It has slowly become increasingly apparent that Ukraine may be utilizing the airspace of NATO countries for its recent spate of strikes against Russia. Specifically, it is the permissive Baltics that appear to be allowing Ukrainian drones to transit toward sensitive Russian sites near the Gulf of Finland and beyond, then blaming Russia when the drones crash on their territory.

Read the below—the Latvian ministry literally admitted the drone that crashed on its territory was Ukrainian, but proceeded to blame Russia anyway:

The Baltic states seem to constantly be complaining that Russia is going to invade. Seems to me they’re asking for it.

But now the situation has turned more critical and dangerous. The Russian Defense Ministry has released a new report citing dozens of key facilities in Western nations which are creating a veritable “rear” for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, by manufacturing drones and other armaments for Ukraine.

The key part of the official statement reads:

We view this decision as a deliberate step leading to a sharp escalation of the military-political trend across the entire European continent and the gradual transformation of these countries into Ukraine’s strategic rear.

The full list of the companies and their addresses was then published by the Russian MOD, which clearly implies something.

What is that something, you ask? Dmitry Medvedev, in his usual fashion, elucidated it with a follow up post:

It doesn’t get any clearer than that.

So tell me, dear reader, do not all signs point toward another world war? Sure would be convenient to distract from economic collapse, the Epstein Files, and cull the population. It almost seems engineered …

Read the entire Simplicius post.

While this (Cease fire between Israel and Hezbollah) is a welcome development, the Trump administration is rejecting another critical Iranian prerequisite for negotiations to end the war, i.e., Iran’s demand that sanctions be lifted. Instead of lifting sanctions, the US Secretary of the Treasury announced a new round of sweeping sanctions that are aimed at Iran and China.

Scott Bessent made several strong statements in on April 14–15 about intensifying economic pressure on Iran through sanctions, with a direct focus on China as Iran’s main oil buyer. Bessent described the new sanctions push as the “financial equivalent” of the earlier US/Israeli kinetic (military) strikes on Iran. He called it part of “Operation Economic Fury”, aimed at cutting off Iran’s revenue streams, especially from illicit oil sales and smuggling networks.

Any hope that the US could use China to pressure Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz is dashed. This lame, feeble attempt to bully China is backfiring as I write this. Chinese financial analyst, Sean Foo, is gobsmacked by the audacity of Bessent’s threats. China has received the message. Unless the US reverses course, there will be no meeting between Xi Jinping and Trump in China.

Continue reading Sonar21 …

“I wish to put an end to rumors circulating online claiming that China has agreed with the United States not to provide arms to Iran. Let me be clear, no such communication has taken place. China has neither admitted supplying arms to Iran nor denied it. Our security agreements and defense cooperation are sovereign matters for China alone to consider.

No foreign country has the right to meddle in China’s internal affairs. Leaders around the world should weigh their words carefully before speaking.

China welcomes the decision by President Trump toward de-escalation and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. We remain committed to world peace and to safeguard regional stability through dialogue.”

– Guo Jiakun, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China

Translation: yes, we’re arming Iran. No, we won’t stop. Don’t try to cut off our oil or we’ll make sure you regret it.

h/t Vox Popoli

There may be other possibilities but the reality is that Trump is compromised.

Trump’s late night maneuver with Mike Johnson failed to pass FISA spying for an additional five years at 2:00 AM this morning. They will try again in two more weeks.

I don’t trust 99% of this evil government.