Tuapse oil refinery fire is clearly visible from space, the cloud of smoke being 500km+ long.
pic.twitter.com/34pBga2mpT— HotSotin 🇫🇮🇺🇦🇪🇺△ (@HotSotin) April 28, 2026
Posted on 04/29/2026 9:58:58 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Russia is never going to announce that it is out of steam and on the verge of an economic collapse. On the contrary, Putin's regime has done everything it can to make it appear that all is well despite four years of war and sanctions creating a drain on the country's economy. But there are signs that not all is well if you pay attention.
For instance, Russia's Victory Day parade, which is usually an excuse for the strongman to roll tanks and missiles through the streets is being scaled back this year.
The May 9 Victory Day parade in Moscow’s Red Square is the headline event for Russian President Vladimir Putin: Each year, Russia puts on a display of military might that showcases the country’s most impressive weapons, including its latest-generation missiles and tanks.
This year, however, the parade promises to be a more low-key affair.
Late Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the parade would feature a column of troops from military academies and the armed forces marching on foot. But in a break with recent precedent, the MOD said no military hardware will roll past Lenin’s tomb this year.
“Due to the current operational situation, students from Suvorov Military Schools and Nakhimov Naval Schools, as well as the cadet corps, and a column of military equipment will not participate in this year’s military parade,” the statement read.
It doesn’t take much Kremlinology to guess what the “current operational situation” means here. The Russian military appears to be losing some ground in Ukraine, contrary to claims by Moscow’s top brass; Ukrainian strikes are delivering damaging blows to vital Russian oil and gas infrastructure; and drone strikes by Kyiv have disrupted life in the Russian capital before.
It's hard to look tough when one of your country's largest oil refineries is on fire (for the third time) and the smoke is blowing hundreds of kilometers from the source.
Tuapse oil refinery fire is clearly visible from space, the cloud of smoke being 500km+ long.
pic.twitter.com/34pBga2mpT— HotSotin 🇫🇮🇺🇦🇪🇺△ (@HotSotin) April 28, 2026
Yesterday, the Governor of Russia's Central Bank suggested that economic figures coming out of her own government were being fudged.
Russian central bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina called for honesty in economic data on Tuesday, after Western intelligence agencies made allegations about the quality of Russian data and hinted at manipulation by the authorities.
Many Russians mistrust official data, as seen in the central bank's own monthly polls on observed inflation and inflationary expectations. The observed inflation rate stood at 12.9% in April - more than double the officially reported 6%.
"It is very important that people are not afraid to speak the truth, to present an accurate picture, whether good or bad, but an accurate picture, because the quality and reliability of data are very important for decision-making," Nabiullina told a banking conference.
In March, Germany's intelligence service BND accused Moscow of hiding the true cost of its war in Ukraine, saying Russia's budget deficit in 2025 was 40% bigger than officially stated, or more than 2.36 trillion roubles ($30.5 billion).
Swedish military intelligence chief Thomas Nilsson told the Financial Times in an interview this month that Russia has been manipulating data in order to convince the West that its economy is successfully resisting sanctions, estimating that real inflation was closer to 15% than the officially reported 6%.
Keep all of that in mind as you consider this next bit. During a phone call between Trump and Putin today someone (no one is saying who) suggested a cease fire in Ukraine might be a good idea.
In a lengthy phone call on Wednesday, President Trump and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia agreed that there should be a brief cease-fire in Ukraine in the coming days, according to both Mr. Trump and a top adviser to Mr. Putin...
Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House: “I suggested a little bit of a cease-fire and I think he might do that. There’s so many people being killed, it’s so ridiculous.”
Mr. Ushakov did not say explicitly who had suggested a truce, but said that Mr. Putin “informed his American counterpart of his readiness to declare a cease-fire for the duration of the Victory Day celebrations.” Mr. Trump “actively” supported the idea, Mr. Ushakov said.
Putin would not be interested in a ceasefire if he was winning right now. But his offensive is stalled and his economy is sucking wind. No doubt he'd like a few days right now to literally put out the fires and let some of the residents of Tuapse catch their breath. And that's not the only site on fire today.
Ukraine’s Security Service, known as the SBU, said it struck an oil pumping station near the city of Perm as part of efforts to target Russia’s energy infrastructure. The area is more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles) from Ukraine.
Russian media reported the attack, though Perm Gov. Dmitry Makhonin said only that a drone hit an unspecified industrial facility, sparking a fire.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has claimed responsibility for striking a Transneft oil pumping station near Perm, located 1,500 km from the Ukrainian border.
The SBU drone attack caused nearly all the station’s oil storage tanks to catch fire.
The facility distributes oil in four different directions, including to the Perm Oil Refinery. pic.twitter.com/ZPcfAlF2NL— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) April 29, 2026
The key Russian oil pipeline pumping station in the city of Perm continues to burn roughly 18 hours after it was hit in a Ukrainian drone raid.
