[Salon] Ukraine Buckling: New Russian Strike Strategy Savages Kiev Round-the-Clock as True Motives of CIA Moscow Visit Revealed (8/29/26)

[Chas Freeman <cwfresidence@gmail.com>]

https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/ukraine-buckling-new-russian-strike?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=1351274&post_id=213306014&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=false&r=210kv&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

Ukraine Buckling: New Russian Strike Strategy Savages Kiev Round-the-Clock as True Motives of CIA Moscow Visit Revealed

SimpliciusAug 29, 2026

What follows is a special premium report on the current situation surrounding major escalations playing out in Ukraine. The nearly ~4,000-word article will be the most comprehensive coverage you will find on the developing situation, and will seek to answer the most important questions on what is happening, including the true reason behind the CIA director’s visit to Moscow.

________________________________

Last night Kiev was hit with another massive attack, which resulted in the explosion of a weapons depot—the second of its kind—stored right next to a civilian area. Nearly 40 civilians have died, and even Zelensky is furious at the “negligence” of his staff:

Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський@ZelenskyyUa

Since yesterday evening and throughout the day today, I have been receiving reports on the situation in the village of Myla, Kyiv region, where detonation began following a Russian strike. A terrible situation and terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives

8:20 AM · Aug 29, 2026 · 240K Views

________________________________

776 Replies · 727 Reposts · 4.26K Likes

From his post:

A terrible situation and terrible negligence on the part of those who stored explosives right next to people.

Another such crime – after what happened in Vyshneve – is absolutely unacceptable. I expect the details to be presented to the public promptly. The first strike was on an ammunition storage site that definitely shouldn’t have been there – a Defense Forces storage facility. Shells, mines, other ammunition, and drones detonated. The scale is significant.

We have already spoken with the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Commander-in-Chief – they have everything necessary for the investigation. I want to separately thank everyone who is there on the ground and at other sites of Russian strikes, doing everything possible to help and save people.

Credit where it’s due: he takes accountability immediately—the mark of good leadership.

Some reports claim that a newly arrived batch of Patriot missiles was stored at the depot, and they have now gone up in spectacular flames.

The explosion:

The cook-offs—potentially of Patriot missiles:

Even more significant is the fact that Russia has been absolutely vaporizing Ukraine’s infrastructure and grain export capabilities.

The most troubling report comes from Ukraine’s own Ukrinform outlet which quotes Ukraine’s own Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotsky as stating that in its retaliatory campaign, Russia has already destroyed a mind-boggling 90% of all retail warehouse space in Ukraine:

https://www.ukrinform.ua/rubric-economy/4158531-vorog-znisiv-blizko-90-skladiv-torgovelnih-merez-ale-ukrainci-ne-zalisatsa-bez-produktiv-visockij.html

Despite the fact that the enemy destroyed about 90% of the warehouses of retail chains, Ukrainians will not be left without food.

This was stated by the Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine Taras Vysotsky during a conversation with journalists, Ukrinform reports.

“Today, roughly 90% of food logistics by retail chains has been destroyed, but at the same time, this does not mean that Ukrainians will be left without food. There will be shift logistics, as they say, with wheels, other options for operational supply. That is, there will be no threat of hunger and a systemic physical shortage of food, “ Vysotsky assured.

It’s very difficult to believe this is not hyperbole, but this is straight from the horse’s mouth so all we can do is take it at face value for now.

Recall that Ukraine began hitting Wildberries under the pretense that some military hardware like radios and armored vests are sold there. Russia began to destroy Ukraine’s ‘Epicenter’ warehouses which store—according to the CEO of Ukraine’s chief drone manufacturer FirePoint—certain components for her company’s infamous Flamingo missiles:

What’s good for the goose… as the saying goes.

It’s hard to grasp the speed of destruction: if even a fraction of the 90% figure is true, it means Russia has crippled Ukraine in such a way in only a week or two of retaliatory strikes. It becomes even more difficult to imagine what lies next for Ukraine.

