Ukraine's SMARTEST Move Just Cut Russian Fuel to Crimea & Other War Stories

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Become a Member Today and Unlock EXCLUSIVE Videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKfak8fBm_Lhy4eX9UKxEpA/join  ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 00:00 Ukraine's Smartest Move Cut Russian Fuel to Crimea… IT Has Kremlin STUNNED 15:59 Ukraine Just SPIT in Putin’s Face at KINBURN SPIT... 2,500 Russian Troops TRAPPED 32:44 Sweden Just Sent Warships and Jets to Guard Finland’s Border With Russia 50:13 Ukraine's Allies Prepare A Huge Trap… Now Russian Frontlines Face Total Collapse  Support us directly as we bring you independent, up-to-date reporting on military news and global conflicts by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMilitaryShow/join  #militarystrategy #militarydevelopments #militaryanalysis #themilitaryshow

Transcript

00:00:01The situation is going from bad to worse in Crimea.

00:00:05It's not just that Ukraine is severing supply lines and bombarding the land corridor that Russia uses to keep the

00:00:11region supplied with fuel, food and military equipment.

00:00:14It's not only that Kyiv's drones are picking off the peninsula's defences, eliminating air defence systems, radar stations and aircraft

00:00:21one by one.

00:00:22It's also the fact that Crimea is quickly turning from one of Vladimir Putin's proudest possessions into a veritable liability

00:00:29for his regime, draining Russia's finances and resources and leaving the Kremlin with plenty more problems and not enough solutions.

00:00:37This is the assessment of one of the most experienced and trusted military minds on the planet.

00:00:42David Petraeus, a retired United States Army general who served as the fourth director of the Central Intelligence Agency between

00:00:492011 and 2012 after a nearly 40 year long career in the army.

00:00:54With multiple four star assignments to his name, Petraeus is a legend of the military world.

00:01:00And even after retiring from active service, he has continued to share the benefits of his unparalleled wisdom and experience

00:01:06with those who are willing to listen.

00:01:08He's been one of the most important and interesting commentators to listen to regarding the war in Ukraine,

00:01:13and was even named a founding member of the ARES Military Expert Council, Allied Reform and Expert Support,

00:01:20an international advisory body established by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in 2026.

00:01:26Before we look at the former general's latest comments, why not consider joining the military show channel today?

00:01:32You'll be able to enjoy instant access to exclusive content, including some of our most fascinating reports from Russia, Iran,

00:01:39the United States military and more.

00:01:41David Petraeus recently sat down for an interview with Pyotr Kurtzin on the Global Gambit,

00:01:46during which the former CENTCOM commander gave his expert insight regarding Ukraine's middle and deep strike campaigns against Russian assets

00:01:54and infrastructure,

00:01:55and also spoke in detail about the perilous position that Crimea finds itself in today.

00:01:59Crimea is being isolated from the Russian Federation.

00:02:03Putin could never have seen this coming when he gave the order for covert soldiers to infiltrate the Ukrainian peninsula

00:02:09over a decade ago and illegally seize control of the region.

00:02:12For years, the Russian president saw the capture of Crimea as one of his greatest achievements.

00:02:17He boasted about how the region had returned home to Russia, how it had been and always would be tied

00:02:24to Russia's past, present and future,

00:02:26and encouraged millions of Russians to travel there on vacation, enjoying the warm weather and beautiful coastal resorts,

00:02:32or even to move there permanently, establishing homes and businesses to cement Russia's presence across the peninsula.

00:02:38Even when the wider world condemned his actions, Putin simply ignored the critics and basked in the glory of what

00:02:44he had achieved.

00:02:45And when he went further, ordering the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022,

00:02:51Crimea once more proved its value, serving as an extremely useful springboard for assaults and bombing runs on Ukraine's southern

00:02:58cities and regions.

00:02:59Once Russian forces had taken enough territory to establish their land corridor to Crimea, it seemed as though the peninsula

00:03:06was lost forever.

00:03:07Even if Ukraine managed to hold the line and fend off Russian assault, there seemed to be no way for

00:03:12Kyiv's forces to ever attempt a successful liberation of the coastal region they'd lost so many years ago.

00:03:17In 2026, however, the picture looks very different.

00:03:21Thanks to its advancements in drone and missile technology, along with the generous support of its Western and NATO allies,

00:03:27Ukraine has been able to launch two major campaigns to disrupt Russia's economy and control over Crimea.

00:03:33There's the Deep Strike Campaign, which targets locations like oil refineries and logistics hubs around Russian regions

00:03:39to cripple the country's fuel supplies and make it harder to fund the war.

00:03:43Then there's the Middle Strike Campaign, which has focused on bombarding the routes and supply lines in and out of

00:03:49Crimea,

00:03:49specifically such as the Kerch Bridge and the land corridor.

00:03:54This, in turn, has led to the aforementioned isolation of Crimea that General Petraeus believes is growing more severe by

00:04:00the day.

00:04:01Even though the region isn't an island, it's surrounded by water on several sides,

00:04:06which makes it more difficult to move goods and people in and out.

00:04:09Russia was historically able to rely on the Kerch Bridge, which it built after the annexation of Crimea to connect

00:04:15the region to the Russian mainland.

00:04:16But Ukraine effectively put that out of action after repeated drone and explosive attacks threatened to send parts of the

00:04:23infrastructure tumbling into the waters below.

00:04:25Ukrainian drones have also knocked out numerous Russian air defense systems in and around the Kerch area,

00:04:31including S-400s and Pantsir systems, delivering a clear message to the Kremlin,

00:04:35if you even think about using this bridge for military maneuvers, you will pay the price.

00:04:40The land corridor was the main alternative to the Kerch Bridge for several years.

00:04:44But now that too is turning into a death trap.

00:04:47The main highway that Russia uses to funnel fuel and military supplies into Crimea has earned a new name, the

00:04:53Highway of Death.

00:04:54It's lined with the burnt out bodies of wrecked tankers and smoldering military trucks and patrolled by Ukrainian UAVs,

00:05:01constantly scanning the ground for sight of their next target.

00:05:04Countless fuel convoys and other military vehicles have been eliminated on their way to Crimea,

00:05:09forcing the Kremlin's commanders to reassess their approach and look for alternative ways to travel to and from the peninsula,

00:05:16as well as fresh countermeasures to curb Ukraine's control.

00:05:20They've tried deploying mobile fire teams alongside convoys to guard them as they go, for example,

00:05:25and have attempted to establish communications networks to keep each other informed of Ukrainian drone positions and movements.

00:05:31But every time they think they've found the answer, Ukraine shuts it down.

00:05:36It's reaching the point where Russia is rapidly running out of both ideas and resources.

00:05:40Every fuel convoy it sends to Crimea is almost guaranteed not to arrive intact.

00:05:46Every attempt it makes to resupply the beleaguered region is doomed from the start.

00:05:50And with every day that passes, the peninsula becomes harder and more expensive to maintain,

00:05:55and slips further and further into a state of absolute chaos.

00:05:59The most obvious example of this can be seen in the fuel crisis that is sweeping across almost the whole

00:06:04of Russia,

00:06:05but is particularly prevalent in the regions closest to Ukraine,

00:06:08where drone strikes on refineries and terminals are the most frequent and severe.

00:06:12As Petraeus notes, Ukraine's deep strike attacks have left almost no stone unturned,

00:06:17as Kyiv attempts to take down the most important industry, propping up Russia's economy.

00:06:21They've hit every single refinery within 3,000 kilometers of Ukraine.

00:06:25They haven't destroyed them all, some are still functioning, but a number are completely offline.

00:06:30As a direct consequence of this, Petraeus explains, Russian people are finding it increasingly difficult to get gas for their

00:06:36vehicles.

00:06:37He notes that there are now apps that the Russian public are having to use to figure out which stations

00:06:41in their areas actually have any gas available,

00:06:44since so many are running low.

00:06:45Most recently, it's less than 30% of the gas stations that actually have gas.

00:06:50And this situation is particularly grave in Crimea,

00:06:53where Petraeus says that the only fuel available is of such low quality that it's actually harming vehicles.

00:06:58But the people there have no other choice.

00:07:00If they want to be able to drive, to get to shelters when air raid sirens start blaring,

00:07:04to get to work, to take their kids to school, or to leave the region and head back to Russia,

00:07:09they have to fill up their cars with fuel that actively damages them from the inside.

00:07:13And even when the people in charge claim to be in control of the crisis,

00:07:16their words are ultimately proven to be worthless.

00:07:19The Putin puppet Sergei Axionov, for example, who currently serves as the head of Crimea,

00:07:24promised that from September 1st gasoline would return to stations across the region

00:07:28for a fair price of no more than 100 rubles, about $1.15 a litre.

00:07:33But September 1st came and went, and Axionov's promise wasn't kept.

00:07:37That very day, numerous Crimean residents took to social media to report ongoing shortages

00:07:42and huge lines at local stations, many of which had neither AI-95 gasoline

00:07:48nor the lower-grade AI-92 alternative.

