#russia's defense ministry

[tomorrowusa]

Ho-hum. Another day, another unexplained death of a Russian businessman, current/former official, or dissident.

It's true that Igor Kotelnikov was on the sketchy side – he was in pretrial detention on a bribery charge. But he was 52 which is still below Russia's plummeting life expectancy. No cause of death was released by official sources.

Somebody up top may have been worried about Kotelnikov's upcoming testimony and decided to silence him once and for all. After falling out of windows, dying while in custody under mysterious circumstances seems to be a favored way for the dictatorship to get rid of people it doesn't want around.

A Russian businessman charged with bribing senior Defense Ministry officials on behalf of suppliers has died in pretrial detention, according to a member of the country's human rights council. Igor Kotelnikov, 52, died on July 8 after feeling unwell in the Moscow pretrial detention center, Yeva Merkacheva said. She did not give a cause of death but said he had been held in a part of the center that has tough conditions. "Rights defenders, examining the pretrial detention center, repeatedly noted that these cells are packed with people. [The cells] are small, hot in warm weather, cold in the winter. In addition, some detainees sit there all day," Merkacheva wrote in a column for the popular daily Moskovsky Komsomolets. She said that Kotelnikov's death was not the first in such cells and that other detainees have committed suicide. Kotelnikov allegedly operated as a middleman in the bribery scheme that rocked the ministry earlier this year, leading to the arrest of former Deputy Defense Minister Timur Ivanov and two other businessmen. Kotelnikov denied the charges.

The Russian defense establishment is notoriously corrupt. Kotelnikov probably knew a lot about the sleaze.

According to the Telegram channel CHEKA-OGPU, officials from the Federal Security Service (FSB) visited Kotelnikov in detention on several occasions to encourage him to finger Ivanov. The channel claimed that when Kotelnikov refused, the FSB officials began pressuring him and later moved him to a punishment cell. CHEKA-OGPU is reportedly close to Russia’s security services. According to the Telegram channel, prison doctors said Kotelnikov should not be held in a punishment cell due to chronic illness and had him sent back. However, prison officials, allegedly under FSB pressure, had him returned, CHEKA-OGPU said. Ivanov, who oversaw the military-industrial complex for the ministry, was arrested in April on charges of taking more than 1 billion rubles ($11.4 million) in bribes from contractors. Ivanov, whose family flaunted its wealth, has denied the charges.

A reminder that this régime is admired by many Republicans in the US who are hoping for a Putin victory in Ukraine – despite the endemic incompetence and corruption in Russia's military. Russia is their model for how to run a country.

[mockva]

The estate in the center of Moscow of Shoigu’s deputy, arrested for bribery, is the former estate of Tchaikovsky’s niece Anna von Meck, 19th century. It is believed that it was in the basement of this house that the main character of Bulgakov’s novel “The Master and Margarita” lived.

[xtruss]

Why “North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO)” Has No Right to Complain About Russian Nukes in Belarus

— Sunday May 28, 2023 | Ilya Tsukanov

Moscow and Minsk signed agreements this week on the deployment of Russian tactical nukes at a special storage facility in Belarus. The deployment will mean a significant security boost for Minsk, and threaten to unravel NATO’s entire missile defense strategy, says international relations and security analyst Mark Sleboda.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has confirmed that Russia has moved ahead with the deployment of tactical nukes to Belarus.

“We had to prepare storage areas and the like. We have done this, so the movement of nuclear weapons has already begun,” Lukashenko said, speaking to Russian media in Moscow on Thursday.

The Biden administration responded predictably, with White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre slamming the nuclear deployment as “yet another example of making irresponsible and provocative choices” by Russia, and reiterating Washington’s commitment “to collective defense of the NATO alliance.”

Jean-Pierre’s remarks echo those made by NATO in March, when Moscow and Minsk first outlined plans on the transfer of tactical nukes to Belarusian soil. At that time, an alliance spokesperson called Russia’s plans “dangerous and irresponsible,” and dismissed any suggestion that the decision was a response to longstanding NATO policy – including the stationing of US nukes on European soil.

Mark Sleboda rejects these excuses. “First off, it has to be said, one of the first justifications Russia used for doing this is that the US has actually had tactical nuclear weapons in Europe for decades, hundreds of them, in fact, and they have recently even been upgraded to the B61-12 tactical nuclear warheads [in place] of older gravity bombs,” Sleboda pointed out in an episode of Radio Sputnik’s The Final Countdown on Friday.

