Get ready for a high-energy breakdown of the latest twists in the Russia-Ukraine war, global diplomacy, and cyber intrigue on The Restricted Handling Podcast. This episode, “RH 9.5.25 | Russia: Troop Threats, Oil Strikes, Economic Strain, Cyber Ops,” takes you inside the week’s biggest moves—from Paris to Vladivostok to the skies over Ukraine—with the punch and pace you need to keep up.

We start in Paris, where Emmanuel Macron and Volodymyr Zelensky pulled together 26 nations to pledge postwar security guarantees for Ukraine. That’s right—Europe, Canada, Japan, and others are saying they’ll be ready with a “reassurance force” the day a ceasefire is inked. This isn’t just talk. We’re talking about troops in the rear, long-range missiles, and training packages, plus financing and weapons production from those who can’t deploy directly. It’s the clearest signal yet that Ukraine’s allies are planning for a future where Moscow doesn’t get to call the shots.

And how did Vladimir Putin take the news? About as well as you’d expect. From Vladivostok, he thundered that any Western troops in Ukraine before a peace deal would be “legitimate targets.” Moscow’s diplomats followed up with their usual playbook: dismissals, Nazi accusations aimed at Germany, and warnings about the Baltics turning into a theater of war. It’s the old Soviet-era mix of saber-rattling and propaganda—maskirovka dressed up as diplomacy.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump called into the Paris summit to lecture Europeans about buying Russian oil, while keeping his own “good dialogue” going with Putin. Europe’s nervous he could push Kyiv into an ugly deal, but Washington’s role is still being defined. The U.S. has promised support, but details remain fuzzy.

Back home in Russia, the economy is wobbling. Sberbank’s German Gref admitted the country’s in “technical stagnation,” inflation is biting, and the funeral industry is booming thanks to staggering casualty numbers. Putin’s cousin even bragged that Russia is now a leader in prosthetic limbs because of wounded soldiers. If that sounds dark, it’s because the war has ground down Russia’s labor force, with minorities bearing the heaviest losses.

On the battlefield, Ukraine is striking back—drones lit up Rosneft’s massive Ryazan refinery, knocking Russian refining capacity down even further. Add in drone hits on radar sites and a massive air defense effort that shot down hundreds of Shahed drones in a single night, and Kyiv is proving it can reach deep into Russia while holding the skies at home.

And let’s not forget cyberspace. The FBI just dropped a $10 million bounty on three FSB hackers tied to attacks on U.S. critical infrastructure. Dragonfly—aka Berserk Bear—is still out there, prowling energy networks and proving that Russia’s war is global, not just on the ground.

This is an episode packed with troop threats, oil strikes, economic pain, and cyber ops. If you want the latest pulse of geopolitics with a little edge and energy, you won’t want to miss it.