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Monday.com AI agents took over my work and I absolutely love it. Chasing deadlines, writing status reports, updating stakeholders. Agents handle the daily grind. Now I stay in the loop only when it matters. Create your own AI agent. In minutes on Monday.com all hell is breaking loose in Russia and Ukraine right now. Ukraine successfully targeting oil depots and key infrastructure in Russia using drone swarms, flamingo ballistic missiles and other cutting edge weaponry. You also have Russia striking inside Ukraine in Zapricia, in Kiev and Kharkiv as well. Donald Trump promised he would end this war in day one. Well, we're in June right now almost in July and things are escalating. The drone swarms by Ukraine into Russia are causing massive damage and Putin seems unable to to stop these drone swarms and flamingo missiles. Most recently, Russia's Krasnodar Kry area, one of southern Russia's largest refineries burns after last night's massive Ukrainian strikes. Take a look right here. Sliviansk on Kuban in Russia is hot. Just to give you a sense of what's going on and I'll play for you the footage in just one moment. Ukraine continues continued its campaign against Russia's oil infrastructure overnight targeting the Sleviansk Echo refinery in Slaviansk Nakubani Krasnodar Kry Slevian's Echo is one of the largest independent refineries in southern Russia with an annual processing capacity of up to 5.2 million tons of crude oil or approximately 100,000 barrels per day. It represents an estimated 15 to 20% of southern Russia's refining capacity and plays an important role in supplying fuel across the region. The refinery is co owned by Robert Parryance, a regional legislature from the ruling United Russia Party. Investigative reporting has identified Slivian Esco as a supplier to a Russian fuel company that was allegedly involved in exchanges with North Korea as well. Let me show you Kate from Kharkiv's video. Let's just play this video right here as well. Also what you have right here is some footage from the night from Kate from Kharkiv Slaviansk on Kuban where this oil refinery was attacked. Here's what it looks like. I'll just show you some photos. Here's another photo. Let me show you what it looked like at night. This is Kate from Kharkiv. Let's play it. Another video that was posted right here, this time from Victoria's log and Jay from Kev reposted a shout out. Jay, he's got a great YouTube site as well. The last remaining air defense near Kirch Bridge right by Crimea was blown to shreds by these Ukrainian drones. And these flamingos just targeting piece by piece. It does seem like something big is about to happen in Crimea. We've been covering how one by one by one you've had these air defenses that were being knocked out by Ukraine. Let's play it right here. Now. You'll recall a day before that you had those Ukrainian FP5 Flamingo cruise missiles striking Russia's Titan Barkati defense class in the Volgograd region during the morning's long range attack. This was a facility that was used to manufacture launcher systems for several of Russia's key missile platforms, including the Iskandar ballistic missile system which had been targeting and continues to target areas in Ukraine as well. Let's play this clip. Just want to show you that Volga Grad strike right here so you can see what these Ukrainian flamingos look like. Let's play this clip as well. Only did one more. President Zelensky of Ukraine then posted this video right here of 15 of the regions in Ukraine the that were targeted in Russian strikes. Let's play this clip as well.
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More from President Zelensky right here. He says our warriors began Ukraine's constitution day with great accuracy. Last night our long range sanctions reached two oil refineries in Russia. This Livian folks. Play the B roll while I read this. Refinery in the Krasnodar region was hit about 300 km from the front line. We also reached a refinery in the Yar Saval region approximately 700 kilometers from our border. We continue our operations that weaken Russia's ability to wage this war. Each of our long range sanctions means fewer resources serving Russia' war machine and another step towards peace. We will continue to respond to Russian terror. I thank our warriors for these results. Right here. Show the B roll right here of what it's looking like in Moscow right now where there were these massive fuel shortages. You can take a look at. Even as there have been rumors that some of these service stations are getting gas. It'll result in all of these lines forming. But there is a massive, massive fuel shortage taking place as well. I'll share this with you. Play the B roll right here. We're looking at the Cheetah area, the China area in Russia, 5,000 km from Ukraine as well. You're seeing these massive, massive traffic, lines of cars.
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Well you're even starting. See on the well you have been seeing for some time, I should say the military bloggers in Russia. I'm going to I'll show you the speech that Putin gave. You know they're saying even on their military blogs. I wonder who's reporting the following to Putin. Who's reporting this to him? Why the hell are you lying to him? And this is what Putin said the Russian armed forces have approached the village of Deborah. But the Ukrainian armed forces have no prepared defense lines beyond it, which it just isn't accurate. So even the Russian military bloggers are like, what the heck is going on right there? Here's a speech that Putin just gave yesterday. And then I'll share with you what Zelinsky's been saying, what Putin's been saying. Here's what Putin said. They try to remove us as a global power that stands against evil. They have always failed. They will always fail. We are addressing all challenges, including terror attacks against their infrastructure. We, we will also address challenges such as demographics and we will save our traditional values. We see Ukrainian forces losing their positions on the front line. That's why they resort to terrorism within Russia, to which even the Russian military bloggers like, that's not what's happening right now. Russia has encountered unprecedented kind of pressure from Western elites. They wanted to impose strategic defeat on us on the battlefield. They want to destabilize our society.
