Ukraine: The Latest Sea on fire as naval drone hits oil tanker off Russian resort city Sochi & former German spy chief arrested for treason
15 snips
Oct 7, 2026 
James Kilner, a British journalist and Russia analyst, examines Moscow’s wartime economy, tax raids, mobilisation fears and a mysterious plague scare. The discussion also covers a naval drone strike that set an oil tanker ablaze near Sochi, Britain’s proposed missile shield, and the arrest of Germany’s former spy chief on treason charges. Plus, signs of dissent, inflation and Kremlin censorship.
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Britannia Shield Faces The Hobby Drone Problem
- Britain’s proposed Britannia Shield would protect military sites and critical infrastructure from ballistic missiles and drones.
- Dominic Nicholls noted that hobby drones launched domestically expose limits that a conventional missile shield cannot easily solve.
Why No Missile Shield Is Truly Impenetrable
- Missile defence can combine radar networks with interceptors, but no system creates an impenetrable protective bubble.
- Hypersonic manoeuvring missiles present a fundamentally harder challenge than slower, predictable threats.
Russia Turns Its Post-Election Budget Toward War
- Russia’s post-election budget raises passive-income taxes from 13–15% to as much as 22%, while military spending rises 27%.
- James Kilner said security and war-related spending could consume roughly 44% of the 2027 budget.