00:07:51Before we dig deeper into the additional crises facing Crimea,

00:07:54if this is the kind of insight you want more of, make sure you are subscribed to The Military Show.

00:07:59We break it down like this every single week.

00:08:02To ensure that Crimea's fuel crisis continues and worsens,

00:08:06Ukraine is targeting every possible option that Russia might use

00:08:09to get more gasoline and diesel over to the peninsula.

00:08:12Bridges, railway lines, ferries, ports, terminals, convoys, highways,

00:08:17and more are all being systematically taken off the table by precision drone and missile strikes.

00:08:23Ukraine has even begun targeting Russia's Shadow Fleet tankers

00:08:26that the Kremlin had hoped to use to covertly carry fuel towards Crimea across the Sea of Azov.

00:08:32Throughout July and August, the unmanned systems forces reported

00:08:35numerous successful strikes on these illicit vessels.

00:08:38And with so many of its assets and key pieces of infrastructure under near-constant fire,

00:08:43even Russia, with all its money and resources, has struggled to keep up.

00:08:47It might have been able to cope or compensate if Ukraine had only targeted one or two of its supply

00:08:51lines,

00:08:52but by taking out every route, every connection, and every link in the chain,

00:08:56Kyiv's forces have simply overwhelmed their enemy.

00:08:58As the Institute for the Study of War, or ISW, puts it,

00:09:02Ukrainian forces are engaged in a systematic, multi-pronged interdiction campaign aimed at isolating Crimea

00:09:08and denying Russia the ability to sustain logistics to the peninsula,

00:09:12striking bridges, major highways, and rail infrastructure from occupied Kursonoblast to occupied Crimea.

00:09:18One benefit of all of this is that it makes it much harder for Russia to organize assaults and make

00:09:22gains in southern Ukraine,

00:09:24since it's having to expend so much energy and manpower trying to counteract Ukraine's attacks.

00:09:29Another huge benefit, however, is that it's turning Putin's Crimea,

00:09:33once regarded as the crown jewel of Putin's empire, into a source of abject misery for the Kremlin.

00:09:38Because fuel shortages are just one part of a much larger issue.

00:09:43The peninsula is also suffering an electricity crisis, too.

00:09:46This was brought up by General Petraeus during his interview when he said,

00:09:50The lights are going to go out in Crimea as well,

00:09:52because they're hitting not just the electrical generation, but all the transmission stations.

00:09:56There's plenty of evidence to back up that statement.

00:09:59On August 18, for example, the ISW reported Ukrainian forces had carried out successful strikes

00:10:04on the main electrical substation in occupied Sevastopol, leading to power outages across the city.

00:10:11In its August 22 report, the institute was even more damning in its assessment.

00:10:16Ukrainian forces have been intensely targeting energy infrastructure in occupied Crimea for weeks,

00:10:21and occupied Crimea has suffered extensive power outages in recent days.

00:10:25The report also revealed that Crimean occupation energy operator Krymenego had been forced to introduce energy restrictions

00:10:32across the entire region in response to Ukraine's attacks.

00:10:35And many Crimean residents and holidaymakers have shared horror stories online about rolling blackouts

00:10:41and unexpected outages at all times of the day and night.

00:10:44And so with every week that goes by, life in the region is getting worse,

00:10:48and Russia is failing to make it even a little bit better,

00:10:51with officials and authorities forced to make concessions and sacrifices over and over again.

00:10:56But Ukraine isn't stopping there.

00:10:58It's not just intent on making Crimea as inhospitable as possible for the Russian invaders.

00:11:02It also wants to make the region weaker from a military perspective as well.

00:11:06To that end, it's also been systematically targeting the military assets that Russia still has in the region,

00:11:12even though they are far fewer in number today than they were a year or two ago.

00:11:15Air defense systems, missile launchers, and tactical bombers are just a few examples

00:11:20of the kinds of assets that Ukraine's drone crews have been targeting and taking out with ruthless precision

00:11:25and absolute impunity throughout 2026.

00:11:28Bit by bit, the military infrastructure of Crimea has been eroded,

00:11:32with airfields like Saki suffering multiple waves of attacks

00:11:35and numerous high-value pieces of equipment taken out of play for good.

00:11:39And since the supply lines have been strangled, it's not as though Russia can simply send in replacements

00:11:44for every asset that gets damaged or destroyed.

00:11:47It's struggling even to get simple munitions and spare parts to the peninsula,

00:11:51and would be taking a major risk if it tried to transport expensive air defense systems

00:11:55or high-end radars across the land corridor or Kerch Strait, for example.

00:12:00On top of this, Crimea's role as a base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet has also been massively degraded.

00:12:05As the peninsula falls deeper under Ukraine's siege, Russian naval vessels have all but abandoned the region,

00:12:12fleeing the once safe harbors of Sevastopol and heading for other bases back on the Russian coastline like Novorossiysk.

00:12:18All of this means that Crimea is losing its status as Russia's unsinkable aircraft carrier.

00:12:23It's losing its ability to defend itself and to project power across Ukraine,

00:12:26and it's becoming more difficult and expensive for Russia to hold onto,

00:12:29which again ties into Kyiv's overarching strategy of making the peninsula a liability for Moscow, not an asset.

00:12:36And it's only going to get worse for the Kremlin in the weeks and months ahead,

00:12:40for one very specific reason that General Petraeus pointed out during the interview, the Flamingo missile.

00:12:45The Firepoint FP5 Flamingo is a Ukrainian ground-launched cruise missile that was fast-tracked through development

00:12:52and officially entered service with the Ukrainian Navy in 2025 after being unveiled for the first time in August of

00:12:59the same year.

00:13:00Fitted with a whopping 2,540 pound or 1,150 kilogram warhead,

00:13:06and boasting an extraordinary range of up to 1,900 miles or 3,000 kilometers,

00:13:11it's easily one of the most powerful military innovations Ukraine has ever produced,

00:13:16capable of reaching peak speeds of around 590 miles per hour or 950 kilometers per hour,

00:13:21and relying on GPS and inertial navigation systems to hit its target with a margin of error of just 46

00:13:28feet or 14 meters.

00:13:30We've already seen the Flamingo in action.

00:13:33Ukraine has used it to take out several targets in Russia and the occupied territories,

00:13:37including military industrial facilities, explosive plants and drone assembly points.

00:13:42As Petraeus notes, the Flamingo is now entering serial production,

00:13:45with reports suggesting that Firepoint is already making 100 missiles a month and could ramp up even further.

00:13:52Of course, the massive range of the Flamingo doesn't really matter when attacking targets in Crimea,

00:13:57since it's so close to the rest of Ukraine,

00:13:59but the massive warhead ensures that Kyiv's forces can confidently strike even the toughest

00:14:03and most reinforced targets like ports, bunkers, airfields and energy infrastructure,

00:14:09knowing that it's going to do massive damage every single time.

00:14:12And unlike Western missiles, which often arrive in unpredictable quantities at times and dates

00:14:17that are beyond Ukraine's control, Kyiv is 100% in charge of how many Flamingo missiles it makes

00:14:22and how and where it uses them.

00:14:25Petraeus went on to point out that Ukraine's drone production rate is also increasing.

00:14:29Ukraine is going to produce 8 million unmanned systems of all types.

00:14:33He cites examples like maritime drones and ground drones with remote control machine guns,

00:14:38grenade launchers, mine layers and more.

00:14:39These kinds of weapons will prove so valuable in Ukraine's continued push to liberate Crimea

00:14:44and force every last Russian soldier out of the region once and for all,

00:14:48because even if it doesn't have a safe and clear land path to the region just yet,

00:14:52it can still deploy its unmanned army to march, fly or sail to the peninsula

00:14:56and lay waste to an enemy in their path.

00:14:59FPV drones can continue to take out fuel convoys and military trucks.

00:15:04Long-range strike UAVs can continue to eliminate logistics and infrastructure.

00:15:08Maritime drones can take on Shadow Fleet ships and maritime supply lines.

00:15:12And Flamingo missiles can handle the heavy-duty, high-value assets.

00:15:16Every time one of those assets is damaged or destroyed,

00:15:19Crimea gets weaker and the Kremlin faces an even bigger bill.

00:15:23And as Petraeus notes, Russia may be the biggest country in the world,

00:15:26but it doesn't have an endless supply of money.

00:15:28The fact is that Putin is running out of money.

00:15:31His national welfare fund runs out this year.

00:15:34He goes on to add that if the next wave of US sanctions can pass,

00:15:38as well as the latest proposed EU penalties against Russian banks,

00:15:41businesses and Shadow Fleet vessels,

00:15:43then Russia's financial lifeline is going to eventually run out.

00:15:47And the worse the economy gets,

00:15:48the more Putin will have to deal with the difficult questions.

00:15:50Questions like, does it make financial sense to keep supporting Crimea

00:15:54when we can barely afford to keep industries up and running across the mainland?

00:15:59Russia's control of the Kinburn spit for much of the war

00:16:02is supposed to be yet another sign of the country's dominance.

00:16:05Tiny though this patch of land may be,

00:16:07it's of immense strategic value,

00:16:09not least because of its proximity to the Black Sea.

