Systematic Russian Strikes ‘Devastating’ Not Only Ukraine’s MIC, But State Administration as a Whole

Systematic Russian Strikes ‘Devastating’ Not Only Ukraine’s MIC, But State Administration as a Whole

Sputnik

“The impact is devastating when we’re talking about the infrastructure underpinning all this,” military expert Alexei Sukonkin told Sputnik, commenting on the Russian MoD’s announcement that it would intensify strikes after Zelensky declared he would “double down” on attacks on Russian energy sites in response to attacks.

“Striking a single factory, for instance, affects only that specific facility. But striking data centers causes a massive shutdown across the financial sector, traffic control systems, surveillance cameras, and even government administration – which also relies on electronic document management. When data centers housing this information are hit, everything goes offline,” Sukonkin explained.

Russia’s tactic of attacks on bridges in Kiev isn’t “just for the sake of dramatic visuals,” the observer added. “This is a strategic objective: to sever transport links in a city that is both the most populous and has the heaviest concentration of military-industrial facilities.”

“Striking bridges – even if they aren’t completely brought down – renders them inoperable after a certain number of hits…It also further degrades Ukraine combat potential, which is already limited compared to what it was. Ultimately, the path to victory must be built on the consistency and inevitability of these strikes,” Sukonkin said.

“It’s difficult to fathom what is going on in [Ukrainian leaders’] minds,” military analyst and Arsenal of the Fatherland magazine contributor Alexander Sinyugin told Sputnik, commenting on Zelensky’s threats to ramp up attacks on Russian energy infrastructure after Russia’s latest strikes.

“We can only surmise that Zelensky wants to raise the stakes in this conflict – not merely to secure more aid, but to draw European military forces directly into the fray,” the observer explained.

“In other words, he’s aiming to escalate the situation to the point where European countries deploy military contingents to Ukrainian territory, a move that would set the stage for a major war. By doing this, he’s seeking to prolong his hold on power and continue profiting from the conflict.”

A Ukrainian escalation against Russia would be designed, in Zelensky's mind, to provoke a Russian response in Ukraine that’s “even harder” and using “more powerful weaponry, thereby pushing his European handlers toward more decisive action.”

Responding to Zelensky's latest threats, Russia's MoD has vowed to ramp up its attacks on Ukraine's MIC and associated infrastructure.

Bessent Says Iran Faces Zero Oil Revenue As Tanker Loadings Collapse

"First Time In History": Bessent Says Iran Faces Zero Oil Revenue As Tanker Loadings Collapse

TYLER DURDEN

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent joined Mike Allen for a new episode of "The Axios Show," published Saturday morning.

Bessent spoke about the Iran war's effect on the cost of living for US consumers and his "I am the house" comment early last month, which warned anyone betting against the Treasury's defense of the long end of the market.

Beyond the broader global bond rout, his comments on the Strait of Hormuz added color to President Trump's economic stranglehold on Tehran.

"They are isolating them economically like this never happened before. You know, right now, the score: barrels out of the Strait: U.S. about 1.1 billion, Iran zero," Bessent told Allen.

Bessent continued, "For the first time in history, they, since they started pumping oil, they will have no oil on the water this week. They will have no revenue."

Separately, last week, Goldman analysts Yulia Zhestkova Grigsby, Alexandra Paulus, and Daan Struyven told clients that a "divergence between the fall of Iranian exports and the rise of exports of other Persian Gulf producers" was underway.

The Goldman energy experts estimated that "dark exports" have helped boost Persian Gulf oil exports to 23.3 million barrels a day over the past week, back to prewar levels.

Also last week, Bloomberg News reported that Iran's crude loadings crashed to zero in August from around 250,000 barrels per day.

Data providers Kpler and Vortexa also recorded zero crude loadings last month.

The collapse in Iranian crude loadings suggests the US naval blockade is constraining Tehran's export options, while recovering flows from other Gulf producers point to eroded Iranian leverage over the strait. If sustained, Tehran's oil revenues would plunge, pressuring the regime to make a deal. 

Moscow vows to ramp up strikes on Ukraine after Zelensky’s threat

Moscow vows to ramp up strikes on Ukraine after Zelensky’s threat

RT

Russia will intensify strikes on military and defense-related facilities in Ukraine in response to Vladimir Zelensky’s threat to increase attacks on Russian oil refineries, the Defense Ministry warned.

In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said it has “taken note” of the Ukrainian leader’s promise a day earlier to step up attacks on Russian oil refineries in response to strikes on bridges across the Dnieper River in Kiev.

Russia has already ramped up strikes on military-related logistics – including the key port of Odessa – and the defense industrial base in recent weeks in response to Zelensky’s botched 40-day PR ‘pressure campaign’, which included long-range strikes targeting oil refineries and civilian infrastructure deep inside Russia.

“Following Zelensky’s statement today, strikes by the Russian Armed Forces on military and military-industrial facilities, as well as related infrastructure in Kiev and other regions of Ukraine, will be intensified,” the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The Defense Ministry reiterated that the Russian military has been responding to Kiev’s attacks on civilian targets in Russia that were meant to disrupt the State Duma election. It cited strikes on polling stations that killed six civilians, an attempted mass attack involving more than 1,600 Ukrainian strike drones against civilian sites in Moscow on September 19-20, and drone attacks aimed at disrupting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June.

It also cited a strike on residential areas in Belgorod that killed and wounded civilians and damaged apartment buildings, houses, and vehicles.

