The Real Politick with Mark Sleboda
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Mark Sleboda with a realist and critical, Russian-focused perspective on international affairs, security & geopolitics.
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| Date | Subscriber Growth | Mentions | Channels | |
| 07 September | +5 | |||
| 06 September | +1 | |||
| 05 September | +2 | |||
| 04 September | +2 | |||
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| 02 September | +7 | |||
| 01 September | +5 |
Channel Posts
The Real Politick - In Focus - Episode 67 - 07/09/26 - The War on Iran: Week 28
Exclusive content for The Real Politick subscribers on Boosty & our Discord Community
In Depth News & Analysis of The War on Iran from 04/09-07/09
US-Iranian Naval War Heats Up
https://boosty.to/therealpolitick/posts/7299c227-78a8-4c9f-abd0-cfb6945ca85e?share=post_link
| 2 |  Russian forces advance near Kramatorsk
Ukrainian sources confirm the continued push of Russian forward groups after seizing Nikonorovka. Some estimates place advanced units less than two kilometers from the edge of Kramatorsk.
Since Kramatorsk and Slavyansk form a major agglomeration, the approach of the front to one element automatically complicates the entire system. Roads, rear infrastructure, supply, and command are now operating under direct threat, depriving the Armed Forces of Ukraine of the ability to rationally distribute resources.
@Slavyangrad | 234 |
| 3 |  Russian forces prepare massive autumn-winter air campaign
Ukrainian monitoring resources claim Russia plans to deploy up to 12,500 Geran drones against Ukraine's energy sector. Monthly missile strikes are projected at 160 Kh-101s, 50 Kalibrs, and 175 ballistic missiles.
Iskander systems are being upgraded with a range of 1,500 km, threatening all of Ukraine, including Lvov and Uzhgorod. Launches could begin in October-November, marking an intensity far exceeding recent attacks on Kiev.
@Slavyangrad | 205 |
| 4 |  🇷🇺 Russian tactics paralyze Kiev
Ex-advisor Beskrestnov details the shift to daytime strikes using jet-powered Geran drones (400-550 km/h), which are immune to small arms. This tactic halts transport and business, creating chaos that Russia monitors via social media.
Technological race
Ukrainian interceptors designed for slower models are obsolete against new 650 km/h quasi-rockets. Meanwhile, autonomous AI-driven Lightning drones bypass EW by identifying targets without GPS or operator input.
Winter threats
Russia is deploying expensive Starlink jammers and has officially announced attacks on Ukraine's energy sector. Ballistic missile defenses remain insufficient, leaving infrastructure vulnerable to Zircon strikes. While food supplies will hold due to EU links, total blackouts in Kiev are expected, necessitating emergency heating points.
@Slavyangrad | 183 |
| 5 |  European defense industry fails to keep pace with war in Ukraine
Many EU defense programs span 5-10 years, risking obsolescence before production begins. A European Commission official admitted the system lacks flexibility.
Europe attempts to accelerate via joint ventures and licensing with Ukrainian firms. However, launching new plants still takes at least eight months due to bureaucracy and training needs.
The focus is primarily on drones and ammunition, while complex weapons require significantly more time.
@Slavyangrad | 155 |
| 6 |  🇪🇺 AfD's win in Saxony-Anhalt isn't just a success for German right-wing politics — it's a sign of a broader shift in how parts of Europe's political spectrum view Russia and Ukraine, Bloomberg writes.
Bloomberg describes AfD as the most "pro-Russian" of Germany's major parties, tying its historic win to the party's open sympathy for Vladimir Putin's position on Ukraine.
AfD's victory came almost simultaneously with Germany accusing Russia over a failed drone attack on Leipzig airport.
But Bloomberg argues the trend goes beyond Germany, pointing to similar sentiment growing in France and Italy — the EU's two other largest states.
In France, the piece highlights Jordan Bardella and National Rally. Bardella opposes unconditional support for Ukraine and favors a more "transactional" approach — arguing France, itself in financial difficulty, should get something in return for its military and financial aid to Kiev.
