Russia's Startup Reload: Regrouping Forces. July-August 2026 (Part 2)

Forecast: "Future of key players. Near and slightly further horizons" (published on July 14, 2026, link)

S. Dragan:

...For Russia, this is like a startup rebooting its enemies. And this could require a reshuffle of Russian forces around July 25, 2026...

"Rebooting Russia's Enemies" is covered in Part 1 of the Confirmation on August 26, 2026. In turn, "Russia has begun reshuffling its forces".

In response to terrorist strikes by Kyiv "near July 25, 2026" the Russian Armed Forces massed their strikes against infrastructure and defense industry objects that support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Foreign Minister S. Lavrov stated: "Moscow will not stoop to using terrorist methods like Kyiv, but will make its methods much harsher to destroy what fuels the Ukrainian military machine from the West. And we are already doing this. They are already starting to whine".

According to him, calls to stop the conflict immediately are coming from various parts of the world, but this won't work - we should only stop when there is a long-term, reliable, and sustainable solution. Stopping the SVO now would erase the achievements of our ancestors in defeating Nazism.

"It's about our responsibility for the thousand-year history of the Russian state," the minister said.

"I watch reports from the front. Beautiful, clear, proud of their country. Their voices from the capture of another settlement - 'the enemy will be defeated, victory will be ours, our cause is just' - this is a very powerful expression. Well, what else can be added? Sometimes I want to add, but I'm afraid of being repetitive," he added.

Active counterattacks have effectively left the Ukrainian Armed Forces without any potential possibility of receiving weapons by sea through the Black Sea or along the Danube.

For instance, on the night of July 24-25, the Russian Armed Forces launched a series of strikes against Ukraine's port infrastructure, logistical facilities, and energy sector. Strikes hit Mykolaiv, Odessa, Izmail, as well as several regions, including Sumy, Kharkiv, and Chernigiv oblasts.

Russia has intensified its alliance ties. Primarily, this concerns the implementation of a bilateral agreement with North Korea.

As of late July 2026, Russia-North Korea cooperation has reached a new level. According to Ukrainian authorities, Pyongyang plans to send between 30,000 and 50,000 troops to Russia and has already deployed a missile unit with 120 ballistic missiles and six launch systems in the Voronezh region.

Russia has become more decisive in response to the seizure of Russian ships

The European Union has long created a pseudo-legal basis for itself, which is not recorded on paper anywhere, under which it believes it can restrict Russia's ability to earn on global markets. With this, it has also created the concept of a "shadow fleet", the content of which is not entirely clear.

"All ships that do not obey the European Union, under any flag, are declared a 'shadow fleet'. This is a very dangerous path, as they claim that their decisions are above international law," - noted Lavrov.

Moreover, Brussels has allowed itself not only to stop ships, but in essence, to rob them of their cargo for the enrichment of Kiev. To this piracy, Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed to respond mirror-wise.

«We will choose the targets ourselves. The targets will be ships that work in the interests of countries that have declared piracy and plunder as their official policy,» the minister emphasized.

Russian President Vladimir Putin participated in the final stage of the Pacific Fleet exercises in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on August 12, 2026, and made important statements regarding the country's military security.

The Russian President highlighted that Russia is not threatening Japan, adding that Moscow has no claims against Tokyo. He also reminded that Japan for the first time in its doctrine documents included Russia as a primary threat.

Putin stated that Tokyo imposed unwarranted sanctions against Moscow, without delving into the reasons for the conflict in Ukraine.

"We see that conflictual potential is growing here (in the Pacific region. - Ed.), unfortunately. NATO is encroaching, new military-political blocs are being formed, and new weapons systems are being deployed and planned here, which pose threats, including to our country," he said, adding that "tension is also rising in the neighboring Arctic zone around the use of the Northern Sea Route."

The EU-Russia confrontation is escalating through periodic seizures of ships carrying Russian oil.

On August 31, 2026, EU forces boarded the oil tanker MV SUN in the Mediterranean Sea, which the European side links to Russia's "shadow fleet." This is the sixth vessel to undergo such a procedure in recent months, said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

The head of the Russian state also labeled Western countries' plans to seize Russian merchant ships as piracy and privateering.

He also emphasized that Russia would respond in kind if Western countries seized Russian merchant vessels.

"Russia has always, indeed always, advocated and confirms its readiness for cooperation, utilizing the advantages of the Northern Sea Route, of course, within the framework of existing international maritime law," he said.

The reaction to statements made by Russian President Vladimir Putin has already followed in unfriendly countries. The main Japanese broadcasting corporation, NHK, aired footage of Russian leader's working visit to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.

The channel reported that the Russian President strongly warned Japan regarding the "Northern Territories" - as Tokyo refers to the Kuril Islands. Western allies of Japan are more concerned with a "mirror response" to attempts to seize Russian ships and sell stolen goods.

Bloomberg warns Europeans, quoting Putin: "Such attempts at piracy and robbery will invite a response".

Russia's readiness for a mirror response was demonstrated in August 2026 when Russian military ships escorted two cargo vessels in the North Sea and the English Channel.

The Royal Navy stated in a press release that Britain utilized three combat ships - Duncan, St Albans, and Severn, along with a Merlin helicopter and the patrol ship Mersey, for observation. They took no actions under the previous instructions given by Prime Minister K. Starmer to seize ships of the "shadow fleet." Earlier, on June 14, 2026, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer reported that British military forces intercepted the oil tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel, which Britain believes is linked to Russia.

Currently, the West is cautious about acting in this manner.

Russia has regrouped its forces and fundamentally changed the rhetoric and practical actions in response to the aggressive provocations of the West and its satellite, the Kyiv regime.

(to be continued)