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2naSalit

(103,846 posts)
Tue May 26, 2026, 07:24 PM 10 hrs ago

Moscow Goes Dark as Putin Loses Control Across Russia - Jason Jay Smart...




A top Kremlin-linked banker has crossed the line Putin fears most. Igor Volobuev, a former Gazprombank vice president, is now in Ukraine, fighting against Russia, and representing Black Spark, a resistance movement linked to sabotage inside Russia’s energy sector. For the Kremlin, his defection points to a dangerous problem: people who understand the accounts, pipelines, contracts, refineries, and weak points may no longer believe Putin’s system survives.

The pressure is spreading through the same networks Putin needs to keep the war moving. Oil facilities are under attack, fuel supplies are strained, companies are losing money during shutdowns, and the FSB is trying to hold the country together through fear. Moscow can still punish suspects, close networks, and buy soldiers with debt relief, yet each measure shows how much force the regime now needs to keep loyalty in place.

Ukraine’s war is reaching the systems behind Putin’s power: oil revenue, banking, fuel supply, internal security, military recruitment, and elite confidence. Once insiders decide the future belongs somewhere else, the Kremlin faces a threat that cannot be solved with another speech, another arrest, or another blackout.

CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro: Kremlin Banker Flips Against Putin
01:05 - Corporate Rebels: Gazprom Insider Joins Ukraine Forces
02:41 - FSB Panic: Moscow Shuts Down Russian Internet
03:31 - Desperate Bribes: Putin Wipes Out Russian Debts
05:39 - Village Trap: Russian Army Bleeds In Ukraine
07:06 - Exclave Strike: Ukraine Hits Russian Airfields
09:15 - Flight Bans: Putin Restricts Russian Air Space
10:05 - Bunker Isolation: Paranoid Putin Hides From Russia
12:29 - Fatal Quagmire: Putin Regime Faces Final Collapse
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