00:16:12Russia has essentially been waving its occupation of the spit in Ukraine's face for years.

00:16:17So Ukraine just spat right back in Russia's face.

00:16:21Putin is staring down the barrel of one of his biggest defeats of the war so far,

00:16:25as Ukraine is slowly and satisfyingly breaking Russia at the Kinburn spit.

00:16:30Now the spit isn't a strategic stronghold,

00:16:33it's a trap where 2,500 Russians are being starved of supplies and equipment,

00:16:38all due to Ukraine's brilliance.

00:16:40On August 31st, United 24 media reported that Putin's forces

00:16:44are now at the weakest they have ever been on the Kinburn spit.

00:16:47A Ukrainian isolation campaign has left around 2,500 soldiers essentially stranded on the spit,

00:16:54as Ukraine's drones disrupt supply routes and destroy artillery that was once stationed there.

00:16:59Russia, as an attacking force, is spent.

00:17:02Now all that Putin's forces can do is hold on in the vain hope that something is coming to save

00:17:07them,

00:17:07as Ukraine's drones fly overhead watching their every move, and the spit is further isolated.

00:17:13By the way, if you're enjoying this video, consider subscribing and let us know your thoughts below.

00:17:17You can also become a channel member for access to exclusive content we don't publish publicly.

00:17:22The drone strikes are only part of the equation.

00:17:24Those drones allow Ukraine to attack the spit directly, as well as focus on the logistics that feed into this

00:17:30scrap of territory.

00:17:31Remote mining is the other element of the strategy.

00:17:34Ukraine is laying mines, perhaps using ground robots across the land-based route into the Kinburn spit,

00:17:40which are disrupting deliveries of fuel, food and ammunition.

00:17:43Russian forces that might have been able to support those on the spit are also being pushed back,

00:17:49leaving the 2,500 troops left behind even more isolated.

00:17:52We're seeing the perfect example of this at Zelizhny port,

00:17:56once occupied by Russians who could use the port to project power in the Black Sea.

00:18:00Zelizhny is emptying out as Putin's forces withdraw to the settlement of Hiraiska.

00:18:05Supplies and command posts are also being pulled further east into the mainland,

00:18:09making them harder, or should we say damn near impossible, for the men defending the spit to actually reach.

00:18:14Speaking to Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty,

00:18:16a Ukrainian soldier who operates under the callsign Java spells out the situation.

00:18:21The enemy has moved. He has already moved behind Hiraiska.

00:18:25He has moved away from the spit.

00:18:26They are shouting at the interceptions that they cannot do the logistics,

00:18:29that they do not want to go there because it's death.

00:18:31They are simply being sent to their deaths because the road is cut off.

00:18:35They have very little ammunition.

00:18:36They also have few UAV interception means.

00:18:39You see, they cannot provide for the people they send deep into the Kimburn spit,

00:18:43Java, who is the commander of the Intelligence Unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, declares.

00:18:47UA.News confirms the withdrawal beyond Hiraiska,

00:18:50noting that Russian forces are now gathered in places like Pokrovka and Pokrovska,

00:18:55where they are unable to make moves to support those isolated on the Kimburn spit.

00:18:59Ukraine's reconnaissance drones are constantly in the air,

00:19:02watching and waiting for those soldiers to try anything.

00:19:05Any attempt to offer support is met with drone strikes,

00:19:08assuming the mines don't get the supporting soldiers first.

00:19:11And the same goes for any Russians attempting to leave the Kimburn spit.

00:19:14They now have an entire kill zone to navigate if they are to have any chance of escape.

00:19:19Ukraine has created a lethal trap here.

00:19:22Stay on the spit and starve, or try to leave by running through a gauntlet of destruction.

00:19:26There's another element to this trap that makes it even more dangerous to Russia.

00:19:30Do you remember Zelizhny Port?

00:19:32That area offers a land route running from the direction of Zelizhny Port toward Hiraiska,

00:19:36allowing Russia to funnel supplies through Hiraiska and west onto the Kimburn spit.

00:19:41Russia's big problem now is that this is the single land route that can be used to supply the spit.

00:19:45Ukraine now has that route under fire control, which has forced the withdrawal beyond Hiraiska.

00:19:50The point we're making here is that Putin's forces are out of options.

00:19:54They had a single route they could use.

00:19:56That route is now a kill zone.

00:19:58What we're seeing here is a logistical lockdown, just as Ukraine planned it.

00:20:03Since late spring, Ukraine has been using its new wave of middle strike drones

00:20:06to attack Russian logistics behind the front lines.

00:20:09The impact this campaign has had on Crimea has captured all the headlines,

00:20:14as that peninsula is being isolated on an even grander scale than the Kimburn spit.

00:20:18But the lockdown of Russia's logistics is happening all over the country.

00:20:22Ukraine has even codified and created incentive programs to encourage these types of strikes.

00:20:27On May 27, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced it would allocate around $113 million to the logistics lockdown program.

00:20:36That funding will be distributed via Ukraine's ePoints system to the best performing units and brigades.

00:20:42In other words, if a unit is using drones to take out logistical arteries, nodes and equipment,

00:20:47it will get points that it can spend to buy more drones, giving the unit the ability to do even

00:20:52more damage.

00:20:52What this does for Ukraine is allow it to zero in on the units that are delivering the best results

00:20:57in the middle strike campaign,

00:20:59ensuring they're supplied with the equipment they need to build on those results.

00:21:03We can't say for certain that this is what's happening on the Kimburn spit, but the peace is a line.

00:21:08Ukraine is using its devastating middle strike strategy to isolate the Russian soldiers on the spit.

00:21:13The panic among the Russians is very real.

00:21:16They know that they're stuck in a trap, which explains the content of the intercepted communication that Java mentions.

00:21:21Troops are screaming about the spit being a death zone because that's what Ukraine has turned it into.

00:21:27Now, Russian soldiers are getting desperate.

00:21:29Rather than attempting to fight back,

00:21:31they're trying a dirty trick that they hope will lead to Ukraine causing unintended casualties in and around the spit.

00:21:37Putin's patsies are dressing up as civilians.

00:21:40The reality in the Kimburn Peninsula is that there are still civilians who live in this area of Ukraine.

00:21:45Russia is taking advantage of that fact, United 24 media reports.

00:21:49Soldiers are dressing up in civilian clothing and operating from residential buildings,

00:21:53all in the hope that Ukraine won't strike them.

00:21:56Ukraine's forces have to work hard to ensure Russia's dirty trick doesn't lead to mistakes.

00:22:01Another soldier, with the callsign Holova, who serves as the deputy commander of a Ukrainian reconnaissance company, highlights this.

00:22:07He tells Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty,

00:22:09If we find that there was enemy movement here, we do not detect signs that there could be civilians somewhere

00:22:14nearby,

00:22:15in a neighboring house, in this house, God forbid that is, reconnaissance is being conducted.

00:22:19Then this target is added to the list of planned targets.

00:22:22Ukraine's approach is now to completely destroy every enemy shelter they find,

00:22:26giving the trapped troops on the Kimburn spit fewer options for hiding away.

00:22:29Russia has used this civilian clothing strategy before.

00:22:33It was reported as far back as November 2025,

00:22:35when the Kiev Independent commented on claims made by Ukraine's military

00:22:39that Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk were disguising themselves as civilians.

00:22:43The idea, as in the Kimburn spit, is to complicate defense efforts,

00:22:48extending the length of Ukraine's kill chain,

00:22:50as work has to be done to determine who is a real civilian and who is a Russian soldier in

00:22:55disguise.

00:22:55Fast forward to April, and something similar was being reported on the Orkiv front.

00:23:00We call this tactic dirty because it is a violation of international humanitarian law.

00:23:05It is perfidy, a practice that subverts the Geneva Conventions,

00:23:09which are meant for the protection of persons, with the intent to kill, injure, betray or capture an adversary.

00:23:15Common examples include falsely using the Red Cross logo or a similar protective emblem

00:23:19to pretend that you are something you are not, allowing you to use the ruse to conduct a strike.

00:23:24Russia's Kimburn spit soldiers and many others across the front are doing the same thing when they dress as Ukraine's

00:23:29civilians.

00:23:30Another war crime chalked up on the growing list for Putin.

00:23:33But it's a war crime that isn't going to help the soldiers stuck on the Kimburn spit.

00:23:38Ukraine has deployed its trap perfectly.

00:23:412,500 isolated troops are being broken as we speak, and Putin is furious.

00:23:46Not just about the trap, Russia's president knows that there were warning signs that something like this was coming,

00:23:52and he also knows that losing the Kimburn spit would spell very bad news for Russia's Black Sea strategy.

00:23:58But before we dig deeper, this is a reminder that you are watching The Military Show.

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00:24:09Russia's trapped forces are stuck on a narrow, sandy peninsula that is about 40 kilometers long.

00:24:15The Kimburn spit is the last part of the Mykolaev Oblast that Russia holds,

00:24:20and crucially, it's where Russia has been keeping artillery that it can use to bomb locations within the oblast.