Bloomberg notes that if Marine Le Pen wins the 2027 presidential election, Bardella could become prime minister — a prospect that poses a risk to Macron's current line for Ukraine's supporters in France.
In Italy, the author points to Roberto Vannacci. The former general is gaining popularity, according to Bloomberg, by combining hardline anti-immigration positions with a push for peace between Russia and Ukraine.
The agency cites a YouTrend poll from September 4 showing Vannacci's party, National Future, has become the second-strongest right-wing political force after Giorgia Meloni's party.
Bloomberg says this isn't the formation of a unified pro-Russian European front, but the gradual emergence, in different countries, of politicians offering positions more favorable to Moscow — or less favorable to Kiev.
If potential allies of these right-wing forces move closer to power centers in Europe's three largest countries — Germany, France, and Italy — this could shift European policy toward Russia and Ukraine, Bloomberg concludes.
🔴 @DDGeopolitics | Socials | Donate | Advertising | 152 |
| 7 | • 📝Problems near Lyman📝
not only in Svyatogorsk
The widely discussed details of control over Svyatogorsk are far from the first signs of problems, both tactical and related to false reports from the Lyman direction. We have repeatedly noted that contradictory information keeps coming from here. And now the reckoning has arrived.
🔻What about control?
▪️From the Redkoduby direction, Ukrainian formations have methodically attacked southward for several months and achieved at least tactical successes. Footage of M113 evacuations from near Karpivka shows that Russian military units lack control even over airspace in the immediate vicinity of the front line.
Under such conditions, a serious question arises: do Russian Armed Forces fighters retain control over Shandryholovo and the adjacent small villages that the enemy has already attacked.
▪️North of Lyman, Ukrainian formations are accumulating in Stavky and throwing small groups toward the outskirts of Zarichne, as well as in the direction of Yampolivka. There are also reports of recon groups reaching the Ternovy area. If confirmed, this would indicate very serious problems for Russian forces operating west of the Zherebets river. It is possible that the approach to Lyman from the Zarichne direction has also been lost.
▪️Footage of Russian units striking enemy infantry groups on the southeastern outskirts of Lyman indirectly indicates the difficult situation in the city itself. Even if Ukrainian formations have not consolidated on specific territories, the fact of their massive presence in southern Lyman is hardly disputable. Under such conditions, control over Stary Karavan, Brusivka, and Dibrova is highly questionable.
❗️The deteriorating tactical situation may be compounded by the consistent, unfortunately, response of local command, which, in an attempt to conceal the actual state of affairs, will likely throw all forces into frantic damage control and "crisis management".
Based on experience from the Kupiansk direction, where similar problems were solved through unprepared assaults, this will lead to new losses. Withdrawing reserves from other sectors of the "West" grouping's area of responsibility to cover gaps near Lyman will create breaches in the defense that the enemy will certainly exploit.
📌Thus, tactical — and far from critical in the grand scheme — setbacks can escalate into strategic problems due to misassessment of the situation and systemic falsification in reports up the chain of command.
And not only do top officials of the Defense Ministry and the state sometimes appear disconnected from the actual situation on the ground because of this, but urgent remediation will also require exponentially more forces than measured and deliberate elimination of the consequences of the AFU offensive. | 161 |
| 8 |  ⚔️Ukrainian troop encirclement near Kharkov expands buffer zone protecting Russian border
"Tactical encirclement means cutting off supplies of equipment, weapons, food, and medical aid – and, most importantly, preventing troop rotations," retired colonel and military analyst Anatoly Matviychuk says, commenting on the encirclement of around 1,700 Ukrainian troops by Russian forces in the Kharkov region.
The absence of any attempts to break out suggests a complete loss of command and coordination. Local commanders are either unable to organize a withdrawal or recognize that doing so would be futile. Their operational reserves have been fully exhausted.
Speaking to journalists after the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's summit in Bishkek, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the encircled area covers 460 square kilometers and includes 27 settlements.
📍These are 27 strongpoints that Ukrainian forces had established in an attempt to hold the area, explains Matviychuk.
