Russia now produces ~200 upgraded Geran drones DAILY. Their ability to evade Ukrainian defenses is growing as penetration rates jumped from 3–5% to ~15% this June. High-end systems like IRIS-T, priced in the millions, are unsustainable against mass swarms. In contrast, $5K interceptor drones boast a 70% success rate. But matching Russia’s pace is a steep challenge. In May alone, it produced 2,700 attack drones and 2,500 decoys — equivalent to an entire month’s worth of large-scale strikes. Keeping up requires production lines, sustained logistics, trained operators, and steady financing. #DroneWarfare #RussianAggression

Russians no longer fly. There were 414 airport closures this year ALONE. That’s more than in 2022–2024 combined. In June, closures happened on 25 out of 30 days. #RussianAviation #MakeRussiaPay

⚡⚡⚡Russia may lose around $5M a day from the shutdown of the Y.M. Sverdlov Plant in Nizhny Novgorod region—one of its key producers of industrial explosives, transfer and perforation charges, & seismic equipment. Last night, drones struck the facility, triggering 25–30 explosions within an hour. The damage brings both immediate financial impact and long-term logistical costs, further exposing the fragility of Russia’s #WarEconomy under sanctions and mounting industrial losses. #MakeRussiaPay

🇫🇷 France’s small defense firms are thriving as NATO allies ramp up #DefenseSpending. @ExosensGroup — maker of night-vision tech — is now valued at €2.2B after its stock doubled this year. @exail_’s drone and marine systems are up 400%+, while @Mc2technologies reports 30% revenue growth in electronic warfare, writes @ian_c_johnston for @FT. With France aiming to double its defense budget to €100B/year, investors bet on a new golden era for Europe’s arms industry, where agile, innovative firms have the opportunity to lead the race for strategic autonomy. #FranceEconomy #NATO

🇪🇺Brussels wants its own ChatGPT. As Washington & Beijing race ahead in artificial intelligence, the EU is rolling out its “Apply AI” strategy — a bid to regain digital sovereignty and cut reliance on foreign tech giants. With €1B in funding, the plan will boost European-made AI in healthcare, defense, and manufacturing. Behind it lies a growing realization that Europe’s security now depends as much on algorithms as on armies. #EuropeanSecurity
Photo: @GettyImages

⚡️⚡️⚡️BREAKING: Ukraine's drones just CRIPPLED Russia's Kirishi refinery—one of its LARGEST oil processors! Key unit CDU-6 (160K barrels/day, 40% of plant's power) SHUT DOWN after Oct 4 strike & blaze. Factory now at 70% capacity amid Russia's fuel CRISIS—gas shortages biting hard!
In 2024, the refinery processed 17.5 million tons of oil, which amounted to 6.6% of Russia's total oil refining volumes, pumping out 2M tons gasoline, 7.1M diesel. War's fuel line? Severed. #MakeRussiaPay

📈🇷🇺 Russians will pay MORE taxes as the war bill keeps growing. In 2026, the Kremlin will raise VAT from 20% to 22% and scrap benefits for small businesses and IT firms — a move the #CentralBank warns will accelerate inflation by 0.6–0.7 percentage points, meaning higher prices on nearly everything. With 30% of the budget going to the army and 40% to security forces, Moscow is draining its economy to fund war. Oil & gas revenues are down 20%, and the deficit nears ‼️$66B ‼️— five times higher than planned. #RussiaEconomy #MakeRussiaPay
Photo: Open Sources

🇲🇩Moldova officially joins SEPA! 🚀 Euro transfers are now faster, cheaper, and free of hidden fees for citizens & businesses. Lower costs, seamless payments, and new opportunities for trade in 41 European countries. Congratulations, @sandumaiamd , @dragu_anca !

Ukrainians lose their homes under Russian occupation — but now they risk losing them in Ukraine itself, through legal bureaucracy. Data from the old Property Rights Register were not automatically transferred to the new State Register of Property Rights. The Ministry of Justice says homeowners who registered before 2013 don’t need to re-confirm their rights — they remain valid. Yet to appear in the new register, one must apply in person. Formally this is voluntary, but if physical presence is truly required, how many will simply be unable to do it — and would that mean losing one’s home, as if it were under occupation?
Photo: @GettyImages
@POTUS @marcorubio @JamesBradleyCA @jamiewrit @leonidragozin @owenmatth @DanielLDavis @ConstantMeheut @IgnatiusPost @JDVance @MarioNawfal @lexfridman @FBIDirectorKash @DNIGabbard @olliecarroll @paolomossetti @CortesSteve @HavryshkoMarta @TuckerCarlson @GeromanAT

The hardest winter yet is coming for #Kharkiv as Russia strikes the energy grid again. Just this week, two key transformer substations were destroyed — cutting residents off from light and heat, leaving the most vulnerable at risk. This is an economic crisis. By mid-2024, 73% of Ukraine’s thermal plants and 20 hydro units were destroyed, erasing 9 GW of capacity — half the country’s winter demand. Each blackout halts factories, transport, and telecoms, crippling local business and forcing rolling power cuts in cities like Kharkiv. This is paralysis for the #UkraineEconomy — a blow to millions enduring freezing homes and unstable power. Even after peace comes, it will take years, if not decades, to rebuild the centralized energy grid. #UkraineEnergy #StopRussianAggression
Video: Social Media