00:24:26But now there's nothing that Russia's forces can do to turn the spit into a strategically viable piece of territory.

00:24:32The artillery has been withdrawn, as we'll explain in a moment, and Ukraine's drones are on the hunt constantly.

00:24:39As Metzer points out in its report, Ukraine is using a drone called the Leleka,

00:24:44which is capable of flying at an altitude of about a kilometer,

00:24:47making it incredibly difficult for the trapped troops to detect or strike.

00:24:50That drone delivers real-time footage of Russian troop movements day or night.

00:24:55The latter ability, which comes as a result of the Leleka using thermal imaging,

00:24:59is especially useful for detecting the Russian forces using civilian clothing to hide themselves.

00:25:04Real civilians sleep at night.

00:25:07Russian soldiers tend to try to prepare for operations or move around.

00:25:10All of this has been prefaced by something that occurred several months ago.

00:25:14Back in early June, Russian soldiers started to withdraw from the Kimburn spit.

00:25:18At the time, there was speculation about what this could mean.

00:25:21Were the soldiers being forced out by Ukraine or rotating out to enable other soldiers to take their positions?

00:25:27Regardless, we were already starting to see the seeds of Ukraine's isolation strategy being planted.

00:25:32According to the Kyiv Post, the Ukrainian partisan group, Ateche,

00:25:36was already reporting on disruption to key supply routes into the Kimburn spit,

00:25:40which was making it more difficult for elements of Russia's 337th Regiment to access supplies and ammunition.

00:25:46That was the reason for the withdrawal, Ateche claimed at the time.

00:25:50However, we have since seen Russia replenish some of its forces.

00:25:53Perhaps what was really happening at this time was that Ukraine was pushing forces out,

00:25:57allowing Russia to send more in, and then building on its lockdown strategy

00:26:01to ensure those new soldiers would be isolated from support.

00:26:04Back in June, military political observer Oleksandr Kovalenko pointed out

00:26:08that the Russian withdrawal wasn't necessarily indicative of Ukrainian success.

00:26:11He highlighted the pressure on Russian logistics in the region, stating,

00:26:15If we compare the current pressure on Russian logistics in the Kherson region

00:26:19with what is happening on the highways in the south of the Zaporizhia region,

00:26:22it's not yet the same level.

00:26:24Serious crisis phenomena for the Russian supplies have already formed there.

00:26:27The Hereiska settlement that connects to the Kimburn spit is in Kherson.

00:26:31The point Kovalenko was making was that the pressure would need to be ramped up

00:26:35on the logistics supporting the Kimburn spit if Russia's forces were to be put under any real pressure.

00:26:40That pressure is exactly what we're seeing now.

00:26:43Ukraine has ramped up its logistics lockdown in the Kherson region,

00:26:46which has the knock-on effect of achieving what we thought was being achieved back in June.

00:26:50That doesn't mean a withdrawal is happening.

00:26:53Quite the opposite.

00:26:53Russia's forces are now trapped on the Kimburn spit.

00:26:56Those forces will either attempt to escape,

00:26:59making them prime candidates to become the latest casualties,

00:27:01or they'll waste away on a 40km scrap of land that Russian logistics can no longer reach.

00:27:08Either way, there are terrible tactical consequences for Russia.

00:27:12We're seeing the start of these consequences already.

00:27:14What Russia's soldiers are no longer able to do is the big problem for Putin.

00:27:18And one thing they can no longer do is rotate out,

00:27:21as Ukraine has been striking the vehicles, bikes, and quad bikes used for rotations.

00:27:26On top of that, the artillery that has for so long been a threat on the Kimburn spit is becoming

00:27:31a non-factor.

00:27:32The firing positions on the spit are being wiped out by Ukraine's systematic strikes,

00:27:37meaning Russia can no longer unleash artillery volleys against the coastal regions of Mykolaiv,

00:27:41with anything other than the long-range artillery that they have located deeper east into the Kherson region.

00:27:46The Kimburn spit and its short-range artillery have become practically useless for this element of the Russian pressure campaign,

00:27:53which ultimately means that Mykolaiv is now a lot safer than it was before.

00:27:57Not 100% safe, but certainly safe from attacks that originate from the spit.

00:28:02While Russia will be stung by its lack of artillery presence,

00:28:04the main reason why Ukraine's Kimburn spit isolation strategy represents such a massive defeat is what it means for Russia

00:28:11in the Black Sea.

00:28:13The spit isn't just about getting into proximity of Mykolaiv for strikes.

00:28:17This small scrap of land provides whoever controls it with a strategic edge in the Black Sea.

00:28:22That's why Russia has actively tried to hold the spit for as long as it has.

00:28:26As Euromiden Press points out, Russia could previously use its artillery and drones to obstruct maritime access to ports in

00:28:33Mykolaiv,

00:28:33even if it wasn't attacking the oblast directly.

00:28:36The spit also looms over the entry to the Dnipro river system,

00:28:40which not only connects the Black Sea but also bisects Ukraine and travels so far north

00:28:45that it can theoretically provide access to Kyiv and other territories, assuming it could be used for travel.

00:28:51That river system isn't safe to traverse.

00:28:53If Russia tried it, the small boats it would have to use would become obvious and helpless targets for Ukraine's

00:28:59drones and artillery.

00:29:00Still, control over the Kimburn spit also allows Russia to determine what maritime traffic, if anything,

00:29:06can get in and out of the Dnipro river system.

00:29:09Still, it's the Mykolaiv ports feeding into the Black Sea that really matter here.

00:29:13The ports in that oblast are only exceeded in size by those in Odessa,

00:29:18meaning whoever controls the Kimburn spit can also impact Ukraine's exports.

00:29:23Russia has been using its control over the spit to cause major problems in this area.

00:29:27According to Pravda, the period between August 1st and August 27th has seen Ukraine's agricultural product exports

00:29:34declined by 84.3% when compared to the same 27-day period in July.

00:29:39This is a microcosm of an ongoing problem linked both to production inside Ukraine

00:29:44and Ukraine's ability to get its products out into the wider world.

00:29:48The Kimburn spit doesn't dictate every aspect of Ukraine's exports,

00:29:52but it's a key piece of territory that has a very clear influence.

00:29:56That's why Russia wants to hold it.

00:29:57But now, thanks to Ukraine's brilliant trap, Putin's forces are on the verge of being forced into giving up the

00:30:03spit.

00:30:03It's now a matter of battlefield calculus.

00:30:06Russia could try to brute force the logistics that Ukraine has dismantled,

00:30:10but that will come at a high cost and involve the sacrifice of dozens of vehicles

00:30:14under the hope that a handful will be able to break through for resupplies and rotations on the spit.

00:30:19France 24 also says that holding the Kimburn spit in the first place is a relic of Russia's original plans

00:30:25for Odessa,

00:30:26which have fallen apart.

00:30:28Russia seemed to want to take that region earlier in the war.

00:30:31Now, not so much as the focal points for the war are the Donbass and Zaporizhia.

00:30:36Symbolically, Russia holds onto the spit because it knows that losing it would allow Ukraine to claim the complete liberation

00:30:41of Mykolaiv,

00:30:43which is a headline that Putin doesn't want to see circulating anywhere.

00:30:46But as it stands, Russia's forces are simply absorbing damage with no recourse.

00:30:51How long will they be willing to stay when they have no options for countering

00:30:54and are increasingly useless due to the loss of artillery?

00:30:57That's one of the big questions related to the immediate future of the Kimburn spit.

00:31:01Another relates to Ukraine's plans for the spit.

00:31:04Could Ukraine launch a counter-invasion to liberate the Kimburn spit once and for all?

00:31:08It's possible, but in our opinion, also unlikely.

00:31:11If Ukraine installs troops onto the Kimburn spit,

00:31:14it will face the same problems that Russia's troops have right now.

00:31:16They'll be isolated from support and subject to shelling from the Kherson region.

00:31:20Though Ukraine has indicated that it wants the spit back,

00:31:23as we saw in June when its forces raised the Ukrainian flag on the spit,

00:31:27a full occupation would be risky.

00:31:29Instead, what's more likely to happen is that Ukraine maintains and builds upon its current strategy.

00:31:35Exerting fire control over the Kimburn spit and the surrounding logistical routes

00:31:39is enough to make the Russian forces stationed there useless.

00:31:42If those forces are driven away,

00:31:44Ukraine could maintain fire control without sending troops into the spit.

00:31:48Leave the territory in limbo rather than taking it outright.

00:31:51While this would mean Russia can attempt to reoccupy the spit at any time,

00:31:55all it would be doing is knowingly sending soldiers right back into the trap that Ukraine has already sprung.

00:32:01This is what we anticipate seeing in the coming months.

00:32:03If Ukraine makes the Kimburn spit unusable, Russia experiences a loss as symbolic as it is strategic.

00:32:10Mykolaev would be liberated.

00:32:11Russia would experience yet another Black Sea related failure in the wake of losing a massive portion of the Black

00:32:18Sea fleet

00:32:18that was supposed to give Russia a naval advantage.

00:32:21Ukraine can slowly break Russia at the Kimburn spit.