“They are located in a number of NATO countries, including Belgium, Italy, Germany. They’ve been there for decades, and Russia has long complained about it. And that longstanding grievance, combined with other NATO escalations, convinced Russia that if you set the precedent and you don’t consider it a violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, then you can hardly accuse us of doing the same if we do it in Belarus. But of course, hypocrisy knows no bounds,” the observer said.

US Nukes in Europe: Where are They Stationed? Russia's plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus sparked an outcry from North Atlantic Terrorist Organization (NATO), with the alliance issuing a statement condemning Moscow for its "Dangerous" and "irresponsible" move. But given that the US has around 100 nukes at six separate European bases, the rhetoric seems like a case of the pot calling the kettle black. (March 27th, 2023)

Russia’s move isn’t an act of “escalation” so much as it is “an act of equity,” according to Sleboda, with the decision sending a “definite signal” on Russia’s commitment to Belarus’ security, and the future of any potential NATO-Russia conflict.

Combined with the deployment of Russian Iskander-M missile systems and the modification of Belarusian jets to carry nuclear weapons, the analyst hopes the move will cool any hotheads in the Pentagon, Warsaw, and NATO as a whole.

Inoculation Against Color Revolution

Pointing to Belarus’ alliance with Russia, including its membership in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Russian-Belarusian Union State, is “something that’s not often talked about with the West because they don’t like to acknowledge its existence,” Sleboda said, recalling the regular threats to Belarusian security from the West, including an attempted color revolution in the country in 2020.

“Just in the last week, a Polish general and former deputy defense minister, Waldemar Skrzypczak, appeared on Polish TV and said there will be an uprising in Minsk. He spoke about a ‘pro-Ukrainian army’ by which I assume he means the Belarusian neo-Nazis fighting for the Kiev regime –basically the idea that they will come home and overthrow the Belarusian government, and that Poland should be prepared to support them. Obviously this is exactly one of the types of things that this placement is meant to secure Belarus from,” Sleboda said.

On top of that are the strategic considerations, both given NATO’s nuclear provocations – like staging nuclear-capable bomber drills near Russia’s borders over the Black and Baltic Seas in recent years, and longstanding efforts to create missile defenses in Eastern Europe to try to render Russia’s nuclear deterrent obsolete. The nuclear deployment in Belarus should counter these threats, from Moscow’s perspective, Sleboda believes.

Why is Russia Deploying Tactical Nuclear Weapons in Belarus? Announcing this week’s signing of a deal on maintaining Russian tactical nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil, Russia and Minsk reiterated that this is a response to the aggressive policies pursued by unfriendly countries. What prompted Moscow to deploy its non-strategic nukes in Belarus? May 26th, 2023

As compared to strategic nuclear weapons, an NSNW is less powerful and aims to devastate enemy targets in a specific area without causing widespread destruction and radioactive fallout.

"I would like to note that all the activities are organized strictly in accordance with existing international obligations and do not violate the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said.

He Sergei Shoigu all of this indicates that both Belarus and Russia are facing a very hostile environment, which in turn prompts the two to further strengthen their partnership, particularly pertaining to bilateral relations in the military sphere. Peskov did not specify whether Russia had started deploying TNWs in Belarus or not.

"Over the last two and a half years, the Republic of Belarus has been subjected to unprecedented political, economic and information pressure from the United States, the United Kingdom and its NATO allies, as well as the member states of the European Union. In view of these circumstances, and the legitimate concerns and risks in the sphere of national security arising from them, Belarus is forced to respond by strengthening its own security and defense capabilities," the Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The Russian president underlined that the immediate trigger for the deployment of TNWs in Belarus was the UK government’s decision to provide Ukraine with armor-piercing shells containing depleted uranium, something that he said was “one way or another related to nuclear technology."

— May 26th, 2023, Sputnik International

Belarusian Military Train in Russia to Operate Iskander-M Missile Systems! The Iskander-M is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system developed by Russia. It has a range of up to 500 km and is capable of carrying a range of conventional and nuclear warheads. The missile system is designed to evade interception and can be quickly deployed across different landscapes, such as deserts, snow-covered, and rough terrain. It also integrates advanced technologies such as inertial and optical guidance systems, making it highly accurate.

