July 25, 2026:
This year, the Ukraine War turned into a strategic bombing campaign against economic, military, and political targets throughout Russia. This came as a surprise to many Russian civilians, who were told by the government that victory was near. If the Ukrainians were nearly defeated, how were they able to attack so many targets inside Russia, especially prominent ones like the capital, Moscow, and other major cities like St. Petersburg and nearby military facilities on Kronstadt Island?
It got worse when Russian civilians found long waits at petrol stations, where you had to wait hours, or even days, to get refueled. Some station personnel demanded bribes to fill your tank. It was worse near the Ukrainian border, where drones were attacking bridges, barge canals and tunnels in an effort to block or disrupt efforts to supply Russian forces in Ukraine. Soldiers were phoning home to complain that they were often without food, water or ammunition because of what their officers described as transportation problems. Many Russian soldiers knew what was really happening as they tried to drive any kind of vehicle anywhere within 20 to 30 kilometers of the front line. Ukrainian drones seemed to be hunting for targets around the clock. While Russian drones sought the source of these attacks, they increasingly ran into Ukrainian drone interceptors. Behind this was the fact that Ukraine was producing millions more drones than Russia and many new drone types.
The drone offensive has also hit key targets in the Crimean Peninsula. In addition to road traffic, the drones are going after military targets while allowing fleeing civilians to drive back to Russia. Radars, air defense systems, electronic warfare equipment, ports, shipyards, barracks, munitions storage sites, airbases, and anything else the Russian military could use were being systematically destroyed. Ukrainian guerrillas operating in Crimea give detailed reports of the damage, from close personal inspection. The guerrillas are also preparing to support a Ukrainian ground invasion of Crimea and a campaign to make Crimea Ukrainian again after twelve years of Russian occupation. Other Russian-occupied portions in eastern Ukraine are also threatened, and some pro-Russian militia groups are negotiating to switch sides and escape post-war prosecution.
Russian leaders are distracted by economic and political problems at home, including the growing Russian dependence on Chinese economic and military support and the problems caused by the current Iran War. China gets most of its oil from Iran, and currently those shipments are blocked by the American Navy. Iran, China, and North Korea were the three major sources of military support, and all three are currently busy solving their own problems.