President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that the strikes on oil refineries have cost around 1% of Russia’s GDP, but noted that the damaged facilities are being quickly restored, and that the nation’s energy system is operating with significant reserve capacity. Following Russia’s retaliatory strikes, Ukraine no longer has a steelmaking industry, he added.

Russia strikes data center and logistics hub in Ukraine – MOD (VIDEO)

The Russian military has struck a data center and a logistics hub in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Sunday.

The ministry said that Geran drones targeted a Nova Poshta logistics center in Chernomorsk and a data center in Odessa. Footage released by the MOD shows direct hits on both facilities. Russia has increasingly targeted Ukrainian data centers in recent strikes, with internet and mobile providers reporting damage and connectivity disruptions.

Additionally, Russian forces struck two dry-cargo vessels carrying military supplies to the port of Odessa, hit a drone command post, destroyed an air-surveillance radar, and struck military-used transport infrastructure, weapons depots, drone storage sites, and positions housing Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries across 147 locations. It later added that its forces struck Kiev’s Severny road bridge across the Dnieper, which it said was used to move troops and military cargo.

Russia has retaliated by sharply expanding strikes on Ukraine’s military-industrial facilities, shipping, and key ports handling military-related imports. The campaign has severely disrupted Ukrainian Black Sea shipping and logistics. Moscow maintains that it targets only infrastructure supporting Ukraine’s war effort.

President Vladimir Putin recently warned that Ukraine faces a “catastrophic scenario” after “opening Pandora’s box” by attacking Russian economic and civilian infrastructure, which ultimately failed to alter the course of the conflict. Putin also warned that with its “provocative actions,” Kiev was only hindering a peaceful settlement rather than bringing one closer.

Despite the mounting toll, Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky vowed on Saturday to further intensify strikes on Russian oil facilities. The Russian Defense Ministry responded on Sunday by pledging to step up its own campaign. The ministry said Ukrainians “should blame only the head of the Kiev regime” for any further escalation, adding that his threats meant he “bears full personal and political responsibility for it.”

Russia's Strikes on Kiev and Other Regions are Response to Actions by Ukrainian Leadership

Russia's Strikes on Kiev and Other Regions are Response to Actions by Ukrainian Leadership

sputnik

Strikes on Ukrainian military facilities, defense-industrial sites and related infrastructure will be intensified following a statement by Volodymyr Zelensky, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said it had taken note of Zelensky’s statement that, in response to Russian strikes on defense-industrial facilities in Kiev where drones and missile systems used in attacks on Russia are produced, as well as on infrastructure used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Kiev would step up attacks on Russian oil refineries.

“Following today’s statement by Zelensky, strikes by the Russian Armed Forces on military and defense-industrial facilities, as well as related infrastructure in Kiev and other regions of Ukraine, will be intensified,” the ministry said.

The statement refers to attempts by Zelensky to disrupt Russia’s State Duma elections through attacks on civilian targets inside Russia.

"In response to these threats, the Russian Defense Ministry notes that it delivers massive strikes on Kiev and other Ukrainian regions precisely in response to the actions of the head of the Kiev regime. This concerns attempts by Volodymyr Zelensky to disrupt, through terrorist strikes on civilian facilities on Russian territory, the voting in the elections to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia," the statement read.

The statement also cites what it describes as an attempted large-scale attack involving more than 1,600 Ukrainian strike drones against civilian targets in Moscow between September 19 and 20.

It further refers to attempted drone attacks aimed at disrupting the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2026.

Finally, it says the Kiev authorities carried out what it described as a deliberate terrorist strike overnight on residential areas of Belgorod, where, according to the statement, there were no military targets. The strike caused civilian deaths and injuries and damaged apartment buildings, private homes and personal vehicles.

Chinese Hackers Impersonate Former White House Official In Attempt To Steal US AI Policy Secrets

Chinese Hackers Impersonate Former White House Official In Attempt To Steal US AI Policy Secrets

AG News Staff via American Greatness,

Chinese-linked hackers have allegedly been impersonating American artificial intelligence experts, including a former White House official, in a targeted cyberespionage campaign aimed at obtaining sensitive information about U.S. AI policymaking.

Cybersecurity firm Proofpoint revealed Thursday that a hacking group it identifies as TA419 has been attempting to steal passwords from individuals at American and Japanese think tanks, defense contractors, universities and law firms since at least 2025.

Proofpoint attributed the activity to Chinese hackers based on the malware, infrastructure and targeting patterns associated with the attacks, which the company said align with Beijing's intelligence priorities.

The latest operation involved fraudulent emails appearing to originate from prominent AI and national security experts, including Lynne Parker, former principal deputy director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The messages typically invited recipients to participate in AI-related projects or collaborations before directing them to fraudulent websites designed to steal login credentials.

Among those targeted was Alex Engler, a former White House official who now leads the Penn Center on Media, Technology, and Democracy.

Engler told Reuters he received an email supposedly from Parker inviting him to participate in a new AI policy initiative. After noticing something suspicious and consulting colleagues, he discovered the message was fraudulent.

Proofpoint said the operation targeted fewer than 10 individuals across several organizations, particularly experts involved in AI regulation, export controls and national AI strategy.

The company's findings suggest the hackers were pursuing intelligence about Washington's policymaking rather than simply attempting to steal American technology.

Parker confirmed that at least two individuals received suspicious messages using her identity in early July.

"The United States and China are in a competition around AI," Parker told Reuters.

The allegations underscore growing cybersecurity concerns surrounding America's technological competition with China, particularly as AI becomes increasingly important to national security and economic policy.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Beijing has consistently denied conducting cyberespionage operations.