“One of the reasons they’re putting them there is, you know, the tactical value of having nuclear weapons closer to NATO’s borders, which ruins all of their missile defense plans… But it also puts Russia’s nuclear shield more firmly over Belarus. There will be no military incursion into Belarus [because] there will be nuclear weapons there. And likewise as well, it makes any future attempts at some kind of color revolution or Maidan type insurgency to overthrow the Belarusian government extremely unlikely because Russia will then always have an excuse to intervene,” he said.

Along with the increased security, the nuclear agreement might mean the transfer of additional advanced military hardware to Belarus, and perhaps some undercover “economic sweeteners” for Minsk, like cheaper gas prices, the observer suggested.

Change in Russia’s Nuclear Posture?

Asked about what the nuclear deployment in Belarus means for Russia’s nuclear doctrine, and whether it signals a shift in Moscow’s willingness to preemptively use nuclear weapons – including in Ukraine, as written about ad nauseam in Western legacy media and by DC think tanks, Sleboda stressed that until Moscow announces otherwise, “Russia’s nuclear doctrine does not allow for a first strike capability.”

“The exception for that is, of course, the use of some other type of weapons of mass destruction against Russia, you know, chemical weapons, biological weapons… The other situation, and this is an exceptional one, is an overwhelming conventional attack [that may] threaten the very existence of the Russian state, which is generally interpreted to mean a gigantic NATO conventional attack that manages to destroy the Russian military and is marching on Moscow or St. Petersburg,” he explained.

“I would say that there have been a number of Russian officials and political figures that have been very loose with nuclear talk. They talk about the casual use of nuclear weapons like US congressmen do, you know, it’s like [late Arizona Senator John] McCain saying we should turn something into a ‘glass parking lot.’ But those statements of bluster and rhetoric have nothing to do with reality. And I have to say that in this particular situation I find such use of nuclear threats (that are not part of Russia’s nuclear doctrine and so are meaningless) to be less than constructive,” Sleboda noted.

Otherwise, the international security observer noted, “Russia’s nuclear doctrine is clear,” and that unless someone uses nukes or other WMDs against Russia first, a nuclear response will not follow, including in Ukraine.

[kesarijournal]

Europe on the Brink: Geopolitical Tensions and Strategic Shifts

Orbán Warns of Impending War Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has issued a dire warning, comparing Europe’s current trajectory towards war to a “train with a mad driver.” He stressed the need to prevent the EU and NATO from expanding the conflict in Ukraine and urged voters to support peace-advocating parties in the upcoming European Parliament elections.China-Russia Alliance In a bold…

[politicoscope]

Finally Russia Did This to Ukraine Assault On Zaporozhye NPP

Finally Russia Did This to Ukraine Assault On Zaporozhye NPP

Russia’s Federation Council (the upper house of parliament) has passed an address demanding the Ukrainian authorities put an end to attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and calling on the world’s parliaments and international parliamentary organizations to condemn Ukraine’s aggression against the nuclear site. The senators pointed out that the United Nations Security Council and the…

[taiwantalk]

so my instinct already felt these civilians were suspicious. in fact, they looked kind of like background actors. lol.

and what kind of hq do you know is ever that vulnerable to penetration? no layers of security? they'er just chilling back sipping coffee? or knocking back vodka playing cod on sony playstation?

Eh… either russian civilians are stupid or they know that it’s all bullshit… what do you think?

I’ll reconsider if a battle erupts.

You know how big of a deal this would be if prigozhin actually start a civil war? China would be next.

Any general with a loyal army of around 20 to 30 thousand strong could do the same in Russia or China. Or North Korea. Or Iran. lol

Doubt prigozhin is ready to fight inside Russia without taking over arms supply. He’s been saying he’s low on ammos. How stupid would it be to start something without securing munition depots?

[lastivkaa]

@/yo_syp from twitter decided to make a thread with some facts about why people hate Russians and Russia. I copy it here respectively.

"Why do so many people hate Russians?"

The first and second Russian-Chechen Wars

Russian-Georgian War

Transnistria War | The war between Russia and Moldova

January events in Vilnius or the assault on the Vilnius TV tower

The Winter War. War between the Soviet Union (Russia) and Finland

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 tragedy.

Invasion of Czechoslovakia

Russia actively supports Taliban

The Wagner Group, also known as the African Corps in Africa, has been conducting military operations in various countries on the African continent since 2017, and is a de facto unit of the Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD)

Russian imperialism harms the whole world

Russia Should Collapse

[qqueenofhades]

-Runs back into the room from having been wrapped up in the Sub Shitshow- context PLEASE on what’s up with Putin!?

