#The Black Sea

[li-louie]

After a storm, on the rocky beach of Batumi, you can find a lot of interesting things - driftwood, walnuts, remnants of algae and broken shells - all mixed with colourful minerals from the local mountains.

[peepawtidestrider]

You should do a backfljp

I do not believe I am capable of such a feat, though there was a time where I brilliantly rode on the back of the elusive crawfish! Those were truly the good days, if you ignore what happened... directly after that.

[tomorrowusa]

Yet another Russian warship is sleeping with the fishes. Vladimir Putin, his minion Donald Trump, and his minion "MAGA Mike" Johnson are all in tears.

This time it's a missile-corvette called the Sergey Kotov. It is a relatively new vessel, having been commissioned just over 19 months ago. It was hit by MAGURA V5 sea drones built and operated by Ukraine. The Sergey Kotov sank off the coast of Feodosiya (also transliterated as Feodosia) in Russian-occupied Crimea.

It will not be easy to replace this vessel.

Another Month. Another Russian Warship, Blown Up On The Black Sea. Ukraine’s drone boats are relentless.

The 308-foot, 1,700-ton Project 22160 corvette reportedly sank off of Feodosiya in southeastern Crimea. If confirmed, the sinking would extend the Russian Black Sea Fleet’s losing streak as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds into its third year. Since February 2022 the Ukrainians have blown up or sunk four Russian landing ships, a cruiser, a submarine, a supply ship, several patrol boats and small landing craft and now two missile-corvettes.

Why these sinkings in the Black Sea are significant.

Russian shipyards still manage to build large submarines, but they struggle to build surface warships heavier than a few thousand tons. And while the Russians might eventually be able to construct a new Project 22160 to replace Sergei Kotov, they wouldn’t be able to sail the new ship into the Black Sea. That’s because the only major waterway in and out of the Black Sea—the Bosporus Strait—is controlled by Turkey, a NATO member. And, during wartime, Turkey doesn’t allow any warships into the Black Sea. Allied or enemy.

This was not a short distance operation. The drones had to travel around the southern tip of occupied Crimea.

A reminder that today is Day 741 of Putin's 3-day genocidal "special operation" in Ukraine. Wars don't end because people on social media get tired of them.

[hollowaluminumvessel]

actually crying why did they think it was a good idea to put "Welcome to the Black Sea." RIGHT AFTER a FREAKING KAZOO SOLO

[sage-gamer]

Last Wednesday when the ESO's PC EU servers were down, I loaded up Starfield to play and oh my god

I actually had the best time.

I know the game got a lot of bad/mediocre reviews but I loved the character customisation.

And it goes into such detail - you can pick a backstory trait.

And I love Neon. I love the concept of the city so much.

The flying isn't for me but regardless, I love it! I haven't even tried the settlement building yet.

I forgot to take a screenshot of my character too lol

I'll need to post that next time I load it up. Which may be soon cause I can't stop thinking about it lol

[knighterofjulianthatonetime]

JRWI SPOILERS !! FOR MOST RECENT ARC / EPISODES

just cause i want to know fan opinions / predictions:

obviously best option is no one dies but like

[ao-fc]

Odessa, Ukraine

📷 malibushe4ka

[vintagepromotions]

‘The Sunny Beach’

Balkantourist travel poster for Bulgaria, featuring a view of holidaymakers at the beach while several boats sail in the Black Sea in the foreground (c. 1960).

[blueiscoool]

Surprise

A Ukraine naval drone hits the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyk in the Black Sea.

The naval drone with 1,000 pounds of TNT caused significant damage to the ship, which normally has a crew of 100 sailors.

[vizuart]

[have-a-random-life]

[vornicheskucamera]

horizon 

[gwydionmisha]

Let's talk about Ukraine, the Black Sea, and numbers....

[tomorrowusa]

People in Washington have belatedly been taking notice that Ukraine, a country with not much of a navy, has chased Putin's fleet out of much of the Black Sea. Things are relatively close to normal for Ukrainian grain exports which use shipping on that sea.

In the Black Sea, Ukraine forced the Russian fleet to retreat from the historic headquarters of Sevastopol in Crimea after hitting ships and key buildings repeatedly with drones and missiles. That was a personal blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who lauded the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014.  The maritime success also opened a corridor for Ukraine to move grain shipments in defiance of Russia’s decision last summer to cancel an export deal, an economic and symbolic victory in the war.  “Ukraine won in the Black Sea,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a trip to Washington last month.  Zelensky has made the Black Sea victories a central part of his pitch to Western allies and supporters in the past couple of months — a sign of Ukrainian strength after the ground counteroffensive launched in June largely failed, delivering a stalemate on the frontlines of eastern Ukraine.  “This is huge,” said Olga Lautman, nonresident senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. “They literally shifted the balance in the Black Sea. … Besides practically reopening the Black Sea, they’ve taken out Russia’s navy and pushed them out for the most part. And the attacks continue.”  Ukraine has maintained an edge in the waters of the Black Sea since the war began in February 2022 — and Kyiv does not have a naval force, let alone one the size of the Russian fleet.  In the early days of the war, Ukraine secured its hold on Odesa, a Black Sea port city in southern Ukraine, and sunk the Russian flagship the Moskva.  Ukrainian troops also liberated Snake Island, where defiant Ukrainian troops emerged famous for cursing at a Russian warship, in spring 2022.  In August, Ukraine stepped up attacks on the Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol, a hub for the Russian navy since Moscow annexed Crimea, but which has historical importance for Russia going back to the 1700s. In September, one strike damaged the headquarters of the Russian navy in Sevastopol. That month also saw Ukrainian special forces retake oil platforms in the Black Sea from Russia years after Moscow first seized them.  For the next two months, Ukraine kept assaulting Russian ships, leading to a full Russian naval retreat from Sevastopol and western Crimea.  After the fall attacks, Zelensky hailed Ukrainian forces for “pushing the Russian navy out to the eastern part of the Black Sea,” saying they “totally changed” the situation in the maritime domain.  “Russia can no longer use our sea to expand its aggression to other parts of the world,”  Zelensky said in an Oct. 31 address, “Ukraine’s success in the battle for the Black Sea will go down in history books, although it’s not being discussed much today.” 

It's become increasingly difficult for Russia to resupply its positions by sea. Last month Ukraine sunk a Russian ship loaded to the brim with munitions. This took place in Feodosia in occupied eastern Crimea which is only 100 km by road from Kerch where Ukraine damaged a bridge which connects occupied Ukraine to Russia.

Despite heavy and embarrassing losses, Putin will not give up his desire to conquer Ukraine unless he is forced to. Ukraine has been holding its own, but it needs help obtaining weapons and equipment. The GOP House of Representatives is holding up aid to Ukraine for its own political purposes. We need to contact our representatives and tell them to quit acting like Putin's agents on Capitol Hill.

Find out who your House member is.

Find Your Representative

Then contact him or her using the contact information given at the site. With Republicans, invoke the name of Ronald Reagan and insist that they quit supporting measures which help the Evil Empire. Be firm but polite.

[ayron13]

[be-strong-be-patient]