Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast—where geopolitics meets high drama and a touch of gallows humor. In today’s episode, “RH 11.20.25 | Russia: Missiles, ‘Peace’ Plans, and Paranoia,” we’re unpacking another chaotic 24 hours in the world of Kremlin theater, drone warfare, and diplomatic doublespeak.

Russia just dropped one of its biggest air assaults yet—nearly 500 missiles and drones tearing through Ukraine’s night sky. Cities like Ternopil and Kharkiv took the hits, leaving dozens dead and energy grids crippled as winter bites down hard. Ukraine’s air force, flying F-16s and Mirages, is holding its own, but Moscow’s aim seems less about victory and more about freezing a nation into submission.

Meanwhile, in Washington and Moscow, a so-called “peace plan” is making waves—and not in a good way. The 28-point draft, reportedly cooked up by Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and Putin’s investment ally Kirill Dmitriev, would have Ukraine surrender huge swaths of land, cut its army in half, and ditch long-range Western weapons. Europe’s reaction? Think “collective eye roll with a side of outrage.” France called it capitulation; Brussels said any real peace deal needs Kyiv in the room, not on the menu.

On the ground, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll led a high-profile Pentagon delegation into Kyiv, officially on a “fact-finding mission.” Unofficially, it’s a sign that Washington’s walking a tightrope—backing Ukraine while quietly testing the waters for a possible ceasefire. President Zelensky, fresh from meetings with Turkey’s Erdoğan, is juggling diplomacy, corruption scandals, and missile barrages like a man playing 4D chess during an earthquake.

But the battlefield isn’t the only front. Russia’s spy games are back in full swing: the Kremlin’s paranoid security machine claims to have stopped an assassination plot involving poisoned British beer—yes, beer—and is now labeling exiled critics as terrorists. Pro-Kremlin analysts are even admitting what Putin won’t: the war’s going nowhere fast.

Across Europe, tensions are spiking. Poland’s calling rail sabotage an act of “state terrorism” tied to Russian agents, NATO jets scrambled after drone incursions in Romania, and Britain confronted a Russian spy ship shining lasers at RAF pilots near Scotland. It’s Cold War vibes with 21st-century tech and zero subtlety.

Tune in for sharp insight, dark humor, and the day’s biggest global security stories delivered with energy. Russia’s still bombing, Ukraine’s still fighting, and the world’s patience is running on fumes. This is geopolitics—unfiltered, unsanitized, and just a little unhinged.

Welcome back to The Restricted Handling Podcast, where geopolitics gets the energy of a locker room breakdown—minus the jerseys. In today’s episode, “China: Trade Wars, Spy Rings, and Pacific Power Plays,” we’re diving into one of the most chaotic 24 hours Beijing’s had in recent memory.

China’s throwing elbows on every front: trade, military, and espionage. The showdown with Japan has gone from tense to personal, as Beijing ramps up its pen-and-gun strategy—cultural propaganda at home and intimidation abroad. After Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Taiwan comments, China’s not just mad, it’s making moves. Seafood bans, canceled film releases, and travel advisories are piling up as Beijing labels Tokyo a “revived militarist threat.” Japan’s not backing down either, pushing ahead with record defense spending and closer military drills with the U.S.

Meanwhile, the Pacific’s heating up—literally and strategically. Chinese “research vessels” are still lurking near Guam, mapping undersea terrain that’s suspiciously perfect for submarine warfare. The U.S., India, Japan, and Australia just wrapped Exercise Malabar, a high-octane naval drill aimed squarely at showing Beijing that freedom of navigation still means something. Guam’s turning into a fortress, but locals worry it’s also becoming target number one if things ever go hot.

On the espionage front, it’s a global whodunit. In Taiwan, authorities are cracking down on an expanding Chinese spy network involving retired and active-duty officers. Across the world, the U.K.’s MI5 just outed a Chinese LinkedIn recruiting ring—digital spies masquerading as headhunters. And in the Philippines, the once-glamorous “spy mayor” Alice Guo has officially been sentenced to life for running a massive human-trafficking and scam empire tied to Chinese networks.

The digital front’s no quieter. A China-linked hacker group, PlushDaemon, has been rerouting software updates through hijacked routers to spy on U.S., Taiwanese, and Japanese companies. It’s espionage disguised as maintenance—proof that Beijing’s cyber playbook just keeps evolving.

And while the world’s watching its moves, China’s President Xi Jinping is locking down control at home, pushing “law-based governance” that really means one thing: Party rule is the only rule. Add in Beijing’s soy trade power plays, chip diplomacy with the Netherlands, and angry words for Washington over warships near Venezuela, and you’ve got a full-spectrum China power hour.

It’s trade wars, spy rings, and Pacific brinkmanship—all in a day’s work for Beijing.

Subscribe to The Restricted Handling Podcast for sharp, fast, and unfiltered global intelligence—because geopolitics doesn’t take a day off, and neither do we.

China’s making headlines again — and not the peaceful kind. In today’s episode of The Restricted Handling Podcast, we dive into the chaos swirling around Beijing’s latest global power plays — espionage, economic coercion, and military muscle-flexing. If you thought yesterday’s news was wild, today’s developments crank the tension up to eleven.

The diplomatic brawl between China and Japan over Taiwan has gone nuclear — metaphorically, for now. After Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi doubled down on her comments about defending Taiwan, Beijing’s throwing every kind of punch it can. We’re talking a total seafood ban, over 540,000 canceled flights, and a propaganda storm calling Japan “a danger to peace.” Meanwhile, Japan’s response? Calm, collected, and backed by its biggest defense budget in modern history. Add in the U.S. flying B-1B bombers with Japanese F-35s over the East China Sea, and it’s clear this standoff isn’t cooling down anytime soon.

But that’s not all. Two of China’s aircraft carriers — the Fujian and Shandong — were just spotted operating together for the first time, conducting joint drills off Hainan Island. The Fujian’s cutting-edge electromagnetic catapult system is front and center, launching fighters like it’s auditioning for the next Top Gun movie. Meanwhile, in the South China Sea, China’s still fuming over joint naval drills between the U.S., Japan, and the Philippines — accusing them of “colluding with external forces.” Translation: Beijing’s nerves are showing.

Over in Taiwan, that espionage story we broke yesterday just got darker. Authorities confirmed the Chinese agent detained — a Hong Kong national named Ding — had been personally recruiting active and retired Taiwanese officers for years. It’s not just remote hacking anymore — Beijing’s physically planting operatives on the island. Taiwan’s tightening its defenses, boosting counterintelligence, and sending a clear message: not today, not ever.

And while all that’s happening, China’s global influence game is still running full throttle. The Netherlands just paused its state control of chipmaker Nexperia after “constructive talks” with Beijing. In London, the MI5 alert naming Chinese spies using LinkedIn as headhunters has Parliament on lockdown. And in Zambia, Premier Li Qiang’s visit is sealing new Belt and Road deals even as Western nations rush to keep up.

We connect every dot — from China’s $2.1 trillion global spending spree to U.S. warnings about Beijing’s grip on supply chains. It’s spies, seafood, and supersonic bombers — all in one fast, sharp, no-fluff episode.

If you want to understand how China’s rewriting the rules of 21st-century power — from your grocery store to your newsfeed to your next vacation — this is the episode you don’t skip.

Listen now to RH 11.19.25 | China: Spies, Seafood Bans, and Bomber Runs — where global strategy meets raw reality, and every headline tells a story bigger than it looks.