#novichok

[tomorrowusa]

You never know when a Russian defector is going to show up at the border.

It’s a good thing some dumbass GOP governor was not at the border trying to make a name for himself.

A Russian military bomber engineer drove up to the U.S. Southwest border in late December, asking for asylum and offering to reveal some of Russia’s most closely guarded military secrets, according to an unclassified Customs and Border Protection report obtained by Yahoo News.

The man and his family arrived in an armored SUV and asked to be admitted into the U.S. because he feared persecution for participating in anti-Putin protests in support of Alexei Navalny, an imprisoned Russian dissident. He then told CBP officials that he had information wanted by the U.S. government.

He said he was a civil engineer and that “his past employment had included working ... from 2018 to 2021 in the making of a particular type of military airplane at the Tupolev aircraft production facility in the city of Kazan in west-central Russia,” according to a Jan. 11 unclassified CBP report obtained by Yahoo News.

“He described the aircraft type as ‘an attack jet’ and said it ‘was called White Swan-TU160, the largest military aircraft.’”

Hopefully the information the US got from this engineer can be used to help Ukraine fight off Russian aggression.

“The TU-160 White Swan, also known by the NATO reporting name ‘Blackjack,’ is reportedly the most advanced strategic bomber in the Russian inventory and has been also used in a tactical airstrike role in the Ukraine war. According to open-source reporting, a major new construction program of an improved version of the aircraft as well as an upgrade program of existing aircraft got underway at the Tupolev facility during the past few years,” according to the unclassified “CBP Indications and Warnings Daily.”

Obviously Putin would love to put Novichok or Polonium in the tea of this defector. So his identity remains secret for now.

Yahoo News is withholding his name and details of where he arrived and applied for asylum after several officials raised concerns about the man’s safety.

[ ... ]

The engineer is believed to be inside the U.S. and is still being questioned by U.S. officials. He is likely being questioned about the restart of the Blackjack production, and the revamped or upgraded versions believed to have been worked on during the time of the Russian engineer’s employment."

He is also likely being asked about matters unrelated to the bomber jet, which could include everything from the email system, software, staffing and manufacturer used by the aircraft production facility — information that could be used to carry out targeted cyberattacks or for intelligence gathering or other efforts.

So more bad news for Putin – wherever he’s hiding out these days.

[hugtheteadrinkthekitten]

ISN'T THAT THE CATHEDRAL WHOSE 123M SPIRE THE RUSSIAN DEFINITELY-NOT-SPIES SAID THEY WERE COMING ALL THE WAY FROM MOSCOW TO SEE?

A small grotesque biting a bigger gargoyle, roof of Salisbury Cathedral, UK. 

[head-post]

UK launches probe into woman’s death by Novichok nerve agent

A public enquiry into the death of a woman who Britain said was unintentionally killed with the nerve agent Novichok after the attempted murder of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal six years ago would start on 14 October, according to Euractiv.

Dawn Sturgess died from exposure to Novichok in July 2018 after her partner found a fake bottle of perfume allegedly used by Russian intelligence agents to smuggle the poison into the country.

Skripal, who sold Russian secrets to Britain, and his daughter Yulia were found unconscious on a public bench in the southern English city of Salisbury four months earlier. Both they and a police officer who went to Skripal’s home were left in critical condition from exposure to a military-grade nerve agent but recovered, according to a British police statement.

The hearing will take place in Salisbury. It aims to provide the Sturgess family with answers about how she died, as well as to hear some confidential evidence in secret from the government and security services.

British police charged three Russians in absentia for the attack on Skripal and his daughter. However, no formal case has been made against them over the death of 44-year-old Sturgess. The three men and Moscow denied any involvement.

Last month, the chairman of the enquiry, former Supreme Court judge Anthony Hughes, ruled that the Skripals would not testify themselves. He said there was an “overwhelming risk” they would be physically attacked if they were identified and their current whereabouts revealed.

The incident led to the largest expulsion of diplomats since the Cold War, with relations between London and Moscow deteriorating further since the outbreak of war in Ukraine.

However, the Russian embassy in London stated last week that “references to the alleged use of the mythical Novichok are quite preposterous.”

Read more HERE

[inbonobo]

chess and mercuriy

just learned about Russian Amina Abakarova, 43, smearing Mercury (Hg) on the chess table of her opponent - what's with Russians and poisoning? Remember novichok?