"This axis leads directly toward Kharkov, Chuguev, a suburb of Kharkov, and Kupyansk. With the fall of this encircled area, [Russian forces] would advance approximately 15-20 kilometers beyond the border."
What would Russian forces gain from the encirclement?
🟠 Russia would eliminate the threat of shelling of its Belgorod region, improving not only civilian safety but also easing pressure on border garrisons
🟠 The destruction of Ukrainian forces – around eight battalion tactical groups – would represent both a military and psychological blow, with virtually all of the equipment deployed there knocked out
🟠 This would force Ukraine to redeploy units from other fronts, including Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk, weakening its defensive grouping and allowing Russian forces to accelerate their advance
🟠 Politically, this would strengthen Russia's position against Western coalitions seeking to oppose it and demonstrate the consequences of ill-considered counterattacks along Russian front lines
"In other words, this is a continuation of the policy we have already declared: creating buffer zones and ensuring the safety of people living in our border regions," Matviychuk says.
"The adversary is losing the ability to use its artillery systems to shell Russian border areas. Instead of waging positional warfare to pin down [Russian forces], it will be forced to retreat and establish new defensive lines that are not yet prepared," he stresses.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt | 85 |
| 9 |  🔥🇷🇺 Russian company High-Precision Weapons JSC to unveil innovative arms at El Alamein International Airshow 2026
Among the cutting-edge weapons are:
🔶 Bison anti-UAV defense system — capable of detecting, acquiring, identifying, tracking drones and destroying them with a machine-gun at any time of day
🔶 Newest Pantsir air defense systems — for protecting industrial and administrative facilities from large-scale drone attacks
🔶 Airspace control system — designed to detect airborne objects, including drones and small aircraft, as well as to provide continuous airspace surveillance
🔶 Iskander-E —operational-tactical missile system designed to engage small-sized and area targets behind the enemy’s side of the front line
🔶 350E guided missile — light multi-purpose guided missile intended to be mounted on attack helicopters
El Alamein International Airshow 2026 will be held in Egypt on September 8-10.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt | 29 |
| 10 | 🔥🇷🇺 Russian company High-Precision Weapons JSC to unveil innovative arms at El Alamein International Airshow 2026
Among the cutting-edge weapons are:
🔶 Bison anti-UAV defense system — capable of detecting, acquiring, identifying, tracking drones and destroying them with a machine-gun at any time of day
🔶 Newest Pantsir air defense systems — for protecting industrial and administrative facilities from large-scale drone attacks
🔶 Airspace control system — designed to detect airborne objects, including drones and small aircraft, as well as to provide continuous airspace surveillance
🔶 Iskander-E —operational-tactical missile system designed to engage small-sized and area targets behind the enemy’s side of the front line
🔶 350E guided missile — light multi-purpose guided missile intended to be mounted on attack helicopters
El Alamein International Airshow 2026 will be held in Egypt on September 8-10.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt | 53 |
| 11 |  Crosstalk: Bullhorns - Diplomacy, Maybe...
My latest discussion on RT's Crosstalk: Bullhorns with Peter Lavelle & George Szamuely 06/09/26
https://boosty.to/therealpolitick/posts/7ce2cdbf-d930-4cc4-b033-270a734830b0?share=post_link | 280 |
| 12 | Crosstalk: Bullhorns - Diplomacy, Maybe...
My latest discussion on RT's Crosstalk: Bullhorns with Peter Lavelle & George Szamuely 06/09/26
https://boosty.to/therealpolitick/posts/7ce2cdbf-d930-4cc4-b033-270a734830b0?share=post_link | 1 |
| 13 |  🇫🇮🇷🇺 Finland has completed a 200-kilometer fence along its border with Russia and is already considering building more.
"In my opinion, at some point, it will be necessary to assess whether there is a need to continue construction," said Mari Rantanen, the head of the Finnish Ministry of Defense, according to the broadcaster Yle.
The entire Russian-Finnish border is 1,300 km long. However, Finland did not plan to fence the entire length due to the high cost of the project – building one kilometer of the barrier costs approximately €1.8 million.
