It’s another wild 24 hours on the Eastern Front — and we’re diving straight into the chaos. In today’s episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast, “RH 11.18.25 | Russia: Fog, Fire, and Fractures,” we’re breaking down how Moscow’s brutal push around Pokrovsk is grinding into a meat grinder of its own making. The fog that once gave Russian troops cover is now blinding them, and Ukraine’s answering with precision drone strikes, mobile defenses, and some old-fashioned grit. It’s the latest chapter in Russia’s endless obsession with turning cities to rubble — and Kyiv’s refusal to break. 

We’ll catch you up on how the Pokrovsk siege has evolved since yesterday’s briefing. What was a slow encirclement has become a brutal, close-quarters slugfest. Russian troops are literally crawling through smoke and ash while Ukrainian defenders fight back with unmanned ground vehicles and artillery guided by drone eyes in the sky. Both sides are losing heavily, but one thing’s clear: Moscow’s losing more men than it can replace. 

Meanwhile, Russia’s “fog of war” has turned into something far more literal. Poor visibility and nonstop drone warfare are forcing both sides to fight blind — and the balance of tech is starting to tilt Ukraine’s way. On the other side of the border, Kyiv’s striking deep into Russian territory again, taking out S-400 air defense systems and hitting Novorossiysk, the same port that once housed Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet. 

We’ve got sabotage, too — and this time, it’s inside NATO territory. Explosions on Polish railways, linking directly to Ukraine’s supply lifelines, have investigators pointing fingers squarely at Russia’s infamous GRU Unit 29155 — the same shadow operatives behind Europe’s past poisonings and pipeline explosions. 

In Europe, things are heating up politically even as the continent braces for another freezing winter. France’s deal to send 100 Rafale F4 fighter jets to Ukraine is official — and Macron’s making sure Paris, not Washington, is seen as Europe’s security quarterback. But while the defense deals look bold, the money behind them is anything but stable. The EU’s plan to bankroll Ukraine using frozen Russian assets has stalled, and Belgium’s holding up the works. A funding cliff by spring? It’s on the table. 

Add to that Zelensky’s new corruption scandal, Russian repression at home, Europe’s scramble for U.S. LNG, and a new wave of espionage drama — and you’ve got an episode packed tighter than a Kremlin press conference.