00:32:242,500 Russian soldiers are already feeling the pain.

00:32:28Those numbers will whittle away as Ukraine turns the screw.

00:32:32Putin has had to deal with Ukraine spitting in his face with this isolation strategy at the Kimburn spit.

00:32:37But hundreds of kilometers away there's another K that is giving the Kremlin trouble. Kaliningrad.

00:32:44Oh how badly the Ukraine invasion has gone for Putin.

00:32:47He thought he was going to enjoy an easy win and the rest of Europe would just have to deal

00:32:52with it.

00:32:52But over four and a half years he's watched as Ukraine resists and perhaps even worse for Russia,

00:32:58nations that weren't an active threat to Russia integrate themselves into the NATO fold.

00:33:03Sweden and Finland are two of those nations.

00:33:05Both have joined NATO since Putin invaded Ukraine and both are now clear threats to Russia's plans for what happens

00:33:12beyond Ukraine.

00:33:13And that threat just got bigger.

00:33:15Sweden and Finland have united as Sweden has just sent warships and fighter jets to guard Finland's border with Russia.

00:33:22But this isn't just a basic weapons transfer.

00:33:25What we're now seeing is the start of a Nordic defense alliance that shatters Putin's dreams for the future.

00:33:31Towards the end of August, the news broke that Sweden is going to deploy JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets and

00:33:37several warships to Finland,

00:33:39with all of these military units being tasked with patrolling the Finnish border.

00:33:43The move reportedly comes following a direct request from Sweden, as it has spent the last year grappling with the

00:33:49aerial threats that stem from the war in Ukraine.

00:33:51Those threats extend from drones that have been diverted into Finnish airspace by electronic warfare to purposeful aerial incursions made

00:33:59by Russian aerial assets,

00:34:00designed to intimidate and manipulate the Finns.

00:34:03Putin thought he could force Finland to back down.

00:34:06But as has become a pattern since the Ukraine invasion,

00:34:09Finland has responded by making moves that show that it's willing to deal with the Russian threat head-on.

00:34:14Before we dig deeper, if real, human-made military reporting matters to you, subscribe and tell us what you think

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00:34:27This latest deployment, which United24 media says may soon be followed by ground support, Swedish air defenses and counter-drone

00:34:34units later this year,

00:34:35was organized alongside NATO and is based on a bilateral defense agreement signed between Sweden and Finland.

00:34:42These two elements provide the legal framework needed for Sweden to deploy armed forces directly into Finland,

00:34:48essentially serving as the scissors slicing through the red tape that existed before.

00:34:53Finland's military has also issued a direct statement about the move, saying,

00:35:05For Finland, this is all about defending its border with Russia.

00:35:08That border stretches for 1,340 kilometers, and Finland is very aware that this means Russia has plenty of options

00:35:17for attempting military operations,

00:35:19from more aerial incursions to a ground invasion in the future.

00:35:23With this move, Swedish fighter jets can now operate under direct Finnish command, removing yet more red tape.

00:35:28Finland will be receiving several JAS 39 Grippens, which are some of Europe's top fighter jets.

00:35:34Featuring advanced electronic warfare technology, including full spherical coverage,

00:35:39these jets are well suited to dealing with aerial threats emanating from Russia.

00:35:43They're fast, being capable of reaching Mach 2, and they cost $4,700 per flight hour to operate,

00:35:50which is less than any comparable fighter jet in the Western fleet.

00:35:52In the waters, Finland will also receive Visby-class warships from Sweden.

00:35:57These corvettes are world leaders in naval signature reduction, manufacturer Saab claims,

00:36:03and they have light hulls that allow them to exceed speeds of 35 knots.

00:36:07They're multi-role corvettes that are as suited to anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare

00:36:12as they are to carrying out patrols and deploying mine countermeasures.

00:36:15In short, these two pieces of equipment are the perfect choices for Finland as it deals with Russia amassing forces

00:36:21on its border.

00:36:22The Gripen, in particular, is well suited to operating in the Nordic environment.

00:36:26It was built with the idea that it may need to operate outside of large military bases,

00:36:31which would be obvious targets for Russia, both during the end of the Cold War period and today.

00:36:35So the Gripen is capable of taking off from relatively small locations, can move between smaller bases with ease,

00:36:42and it also plugs well into NATO's air defense network, enabling air policing.

00:36:46The jet can handle the full spectrum of aerial operations, from identifying and tracking threats,

00:36:51to engaging those threats when needed.

00:36:54The Gripen also carry meteor missiles, which makes them a clear threat to Russian bases.

00:36:59As for the Visby-class corvette, it's not just built to deal with the type of ship and submarine threats

00:37:04that Russia poses in Baltic and northern waters.

00:37:06Sweden has also been working on new sensor technology to enable its ships to detect small drones,

00:37:12which allow ship gunners to down those drones over the water.

00:37:15The Visby-class corvette has been equipped with that technology, which, when combined with the ship's stealth,

00:37:20makes it an excellent choice as an air defense asset, along with its obvious strengths as a naval asset.

00:37:26What Finland now has on its hands are assets that seem almost custom-designed for protecting its borders,

00:37:32and those borders need protecting.

00:37:34Russia's recent actions have made that very clear.

00:37:38Back in February, the Institute for the Study of War, or ISW,

00:37:41reported that Russia has started to build up its military infrastructure along the border it shares with Finland.

00:37:47Satellite images of the construction emerged,

00:37:49with the likelihood being that Russia is trying to prepare for a future conflict with NATO.

00:37:53As a border nation, Finland would require defending by NATO and could be used as a launch pad for NATO

00:37:59strikes inside Russia.

00:38:00For Putin, that means Finland is a threat, and Russia is building up to counter that threat.

00:38:06Among the border construction that we're now seeing are Soviet-era garrisons,

00:38:09that have been abandoned since the early 2000s, being regenerated for use by Russia's 44th Army Corps.

00:38:15Russia also appears to be building a new military town in Kandalaksha, which is in the Murmansk Oblast,

00:38:21about 115 kilometers away from the Finnish border, the ISW reports.

00:38:26There have already been some responses to this build-up within NATO.

00:38:29The Bloomsbury Intelligence and Security Institute notes that the UK will double the number of troops it has stationed in

00:38:35Norway from 1,000 to 2,000 over the next three years.

00:38:38However, Russia seems to be pushing ahead on the troop front.

00:38:42Russia has plans to strengthen its forces in Petrozavodsk, which is in Karelia.

00:38:46A base already exists there, containing 3,000 soldiers, but a garrison is now being built, suggesting that Russia plans

00:38:53to host 15,000 troops in Karelia in the future.

00:38:57Sweden's jets and warships are arriving at just the right time to help Finland build up its border defenses to

00:39:02counter this emerging Russian threat.

00:39:04Not that Finland isn't doing any work of its own.

00:39:07As the Kyiv Post reported on September 8, Finland has just completed work on a 200-kilometer security fence running

00:39:13along its border.

00:39:14Costing over $410 million, the fence includes the obvious physical barrier, with barbed wire running along the top, as well

00:39:21as patrol infrastructure and surveillance systems.

00:39:24Finland has also halted border crossings from Russia, citing the increased security threat that it faces.

00:39:29Of course, there's a long way to go for Finland's fence to provide full protection.

00:39:33Over 1,100 kilometers of border, to be blunt.

00:39:37But what we're seeing in all of this is the start of something big.

00:39:40For years, NATO has wanted to turn the Nordic region into a single operational base that can be used as

00:39:46part of its defensive posture against Russia.

00:39:49Now, we're seeing that happen.

00:39:51Finland and Sweden are working together as one, and there's more to all of this than that.

00:39:55You see, it's not just about warships and fighter jets.

00:39:58There are also rockets involved.

00:40:00On September 7, it was revealed that Sweden has signed a new HIMARS deal that will see it acquire 10

00:40:06new launchers from the US, along with a substantial quantity of ammunition.

00:40:10The deal, which is valued at $732 million, is part of Sweden's attempts to overhaul its long-range options.

00:40:18Again, Russia is the obvious target.

00:40:20But what makes this deal especially interesting is that it is closely tied to a rocket artillery pack that Sweden

00:40:26has made with Finland.

00:40:26According to Breaking Defense, Finnish officials were present when Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jansson made the announcement.

00:40:34The Finns will also play a role in helping Sweden to get its new HIMARS capability online,

00:40:39so it's no big stretch to suggest that we may soon be seeing some of Sweden's new HIMARS launchers lining

00:40:44up on the Finnish border with Russia.

00:40:46As Jansson puts it,

00:41:04Before we move on, there's one more twist to this Swedish rocket tale to cover.

00:41:09In its report on Sweden's HIMARS deal, Defense Express revealed that Swedish defense company Saab has signed a couple of

00:41:16agreements with Lockheed Martin, which is the manufacturer of HIMARS.

00:41:20One of those deals will see the two companies cooperate on the development and integration of the ground-launched small

00:41:26-diameter bomb, along with other munitions for HIMARS.