Lol okay buckle up:

Yevgeny Prighozin is (well, as of now) one of Putin's closest allies. He is Putin's former chef and now the CEO of Wagner Group, the Russian private army of mercenaries who have spent a decade plundering Africa and destroying Syria in the employ of various terrible local dictators. Since the invasion of Ukraine, Wagner has become one of the Russian army's mainstays, mostly because they're the only ones who seem able to actually do anything. Of course, it did still take them nine months to take Bakhmut, Ukraine's *checks notes* 53rd largest city with very little strategic value, but given what a shitshow the regular Russian army has been, that's good. Or something.

The Russian army is mostly good at destroying dams and bombing civilians, which are obviously terrible for many reasons, but not that useful in the military scheme of things.

However, Wagner are also -- I hasten to stress -- thoroughly terrible people. Aside from all the shit in Africa and Syria, they've done likewise in Ukraine and will continue to do so. Legally speaking, they technically "don't exist," which has allowed them to get around a lot of the usual rules and regulations that are supposed to "bind" (ha) the Russian army. They are obviously in Ukraine directly at Putin's behest and doing Putin's bidding, but it turns out that giving an ambitious and amoral psychopathic warlord his own private army of criminals, rapists, killers, and whoever else they can dredge out of Russia's prisons to throw at the front line and die en masse may not be a good idea?

Shocking, I know.

Anyway, Prigozhin has spent months ripping into the Russian Minister of Defense, Sergei Shoigu, for what a whole shitshow clusterfuck this whole stupid war patently is. (Not, however, that this has stopped him from continuing to eagerly carry it out, since he's just as much or indeed even more of a zealot as the rest of Putin's government.) This has included blaming Shoigu for equipment losses, underprovisioning of Wagner troops, general strategic numbnuttery, etc. Prigozhin has not, however -- again, until now -- attacked Putin directly, or backed off from getting his losers killed in Bakhmut and/or wherever else. One suspects that Putin has been perfectly happy to let Prigozhin scapegoat Shoigu for the war's failures, since this means Shoigu can always just conveniently fall out a window or something if it gets too necessary to make a public show of displeasure, and not Putin.

HOWEVER, things took a turn VERY FAST today, within about 12 hours. Prigozhin has, as noted, spent months tearing the Russian military leadership a new asshole -- not because he's a good guy (he's a fucking war criminal on like, 10 different levels), but because it is plainly obvious what a shitshow this is and even a war criminal has his limits as to how much totally pointless murderous bullshit he wants to go through, I guess. (That includes telling the truth about why the war started -- i.e. to steal Ukrainian stuff/land for the oligarchs, and not any of Putin's other stupid excuses.)

Today (June 23) Prigozhin accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of orchestrating a rocket attack on Wagner's camp in eastern Ukraine (near the Russian border) and causing massive casualties;

We don't have proof of this yet, or indeed much else of what Prigozhin is talking about, BUT he finally decided to put his Coup Hat On and get serious about "punishing" Russian military leadership, i.e. presumably Shoigu, declaring that "there are 25,000 of us [Wagner soldiers] and we're coming into Russia to sort out this chaos"

So -- again, according to Prigozhin, who is not the world's most reliable source on anything -- he turned his army of yoinks around, left Ukraine, and marched into the southwestern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, where the Russian military command in charge of the assault on Ukraine is headquartered;

For a while, there was nothing but Prigozhin's various unhinged rants on Telegram to prove any of this, but it's now early tomorrow morning in Russia and there are indeed a lot of videos of what DOES IN FACT LOOK like Wagner mercenaries rolling into Rostov and storming Ministry of Defense buildings;

Firm information on what is going on is almost nonexistent, even for Russia, but Putin is clearly taking this seriously; Moscow is shut down, there are armored vehicles on the streets, Google is down in Russia, and Russian newscasters are interrupting their broadcasts to insist Don't Look, Everything Is Fine Here, Totally Fine, Do You Hear Swan Lake? I Don't Hear Swan Lake!

Nobody can find Putin either, allegedly, but don't worry! He has been "briefed on the situation and everything is under control!"