Ukrainian "Servant of the People" MP Heorhiy Mazurashu suggests to add "In God We trust" phrase on Ukrainian currency. Love the 'In God we trust' currency idea! Just wondering—should we add 'Cash expires if you sin' too? 😅Keeps the Almighty’s audit team busy!
How much will we ask from American donors to invest in this divine copypaste idea? #InGodWeTrust #CurrencyDebate"

In Belarus, Lukashenko simply banned price increases. It’s impossible — supply dries up, black markets emerge, and businesses can’t survive. Economists everywhere are taking notes… and reaching for aspirin. But it turns out that in some countries, tackling inflation is possible by decree. #Economy

Putin turns 73 today. Here’s what he’s done to the 🇷🇺 #RussiaEconomy.
✅ Under his rule, Russia’s business climate collapsed — entrenched #Corruption, weak rule of law, and constant regulatory shifts drove investors away. FDI plunged from $75B in 2008 to under $20B in 2023.
✅ The economy became hostage to #RussianOil and gas: hydrocarbons generate ~45 % of federal revenue and over 55 % of exports, leaving growth tied to global commodity swings.
✅ After the 2014 invasion of Ukraine and the 2022 full-scale war, Russia became the world’s most sanctioned state. It has since fallen out of the top 10 global economies.
This is the outcome of systemic power abuse, greed for control, and manipulation of economic data. #MakeRussiaPay
Photo: BBC

Brussels is preparing a major industrial push around drone manufacturing, positioning it as both a defense & economic priority. The European Commission is reviewing EU budgets to channel funds into new production capacity, potentially through an ASAP-style mechanism. The plan aims to strengthen Europe’s #DefenseIndustry, stimulate high-tech supply chains, and reduce reliance on foreign systems. Yet questions remain over how the initiative will be financed and whether member states will back it. #EuropeanDefence
Photo: EDA

Ukraine’s defense industry now produces nearly 60 % of its arms, but #Corruption is growing — with dozens of overpriced contracts, late or missing deliveries, and prepayments for weapons that never arrived, totaling about ‼️$129M‼️ in excess costs, writes @AndrewKramerNYT for @nytimes.
Yes, Ukraine is now producing everything from drones and ground robots to armored vehicles — a major shift as U.S. aid wanes and Europe’s capacity remains limited. But the same secrecy that once protected wartime procurement now risks undermining efficiency, accountability, and public trust. #DefenseSpending #Donornomics #UkraineEconomy

🇷🇺⚡️ Russia moved ‼️$6B‼️ through #Crypto in just months — building a shadow financial system beyond Western control. At its core is A7A5, a Kremlin-backed stablecoin pegged to the rouble and officially approved in Russia. After the US blacklisted its exchange in August, operators deleted and re-minted 80% of tokens to erase #Sanctions traces. This now enables cross-border trade via Kyrgyzstan and Africa, bypassing @swiftcommunity and undermining Western sanctions. Thanks to @NastyaStognei, Oliver Hawkins & @EadeMoon for the @FT investigation. #MakeRussiaPay #RussiaEconomy
Photo: CNBC

⚡️⚡️⚡️BREAKING: @WorldBank SLASHES Ukraine's 2026 GDP growth forecast to just 2%—down over 3% from 5.2%! Blame: Endless Russian attacks, wrecked infrastructure, record gas imports, bad weather hitting ag exports, & EU trade curbs. Exports to EU (60% of shipments) plunged 5% in H1 2025. 2025 holds at 2%; 2027 bounces to 5%. War's toll is crushing recovery. And I think corruption and heavily damaged market economy (READ - #Donornomics) is something the World Bank modestly conceals.

⚡️⚡️⚡️BREAKING: Belarusian rail-transported gasoline exports to Russia jumped fourfold month-on-month in September, as Moscow sought to tackle fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian attacks on its energy infrastructure, industry sources told Reuters.
Several Russian regions have introduced rationing and have temporarily frozen fuel prices in recent weeks amid a scarcity of popular types of gasoline brought on by the drone strikes, which targeted refineries among other energy installations. Moscow has also restricted gasoline and diesel exports.
Gasoline supplies via rail from refineries in Belarus to the Russian domestic market rose to 49,000 metric tons, or 14,500 barrels per day (bpd), last month. They also said diesel deliveries amounted to 33,000 tons in September.

⚡️⚡️⚡️BREAKING: Russia's Ural Turbine Plant in Yekaterinburg—key maker of turbines for nukes & war machines—ENGULFED in flames! 1,000 sqm blaze in tool shop, roof collapsing. Tass denies it, but videos don't lie. Another "accident" crippling Putin's arsenal? Hope it scorches their war effort! #MakeRussiaPay

In Kyiv, political tensions around President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are intensifying even as the war grinds on. His recent claim that he may not seek a second term has drawn little belief among Ukraine’s political class. Opponents accuse his team of consolidating control ahead of future elections — using security services and selective prosecutions to weaken rivals and reclaim influence over anti-corruption institutions.
Raids by the Security Service of Ukraine on #NABU and #SAP, along with investigations into former generals over battlefield losses in 2022, have fueled allegations of political intimidation. One former minister said these cases are seen as potential leverage against Valery Zaluzhny — widely viewed as a political rival to Zelenskyy — though others insist the probes are meant to uphold the rule of law. Let’s see what comes next. Thanks @jamiewrit for another brilliant article!
Photo: @GettyImages