And this is where most speculation is now growing. There is clearly something afoot. Just on the heels of the CIA director’s visit to “warn Moscow not to take any chances with NATO” we are hearing various reports that seem to indicate escalation precisely in this area—and it’s difficult to tell exactly which side will be the key driver.

Russia, for its part, has recently made some interesting statements that appear to threaten NATO countries with retaliation. For instance, MFA Spokesman Maria Zakharova issued a strong statement this week, threatening retaliation against British interests in Ukraine andabroad, after British Storm Shadow missiles were confirmed to have been used in a strike against Donetsk:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/aug/27/britain-ukraine-war-russia

Margarita Simonyan@M_Simonyan

Maria Zakharova on British decision to provide Kiev with the blueprints for "Storm Shadow" missiles: "Any British military facilities and hardware, located both inside the Ukraine and beyond its borders, may become legitimate targets in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian

11:16 AM · Aug 27, 2026 · 80.1K Views

________________________________

57 Replies · 300 Reposts · 1.04K Likes

Her exact quote:

"Any British military facilities and hardware, located both inside the Ukraine and beyond its borders, may become legitimate targets in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil using British weapons. Those complicit in war crimes, including actions targeting our civilian population, will be penalized proportionally to their offenses."

"Trying to inflict a 'strategic defeat' on Russia is doomed to fail, though London has already thoroughly smeared its hands in it. We urge all residents of the UK to ponder the unavoidable catastrophic fallout of their own government's hostile actions."

Then, a Russian deputy foreign minister made another interesting remark, that the conflict could be settled after Kiev is taken under an international administration:

https://www.pnp.ru/politics/mid-vneshnee-upravlenie-v-kieve-moglo-by-otkryt-put-k-uregulirovaniyu.html

External governance in Kyiv under the auspices of the UN could pave the way for a diplomatic settlement. This was stated on August 29 in an interview with RIA Novosti by Mikhail Galuzin, Deputy Foreign Minister.

He reminded that Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously proposed introducing temporary external administration in Ukraine under the auspices of the UN, the United States, European countries, and Russian partners in order to hold elections for the Ukrainian top leadership. According to Putin, Russia could already be conducting negotiations to resolve the Ukrainian conflict.

“This could open the way to a diplomatic settlement,” Galuzin emphasized.

This could give us a hint toward one of the directions the Kremlin is willing to go in ending the conflict.

Bloomberg claims that Russia is set to “escalate” the war:

Russia is preparing to escalate attacks on Ukraine after concluding that negotiations for a peace deal have reached a dead end, according to three people close to the Kremlin.

For now, Russia is weighing an intensification of powerful conventional ballistic missile attacks on Kyiv, including the center of the capital, and infrastructure targets in other Ukrainian cities, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is sensitive.

The most widely-circulated passage from the article claims that Russia may choose to use tactical nuclear weapons:

The escalating spiral of strikes is leading a growing number of Russian officials to the conclusion that Putin could eventually opt to use tactical nuclear weapons as a last resort in Ukraine, according to the people close to the Kremlin.

Made-up bunk, of course. But it’s part of a designated campaign to stir up escalation between Russia and Europe.

At the same time, Germany is reportedly planning to begin its own new campaign of provocations against Russia by formally blaming Moscow for the ‘mysterious’ drone falseflags attacks at German airports this month:

BIG: Germany is preparing what officials are calling a “Zeitenwende 2.0” toward Russia. Berlin is expected to formally blame Moscow for the August drone attack at Leipzig/Halle Airport and pair the attribution with tougher national measures, more support for Ukraine and a major

8:18 AM · Aug 29, 2026 · 200K Views

________________________________

65 Replies · 292 Reposts · 1.6K Likes

From Politico:

https://www.politico.eu/article/friedrich-merz-berlin-sanctions-russia-vladimir-putin-leipzig-attach-ascalate/

One of the officials familiar with the matter said that in response to the Leipzig drone incident, it was no longer enough to expel individual Russian diplomats or close the Russian House in Berlin. Tougher measures were needed, such as intensified sanctions or even more extensive arms deliveries to Ukraine. The three officials declined to provide further details on which precise measures Merz plans to announce.