The Russian FSB (successor to the KGB) has meanwhile issued a warrant for Prigozhin's arrest, said they'll charge/prosecute him for treason and armed rebellion against the state, and ordered him to stand down/his own men to arrest him

This, uh, does not appear to be working

ANYWAY, Putin's basically fucked no matter how this ends. Wagner literally just led an armed mutiny, he can't feel good about sending his ex-bestie Prigozhin back to Ukraine with any confidence that his orders will continue to be obeyed, it's Russian-on-Russian open war in the streets of Rostov and God knows where else, he's totally lost control of the narrative, the war, the domestic political situation, Wagner, probably good chunks of the Russian military command/elite establishment, etc., and we all know what happens to dictators in Russia who can no longer dictate

(And yet the Russian army is still finding time to lob some missiles at civilian buildings in Kyiv tonight, because they suck).

This is obviously a huge lucky break for Ukraine as well, since if the Russians are busy fighting each other, they can continue to push for a big breakthrough on their counteroffensive.

So yeah. Pride Month really wheeling out the big guns here, after Putin was the top option picked for Lady Karma to do her thing on in my poll a few weeks ago.

Stay tuned.

[follow-up-news]

Ukraine hit a Russian weapons arsenal with US-made ATACMS missiles that it fired across the border for the first time, according to two US officials, in a major escalation on the 1,000th day of war. The attack comes just two days after the Biden administration gave Kyiv the green light to use the longer-range American weapons against targets inside Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Ukraine fired the US-made missiles into Russia’s Bryansk region. The attack marks the first time Ukraine has used the longer-range American weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia, and shows that Kyiv has wasted little time in making use of its newly-granted powers.

[ashdreams2023]

Hiii! I'm so glad I came across your blog and I love the snape and sibling! Reader fics so would you mind writing a sibling reader fic where she's the defence teacher in yr2 instead of lockhart and maybe she's an auror ( from another ministry) or sumn?? Anyway she starts a duelling club and brings severus for the demo and they get abit too into it, although no one gets hurt and it ends with a draw. The students are awestruck and asks her how she got so good at it and she's like "oh it's thanks to my big brother :)" ? Just sumn cute and fluffy! Thankss!!

Learned from the best

Summary: your brother helps you teach your first dueling club period

"Wow I can’t believe we’ll actually see real live dueling, I only read about them in books" Hermione said running behind her friends in the hall.

"If the new professor is as good as the rumors have it then it’s gonna be a show!" Ron grinned.

"I heard Malfoy saying she learned from the best" Harry said out of breath as they finally reached the dueling club.

"She was an auror in Russia of course she learned from the best you two!" Hermione huffed hugging her book close.

The classroom was crowded from students from all four houses and you stood in the middle of the room wearing your casual witch robes, except for your teaching robe that you layered over your regular outfit.

You healed your head high and smiled at every passing student till you deemed that the attendance time was over and flicked your wand to close the door.

"Well kiddos I’m so happy you came today! I think this dueling club would be a good opportunity to expand our knowledge outside the textbooks and you all can get firsthand experience at how two real duelist are in the wild" The kids whispered among themselves seemingly excited to start with the session already.

"To achieve that, today I am welcoming my lovely assistant, professor snape" You flicked your hand dramatically as the potion master stepped on the mini dueling ground.

"Snape? That’s out to be interesting" Ron whispered to Harry.

"At first we will demonstrate compact but don’t worry you all will have your heads in place and your precious potion master is gonna come back in one piece-"

"Not quite sure about your defense professor though" Snape cut you off and smirked.

There was silence before you titled your head with. Glint in your eyes "I see our duel should start soon since you’re losing your patience this quickly"

You lifted your wand up and smirked "like the old times?"

He lifted his wand up and arched a brow "Like the old times"

Two steps back then you both went into dueling poses.

The student watched with wide eyes as your wand sparked with your first attack and snape dogged it smoothly like a dance move and fired back.

You knelt to the ground dodging his attack and sent a blow to his leg which knocked his off balance but not enough to make him distracted.

"Professor!" One of the hufflepuffs screamed in panic as a curse hit your shoulder slamming you to the ground, you ground in pain, it didn’t cause any actual damage but it stung like a bitch.

"Come on professor, don’t tell me you’ve given up already" Said snape standing to his feet again and pointing his wand any you like a madman.

You huffed and pushed yourself up from the ground and spin around, sliding back in the battle like your nothing just happened.

Snape matched your speed like it was second nature, his hair matched yours as it flew with each attacked, till it stuck your skin from sweat and both of you stood heaving with your hands clenched in your fists.

You licked your lips then smiled at him, he sighed then you both let go of your wands.

