Putin Shaken: Deep Strikes Hit Russia as China Suddenly Steps Back | Rachel Maddow
Nov 17, 2025 #UkraineBreakingNews #RachelMaddowStyle #RussiaCrisisUpdate Welcome to Deep Current — where journalism meets depth and every story is connected to the global systems behind it. In this special investigation, we unpack the most consequential 24 hours of the entire Russia–Ukraine war — a moment when Vladimir Putin was hit from two sides at once. As Ukrainian long-range drones penetrated Russian air defenses and struck deep inside the country’s critical oil infrastructure, another shockwave traveled across the world: China — Russia’s most important oil buyer — quietly stepped back. For a Kremlin dependent on refined fuel to power its tanks, jets, armored convoys, and occupation lines, the drone strikes alone were devastating. But the real crisis erupted when a major Chinese refiner announced it would stop purchasing Russian crude, following weeks of similar pullbacks from other state-backed firms. This episode shows how these two events — one explosive, one ...