Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast — your daily dose of global intrigue, battlefield updates, and the kind of behind-the-scenes geopolitical chaos that would make even a KGB handler sweat. Today’s episode dives headfirst into the latest from Russia’s war in Ukraine, and trust us — it’s a lot. 

We’re starting on the front lines in Pokrovsk, where Russia’s long, grinding offensive looks more like a World War I trench saga than a modern operation. Ukrainian troops are hanging on under relentless fire, while Moscow throws in wave after wave of troops — about 150,000 of them — to take just a few blocks of urban territory. The fighting is fierce, the weather’s ugly, and the casualties are staggering. If you thought Bakhmut was bad, Pokrovsk is starting to feel like its sequel: colder, bloodier, and with more drones in the sky than ever before. 

But Ukraine’s not sitting still. The episode breaks down Ukraine’s audacious deep strikes on Russian infrastructure — sea drones hitting the Tuapse port for the second time this month, fires raging near the Black Sea, and sabotage missions across Crimea and Rostov targeting oil depots, rail lines, and supply nodes. It’s a David-and-Goliath battle fought with drones and precision strikes instead of slingshots, and Ukraine’s making every hit count. 

Meanwhile, back in Moscow, the Kremlin’s paranoia is showing. The FSB claims it stopped a wild “Ukrainian-British” plot to hijack a MiG-31 fighter jet armed with a hypersonic Kinzhal missile. They’re calling it espionage; we’re calling it Cold War theater. Add in Putin’s quiet new law allowing reservists to “protect critical infrastructure” (read: stealth mobilization), and you’ve got a Russia that’s looking more and more like it’s gearing up for something bigger while pretending everything’s fine. 

We also dive into the latest domestic shocker — a $100 million corruption scandal rocking Ukraine’s energy sector and testing Zelensky’s reform credentials at the worst possible moment. The story has everything: kickbacks, missing businessmen, and opposition parties trying to turn scandal into strategy. 

Plus, we hit on Europe’s next big move — the EU’s plan to fund Ukraine using frozen Russian assets, Germany’s new multibillion-euro aid bump, and how Belgium’s legal team is sweating over potential Russian lawsuits. And yes, Putin’s health rumors are back — because of course they are. 

If you’re tracking the intersection of war, politics, and global power plays — this episode’s your battlefield briefing, black-market gossip, and spy novel all rolled into one. Subscribe now and stay ahead of the headlines with The Restricted Handling Podcast.