"It’s a…draw!" Harry yelled before the crowds of students clapped in applause and screamed.

Snape stood straight and put his wand back in his inner coat pocket.

You walked up to him and held out your hand.

He shock your hand without hesitation and then turned to face the students who seemed too overjoyed by the whole thing to remember how much they were terrified of him.

"You can ask questions now, just raise your hand" you said breathlessly.

An eco of me me covered the, snape rolled his eyes but you chuckled in relief.

"Ok ok! One by one….you! Weasley, Ronald"

Ron looked at his friends excitedly, almost jumping in place "How did you learn all of that?! Is it true you were in the Russia ministry?!"

Snape snorted, you paid him no mind.

You crossed your arms "Well, yes I did work in the Russian ministry for a while but most of my advanced techniques come from one person, my big brother, your dear professor snape but to me he’s just sev"

The students faces were priceless and for once you understood why your brother liked to bother them this much.

Severus put his hand on your shoulder and nodded "If you find yourself capable of following basic instructions and find determination to actually learned something from this club you might end up half as good as your professor"

"Did you just complement me?"

"Take it or leave it." Then he walked off the dueling area.

"I can’t believe they’re related!"

"Honestly, it kinda make’s sense, he didn’t sneer at her the entire two weeks she was here" hermione pointed out.

"That’s true…that’s so weird still" Harry stared at you as you answered more questions by his classmates, it made him wonder, what sort of person was his git of a professor was actually like outside of school.

"And with hard work you too can be as good as a duelist one day, but of course don’t go crazy challenging my brother, he is the best of the best"

"Yes ma’m!"

[ketrindoll]

List of russian lies in the UN or during diplomatic speeches:

1. In January-February of 2022 russia claimed in the UN that they will not invade Ukraine, that they have no plans to invade Ukraine, and evidence of upcoming invasion are lies made by the US or others.

End of the same month russia launched a full-scale invasion.

2. Russia claimed in the UN that the reason they attacked Ukraine was to fight some "local nazis" and that they are indeed good guys fighting Ukrainian hatred. That, however, does not explain why: a) russia opposed the grain deal until Turkey threatened to make it work one way or the other, showing their intention to starve hundreds of millions of people in neutral countries for no reason whatsoever, b) russia refused to allow UN or Red Cross etc to observe the conditions of POWs or to open humanitarian corridors for people to escape from Mariupol or other conflict zones, with thousands of witnesses reporting abductions, filtration camps, and shelling of retreating civilians, c) russia claimed to only want to protect local russian population, yet completely destroyed whole cities in majorly-russian-speaking Eastern Ukraine, like Mariupol (satellites showing mass graves), and bombing mainly civilian targets - schools, hospitals, theatres, a shopping mall during peak hours, a train station where people waited for evacuation, apartment buildings, etc. Currently we can see that there is no effort on the russian-controlled side of Dnipro river to help people in flooded areas, with videos and citizen testimonies reporting shelling of all disaster aid attempts, d) russia claimed that they only hate the "nazi" Ukrainian government, yet they openly shelled Ukrainian power grids during winter, for no other reason than to leave innocent civilians with no gas or electricity.

3. Russian state TV, public figures like Solovyov, former President and Prime Minister as well as head of security council of russia Medvedev openly stated either on national TV or in their social media pages that they want to "exterminate" Ukrainians. That the whole country should not exist, that Ukrainian language is fake, etc etc. This is genocidal speech and it is not limited to Ukraine either. The Baltic States, Poland, etc also received such claims - that they "do not exist" that they "belong to russia" or that they "should be invaded". Makes it very obvious who the imperialistic, colonist aggressor actually is. Medvedev also repeatedly threatened Western European countries with missile or even nuclear attack, yet they claim to only be "defending themselves".

4. Lavrov got laughed at during a summit in India for claiming that "russia was invaded by Ukraine". Do I even need to explain why this is a lie? If I do, check 1st point again. Or just turn on your brain.

5. Then there's more sci-fi nutjobby official russian claims (or lies) about - bioweapons in Ukraine, pidgeons carrying disease or weapons to russia, Ukraine having some super-soldiers, or even dark magic, as indicated by russian Ministry of Defense changing the goal of their "special military operation" from "denazification" to "desatanization".

And that's just a few of the main ones. More is discussed in the latest UN meeting, you can watch the video on their official website.

So, knowing all of this, why the fuck would you believe ANYTHING they say? Especially about the destruction of dam?