00:41:29But even more interesting is an agreement between the two companies that will enable Saab to build PRISM long-range

00:41:35missiles in its own factories.

00:41:36These missiles have a range of around 500 kilometers, and it's looking like Sweden may have secured a deal to

00:41:42build as many of them as it, and Finland, might need.

00:41:46However, it's worth noting that this agreement hasn't been made official yet.

00:41:50So it's not just Finland and Sweden working together that's a problem for Russia, it's the fact that these two

00:41:55nations have realized that they are not only stronger together,

00:41:58but that they can buy and build more to make themselves even more powerful.

00:42:02Sweden has its jets, warships and HIMARS, Finland has its border fence, but Finland's contribution to this emerging Nordic defense

00:42:10line goes even deeper than that.

00:42:11Before we reveal how, this is a reminder that you're watching the military show.

00:42:15If you're getting valuable insight from our channel, don't forget to subscribe and enable notifications so you see more of

00:42:21our videos when they're released.

00:42:23Finland is doing a lot more than building a fence and cooperating with Sweden.

00:42:27It has its own deals in the pipeline, and it's also preparing its people for what the country seems to

00:42:32feel is an inevitable conflict with Russia.

00:42:35In a September 6th report, Newsweek declared that NATO has gained a new F-35 hub on border with Putin's

00:42:42Russia.

00:42:43Though that may make it seem that Finland has just amassed some F-35s on the border, that isn't the

00:42:48case.

00:42:48The news is even bigger than that.

00:42:50Finland has just built its very first F-35 fighter jet engine.

00:42:55Specifically, the defense company Patria completed the engine on September 3rd, and the implications of this are staggering.

00:43:01Now that Patria has proven that it knows what it's doing, it can integrate itself into NATO's F-35 production,

00:43:07minimizing the time required to bring new F-35s to NATO nations,

00:43:11as well as marking itself out as a company that can maintain and repair existing F-35 engines.

00:43:17Finland can also become an F-35 production hub, initially for Finland, but potentially for the rest of Europe.

00:43:24And Finland does happen to be building up its own F-35 fleet besides this.

00:43:28It has ordered 64 of the US-made stealth fighter jets, the first of which are expected to arrive later

00:43:34in 2026.

00:43:35Now, and at least until 2030,

00:43:38Patria can build engines for those jets and any others,

00:43:40which allows Finland and potentially Europe to disentangle themselves from the long wait times required

00:43:45when dealing directly with the US on engine-related issues.

00:43:49We're still not done with Finland playing its part in preparing for a Russian invasion of NATO.

00:43:53Finland has recognized that its own citizenry is as important as the military assets it and its allies bring to

00:43:59the table.

00:44:00Also in September, Finland staged the largest civil defense exercise to take place in Europe since World War II.

00:44:07The exercise, which took place between September 2 and 3 in Kuopio, involved more than 2,000 people,

00:44:13who worked on drills including the testing of the Luola Sports and Events Center in its secondary role as a

00:44:19defense shelter.

00:44:20The exercise involved a scenario where a cyber attack had disrupted critical infrastructure,

00:44:25including power and water supplies, in addition to a missile threat.

00:44:29Participants practiced evacuation drills as well as dealing with the situation where there were not enough beds for everybody,

00:44:35and 2,000 people only had access to 60 dry toilets.

00:44:39Shift resting was practiced and participants also had the chance to visit information points that mimic those that Finland would

00:44:46set up if this scenario were happening for real.

00:44:49The goal in all of this isn't to have civilians ready to be engaged in fighting, could Russia invade?

00:44:53As retired Finnish Army Colonel Aska Moona notes,

00:44:58it's all about ensuring the citizens are prepared to accept responsibility for their own well-being,

00:45:03as well as that of others, so they can work together to ensure whatever military action Finland needs to take

00:45:08can be as streamlined as possible.

00:45:11All of this is part of the historic shift in Finnish and Swedish defense postures since Putin invaded Ukraine.

00:45:17We touched on this in the introduction of the video.

00:45:19Putin's erratic and dangerous decision-making has pushed two nations into ending decades of military non-alignment and becoming part

00:45:27of the NATO fold.

00:45:28That's an important point.

00:45:30Though we're focusing on the cooperation between Sweden and Finland, as well as what both nations are doing alone,

00:45:35all of this ultimately benefits NATO.

00:45:38These two countries getting stronger means that NATO also becomes stronger,

00:45:41which will infuriate Putin as much as the actual actions being taken.

00:45:45This is a man who wants to create division.

00:45:48Instead, he has turned himself into the glue that is binding these nations together.

00:45:52And as if two Nordic countries working to counter Russian aggression wasn't bad enough for Putin,

00:45:57another has entered the fold.

00:45:59Norway.

00:46:00While Norway isn't directly working with Sweden and Finland yet,

00:46:04at least not in the way those two nations are cooperating,

00:46:06it's taking its own steps to boost NATO's Nordic defenses.

00:46:09According to the Kyiv Post, Norway has recently stationed an artillery battalion of four canine self-propelled howitzers,

00:46:16each with a range of 40 kilometers along its northern border with Russia.

00:46:21These howitzers are made in South Korea,

00:46:23and they're not the only weapons systems that the Norwegians are putting in place.

00:46:27Russia's foreign ministry also claimed on September 7th that Norway is in talks with the US to dispatch a missile

00:46:33system.

00:46:34All we know about that system is that it incorporates Mark 41-style launchers, per Reuters' September 7th report.

00:46:41And this is just the start.

00:46:42Norway plans to deliver another 24 K9s to its Finnmark brigade by the end of 2028,

00:46:49along with deploying 16 K239 Chunmu multiple launch rocket systems,

00:46:54which each have a range of 500 kilometers.

00:46:57An artillery battalion also seems likely to be created in the northern region of Troms.

00:47:02It's safe to say that Russia isn't happy about any of this.

00:47:06Speaking about Norway's moves, Putin's favorite mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov had plenty to say, stating,

00:47:11Certainly, such military buildup which is aimed at our country, Russia, cannot but be perceived as a threat to Russia's

00:47:18security.

00:47:18This is a reason to take additional measures to ensure our security.

00:47:22Our defense ministry, as well as other relevant services, are dealing with this.

00:47:27Vague as always, Mr. Peskov, this is basically a Kremlin tantrum over the fact that Norway isn't doing things the

00:47:32way that Russia thought it would,

00:47:34as Russia builds up its own border forces.

00:47:37Returning to Finland, Russian military expert Yuri Knutov has tried to claim that Russia's buildup near Finland serves no offensive

00:47:44purpose,

00:47:45and instead has a defensive aim.

00:47:47He also accuses Finnish officials of hatching a plan to take over Karelia to create a Great Finland,

00:47:53in revenge for what happened during World War II.

00:47:55Another supposed expert, Vasily Dandikin, tries to paint a picture of Finland having lost its way.

00:48:01By joining NATO, the Finnish leadership has made a serious mistake.

00:48:04Due to its neutrality, the country developed and had one of the highest living standards in the world.

00:48:09Now it's lost.

00:48:10There is even talk of attempting to restrain Finland and Sweden using tactical nuclear weapons.

00:48:16This sort of talk tells us one thing.

00:48:18Russia is scared.

00:48:20And it should be.

00:48:21Because both Finland and Sweden see through the nonsense these talking heads spout.

00:48:26They know that Russia is planning to go on the offensive and in some ways is already engaging.

00:48:29The reasons for the cooperation are obvious when you listen to what officials from both countries are saying.

00:48:35Anti Hakkinen, who is Finland's defense minister, has declared that Russia's imperialistic ambitions aren't going to end with Ukraine.

00:48:42Sweden's military intelligence is already warning of a high threat of Russian hybrid warfare.

00:48:47And according to Politico, the leader of Sweden's center-left Social Democratic Party is calling on the country's Prime Minister,

00:48:54Ulf Christensen, to take urgent action to address concerns that the far-right party with which Christensen has formed a

00:49:00coalition has been infiltrated by Russia ahead of Sweden's upcoming general election.

00:49:05Ulf Christensen must come clean about the security crisis.

00:49:08These are extremely serious allegations.

00:49:11Russia is the greatest threat to Sweden," Magdalena Andersson said in an interview with Politico.

00:49:16The point we're making here is that cooperation between Finland and Sweden isn't about some far-off threat.

00:49:22Both countries see Russia as a clear and present danger right now and they're preparing for the worst-case scenario.

00:49:27They've realized something crucial. Together they stand, and divided, they fall.

00:49:33It may be an old cliché, but it's as true today as it ever was.

00:49:36Putin's modus operandi is to create division in whatever way he can to weaken his opponents.

00:49:42We see that happening in Sweden right now, assuming Andersson's claims are true.

00:49:46While those party political issues need to be handled internally, the issue of Nordic border security requires cooperation, both between

00:49:54the Nordic nations and between those nations and NATO.

00:49:56That's what we're seeing as Swedish fighter jets, warships and more head to Finland.

00:50:01Two nations, united as one, to tackle a threat that is greater than either could handle alone.

00:50:06The Nordic nations are rewriting the rules of engagement in their territory.

