The year is 2023.

This year was marked by: continued rise and development of AI models capable of
generating realistic images, texts and music

There are continued warnings about the COVID-19 virus in the West.

India overtook China as the most populous country in the world.

Banking crisis resulted in collapse of a many banks in the USA.

Deadly earthquakes killed 50,000 people in Turkey and Syria.

Civil war erupted in Sudan between Rapid Support Forces and the government.

Finland joined NATO.

Russia and Ukraine are at war for over a year.

Tensions worldwide only keep rising in the New Cold War with most of attention
diverted to Ukraine which is being used by NATO to save itself from direct war with
Russia.
Ukraine is being supplied with everything in NATO arsenal with bilions of dollars
worth of aid: Leopard 2 tanks and Bradley armored vehicles, HIMARS rocket
launchers, M777 howitzers, ammo, missiles, drones,..etc.
But also NATO training for Ukrainian troops and inteligence support is provided.
However, to keep Ukrainian war effort going, NATO has to sacrifice considerable
supplies of ammunition and equipment, leaving it vulnerable in event of a direct
war with Russia.
Russia is dedicating the bare minimum of its GDP to war effort, only 3% of it, with
Russian current focus being to defend the teritories they took earlier in the war
and to wage a war of attrition.

Ukrainian sabotages and attacks into mainland Russia are major provokations that
increase tensions the most.
Examples being the destruction of Kerch bridge, incursions in Belgorod and drone
attacks on Moscow among others.
However, Ukrainian saboteurs helped by British and US inteligence are about to
execute a mission that will escalate into something greater.

Nizhnevartovsk is a city in Siberia located near the Saratoga oil fields housing
the largest oil refinery in Russia that is crucial for Russian economy.
The oil fields there make up over 40% of Russian crude oil production and over 30%
of petroleum distilate production, making it an attractive target.

On a cold night of 24th December 2023 a strong explosion occurs in Nizhnevartovsk

oil refinery, a fine work by Ukrainian saboteurs.
Subsequent fires of oil will consume the whole refinery that burned for several
days, the oil spilled over in nearby river Ob and Nizhnevartovsk city itself.
Fires and explosion will consume the whole refinery, 300 oil workers are killed and
less than 200 civilian residents of Nizhnevartovsk too.
City itself burned badly and firefighters from across Russia had to be deployed to
liquidate the fires.
There is 200 bilion dollars worth of damage and Russia has little to no capacities
of rebuilding a former Soviet oil refinery.
This is very easily a big blow to Russian economy dominated by oil industry.
Enormous portion of Russian steel pipe production would be needed and anywhere from
8 to 10 years to rebuild the refinery!
Russian economy will have a enormous shortfall in oil production.
They must obtain more oil one way or another. The alternative is a crippled economy
and
reduced defense capacity and capacity to wage war in Ukraine.
The consequences of which are not acceptable. Kremlin and Russian leadership is
well aware of this and so they will obtain oil, but that oil is not within borders
of Russia.
A new war is brewing up and it will engulf the whole world.

A few hours later president of Russia is adressing the public regarding the
disaster in Nizhnevartovsk in a speech in which he condemns the perpertrators
consisted of Ukrainian and NATO special forces and inteligence.
Furthermore he accuses Ukraine and NATO of trying to weaken Russian economy to set
ground for "New Operation Barbarossa" to destroy Russia and its people.
War is officially declared on Ukraine by Russia and public support for war keeps
growing.

Replies from Russian enemies quickly arrived.

Ukrainian government officials deny any involvement and that the attack brings no
benefit for Kiev at the battlefield, suggesting that its a false flag operation by
Russian FSB.
US, NATO and EU officials state their doubt about Ukraine being capable of
executing a enormous sabotage like this and they deny Russian accusations.

Soon after the declaration of war and the speech, a new wave of mobilization in
Russia started.
The goal is to mobilize 2,000,000 reservists in span of 3 months. Russian military
spending triples up as does the war effort.
Industrial mobilization grows too, production of military equipment ramps up, all
engineers are being employed in military industry and logistics.
All male citizens between the age 18 to 60 are now prohibited from leaving the
country.
Same laws are declared in Belarus too with 400,000 reservists called to arms.