Russia has repeatedly shown aggressive attitude towards neighbouring countries, claimed their wish to occupy them, russian officials called for extermination of whole nationalities, and both President putin and Belova have enough evidence against them for ICC to issue a warrant for them for GENOCIDE AND WAR CRIMES.

If you still believe in russia, despite anything they themselves say, you're either a genocide-supporter or unbelievably stupid.

[tomorrowusa]

Ukraine is said to have provided intelligence which led to deadly attacks by insurgents on Russian mercenaries in the West African nation of Mali. FYI: Tinzaouaten, the city closest to the attacks in Mali, is 2,440 miles/3,928 km from Ukraine's port city of Odesa.

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency has claimed it was involved in an ambush that killed fighters from Russia’s Wagner group in the west African nation of Mali, thousands of miles away from the frontline in Ukraine. A Telegram channel linked to the Wagner leadership on Monday admitted the group had suffered heavy losses during fighting in Mali last week. It said Wagner and the Malian armed forces had “fought fierce battles” over a five-day period against a coalition of Tuareg separatist forces and jihadi groups, who had used heavy weapons, drones and suicide bombers. Numerous Wagner fighters, including a commander, Sergei Shevchenko, were killed, the channel said. Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, said on Monday that “the rebels received necessary information, and not just information, which enabled a successful military operation against Russian war criminals”. Yusov did not say whether Ukrainian military personnel were involved in the fighting or were present in the country. He said the agency “won’t discuss the details at the moment, but there will be more to come”. The Mali government, which has been fighting various insurgencies in the north of the country for more than a decade, requested help from Wagner after a military junta took power in 2020.

The Wagner Group is still around but under new management since Putin killed off its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.

So why is Russia in Africa?

The group is also active across Africa, and continues to be so even after Prigozhin was disgraced following a failed coup attempt last summer. He later died after an explosion onboard his plane, widely believed to have been ordered by the Kremlin, but Wagner’s influence in Africa remains. “For Moscow, the African countries where Wagner is present is just a zone of interest that allows it to get hold of resources – gold, diamonds, gas and oil – and the money goes to finance Russian aggression,” said Serhii Kuzan, director of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center in Kyiv, explaining why Ukraine might want to target Wagner in Africa. He added that the raids had additional benefits for Kyiv: “liquidating” some of the most experienced Wagner fighters and lowering the overall military potential of the group, and also exacting revenge for war crimes in Ukraine. “A significant part of the destroyed fighters got military experience in Ukraine, where they carried out hundreds or thousands of war crimes … these crimes should be punished, and Russian war criminals should know that they will never be safe,” said Kuzan.

Ukrainian intelligence has a long reach and Ukraine has a long memory for war crimes committed by the invaders.

On a linguistic note, GUR should realistically be written HUR. The full name of Ukrainian military intelligence is: Головне Управління Розвідки Міністерства Оборони України (Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine). For short, that's Головне Управління Розвідки.

In Russian, Г is pronounced like the English hard G. In Ukrainian, Г is pronounced like a regular English H. There's a separate letter in Ukrainian for English hard G written like this Ґ. But the Soviet Union tried to suppress this letter because its existence was another reminder that Ukrainian is not Russian. So there's been some lingering alphabetic confusion over the use of this letter. But I promise you that it is preferable to transliterate ГУР as HUR.

[darkmaga-returns]

I have been warning that our Computer has projected that war will continue and that the Neocons are traitors to the people of the United States and a threat to the entire world. Biden, the senile one, will sign anything put in front of him, and he is incompetent to be president. For that matter, so is Kamala. Both threaten the National Security of our nation and the world. Putin is justified to start attacking the United States directly. Since he knows Trump is coming, he will try to sit on his hands. God help us if the Russian Neocons overthrow Putin. There will be no stopping this.

The Russian Foreign Ministry recently came out reminding the collective West that allowing Ukraine to use west-supplied, long-range missiles to attack deep into the interior Russia would make the collective West “parties to the conflict” because those long-range missiles require satellites to guide them to target.  The Foreign Ministry reminded everyone that Ukraine does not HAVE any satellites. This is precisely what the Neocons are hoping for. Zelensky has abandoned defending the Donbas and switched to invade Russia on orders from the Neocons. They hoped Putin would attack anything in NATO. Now that Trump is president-elect and he has rejected all Neocons from his cabinet, they are desperate, and this is their next step to force Putin to attack anything so they can claim he started World War III when it has been the West under their control.