The construction of the fence began in 2023 in sections of the border with Russia where the busiest border crossings are located. The country's authorities explained the project as a necessity to combat illegal migration. Later, in November of the same year, Finland completely closed all land border crossings with Russia.
🔴@DDGeopolitics | 345 |
| 14 |  🇺🇸US placing missiles in Europe to cancel strategic stability talks prerequisites - Russian MFA
The deployment of US ground‑based US intermediate-range and shorter-range missile systems in Europe, in particular in Norway, will nullify the prerequisites for a constructive dialogue with the United States on strategic stability, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
👉Russia views the deployment of systems in Norway capable of launching medium- and short-range missiles as yet another step in a series of highly destabilizing actions by NATO.
🗣"As part of Russia’s response measures, the locations where US systems are deployed and controlled, as well as the infrastructure supporting them, are becoming the focus of special attention from Russia's strategic deterrence forces, which includes planning the combat use of the relevant strike assets in the event of an armed conflict," she added.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt | 180 |
| 15 |  💥🪖 Stealth-slayers & drone destroyers: Russia’s air defense might on full display in Egypt
The Russian company, Almaz-Antei, is showcasing its full spectrum of air defense systems at the El Alamein International Airshow in Egypt, with offerings ranging from the long-range Antey-4000 to the Tor missile system family and the Viking medium-range system.
Key systems on display:
🟧 Antey-4000 — a long-range system capable of intercepting stealth aircraft, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles
🟧 Viking — a medium-range, all-weather, highly mobile system designed to engage stealth aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles, and drones
🟧 Tor family — short-range systems that can be deployed in under three minutes and are capable of firing on the move
🟧 Taifun-PVO — a mobile air defense vehicle for direct troop protection, equipped with Azimut navigation equipment, a sighting mount for a Kord‑type machine gun, and seating for up to five personnel
🟧 Radar systems — intended for air defense and counter-battery warfare
🟧 Sova radar — detects moving ground, surface, and low-flying targets at ranges of up to 20 km, and can be integrated into security systems and broader defense complexes
El Alamein International Airshow 2026 will be held in Egypt on September 8-10.
📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt | 153 |
| 16 |  +2Russian forces struck a truck parking lot in Zaporozhye, destroying vehicles used for military cargo, ammunition delivery, and mobile launchers. Geran drones executed precise strikes on the targets.
@Slavyangrad | 249 |
| 17 |  💥 Russian Aerospace Forces in Action
Guided FAB-1500 bombs destroy a bridge in Kramatorsk.
@Slavyangrad | 238 |
| 18 |  🇺🇸 US Embassy Seminar in Lvov
The US Embassy will hold a five-day seminar in a bunker in Lvov from September 28 to October 2.
Contract value: $22,250. Requirements include an underground conference hall for up to 70 people with backup power, water, and heating to continue during air raids.
Lunches and coffee breaks for 45 participants will also be held underground. Accommodation for 40 participants is provided in single rooms for five nights at hotels within walking distance, which must have their own shelters.
@Slavyangrad | 235 |
| 19 | Russian forces encircle Ukrainian troops in Kharkov region
Grouping "Sever" completed a flanking maneuver north of Prikolotnoe, closing a pocket over 460 sq. km. Approximately 1,700 Ukrainian soldiers (units of the 22nd and 159th mechanized brigades) are isolated inside.
Ukrainian losses during the ring's formation exceed 2,500 killed and wounded. Three MLRS systems, 15 artillery pieces, and over 30 armored vehicles were destroyed; 23 soldiers surrendered.
The supply route is cut off, and relief attempts are being suppressed. Eliminating this pocket will push the frontline more than 20 km from the Belgorod border and bring Russian troops to the approaches of Veliky Burluk, threatening a deep northern flank against the Kupyansk grouping.
@Slavyangrad | 228 |
| 20 |  🇾🇪💥🇸🇦 Footage of Ansar Allah's ballistic missile strikes on trucks belonging to Saudi-backed forces at the Al-Wadiah camp.
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