.

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My own comments :
Such is the human, and hence country, nature.
My feeling is that, perhaps not too many years from now, to effectively deal with those always-too-clever non-American countries, today's diplomatically gentlemanly China will also eventually evolve herself to become a state as rogue as today's US, or rather—something even much worse.
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Ukraine forced Russia to move their most precious assets into a quite vulnerable position. Brilliant.

Where are the orcs claiming that Russia is winning? 😂😂😂

Putin could put an end to all this death and destruction in a heartbeat. Putin attacks and kills Ukrainian civilians every day and night. Putin is an ICC War Criminal wanted for murder. You can't imagine what it’s like being bombed every night, your friends, family and neighbors are killed. Support Ukraine. Give Ukraine all the munitions they need to defeat Russia. All the human costs are being paid for with Ukrainian lives supporting European and USA Democracy. СЛАВА УКРАИНА. Let the Swans Dance.

It cracks me up how they keep banging on about the shadow fleet. The sanctions ARE NOT INTERNATIONAL they are western and are not supported by the global majority ( population) and the fleet operates within international maritime law, they are just not insured in London but self insured so the actual illegal action is the piracy carried out by seizing the tankers. Fair to target them it’s war but illegal tankers no! Also it’s not Ukraine drones they don’t have the capability but they are the proxy so all the components, technology and targeting is carried out by the US. If Ukraine was doing it on their own they would have lost long ago.

So one thing never answered is with these ships being damaged is the oil leaking all over the place and causing environmental catastrophes? Are they just knocking out the motors and they're just drifting? Where is the oil?

AfD✌🏻

Ukraine's acts of environmental terrorism should be condemned by the international community.

Deutschland is completely brainwashed by little fart Zelensky

i've never seen such a beautiful girl talk about war so much. hawt

Putin is a flaming queer 🔥

Russia continuously attacked Ukraines energy power plants for years.
Russias face when their own energy refineries get attacked: 😮

It's sad that Europe is playing Russian roulette. It's a dangerous game. But the media makes it seem so fun.

Hearing impaired. Think about it.

Thank you, DW, for your reporting.

Not one drop of Russian oil is safe.