The Neocon propaganda is that Biden has authorized the first use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia and then claim it will only be for short-range in defense of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of western Russia, the officials said. Let’s face the truth. Ukraine cannot defeat Russia, and this is all a ploy to weaken Russia for the NATO invasion.

[mariacallous]

Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna has died in Russian captivity, the Ukrainian authorities confirmed on Thursday. She was 27.

Roshchyna was captured by Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) agents while reporting from Russian-occupied territory in August 2023.

According to Petro Yatsenko, the head of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the circumstances of Roshchyna’s death are still unclear. Earlier, Ukrainian lawmaker Yaroslav Yurchyshyn reported that the Russian authorities had informed the journalist’s family that she died while being transferred between prisons, though he later deleted the post.

Andriy Yusov, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, told the Ukrainian outlet Suspilne that Roshchyna was included on the list for an upcoming prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. Yatsenko later confirmed this to Hromadske, adding, “The fact that she was transferred from Taganrog to Moscow was a stage of her preparation for release.”

Update: Later on Thursday, the Ukrainian news outlet Grati reported that Roshchyna’s father received a letter from the Russian Defense Ministry dated October 2, 2024, stating that the journalist died on September 19. It also said that her body will be handed over to the Ukrainian authorities “as part of an exchange of bodies of detained individuals.” The letter didn’t mention the circumstances or cause of her death.

Roshchyna’s arrest last year was her second time being captured by Russian forces. In March 2022, FSB agents arrested her in Russian-occupied territory and kept her in custody for 10 days. During her detention, the agency forced Roshchyna to record a video saying she had no complaints about her prison conditions and that Russian forces had “saved her life.” The second time she was arrested, nine months passed before the Russian authorities confirmed to Roshchyna’s family that she was in their custody.

Roshchyna worked as a freelance reporter for various outlets including Ukrainska Pravda, Radio Svoboda, and Hromadske, where she used to be on staff. She received the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Courage in Journalism Award in 2022.

[kesarijournal]

Europe on the Brink: Geopolitical Tensions and Strategic Shifts

Orbán Warns of Impending War Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has issued a dire warning, comparing Europe’s current trajectory towards war to a “train with a mad driver.” He stressed the need to prevent the EU and NATO from expanding the conflict in Ukraine and urged voters to support peace-advocating parties in the upcoming European Parliament elections.China-Russia Alliance In a bold…

[blueiscoool]

Ukraine Destroys Russia’s Brand-New $65 Million Warship Sergei Kotov

Ukraine has destroyed the newest patrol ship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, the $65 million Sergei Kotov, and left pro-Kremlin war reporters sulking.

“As a result of a strike by Magura V5 maritime drones, the Russian Project 22160 ship Sergei Kotov received damage to the stern, starboard and left sides,” Ukrainian military intelligence said in a statement.

“The fewer such ships, the fewer anti-aircraft missile systems will be deployed on them, meaning more opportunities for Ukrainian security and defense forces,” spokesman Andriy Yusov told local media, adding that more than 10 ambulances were spotted rushing to help the evacuated crew members. At least seven crew members were killed, Ukrainian authorities said.

Audio of what Ukraine described as an intercepted radio communication also appeared to capture a Russian commander reporting on the “tragic event” and destruction of the ship, lamenting that a helicopter had also been obliterated in the nighttime attack near the Kerch Strait.

The 308-foot, 1,700-ton ship entered the Black Sea Fleet in July 2022.

Russia’s Defense Ministry has yet to comment on the incident, though pro-Kremlin military bloggers begrudgingly admitted that Ukraine had pulled off the attack.

“If it continues like this, the Black Sea Fleet will have only catamarans and rubber banana boats for vacationers. It’s fucked,” wrote one popular pro-war Telegram channel.

The Sergei Kotov had been targeted in three previous attacks by Ukrainian forces before finally being taken out this time around. Noting that Russia had plenty of defenses in place to protect the ship, pro-war propagandist Alexander Kots said that “unfortunately, the enemy is also evolving.”

“The crew fought heroically until the end. … But this time it is a story without a happy ending,” he wrote on social media.

“The ship ‘Sergei Kotov’ sunk,” wrote former Vladimir Putin adviser Sergei Markov, calling it part of a “new type of war” in which “what matters most are the multitude of drones, space reconnaissance, and electronic warfare.”

“This is where we need to overtake the West,” he said.

By Allison Quinn.