00:50:10The same could be said of Ukraine in so many ways.

00:50:13With every day that goes by, the nations of the NATO alliance edge closer towards all-out war with Russia.

00:50:20Even though Moscow's forces have floundered and failed to achieve their stated goals in Ukraine,

00:50:25the Russian president Vladimir Putin still has his sights set on a larger target.

00:50:30He continues to poke and prod at the alliance, testing its boundaries and laying the groundwork for a possible invasion,

00:50:36most likely involving one or more of the Baltic states.

00:50:39If and when that happens, NATO will be ready.

00:50:42Many of the alliance's members have upped their defence spending and are actively modernising their militaries as we speak.

00:50:48But that's not all.

00:50:49NATO is also planning something significantly larger right on Russia's border,

00:50:54a three-stage strategy forged from the lessons learned in Ukraine to counteract the Kremlin's aggression once and for all.

00:51:01The alliance clearly understands the rising risk of a Russian attack.

00:51:04In late 2025, the NATO Secretary General Mark Reuter stated in no uncertain terms that the Kremlin was taking steps

00:51:13towards a larger war,

00:51:14which could begin before the end of the decade.

00:51:16Russia is already escalating its covert campaign against our societies.

00:51:21We must be prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured.

00:51:26Now, many military experts and Western intelligence agencies echoed Reuter's warning,

00:51:32and while Moscow officials dismissed these claims as hysteria,

00:51:35there's been plenty of proof to support Reuter's belief.

00:51:39Now, before we get deeper into that, consider becoming a member of the military show channel today,

00:51:44to access exclusive content and insightful analysis of the latest tactics and innovations before anyone else.

00:51:51Intelligence agencies across Europe have found evidence of malicious Russia-backed actions

00:51:56across the continent, including sabotage, arson, cyber warfare, and political provocations, for example.

00:52:02We've also seen numerous cases of Russian military drones traveling beyond the borders of Ukraine and into NATO airspace.

00:52:09Indeed, NATO member Romania reported that as of August 17, 2026,

00:52:15four Russian drones had been shot down over its territory,

00:52:18and Russian drones had entered its airspace on at least 23 occasions in 2026, up to that point.

00:52:24That's more than the 18 airspace violations that the country had experienced between 2022 and 2025 combined.

00:52:39It's a similar story in other nations, with Russian drones also seen in the skies over Poland, Lithuania, and Latvia,

00:52:46as well as non-NATO member Moldova.

00:52:49The Kremlin could argue that these are accidental incursions rather than aggressive actions.

00:52:54But the fact that Russian drones are starting to cross international borders much more frequently these days

00:53:00seems less like a coincidence and more like an intentional tactic.

00:53:04A way for Moscow to test NATO's reactions and see just how far it can push the alliance without triggering

00:53:09a collective military response.

00:53:11More worrying news came in mid-August, when a Telegraph report revealed that Russia has been building secret bases across

00:53:18its regions,

00:53:19from which it would be able to launch long-range suicide drones deep into NATO territory.

00:53:23According to the report, which is backed up by open-source satellite imagery,

00:53:28the Kremlin has either built or expanded a total of ten bases,

00:53:31installing at least 59 new launch rails for some of its most advanced unmanned aerial vehicles .

00:53:38Some of these bases are already being used to bombard Ukrainian towns, cities and infrastructure on a regular basis.

00:53:44And since many are situated quite close to Russia's western border,

00:53:49it's perfectly possible that the very same locations could be used to target nations like Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and others.

00:53:56Analysts from drone intelligence firm DroneSec also took a close look at the satellite images,

00:54:02concluding that at least 20 of the new launch rails have been extended to work with long-range attack drones,

00:54:07which are capable of flying far past Ukraine to hit targets hundreds of miles away.

00:54:12Moscow's latest and greatest iteration of the Iranian Shahid drone, for example,

00:54:17is the jet-powered Jeren 5, which the International Institute for Strategic Studies states

00:54:22is capable of achieving a maximum range of approximately 950 kilometers or 590 miles,

00:54:29and a peak speed of 600 kilometers per hour or 372 miles per hour,

00:54:34while carrying a 90-kilogram, 200-pound payload.

00:54:38In large quantities, drones like this could cause chaos across Central and Western Europe,

00:54:43especially as many countries are still in the early stages of understanding drone warfare

00:54:47and building up the necessary defenses.

00:54:49And the Telegraph report also revealed that Moscow

00:54:52has been moving increasing numbers of high-tech drones to its upgraded bases,

00:54:56with some locations having enough space to store up to 1,000 units at a time.

00:55:01Additional launch rails are also still being built as we speak,

00:55:05suggesting that Russia has no intentions of calming down,

00:55:09but appears instead intent on not only continuing its war with Ukraine,

00:55:12but extending its aggression even further.

00:55:15What's more, Putin may feel that if he wants a war with NATO,

00:55:18it's his best interest to start it sooner rather than later.

00:55:22His regime is arguably at its weakest ever point,

00:55:25with the Russian economy in turmoil and the public increasingly unhappy with his leadership.

00:55:29Even his most ardent supporters are starting to turn away from him.

00:55:33And so, despite having held onto power for more than two decades,

00:55:37the Russian president may struggle to maintain his control of the country for much longer.

00:55:41At 73 years of age, Putin is also not a young man,

00:55:45and may feel an increasing amount of pressure to achieve his personal ambitions

00:55:49and attempt to cement his legacy before it's too late.

00:55:52In addition, Russia's enemies are strengthening.

00:55:55NATO is quite clearly committed to bolstering its defenses,

00:55:58recently announcing a whopping $40 billion investment in counter-drone capabilities over the next five years,

00:56:04with allies also set to train up to five times as many drone operators by the end of 2027 as

00:56:11they are today.

00:56:12Meanwhile, the nations most at risk of Russian aggression, like Poland and the Baltics,

00:56:17are going the extra mile to strengthen their borders, modernize their military forces,

00:56:21and ensure that if a Russian invasion does eventually occur,

00:56:25the Kremlin's forces will have to fight for every single inch of land.

00:56:28As a result, Russia may feel it has no time to lose.

00:56:31If it waits too long, and allows NATO to continue growing stronger,

00:56:35building its drone defenses and erecting its border barriers,

00:56:39any prospective invasion will become much more challenging,

00:56:42and Russia's odds of success will inevitably decline.

00:56:45If it acts within the next few years, however,

00:56:48it may still be able to exert some sort of advantage over its opponent,

00:56:51relying on its advanced knowledge of drone warfare and long-range precision strike systems

00:56:56to hit Europe before it's fully ready to defend itself.

00:56:59All Putin needs is a reason, a pretense,

00:57:02some sort of excuse that would allow him to justify his decision to the Russian public.

00:57:07It doesn't need to be particularly strong, or even true.

00:57:10After all, he continues to justify his invasion of Ukraine

00:57:13by claiming that Russia needed to protect its people from the country's neo-Nazi regime.

00:57:17But he still needs a story to sell to the people if he decides to drag Russia into an even

00:57:22bigger conflict

00:57:23that could cost hundreds of thousands or even millions more lives.

00:57:27He may already be laying the groundwork for that story.

00:57:30Also in August, reports emerged that Ukrainian forces were using British drones

00:57:35to attack targets on Russian soil for the first ever time.

00:57:38In response, Russian officials and commentators argue that Moscow would be within its rights

00:57:43to take some sort of military action against the United Kingdom.

00:57:46Putin himself has also made clear that if Western-made munitions are used on the Russian mainland,

00:57:52Moscow will react as though NATO has effectively entered the war in Ukraine.

00:57:56From there, it wouldn't necessarily be that difficult for the Kremlin to drum up support from the public,

00:58:01preying on the people's long-held fears of NATO expansion and claiming that Russia must take immediate action,

00:58:07like invading a nation like Latvia or Estonia in order to build some sort of security buffer between itself and

00:58:13the alliance.

00:58:13Those outside of Russia would be able to see this lie for what it is.

00:58:18But within the country's borders, Putin would stand a strong chance of winning over at least a reasonable percentage of

00:58:23the public,

00:58:24who already believe everything they see and hear on state-owned media anyway.

00:58:28If and when this frightening scenario comes to pass, NATO needs to be ready.

00:58:32It can't afford to wait five or ten years for all the pieces of the puzzle to fall into place.

00:58:37It needs a plan of action right now, today. And fortunately, it has one.

00:58:42But before we explain what it is, you're watching the military show.

00:58:46And if you haven't subscribed yet, now's the time.

00:58:49The German newspaper Bild has revealed that NATO has put together a three-stage plan for how it would respond

00:58:55if Russia invaded the Baltics.

00:58:56The plan is part of the alliance's land war-fighting concept, which was developed under the guidance of one of

00:59:02the highly experienced US Army Major, Andrew Pingray,

00:59:06and based largely on lessons that NATO has learned from observing the war in Ukraine and looking closely at how

00:59:11Ukraine,

00:59:12despite having such a smaller and less well-funded force than Russia, has managed to go toe-to-toe with

00:59:16such an imposing opponent.