Politico reports that, as a result, Germany intends to launch into another aggressive militarization against Russia:

Two of the officials described the upcoming move as a “Zeitenwende 2.0,” a reference to the historic shift on defense that former Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The past few weeks have seen a lot of “strange” and threatening NATO activity all around Kaliningrad, as well.

Recall that just as Western leaders and press alike have been fuming about claimed Russian attacks across Europe, the same figures have openly glorified and encouraged attacks on Russia’s own civilian infrastructure:

Now there is an increasing number of reports regarding a planned Russian operation from the north, potentially toward Kiev—and this is where things tie together.

Ukraine’s own Ukrainska Pravda outlet reports today the statements made by Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa:

https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/08/29/8050908/

Russia’s military leadership has been tasked by the country’s political leadership with planning and preparing several possible scenarios for operations towards Kyiv and Chernihiv. However, Ukraine has not currently detected the formation of an offensive force in these areas.

Source: Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the Office of the President, speaking to journalists, as reported by LIGA.net

Details: Palisa said that Ukraine received this information from intelligence agencies and verified it through several sources.

Quote: “We have indeed received information from intelligence agencies, verified by several sources, that the military leadership of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation has been tasked by the political leadership to plan several possible scenarios for such an operation towards Kyiv and Chernihiv.”

Meanwhile Radio Svaboda reports that the Gomel region of Belarus is seeing railway construction “for the rapid, mass unloading of heavy wheeled and tracked equipment”:

WarTranslated@wartranslated

In the Gomel region of Belarus, near the border with Ukraine, railway infrastructure is being built for the rapid, mass unloading of heavy wheeled and tracked equipment directly from military trains. The customer is listed as the "Military Design Institute." The project includes

5:28 AM · Aug 26, 2026 · 174K Views

________________________________

24 Replies · 210 Reposts · 849 Likes

Full article link: https://www.svaboda.org/a/33839065.html

First, it must be said that even Pavlo Palisa clarified that no mass buildup of troops is seen yet, but rather Ukraine has acquired intelligence to indicate the Russian General Staff is considering such an option. And if railway infrastructure were to be built in Belarus for some future potential action, it clearly implies that no such “mass invasion” is happening anytime soon.

That said, these latest reports are coupled with continued claims of a mass mobilization of 600k troops being planned in Russia, which virtually every top Russian figure has denied at this point, though some adding with a caveat: “This isn’t necessary at the moment.”

There are now various rumors that hundreds of thousands of Russian military-aged men are fleeing via the Georgian border. This is likely exaggeration, but I can personally confirm that a number of younger Russian men are in fact fleeing amidst the internal belief that some kind of mobilization is imminent—this is indisputable fact.

However, the most honest man in Kiev, Kyrylo Budanov—and I do not mean that sarcastically—himself dispelled these rumors, admitting that Russia is not planning any kind of mobilization at all. Watch toward the end:

The first half of the interview, he admits Ukraine requires 30,000 men per month just to “maintain” what it currently has—an obvious indication of its losses. Recall that Zelensky declared Ukraine’s total losses since the start of the war are a mere 50,000.

Awkward.

Tying It All Together

Now to tie it all together.

It’s obvious that European forces wish to engineer an escalation of some kind in order to save Ukraine, which is now being pummeled and finished off by Russia.

We have seen Ukraine’s budget shortfall means Kiev is increasingly wasting its precious few resources on an ineffective strike campaign against Russian warehouses and refineries. Now Russia is ratcheting up its own far more devastatingly impactful strikes in a number of ways: from churning out far more jet-powered Geran drones, new types of Iskander missiles, and new batches of North Korean ballistics as well.