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But they'll fail at that. They'll fail at everything. The main objection of the Russian armed forces is to fully liberate Donbas and Novritsiya. Putin says proposals are coming from Kiev to limit military operations to just four territories. Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and the Kherson regions. That would allow the Ukrainian armed forces to redeploy units from other fronts. Kiev will pay for its crimes in the Kursk region with the lost territory needed for a security zone. The issue of supplying Crimea with energy will be resolved. We will increase fuel deliveries by land and by sea. We will not give the Ukrainian armed forces a chance to impose their own terms for negotiations. Crimea's full fuel needs will be met. All damaged energy facilities in Russia are being restored quickly. Everything is operating with a large margin of safety. And then he gave an interview as well. Putin did regard and he talked about his meeting last August with Donald Trump in Anchorage, Alaska. And he says there were indeed no agreements reached in Anchorage. While the spirit of Anchorage was not embodied in any formal documents, no signatures were affixed. We discussed certain possibilities for resolving the crisis in Ukraine. And the compromises under discussion were precisely the proposals put forward to us by the American side. We were asked to make compromises formulated by American negotiators. Here's what we've heard from Zelinsky. Zelinsky says he is Hereby approved a 40 day operation to influence Russia into ending the war after receiving a briefing from the head of security services on strikes against Russia. Then he said last night Play the B roll here as well, folks. Last night, our long range sanctions targeted the occupiers military logistics, oil industry and air defenses. All of this is just a response to Russia's brutal attacks against our people. I thank the warriors of the Security Service of Ukraine, the Unmanned system forces, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine and the Special Operations Operations Forces for their successful work. At a distance of about 300 km from the front line, facilities on both sides of the Crimean Bridge were hit. Maritime logistics used to transport oil in Krasnodar region and oil depots temporarily occupied Kerch. In addition, military logistics facilities were successfully struck, along with four radar stations belonging to S400 systems with two pan sear systems. I'm grateful to our warriors for their provision, for their precision and professionalism. Russia understands only strength and our long range strength is certainly working for peace. Glory to God. You see that right there and then there's been reports coming in as well that the average lifespan of a Russian soldier who is recruited from the time of recruitment to death on average is like a few days right now. And in terms of being put on the front lines a few minutes at this point, and that there's this constant need to replace these Russian soldiers on the front lines and this, it's being described as a meat grinder, you know, but this period of recruitment to dying on the battlefield, like a five to 10 day period in total than on the battlefield hours or sometimes, sometimes minutes taking place, that's what's going on right now. I want to give you the full range of when you hear what's being said, it's clear that Putin is not looking for a deal anytime soon. It's clear that this is going to continue down a path. Donald Trump, remember Donald Trump said his one of his campaign promises, just like he promised he would bring down prices on day one and housing would be more affordable, electricity would be cut in half. He was such a good relationship with Putin and he knows the Linsky so well that he'd be able to end this war in 24 hours. And of course, I mean, we're seeing that not happen right here. Let me share this with you as well, my friend, Ben Hodges. I should have showed you this. Ben Hodges Former U.S. army commander, Europe here's what he has to say.
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Let's play it how the senior military leadership responds or what? What do we hear from them going forward? I think you see a lot of professional military know that Putin's war has destroyed or severely damaged Russia's military and even damaged Russia's ability to defend itself. And so I think at some point, I could imagine I have nothing, nothing to base this on except history. I could imagine at some point the military leadership saying, this is enough. And that's, we want to accelerate to that point as quickly as possible. And I think that's part of the Ukrainian strategy. When Minister Fedorov says the goal is to create 50,000 Russian casualties per month, I mean, that, that is dramatic. That's those are losses that can never be replaced.
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Date: June 29, 2026
Hosts: Ben, Brett, and Jordy Meiselas
Episode Overview:
This episode dives into the rapidly escalating conflict between Russia and Ukraine, focusing on a series of high-impact Ukrainian strikes inside Russia. The Meiselas brothers break down the latest developments, offer analysis on both sides’ shifting strategies, and spotlight notable reactions from global leaders—all while injecting their signature blend of sharp commentary and supportive advocacy for democracy.
The episode centers on the transformative, high-precision Ukrainian attacks on key Russian infrastructure—especially oil refineries and air defenses—amidst Russia’s ongoing aggression. With new Ukrainian weaponry and tactics proving highly effective, the hosts examine the immediate military consequences and the broader geopolitical messaging, including how Russian leadership is presenting the situation and the implications for U.S. politics ahead of the 2026 election.
Drone Swarms & Flamingo Missiles:
Strategic Impact:
Air Defense Depletion:
Fuel Shortages and Civilian Consequences:
Russian Military Bloggers’ Dissent:
Putin’s Denial & Deflection:
Zelensky’s Confidence & Strategic Aims:
| Time | Segment Summary | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------| | 00:15 | Opening: Escalation of Ukraine-Russia conflict | | 01:20 | Breakdown of Sliviansk Echo refinery attack | | 02:30 | Air defenses near Crimea being destroyed | | 07:33 | Zelensky statement on refinery strikes | | 08:30 | Fuel shortages and impact in Russia | | 10:58 | Russian military bloggers challenge Putin | | 11:29 | Putin’s latest public speech | | 15:50 | Zelensky’s 40-day war effort message | | 16:30 | The “meat grinder” for Russian recruits | | 17:00 | Ben Hodges: Analysis of Russian military losses| | 17:56 | Hosts wrap up and call to action |
This MeidasTouch episode provides a compelling, up-to-date account of the shifting landscape in the Russia-Ukraine war, underscored by devastating Ukrainian attacks inside Russia, the crumbling myth of Russian military dominance, and the dangerous unpredictability of both Kremlin and U.S. election-year politics. The episode explores not just military maneuvers, but the psychological, political, and societal ripples—an essential listen for anyone following current global affairs.