Seen here, the glow of the burning Russian facility on the horizon. pic.twitter.com/Qr7625wTJT— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) April 29, 2026
Zelensky is folding up. He originally said Russia was getting nothing. Now he is willing to cede land to them to end it.
“However, he acknowledged that Moscow could be allowed to keep the areas it currently occupies in Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Crimea—amounting to about 20% of Ukraine’s internationally recognized territory.”
https://politicstoday.org/zelensky-to-cede-territories-to-russia-ukraine/
If there is worth in these locations enough for Putin to use, he has accomplished what he set out to do. Russian didn’t care about the Ukraine until 2010 when they signed an agreement with them for discounted gas. It was Russia’s intent to take back the Ukraine and the military buildup started in 2014.
Z is starting to make concessions he said he never would. He’s losing the war and the support of the hand that has fed him for many years. And if Putin continues the pressure of economic and by the military, Z will have to fold up the tent.
wy69
So you're saying that it was nothing but a land-grab on Putin's part?
But then, I would expect no more of a barbarian.
From where I stand, it looks as though "what he set out to do" was to: drive more countries into NATO's arms / vastly expand Russia's border with NATO; deliver a crushing blow to Russia's already sickly demographic pyramid by wiping out approx. one million Russian men in flower of their youth; transform Russia into an international pariah for decades to come.
Well done, Knucklehead!
Regards,
No, article states Z may agree to freezing the current lines of conflict, which is not "ceding land"
Russia has now officially started they are at war with NATO.
Russia has told Ukraine 1 May that it will be out of several regions, or escalation begins and will not end until Kiev and Odessa are liberated.
Russia is completeing a legal review of the conflict, and the SMO will give way to a global Anti-terrorism war, modeled on the American GWOT.
Trump is full of himself, and sadly out of touch, and out of the command center due to loss of impulse control.
Trump is a danger to world peace and adults in DC will sideline his antics making him into the husk Biden is claimed to have been.
US is overextended conventionally and can no longer control the world as it had since 1991.
Global depression will be blamed on the US and our government use of military force to punish all nations leaving American economic orbit, pr joining Brics.
Trump has attacked all global energy countries Oil/LNG outside N. America or started conficts designed to disrupt.
Trump’s Global War on Energy Markets will backfire on the US and the world will hate America for the millions who will die by Trump’s actions.
Get lost troll
Did you forget the sarcasm tag?
A quick query of AI finds that in 2025 a victory Day celebration ceasefire was proposed and rejected by Ukraine. So this ceasefire this year is not new and would seem to also not be particularly derived from any particular weakness not present last year
Pooty is getting bored with his invasion. Too costly.
Then there’s all those North Korean soldiers on leave in Moscow rodgering the babushkas.
Things are stinky in Moscow.
Whitney, the thing is:
1. a “win” for Ukraine has always been “to survive”. A “win” for Putin was to have Ukraine under his thumb, not aligned with EU and the NATO
2. Right now the Russian federation controls 20% of Ukraine. In 2021 it controlled around 10%. At it’s peak, Russia controlled nearly 30% of Ukraine.
3. the Russian federation has lost blood, money and prestige over 4 years — all for that additional 10%
As to your “If there is worth in these locations enough for Putin to use, he has accomplished what he set out to do.”
— his broader goal was to prevent Ukraine from joining NATO, install a pro-Russian government, and eliminate Ukraine as a sovereign nation-state. By these metrics, the invasion has arguably failed, as it pushed Ukraine closer to the West and revitalized NATO (and pushed Sweden and Finland to join NATO).
And your “Russian didn’t care about the Ukraine until 2010 when they signed an agreement with them for discounted gas. “
— that is false as
1. major “Gas Wars” occurred in 2006 and 2009, where Russia cut off supplies to exert political pressure on pro-Western Ukrainian leaders.
2. Russia was deeply involved in Ukraine’s 2004 Orange Revolution, attempting to influence the election in favor of pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych.
3. The 2010 agreement - if you read that it, was a way for Russia to secure its Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea for an additional 25 years in exchange for gas discounts.
And your “It was Russia’s intent to take back the Ukraine and the military buildup started in 2014.”
— so I’m puzzled by you contradicting yourself that it was Russia’s intent TO TAKE BACK Ukraine
The physical military effort to reclaim Ukrainian territory began explicitly in February 2014. Russia used “little green men” (soldiers without insignia) to seize and annex Crimea. Immediately after Crimea, Russia fueled a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, leading to an eight-year “frozen conflict” before the full-scale 2022 invasion. While Russia initially claimed its involvement was limited to “protecting ethnic Russians,” the 2022 invasion confirmed a broader intent to re-establish control over the entire country
by this standard that YOU state “to take back Ukraine” - Putin has failed, while Ukraine has “won” in that it is not under Moscow’s thumb.