Russian chess champion ‘smeared poison on childhood rival’s board’ (msn.com)

[rockyoushow]

REVIEW: Canadian Thrash/Heavy Metal Band NOVICHOK "Geo-Desiccant"

Canadian Thrashers NOVICHOK “Geo-Desiccant” is a solid collection of Thrashing Groove Metal delivered with a tightness many bands only wish to have. They’re right in the pocket and know exactly when to kick it into gear and slow things down. On top of that their lyrics, vocals (lead and gang) are very clever, leaning into some slight humor at times too. You are certainly convinced these guys are…

[sloeserwij]

Ruslands Doodseskader

Navalny vermoord door Ruslands Doodseskader Unit 29155. Te lezen op mijn blog https://sloeserwij.wordpress.com/ #Navalny, #Rusland, #Poetin, #Unit29155, #Spetsnatz

Vrijdag 16 februari 2024 overleed Aleksej Navalny op onverklaarbare wijze. Rusland beweert een natuurlijke dood, maar bewoners van de vrije wereld weten wel beter. Autoritaire regiems hebben gemeen dat zij met harde hand hun macht moeten afdwingen. Deze harde hand beperkt zich niet enkel tot het eigen land maar strekt ver over haar eigen landsgrenzen heen. Alles wat het zittende regiem op enige…

[lifewithaview]

The Salisbury Poisonings (2020) Ep1

4 March 2018. Emergency services descend on Salisbury's city centre where they find Sergei and Yulia Skripal unconscious on a park bench.

[supemaeve]

Not gonna lie I'm really curious to see what they're going to pick for Maeve even though I probably won't agree lol

[mymidena]

NOVICHOK

[gaytiencemount]

If I had a nickel for every time my favourite character threw herself off a high ledge bc she decided she was the one who had to do it to save everyone I'd have two nickels which isn't much but it's weird it's happened twice

[tomorrowusa]

^^^ The cover of the Polish magazine Wprost depicts Christmas 2022 in Ukraine. That looks like the work of artist Paweł Kuczyński.

Remember that Santa stands with Ukraine.  🎅🏼

Vladimir Putin should expect a stocking full of Polonium and Novichok.

[amerasdreams]

researching about russia does make you paranoid because they do go to such extreme lengths sometimes to persecute people who do barely anything against the regime.

like, i know they're not trying to poison ME for just some social media posts, i'm not russian or near russia, but that comes to mind when i feel sick (when I haven't been sick since covid in 2022), or if I get some sort of scam online, I think they're targeting me specifically

It's almost 99% unlikely... but you can't put anything past them at this point.

i mean, if i were actually being effective, which would be more likely if i had a wide audience, i can see they might -- might-- try something. but i'm a nobody.

plus i'm really tired rn which makes me irrational (I'm sooo tired that I think i might be sick, which triggered all this. More than even the normal tiredness after running around all weekend - just 4 visits 4 miles away.... but also with some paranoia about them bc I HAVE had incidents before. when you've had something happen it does appear more prominently in your mind)

I do comment and share things I can't help but share... because I can't stay silent. when people are so immune to seeing evil in front of their face

and I don't look at replies to comments on youtube or instagram bc I know a lot are probably negative, perhaps trolls (i've seen some and I don't need that negativity)

[ax-ky]

novichok

[kaleldobrev]

Memories Are All I Have

Pairing: Soldier Boy (Ben) x F. Supe!Reader

Summary: You’re all Ben thinks about while he’s in Russia

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings: Cursing (6x), Mentions of torture (but nothing insanely graphic in description), Fluff (Ben just deeply loves reader & misses her)

Authors Note: Flashbacks are in italics | If you liked this, don’t forget to like & reblog. I really appreciate it! Feedback is always welcome ♡

He found you washing dishes, wearing nothing but your forest green silk robe that he had gotten you for your birthday last year. Forest green specifically so you knew that he was the one that had gotten it for you (since that was his color). You were barefoot like always, humming 'Almost Like Being in Love' by Sinatra; the same song your mother would hum to you as a lullaby when you were a child. "You comin' to talk to me or are you just gonna stand there?" You asked him; not looking away from what you were doing.

"Hate when you do that," he chuckled, making his way toward you.

