I'm John Batchelor. I welcome my colleague and friend, Ennatole Levin. He heads the Eurasia program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft,

recently returned from traveling Eurasia, to find crisis in Moscow, crisis in Kiev, crisis in Washington,

crisis in Tehran, cross-purposes, but then drones are in the story.

I come to a Moscovite in her 30s, the Financial Times writes she has grown used to

queues across the road from her 14-story apartment block in Moscow.

When she moved there a decade ago, her name is Cassinia.

Dozens of cars would line up for burgers and fries at the McDonald's drive-thru across the road.

Now, in what she calls, quote, a sign of the times, an even longer queue stretches to a petrol station next to the fast food outlet,

which has been taken over

by a copycat enterprise after McDonald's left the country in response to Russia's full-scale

invasion of Ukraine. Anna told, this is a brilliant illustration of what is happening in Russia,

not only a fake McDonald's, but she's lucky if she gets petrol at all in the queue across the road.

The headlines in Russia do not tell the story of the consumer. This does. The Russians are taking

hit after hit, long-range drone strikes by the Ukrainians. In addition, there's news that the shadow fleet is either

a target or being hit, especially when it seeks to resupply Crimea, which has a state of

emergency announced because it's cut off from fuel transportation from Russia overland, and

it's now being frustrated getting it by the Black Sea.

In addition, Russia has forbidden the sale of refined petroleum outside of Russia.

It's so short.

I'm told even the faraway and vital refinery at Omsk was struck by Ukrainian drones flying that huge distance, if they did,

or if they didn't launch from sea, unknown.

Mr. Zelensky looked rosy at the recent NATO meeting,

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