Of course, both sides have “lost”, but Ukraine’s situation is of a young woman attacked by a slaver who is grievously wounded, but not enslaved and has grievously wounded her attacker
btw, the USA has helped enough - time for the EU to take up the entire burden.
And with the war folded, time for Z to go
Obsession with Z is fascinating, after 4+ years of SMO/SVO/NWO failure, more like P will be gone🤔
Until now, Zelensky has refused to cede Ukrainian territory as part of any deal. He said that “serious” questions remain about who would manage and police the demilitarized zone and how to make sure troop withdrawals were reciprocated by the Russians.
Is he not giving up land for the DMZ that no one controls?
Until now, Zelensky has refused to cede Ukrainian territory as part of any deal. He said that “serious” questions remain about who would manage and police the demilitarized zone and how to make sure troop withdrawals were reciprocated by the Russians.
Zelensky also said that “it is not a fact that we, as Ukraine, will accept this — but when you talk to us about compromise, you have to offer a fair compromise.”
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5646488-donbas-demilitarized-zone-proposal-ukraine/
Your article.
wy69
“...time for Z to go...
It was never time for him to be there. He has cost the Ukraine men and property by his ego getting into the mix. He’s not a leader, he’s an actor.
wy69
And your “Russian didn’t care about the Ukraine until 2010 when they signed an agreement with them for discounted gas. “
— that is false as
The Agreement was signed in Kharkov on April 21, 2010, and was called the Kharkov Pact.
Russia agreed to a 30 percent drop in the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine, in exchange for permission to extend Russia’s lease of a major naval base in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Ukraine, for 25 years.
https://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/04/21/russia.ukraine/index.html?hpt=T2
“...all for that additional 10%”
Putin is stubborn and has an ego. But if it meant taking back land that had worth, he’d do it.
“so I’m puzzled by you contradicting yourself that it was Russia’s intent TO TAKE BACK Ukraine”
I’m not contradicting myself with this. Zelenskyy is willing to give up land calling it a DMZ of which no one has control. At that point it is no longer his to defend and control.
Putin has failed, while Ukraine has “won” in that it is not under Moscow’s thumb.
That’s a win? As of early 2026, the war has caused catastrophic damage to Ukraine, with Russian forces maintaining a grinding offensive. Key infrastructure damage includes $108.3 billion in destruction, with energy systems operating at only 60% capacity as of January 2026. Over 500,000 Ukrainian troops are estimated killed or wounded, alongside massive civilian casualties and ongoing displacement. And this doesn’t take into effect the money the Ukraine owes to other countries for weapons and supplies. Moral victories can’t bring back dead or unwound people.
Ukraine was a cornerstone of the Soviet Union, the archrival of the United States during the Cold War. Behind only Russia, it was the second-most-populous and -powerful of the fifteen Soviet republics, home to much of the union’s agricultural production, defense industries, and military, including the Black Sea Fleet and some of the nuclear arsenal. Ukraine was so vital to the union that its decision to sever ties in 1991 proved to be a coup de grâce for the ailing superpower.
In February 2022, Russia embarked on a full-scale invasion of Ukraine with the aim of toppling the Western-aligned government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia was for a long time Ukraine’s largest trading partner, although this link withered dramatically in recent years. China eventually surpassed Russia in trade with Ukraine. Prior to its invasion of Crimea, Russia had hoped to pull Ukraine into its single market, the Eurasian Economic Union, which today includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
Moscow relied on Ukrainian pipelines to pump its gas to customers in Central and Eastern Europe for decades, and it paid Kyiv billions of dollars per year in transit fees. The flow of Russian gas through Ukraine continued in early 2023 despite the hostilities between the two countries, but volumes were reduced and the pipelines remained in serious jeopardy. Russia wants it back to control. Too much worth and services to walk away from.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounders/ukraine-conflict-crossroads-europe-and-russia
wy69
“He has cost the Ukraine men and property by his ego getting into the mix”
How is that in your opinion?
He was voted to negotiate with Putin. Putin saw a weakness in the USA under Biden and invaded.
Did you want Zelenskyy to run from Kyiv and leave Ukraine open to being assimilated into the Russian federation?
Or you may make about Zelenskyy angling for joining NATO.
Firstly, that wasn’t going to happen before 2022 as evidenced by Ukraine and Georgia’s request to join in 2008 (they were rejected by Germany and France for fear of provoking Putin. Net renault was that Putin invaded Georgia 6 weeks later)
Secondly, there would not have even been a need for this if Putin hadn’t grabbed 10% of Ukraine in 2014.
Zelenskyy stayed in Kyiv giving the Ukrainians a figurehead to rally around.
The Ukrainians fought to not be under Moscow’s thumb.
It had nothing to do with Zelenskyy and the fact is that most Ukrainians do not want to give up even now because they believe that Putin will just take the land and come back in a few more years for more land.
If you had a brigand grab slice by slice of your land, what do you do?
Ceding land is giving it legally to another country. Completely different from agreeing to freeze the conflict lines, for now.
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