"You can blame Vought for that," you said, letting out half a laugh as he wrapped his arms around your waist. "And to be fair, you do the exact same thing to me." His chin rested on your shoulder, and your hands rested on his hands; your body slightly leaning into him as the two of you swayed a little.

Half knocked out, Ben could vaguely hear the Ivan's talking; going on about what experiments they were going to be doing on him today. Ben couldn't really speak Russian, or understand most of it; but he had been here long enough to know what certain words or phrases had meant when it came to him getting experimented on.

You were sitting on the counter, his hands on either side of you; essentially trapping you. Your legs were slightly wrapped around his waist lazily, along with your arms around his neck. He was simply just staring into your eyes; and this was the first time he had noticed small little specks of various color within them that were about a shade or two lighter than your actual color — it amazed him that he had never noticed this about you or your eyes before. "I love you," he told you, his voice slightly low. He caressed your cheek a little with his thumb as he searched for your reaction.

That's when you smiled at him. A smile that he's seen from you so many times before — one that was a genuine look of pure, unadulterated happiness. It was the kind of smile that he had wanted to just stare at and admire for the rest of his life. "I love you too," you replied back. You leaned in just then; your foreheads touching.

Ben heard the door start to open; but he was too drugged up to really respond to what was happening. He was so used to this song and dance at this point, as he's been through it all. He's drunk bleach, sulfuric acid cocktails, had AK's shot into his mouth, and torched with fire.

Ben had his eyes closed, but he knew that you were staring at him; it was just something that you did whenever the two of you were lying in bed together. He didn't mind of course, as he often found himself staring at you too when he thought that you weren't looking. "You're staring," he said, a small smirk on his lips.

"I call it admiring," you stated, your fingers tilting his chin up so he could face you more. As soon as you did that, he opened his eyes to look at you; admiring that soft smile you so often gave him. "Now you're the one staring."

"It's called admiring," he grinned.

"Smartass," you replied, leaning in, cupping his face and gently kissing him.

Ben was on the cold metal table now, strapped in like he normally was; still slightly out of it due to the Novichok. He could barely understand what they were planning on doing to him today; but the words that he could make out (as he had heard them plenty of times in this context) was gasoline and matches.

Ben was in the gym, punching away at a punching bag, attempting to get his aggression out. Today was one of the worst days he's had in a while, and all he wanted to do right now was curl up in bed with you after he fucked your brains out against the tile of the shower wall; but you were no where to be found.

He usually had a pretty good idea about where you could be, but for some reason you weren't in your usual places. But that's when he heard it; heard the pitter patter of your feet running down the hallway towards the gym, trying your best not to slide on the slick marble floors.

With one final punch, the door to the gym swung open, and he knew that it could only be you. But without fail, you did what you normally did in order to try and surprise him and placed your little hands over his eyes, promptly covering them. "Guess who!" You exclaimed.

"Noir," he smirked, and you laughed, removing your hands. God he fucking loved the way you laughed.

"You're very good," you replied, and he turned to face you, looking slightly down at you.

"Where were you today?" He asked. "I couldn't fucking find you anywhere," you frowned slightly, and he hated more than anything whenever you frowned — especially when he was the cause of it. "Don't frown Sugar," he said, tilting your chin up. "You're far too pretty to be doing that." Your frown instantly became a soft smile. "There she is," he grinned.

Today was one of the worst days as they bathed him in gasoline and lit him repeatedly with matches. The first couple of times, Ben held in the pain and simply just gritted his teeth as he didn't want to give these fuckers the satisfaction that they were actually causing him immense pain. But after about the sixth or eighth time (he couldn't remember), he actually let out a groan as he just couldn't hold in the pain any longer.

After he let out that groan; the Ivan's must of been satisfied, as all he could hear was the sounds of them laughing, laughing as if they were at some comedy show; and for the first time in Ben's life, his stomach actually felt like it was in knots — that was how disgusted he was.

"So, I met with my agent and Legend today," you said, starting to trace small circles on his bare chest. "And guess what?"

"What?" He asked, cocking a brow.

"You know the show Solid Gold right?" You asked him.

"Of course I do. It's your favorite fucking show," he said. "What about it?"

"Well...they're going to be doing a special episode coming up featuring Kim Carnes, the Oak Ridge Boys, Wayland Flowers and Madame, and they want us on the show too!" You exclaimed, smiling wide.