Ukraine’s Serhiy Flash:

The latest news from Odessa is bleak:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2026/08/29/russia-cheap-fast-missiles-cut-ukraine-sea/

Telegraph’s latest details another new mass-produced Russian missile—the Banderol—which is wreaking havoc on Odessa. Latest reports indicate Odessa has been completely shut out, with no ships entering its ports:

After Odessa was shut down, Ukraine attempted to transport whatever wheat that it could via truck convoys—until Russia blew them apart as well:

Summary:

After Russia blocked Ukraine’s Black Sea exports, Kiev tried to move the grain by truck. It worked for a while. Then the drones found the convoys. A road in the Odessa region is now lined with burned-out grain trucks, and the strikes have not stopped.

Zelensky started hitting civilian ships heading for Russian ports. Whatever he thought that would achieve, Ukraine is paying for it now.

It appears more and more likely, then, that the CIA director’s true mission to Moscow was essentially an attempt to stop Russia from finishing off Ukraine. There are multiple possibilities for how this could have worked. One of them is that he carried with him an implied threat of European escalation. By warning Russia not to escalate against Europe, he may have instead dropped the obvious hint that Russia itself would be forced into a European escalation if Russia does not back its foot off the gas on Ukrainian strikes.

The clues for this are many. One of them is the fact that we continue to receive evidence Ukraine is virtually begging Russia to enter into a mutual ceasefire on infrastructure strikes. Budanov just admitted as much in a new interview:

The Ukrainian Review@UkrReview

🇺🇦‼️ According to Budanov, he personally tried to initiate the process of stopping mutual long-range attacks between Ukraine and Russia. "Believe me, we tried it. I'll tell you straight, I personally tried it. It's not working yet, let's be honest."

12:13 PM · Aug 28, 2026 · 35.5K Views

________________________________

13 Replies · 75 Reposts · 508 Likes

“Believe me, we tried it. I’ll tell you straight, I personally tried it. It’s not working yet, let’s be honest.”

Evidence is mounting that everything playing out today is downstream of Russia’s escalated campaign to wipe out Ukrainian logistics. Even top pro-UA analysts have figured this out:

Virtually everyone in Ukraine now sees the writing on the wall, and that there is no escape from this doom:

More evidence comes from a new Axios report which claims Ratcliffe’s trip to Moscow was to setup a trilateral meeting between Putin, Zelensky, and Trump:

CIA Director John Ratcliffe proposed a trilateral meeting between President Trump, Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky during his covert trip to Moscow earlier this week in an effort to end the war, two sources briefed on the matter told Axios.

Why it matters: This was the first time Ratcliffe got personally involved in the diplomatic push to broker a breakthrough between Russia and Ukraine.

-Ratcliffe’s visit was partly aimed at determining whether Russia’s heads of intelligence services could help convince Putin to move toward resuming U.S.-mediated negotiations with Ukraine, the sources said.

Read the last bolded portion again: Ratcliffe’s visit was essentially to beg Russian officials to convince Putin into negotiations.

It’s now clear: Ukraine is dying, and the West is truly becoming desperate in ending the war.

Russia’s newest tactic being currently employed against Kiev was revealed today:

https://www.twz.com/news-features/russia-changing-missile-and-drone-attack-strategy-on-ukrainian-captial

It includes the staggering of strikes every few minutes or hours, rather than days apart, to put Kiev under total 24/7 state of emergency.

Ukrainian channels are in panic:

The Ukrainian outlet Strana describes the new drone tactics in more detail in an article aptly titled “Unmanned Carousel”:

In addition to massive strikes on warehouses and trade logistics, the Russians have started using a tactic again that was first used back in May - round-the-clock “Shahed” drone attacks. Especially on Kiev and the surrounding region.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces report that the number of attacking drones has generally increased - this week, their number has more than doubled to over 250 per night. According to official Ukrainian data, it is not possible to shoot down about 30-35 of these drones in each attack.