00:59:18The strategy's main objectives include stopping Russian forces, disrupting the enemy's ability to wage war,

00:59:24and pushing any invading force back towards Russia's borders and out of NATO territory.

00:59:29In short, this plan isn't about orchestrating any sort of large-scale assault on Russian territory or showing needless aggression

00:59:36towards Moscow,

00:59:37which could antagonize and exacerbate an already fragile geopolitical situation.

00:59:41It's about making sure that NATO defends itself appropriately so that any attempt at an invasion will be short-lived

00:59:48and unsuccessful.

00:59:49The first prong of the three-stage plan would involve striking Russian missiles and air defences.

00:59:54NATO's tactical planners have clearly understood that Russia would rely heavily on long-range precision munitions in any sort of

01:00:01war with the alliance.

01:00:02And Moscow has a massive stockpile of crews and ballistic missiles, combined with a large number of air defence systems

01:00:08such as S-300s, S-400s and Buk-M1s.

01:00:12Even though Ukraine has damaged and destroyed many of these systems and found clever ways to counter Russia's aerial assaults,

01:00:19the Kremlin still has plenty more munitions in reserve and has committed incredible amounts of federal funds to keep on

01:00:24building more.

01:00:25Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy only recently warned that Russia could soon produce up to 1,300 ballistic missiles a year

01:00:33and already has hundreds just ready and waiting to launch against its enemies.

01:00:37The Kremlin's war machine is also scaling up its cruise missile production plans and has even been exceeding its own

01:00:43stated targets,

01:00:44with intelligence reports from July 2026 revealing that Moscow had manufactured 140% of the Kh-101 cruise missiles it

01:00:52needed,

01:00:53200% of the Kh-35s and 111% of its expected Taliyokalibur-class cruise missiles too.

01:01:01In short, despite the many problems facing Russia today, the country's military-industrial complex remains a remarkably powerful beast,

01:01:08capable of churning out heavy munitions and precision-guided systems at rates that most other countries simply cannot compete with.

01:01:15As such, if an invasion of the Baltics were to take place, Russia would likely launch large-scale missile and

01:01:21drone attacks before beginning a conventional ground invasion,

01:01:24with troops, tanks and armoured vehicles rolling across the border.

01:01:28The Kremlin's commanders would hope that their initial swarms and salvos would lay waste to the Baltic's border defences,

01:01:33making it easier for ground forces to move in and capture land as quickly as possible,

01:01:38leaving NATO with little room to manoeuvre and minimal time to orchestrate a response.

01:01:43NATO, however, would be ready for this.

01:01:45One of its initial goals would be to target and eliminate as many Russian missile systems as possible,

01:01:50weakening the enemy's ability to carry out its devastating long-range attacks.

01:01:55NATO forces would be able to call on a rich selection of their own missiles,

01:01:59along with an ever-expanding drone army and advanced fighter jets to lay waste to the Kremlin's assets.

01:02:04Experts note that the alliance would most likely prioritise the Russian Baltic Sea exclave of Kaliningrad,

01:02:10as it's believed that Russia has amassed quite a large concentration of air defence and missile systems in the region,

01:02:16which would prove particularly useful for piling pressure on the rest of Europe.

01:02:20This would likely prove a valuable and impactful tactic.

01:02:23But there is one big issue. Even with all of their combined strength,

01:02:27NATO's forces might struggle to contain the immense might of Moscow's military machine.

01:02:32Russia has been fighting a war for several years already,

01:02:35and while it has suffered greatly, it's also learned it adapted over time.

01:02:39The vast majority of European countries haven't had war on their doorstep in decades.

01:02:43Many have built and maintained strong fighting forces,

01:02:46but they don't have any experience of dealing with an enemy like Russia,

01:02:49and it could be difficult, especially in the early stages of a Russian invasion,

01:02:54to have eyes in all the right places, prioritise the right targets,

01:02:57and prevent the enemy from breaking through the Baltic's defensive lines.

01:03:01That's where stage two of NATO's plan comes into play.

01:03:05It's arguably the most important part of the entire strategy,

01:03:08and it revolves around creating an autonomous zone along the borders with Russia and Belarus.

01:03:13The zone would serve as a defensive barrier, and would be patrolled by unmanned systems,

01:03:17including UAVs and autonomous military vehicles,

01:03:20which would be tasked with stopping the Russians from advancing any further.

01:03:24Their AI brains would allow these units to navigate contested territory and chaotic battlefields,

01:03:29identify and track their targets,

01:03:31and serve as a powerful deterrent for the Russians to deal with,

01:03:34but decisions about who and what to attack would still remain with humans.

01:03:38The best part is that this would inevitably save lives,

01:03:41as NATO troops wouldn't need to be permanently stationed inside the autonomous zone,

01:03:46and since drones and AI systems would be doing most of the hard work,

01:03:50the likes of fighter pilots, assault groups and artillery crews

01:03:53wouldn't be placed in as many risky, life or death situations

01:03:56they would typically find themselves in a conventional conflict,

01:03:59nor would they need to waste their own time, energy and resources

01:04:02on tasks that AI can take care of for them.

01:04:05You can't win a war with drones alone.

01:04:08There's absolutely a place for the likes of tanks, fighter jets,

01:04:11and other traditional military equipment on the battlefield.

01:04:14But the importance and value of unmanned systems simply cannot be understated.

01:04:18Russia understands it, Ukraine understands it, and now, so does NATO.

01:04:23The Alliance's military leaders are leading a calculated transition towards this technology,

01:04:28and within a few years, the BUILD report notes that a large part of NATO's reconnaissance

01:04:32and target acquisition operations will likely be taken over by automated machines.

01:04:37The report cites US Major Ben Schiff, a software and drone expert in the US Army,

01:04:42who's been tasked with building the EFDI data backbone,

01:04:45otherwise referred to as the digital nervous system of the NATO concept.

01:04:49This framework will help NATO forces detect, classify, share and act on intelligence at speed and scale,

01:04:56bridging the gaps between incompatible computer and command systems across various allied nations

01:05:01and facilitating the instantaneous flow of real-time data between bases, headquarters and frontline units.

01:05:08Schiff argues that machines should take over the most mundane and repetitive of military tasks,

01:05:13suggesting that drones could be deployed to circle the battlefield and seek out possible targets, for instance.

01:05:19People decide what the drone does, but they don't necessarily have to control the flight themselves,

01:05:24because we won't have a million pilots, we can't fly a million drones at the same time.

01:05:28And with the power of the EFDI data backbone underpinning everything,

01:05:33it should become much easier to manage the vast quantities of drones that NATO will need to nullify a prospective

01:05:38Russian assault.

01:05:40As Major Matt Bleubau, spokesperson for US Army Europe and Africa, explains,

01:05:44The value of a drone, sensor or other capability is not determined solely by its individual performance.

01:05:51Its effectiveness depends on how well it integrates into the broader operational ecosystem.

01:05:56Ukraine learned this lesson the hard way during its war with Russia,

01:05:59and is now using AI on an increasingly broad scale to take over tasks like decision-making,

01:06:04drone navigation and end-stage control.

01:06:07Humans are still part of the process, just as they will be in NATO's battle plans,

01:06:12but the use of AI in automated systems allows people to focus on the things that matter most.

01:06:17And so we come to the third and final part of NATO's strategy, targeted attacks against Russian infrastructure.

01:06:24Again, NATO wouldn't want to invade or conquer Russian territory.

01:06:28Its priorities are purely oriented around defence and deterrence.

01:06:32However, it understands that in order to successfully defend itself and deter further aggression,

01:06:37it may have no other choice but to carry out attacks on enemy territory.

01:06:40The report notes that NATO's special forces would most likely be deployed to target the most important military

01:06:46and logistical sites in Russian regions, especially those that are closest to the country's borders.

01:06:52Airfields, defence factories, bridges and railway lines would be sabotaged, damaged and destroyed,

01:06:58making it much harder for the Russian military to maintain supply lines, plan attacks and sustain its invasion force.

01:07:04Bill notes that NATO could even try to reach out to Russians who are against the Kremlin regime,

01:07:09in order to organise attacks and disruption from the inside.

01:07:12And the Alliance's tacticians likely have plenty more plans and ideas in mind

01:07:16for how they could make life hell for their enemy and make Putin regret his decision to invade.

01:07:21The fact that they've chosen to make some elements of their strategy public,

01:07:24was also undoubtedly an intelligent and intentional decision.

01:07:27It lets Putin know that NATO is preparing itself for the worst case scenario,

01:07:32and that if he thinks he can catch the Alliance off guard, then he's sorely mistaken.

01:07:37Now you can learn more about how NATO is actively preparing for war with Russia in this video,

01:07:42which details a recent projection of power near Kaliningrad that has sent shockwaves all the way to Moscow.

01:07:48Or check out this video to learn just how bad the Russian economic situation is becoming.

01:07:53And finally, don't forget to subscribe to the channel for more breaking news,

01:07:57and consider becoming a member to make sure you don't miss a single bit of our exclusive insights, analysis and

01:08:02detailed military reports.

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