"Why wasn't I invited to this little meeting if they want me too?" He questioned.

"Because they know you'll agree to anything as long as I bring it up to you," you said, flashing that charming smile you always did whenever you were trying to butter him up to get something you wanted. Repeatedly he would tell himself that he wouldn't fall for it, wouldn't give in; but he always did without fail, as he found himself never being able to say no to you — he loved you too fucking much.

He sighed. "When do we film?"

You bit your bottom lip, almost as if you were afraid to give him the answer. "Friday," you mumbled. Today was Wednesday.

Memories of the two of you were one of the only things that had kept Ben going besides dreaming of the day when you would rescue him from this awful place. But if he was being honest, the longer he was here, the more he was starting to question if you were ever going to come and rescue him. Were you even looking for him? A question that started to enter his mind more and more lately; a question that he hated came to mind. But he had to hope that deep down that you were actually looking for him and have been for the past unknown amount of years because you had loved him just as much as he had loved you.

Tag List: @syrma-sensei @k-slla @justletmereadfanfic @deans-daydream @midorimachisenpaii @rachiem4-blog @taraswifes @zepskies @jackles010378 @mrsjenniferwinchester @globetrotter28 @deans-spinster-witch @mrlonelycat @zombie-freak @waywardlatina @crystal555 @missscarlettangel @livingordeadwhoknows @79winchester @savagemickey03 If you’d like to be added to a tag list please follow this link

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Russia’s Alexei Navalny, a fierce anticorruption campaigner who galvanized the country’s political opposition, has died in prison, Russian news agencies reported Friday. The cause of his death was still being established, said prison authorities, cited by Russian news agency TASS. Navalny had been serving sentences in a penal colony amounting to more than 30 years on various charges. He was 47 years old.

A statement from the prison authorities said that he had felt unwell following a walk outside and lost consciousness. The statement said a medical team was called on site but was unable to save him. Navalny had been behind bars since January 2021, when he returned to Russia from Germany, where he was recovering after falling ill during a flight inside Russia. German doctors concluded that he had been poisoned with the Soviet-era nerve agent, Novichok. Navalny blamed his poisoning on the Kremlin, which denied involvement in any attempt to harm him.

[WSJ]

+

Alexi Navalny has been murdered by Vladimir Putin. Democracy is fragile. Not a drill. Rest in power.

+

“Listen, I've got something very obvious to tell you. You’re not allowed to give up. If they decide to kill me, it means that we are incredibly strong.”

- Alexei Navalny

+

"Everything will be all right. And, even if it won't be, we'll have the consolation of having lived honest lives."

Alexei Navalny (1976-2024)

[hughiecampbelle]

Imagine being Soldier Boys younger sibling: Pt. 1

Requested: anon / Pt. 2

"Soldier Boy."

"Y/n?" His voice breaks. Ben doesn't know what happened or how long it's been, but he does know, the last time he was awake, lucid, you were trying to escape. You were running, escaping, and then there was the gas. That stupid fucking Novichok gas. Did you get away? Did you break free? He looked past the array of strange faces, searching for your familiar features. "Y/n?" He says again. Your name sounds familiar. Hughie remembers reading it somewhere during his research. Were you a friend? A lover? And then it clicked. You were his baby, the only person he was willing to share the limelight with. Supposedly, everyone on the team hated you and Ben together. You were the most famous Supe sibling duo, the first, and that made everyone else jealous. You two partied together and got into trouble and, as far as The Boys knew, were sold off to the Russians together, too. After that, your trail goes cold. Did you escape? Did they kill you? No one in the room knew.

"What? You mean-"

"Y/n!" He yells, disoriented, stepping out of his chamber. He searched the room, but everything was different. Everything changed. Who were these people? What did they do to you? Ben had spent years listening to your cries, your pleas, your begging. One minute you were on top of the world together. You were the best, the most powerful, the most famous. You could have anyone and anything you ever wanted. And then, suddenly, you were lab rats. You were being experimented on. You were forced to suffer through tests and surgeries and all kinds of taunting. They laughed at you. They spat at you. They enjoyed doing what they did to you. If you escaped, where would you be now? Where would you have gone? What would have happened to you? "Where, where's y/n?" The look in his eyes crushes Hughie. He wanted his family, he wanted to make sure you were okay.

"We'll help you find them, okay?"