And today, Ukraine was attacked by another 224 drones (of which 25 could not be shot down). A week earlier, the number of drones never reached two hundred.

But in this case, it’s not the quantity that matters, but the method of use. The drones attack in small groups or even individually, from different directions, and simultaneously targeting multiple objectives. This entire “carousel” continues for hours - and almost without interruption. Air raid alerts in Kiev have been reaching 11-13 hours - almost half a day.

Moreover, the strikes on warehouses and other facilities are likely not directly related to this tactic - they are happening independently, and mainly at night, when it is more difficult to shoot down drones. As for the attacks during the day, they likely serve other purposes in Kiev.

Firstly, to reduce the effectiveness of Ukrainian air defense, which is simply overloaded by these constant attacks.

Moreover, the proportion of jet-powered “Shaheds” is increasing, which are more difficult to shoot down with mobile groups and cannot be shot down by drone interceptors - jet drones fly higher, faster, and maneuver better. This is also due to constant communication with the operator and better equipment with AI tools (which has already been acknowledged by Ukrainian experts).

If in the spring, 25-30% were jet-powered “Gerans,” now it has become the majority, according to an official statement from the Air Force for today.Ukraine has repeatedly reported on the expansion of production of these models in Russia.

An exhausted air defense system may react worse to other, more massive attacks.

Secondly, these attacks are drastically worsening life in Kiev, which is paralyzed by constant air raid alerts. Businesses are primarily affected, as they are forced to stop working during the attacks. This creates additional stress on the retail sector, which has already suffered enormous damage after Russian strikes on warehouses.

Moreover, while in previous years businesses began to suffer major losses in the winter, when there were interruptions in electricity and heating, this year the problems started much earlier. At the same time, the upcoming winter has not been canceled, which, according to government forecasts, may be the most difficult in history.

Therefore, Russia’s calculation may be to create additional pressure on large businesses and the Ukrainian economy as a whole - which, apparently, is intended to increase pressure on Zelensky to end the war on Russian terms.

Former Foreign Minister Kuleba stated directly that the goal of these attacks is “to direct the people’s anger at the authorities.”

At the same time, we have already outlined the likely considerations of the Ukrainian authorities, which consider losses for businesses acceptable - given comprehensive support from the West. However, this is an extremely risky strategy that could lead to the destruction of the Ukrainian economy - without guarantees that the same West will finance its restoration after the war. And there are no guarantees that aid will remain stable until the end of the war. And that in itself is a huge risk for Ukraine.

Note the above: they believe the goal of this new pressure campaign is to foment popular discontent against authorities. Sound familiar? Russia has essentially re-appropriated Zelensky’s own “40-day special military operation” playbook, and gave him a taste of his own medicine.

Now even as of this writing there are reports of a new attack on Kiev in precisely this “carousel” fashion. It appears Ukraine has truly unleashed the beast and has inclined Putin to go “gloves off” for the first time in the war.

With European political support dwindling, and an impotent US getting increasingly desperate, there are not many good options left for Ukraine.

We’ll leave with these last two videos. The first showing Polish general and former Chief of the General Staff Raymond Andrzejczak telling the American press that the West does not understand Russia or Russians like Poland does. He explains that Russian soldiers are able to suffer through harsh conditions and move forward unlike anything Western troops can comprehend—a clear subtle and soft-worded warning to the West to not mess with Russia because they have no idea the can of worms they would open up:

And finally, here Putin gives a detailed and honest assessment of the current retaliatory counter-strike war to reporter Zarubin, explaining that Russia was forced to respond to Zelensky’s “40-day special military operation” against Russian civilian infrastructure. First in AI-dub, then with subtitles at the ~7:20-minute mark: