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Ladybbird · 22-06-22, 11:33

Putin Rocked as Ukrainian Drones BOMB Russian Oil Refinery

Russian Oil Refinery Ablaze After Reported Hit From Ukrainian Drone

Russia Unveils Prometheus System to Wipe Out Nukes After Chilling WW3 Warning

Asia Radar 22 Jun 2022

Russia's state-run news agency TASS cited an anonymous source in the local authorities as saying that a fire broke out at Novoshakhtinsk refinery in the Rostov region near the Ukrainian border after two Ukrainian drones were spotted over the plant.

Russia Unveils Prometheus System to Wipe Out Nukes After Chilling WW3 Warning

Ladybbird · 23-06-22, 15:14

Europe Told to Prepare For Russia Turning Off Gas

European Countries Say They Have Received Less Russian Gas Than expected Recently

The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that Russia may stop supplying gas to Europe this winter.

BBC News 23 JUN 2022.

Fatih Birol says he believes a complete shutdown is not the most likely scenario but that Europe needs to work on contingency plans just in case.

In recent weeks, several European countries said they received significantly less Russian gas than they expected.

Russian officials deny it's deliberate and have blamed technical issues.

Before the invasion of Ukraine, Europe imported about 40% of its natural gas from Russia but that figure has now fallen to about 20%.

'Strategic' Reductions

Mr Birol says he believes that recent Russian reductions in gas supply are "strategic". The falls are making it harder for European countries to fill up their gas storage and increasing Russia's leverage this winter.

"I wouldn't rule out Russia continuing to find different issues here and there, and continuing to find excuses to further reduce gas deliveries to Europe and maybe even cut it off completely," Mr Birol told BBC News.

Last week the flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1, one of the main pipelines from Russia to Europe, was just 40% of capacity. Many experts are sceptical of the Russian explanation that this was caused by "technical issues".

Across Europe, shortfalls in gas supply continue to be reported. On Friday the Italian firm energy firm Eni said that it had only received half of the gas that it was expecting from the Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, while Slovakia and Austria have also reported falls.

France says it has received no Russian gas from Germany since 15 June while Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands have had their Russian gas deliveries suspended after they refused a demand to pay in Russian roubles.

Oil Pipelines

Last month European countries agreed to try to protect themselves from the volatility of gas prices by filling up their storage facilities. They jointly committed to reaching at least 80% capacity by November, with the latest data suggesting they are at about 55%.

Mr Birol said the ongoing gas crisis now justified emergency short-term measures to reduce demand, such as increasing the use of coal-fired power stations, and if possible prolonging the life of nuclear power plants. If there was a complete shutdown of Russian gas supply, he says drastic measures may be needed.

"I don't exclude the possibility that Europe will need a planned and orderly rationing of gas," Mr Birol says.

"I don't say this is the base scenario, but looking at the last several months, if not several years, the experiences we have had with Russia as an energy partner, this is a scenario we cannot afford to exclude for the time being."

Ladybbird · 25-06-22, 12:08

Putins' Missile FARCE as Kremlin Weapon Malfunctions and Strikes its OWN Launch Site

25 Jun 2022 Asia Radar

VIDEO footage shows a Russian missile launch in chaos as a mid-air malfunction causes the rocket to divert and strike its own launch site

Russian missile launched into the sky, when an apparent malfunction caused the rocket to abruptly shift direction and return to strike the site it was launched from just moments before.

.

Ladybbird · 26-06-22, 08:10

Inside The British & US Elite Extraction Group Rescuing Civilians From Ukraine's Most Dangerous Warzones

British & US Veterans Form Group to Extract Ukrainians Stuck in Unsafe Areas.....

Racing through the dust as fast as their vehicles could take, Andy Milburn, a British former US Marine Colonel, and his team of military veterans knew they could be seen by Russian drones or spotters on the surrounding slag heaps, but had decided their humanitarian mission was worth the gamble.

“We wanted to get in from behind the town so we were masked from Russian artillery, but the Russians have every surface road dialled in [registered], so very quickly within seconds they can bring rounds down on vehicles travelling on it,” he said.

The Telegraph UK 26 JUN 2022.

Marine Colonel Andy Milburn, British Founder of the Mozart Group

The potholed dirt road in and out of the besieged Ukrainian town of Novoluhanske last week was impossible to cross without the risk of being struck by heavy artillery fire, but there was no other escape route for terrified residents trapped in their basements for months.

As the convoy bounced towards the town, shells pounded craters in the fields on either side.

“It seemed to be what we call harassment and interdiction rounds – one round every minute or so. Those are worrying because you never know where the next one is going to land, and it looked like a couple were phosphorous,” said Mr Milburn.

Anything could go wrong, but the rescuers forged on. They had been told of a group of civilians, including children, under bombardment less than a mile from the Russian frontline and in desperate need of extraction.

“You’ve got to press the ‘I believe’ button. because otherwise you can second-guess yourself to death,” Mr Millburn said. “We didn’t know these people but it’s trust tactics and you take sensible precautions.”

His team of special operations veterans are volunteers with the Mozart Group – running daily evacuations from Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region and riding in small, unarmed convoys into conflict hotspots that few would dare to enter.

In a scene encountered by rescuers as they raced to evacuate civilians, burnt-out cars lie abandoned across a road - Andy Milburn/The Mozart Group © Provided by The Telegraph In a scene encountered by rescuers as they raced to evacuate civilians, burnt-out cars lie abandoned across a road - Marine Colonel Andy Milburn The Mozart Group

They navigate the current hell-scape of the Donbas confident in their military expertise from decades of experience in armed forces around the world, but with the full knowledge of the extreme risks.

The Mozart Group, which has 20-30 volunteers in its ranks, was founded by Milburn, who was commander of a combined special operations task force in Iraq to counter ISIS, and a former commanding officer of the Marine Raider Regiment. He originally hails from Lymington, Hampshire UK

He said the group’s members were drawn together by a “sense of purpose” and “moral clarity” that was missing in the Iraq and Afghan wars. “Here we are definitely on the side of right,” he said.

Funded by donations, the group also trains the Ukrainian forces and conducts mine clearances but does not engage in fighting.

Novoluhanske in Donetsk lies on the cusp of territory occupied by Russian forces as they slowly advance across the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions to occupy Donbas.

Ukraine war: 80% of troops killed or injured in elite military unit, says commander

How Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s war are settling in Wales – BBC News

Sean Penn helps Ukrainian fighter pilots lobby for US aid

Ladybbird · 30-06-22, 10:21

NATO Leaders Voice Concern About Threat China/Moscow Pose to World Order For First Time

NATO poised to harden position on China as support for Russia deepens distrust

Beijing’s efforts to build up nuclear forces, hacking operations and increasingly close ties to Moscow are ‘serious challenges’, says Nato secretary general

The Guardian UK 30 JUN 2022

Nato leaders voice concern about threat China poses to world order for first time

Beijing’s efforts to build up nuclear forces, hacking operations and increasingly close ties to Moscow are ‘serious challenges’, says Nato secretary general

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV shows the launch of the Fujian, Beijing’s new aircraft carrier in June 2022.

China is not an adversary but it does represent serious challenges, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said on Wednesday, as the alliance agreed for the first time to include threats posed by Beijing into a blueprint guiding its future strategy.

While Russia’s war against Ukraine has dominated discussions at the Nato summit, China earned a place among the western alliance’s most worrying security concerns.

“We now face an era of strategic competition … China is substantially building up its forces, including in nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbours, including Taiwan,” Stoltenberg said. “China is not our adversary but we must be clear-eyed about the serious challenges it represents.”

The alliance’s last blueprint – or strategic concept – was agreed to in 2010 and did not mention China. The new one states that China’s policies challenge Nato’s interests, security and values, though Russia remains the most significant and direct threat to security.

“The PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] malicious hybrid and cyber operations and its confrontational rhetoric and disinformation target allies and harm alliance security,” the strategic concept reads, noting a deepening partnership with Russia in their shared attempts to “subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains”.

Nato warned that the Chinese government was “rapidly expanding” its nuclear capability without increasing transparency or engaging in good faith in arms control, and using economic leverage to “create strategic dependencies and enhance its influence”.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken accused Beijing of undermining the rules-based order “that we believe in, that we helped build”. “If China’s challenging it in one way or another, we will stand up to that,” he said.

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, attending his first Nato summit in Madrid, warned that the strengthening of relations between Beijing and Moscow posed a risk to all democratic nations.

“Just as Russia seeks to recreate a Russian or Soviet empire, the Chinese government is seeking friends, whether it be … through economic support to build up alliances to undermine what has historically been the western alliance in places like the Indo-Pacific,” he told the summit on Wednesday.

Albanese said Australia had been subjected to “economic coercion” from China, and urged democratic leaders to pursue trade diversification.

Australia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand were invited to the Madrid summit to add a greater focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Albanese’s objective was to elevate the region as a second theatre of strategic competition with Nato members preoccupied with Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.

Addressing her first Nato summit, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern warned of a “more assertive” China but urged more diplomatic engagement. New Zealand has toughened its tone recently amid Beijing’s growing presence in the South Pacific, in part due to the signing of a security pact between China and Solomon Islands.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian responded by saying Nato should stop “trying to launch a new cold war”.

“Stop trying to mess up Asia and the world after messing up Europe,” he said. “What they should do is give up their cold war mindset, zero-sum games and stop doing things that create enemies.”

Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said the invasion of Ukraine had shaken the foundation of the rules-based order. “The security of Europe and the security of the Indo-Pacific cannot be decoupled,” he said in opening remarks.

En route to the summit, UK prime minister Boris Johnson said the Russian invasion of Ukraine had shown the need for extra vigilance and caution over potential Chinese action against Taiwan.

“I just think it’s very important that countries around the world should not be able to read across from events in Europe and draw the conclusion that the world will simply stand idly by if boundaries are changed by force,” he said. “That’s one of the most important lessons that we pick up from Ukraine.”

UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, was more explicit, calling for faster action to help Taiwan with defensive weapons, a key requirement for Ukraine since the invasion.

“There’s always a tendency – and we’ve seen this prior to the Ukraine war – there’s always a tendency of wishful thinking, to hope that more bad things won’t happen and to wait until it’s too late,” Truss told the UK’s foreign affairs committee.

“We should have done things earlier, we should have been supplying the defensive weapons into Ukraine earlier. We need to learn that lesson for Taiwan. Every piece of equipment we have sent takes months of training, so the sooner we do it, the better.”

LIVE: NATO leaders meet in Madrid to discuss urgent situation in Ukraine

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Ladybbird · 02-07-22, 11:36

NATO Prepares For Dangerous New World - as Russia WARNS of New IRON Curtain

The Nato summit has been thick on unity and defiance.

2 JUL 2022 Channel 4 News

A message to President Putin, and President Xi of China, that this alliance is stronger than ever - and ready to defend itself and its values.

In a symbolic lift mentioned by both the Prime Minister and the American President - one of Ukraine's symbols of resilience, Snake Island in the Black Sea, has now been abandoned by Russia.

But this war is far from over. Its economic and military costs are bound to climb - and this summit has not given Ukraine enough heavy weapons ro win the war, only enough not to lose it in the near term.

Ladybbird · 03-07-22, 00:33

UK Soldiers Captured by Russian Separatists

Two more Brits charged with being mercenaries in separatist-held east Ukraine -TASS

2 Jul 2022 Sky News Australia

Two MORE UK soldiers have been captured by Russian separatists in the Eastern Donbas region of Ukraine and are facing mercenary charges.

UK's foreign office said it condemns the exploitation of prisoners of war and is supporting the men's families.

Up to 100 foreign nationals have been taken prisoner in the Ukraine-Russia war so far.

LONDON (Reuters) -Two Britons have been charged with "mercenary activities" by investigators in a Russian-backed separatist-held territory in eastern Ukraine, the Russian state news agency TASS reported on Friday.

TASS cited a source in the power structures of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), recognised only by Russia and Syria, as saying criminal cases had been opened and charges filed against Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill under Article 430 of the DPR criminal code.

Ladybbird · 06-07-22, 06:41

Sole Survivor of Russian Firing Squad Escaped Execution by Playing DEAD

BBC News 5 Jul 2022

Taxi driver and father of four, Ivan Skyba, was one of a group of Ukrainian men defending their suburban street near Kyiv at the start of the war.

He narrowly avoided death after being captured with his comrades by Russian soldiers as they advanced on Ukraine’s capital.

Along with eight of his fellow captives he was led to a courtyard where Russian soldiers opened fire in a cold-blooded execution. The other eight men were shot dead in an atrocity that prosecutors are treating as a war crime.

Somehow though, Ivan Skyba survived by playing dead.

Ladybbird · 07-07-22, 04:45

Complete Cut-Up of Russian Gas EU in Disarray as 12 Countries Affected by Cut-Off

THE EUROPEAN Union scrambles to find alternative sources of gas as Vladimir Putin is turning off gas taps to 12 European countries.

BBC News 7 JUL 2022.

Europeans gearing up for a potentially catastrophic winter as Vladimir Putin has started to switch off the gas from flowing to a dozen of European countries.

In a further blow to Europe’s gas supplies, Russia is bound to temporarily shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – the EU’s biggest piece of gas import infrastructure – from July 11 for annual maintenance.

Fear is now mounting about the possibility for Russia to continue to squeeze Europe's supply beyond the planned end of the maintenance works.

Ladybbird · 07-07-22, 04:50

Complete Cut-Up of Russian Gas EU in Disarray as 12 Countries Affected by Cut-Off

THE EUROPEAN Union scrambles to find alternative sources of gas as Vladimir Putin is turning off gas taps to 12 European countries.

BBC News 7 JUL 2022.

Europeans gearing up for a potentially catastrophic winter as Vladimir Putin has started to switch off the gas from flowing to a dozen of European countries.

In a further blow to Europe’s gas supplies, Russia is bound to temporarily shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – the EU’s biggest piece of gas import infrastructure – from July 11 for annual maintenance.

Fear is now mounting about the possibility for Russia to continue to squeeze Europe's supply beyond the planned end of the maintenance works.

Ladybbird · 09-07-22, 09:20

Putin Warns Ukraine and Their Western Allies About Future of War: 'We Haven't Even Yet Started'

In a Thursday speech, Putin said that those who "reject" Russian offers "should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us"

'We'll Get to Berlin' Vladimir Putin's Chechen Allies Threaten to Wage 'Jihad' on Europe -

Putin's Chechen warlord ally plans to bolster Russia's forces in Ukraine with 4 new battalions

AP 9 JUL 2022

More than four months into its continued invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin claims his country has only just begun its fight, which began on Feb. 24 and has since led to countless deaths of both Ukrainians and Russians.

"Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try," Putin said in a Thursday speech, adding: "We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this."

Elsewhere in his speech, Putin spoke with a hawkish tone, but still left the door open for negotiations, saying: "Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven't even yet started in earnest. At the same time, we don't reject peace talks."

He did offer a caveat, however, saying that those who "reject" Russian offers "should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us."

Putin also offered a thinly veiled threat at those who he said "want to defeat us" on the battlefield: "Let them try."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine — which was ordered by Putin, with forces moving from the north, south and east — marked the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.

Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilian sites in its ongoing invasion, though footage and on-the-ground accounts suggest otherwise.

A montage shown by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a virtual address at the Capitol back in March depicted images of pre-war Ukraine with footage of the country now — large, colorful buildings reduced to rubble and images of smiling children replaced by tears, blood and bombs as the words "this is a murder" were displayed across the screen.

Still, Russia's offensive has shown numerous setbacks, with soldiers being met with fierce resistance from the Ukrainian people. Russia failed to capture the capital city of Kyiv or any other large cities early on its invasion of Ukraine, though it has taken control of many other parts of the country, engaging in what human rights organizations have deemed "war crimes" in the process.

The U.S., the European Union and Group of Seven countries have announced several punishments of Russia for the war, including some directed at the families of Putin and a few of his allies, cutting them off from any U.S. financial systems and freeing any assets they have within the U.S.

In his Thursday speech, Putin alleged the sanctions were aimed at "demoralizing" the Russian people, the Associated Press reports.

"The course of history is unstoppable, and attempts by the collective West to enforce its version of the global order are doomed to fail," Putin said, per the AP.

The invasion has drawn widespread condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia.

Various countries have also pledged aid or military support to Ukraine, whose president, Zelenskyy, has pleaded for peace talks while urging his country to resist.

Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the interest of so-called "peacekeeping" — a claim disputed by the west.

The Ukrainian volunteers using drones to defend against the Russians – BBC News

Ladybbird · 15-07-22, 09:29

They Started Hunting For Me -Ukraine Politicians Face Torture in Russian Detention

Russian Soldiers Have Been Accused of Torturing Civilians While in Detention

Hundreds of Ukrainians, including civilians and local politicians, are being subjected to forced detentions by Russian forces in occupied regions, the UN has told the BBC.

BBC News 15 Jul 2022

Oleh Pylypenko was held by Russian forces for three months, during which time he was repeatedly tortured

Officials said they had verified some 271 cases of forced detentions, with many of those seized facing torture.

Separately, a Ukrainian politician told the BBC that he was waterboarded after being abducted by the Russian military.

Russia's defence ministry did not reply to a request for comment on the claims.

Oleh Pylypenko, the elected head of the Shevchenkivska united territorial community in southern Ukraine, said he was seized by Russian paratroopers near Kherson on 10 March while delivering aid to constituents.

Warning: this article contains descriptions of torture

The 36-year-old told the BBC that he was arrested along with his driver at a roadblock by Russian troops and suspected he was deliberately targeted after sharing the locations of Russian artillery with Ukrainian forces.

"I think that they started hunting specifically for me almost from the very start of the war. I believe they were planning an ambush because they wanted to take me alive," he said.

He was subsequently taken to an airfield, where allegedly he was tortured for three days by Russian paratroopers.

"They didn't touch my driver," Mr Pylypenko recalled. "They were interrogating only me. They used physical violence, electric currents and poured cold water over me during freezing temperatures outside. I had frostbite on my feet, damaged ribs and internal organs."

The father of three added that paratroopers also beat him with a "rubber club" and kicked him until he passed out. He also alleged that he was repeatedly subjected to electric shocks by the Russian troops.

"On the third day of all this I was so badly beaten up that I unable to move [independently]. And I wouldn't have survived without my driver, who was helping me all the time," he said.

Mr Pylypenko said he later became the subject of a turf war between paratroopers - who wanted to execute him for his part in helping Ukrainian forces target their positions - and military police, who wanted him to use his position to help organise prisoner swaps.

"These two groups had had an internal conflict about who would be further dealing with this prisoner of war. Because the paratroopers had just wanted to destroy me," he said.

The military police officers eventually won the fight, and after arranging 11 rounds of prisoner exchanges, Mr Pylypenko was finally released on 10 June.

A spokesperson for the UN's Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNOHR), whose monitoring mission in Ukraine has been documenting the abductions, told the BBC that at least 65 local politicians had been detained by Russian forces since the invasion began on 24 February.

They added that UN monitors had "documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of civilians subjected to enforced disappearances", which they said had taken place in improvised and former official places of detention controlled by either "Russian armed forces" or "affiliated armed groups".

Complaints included "credible allegations of beatings, strangling, electrocution, sexual violence, positional torture, and threats of execution with firearms, threats of physical violence against relatives, and providing no or scarce food", said the UNOHR.

In the occupied port city of Mariupol, an adviser to the city's elected mayor told the BBC he had received reports that a civil servant was executed by Russian forces after spending time in detention.

Petro Andryushchenko said the man, who had been a director with the city's transport authority, was tried and sentenced to death by a Russian-backed court.

Russian forces have been accused of targeting civilians in the city of Mariupol

The BBC cannot independently verify the report, and the UN said while it had received "allegations of the killings of civilians in Mariupol outside of hostilities, allegedly perpetrated both by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups" in the city, it had not yet been able to corroborate them.

But Mr Andryushchenko affirmed that mass detentions were ongoing in the region and that around 10,000 people had been arrested by Russian forces.

Local politicians who "don't want to work with the regime" or representatives from "pro-Ukrainian parties" are among the most frequent targets, he said.

Former police officers, Red Cross volunteers and civilians who held pro-Ukrainian views were also being targeted in the city, he said, with many being sent to former Ukrainian prisons and makeshift "filtration" camps.

Moscow's Search For Collaborators

Dmytro Vasyliev, a former speaker of the local council in the occupied southern city of Nova Khakova, told the BBC that he was arrested by Russian proxy forces from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in March.

Mr Vasyliev was held for 46 days before being released. During his detention he was repeatedly interrogated by balaclava-clad guards who pressured him to collaborate with the occupying force.

"I was called for questioning about six times," the 54-year-old said. "The questions were only about co-operation. 'Do you have links with the Ukrainian security services or military?' Then in the end they just suggested that I co-operate with them - to have a think."

Dmytro Vasyliev was held in Russian detention for 46 days and pressured to cooperate with a new pro-Moscow administration

He said beatings by prison guards were a regular feature of life for those held at the detention centre in a former police station in Nova Kakhova.

"I wasn't hit. Other people were - I heard it every day, but not me," he recalled. "I spoke to two people. One was an elderly man who was once an ambulance driver in the Donbas military operation zone. He was hit."

Another man in the cell next to him was "beaten badly during the first few days" of his detention, he added.

Mr Vasyliev said in most cases there was no reason or purpose behind the beatings. They were carried out "just because", he said.

On his final day in detention, he said the prison officials revealed to him they were officers with Russia's internal security service, the FSB.

Other Ukrainians abducted by Russian forces have similarly alleged the FSB was involved in their arrests.

In March, Viktoriia Roshchyna, a journalist with Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske, said she had been abducted and interrogated by FSB officers in the occupied city of Berdyansk.

After Viktoriia Roshchyna was released from detention, a hostage-style video began to circulate on pro-Russian Telegram channels

The UN has told the BBC it has documented many cases of FSB officers taking part in the "detention, torture and ill-treatment" of Ukrainian civilians.

Both Oleh Pylypenko and Dmytro Vasilyev remain free, though Mr Pylypenko continues to work on the front line of the conflict delivering aid to his constituents.

But dozens of Ukrainian officials remain in custody.

In a short statement, Ukraine's ministry of defence called the detention and torture of local politicians "shameful" and said all allegations must be investigated urgently.

"Russia should bear the brunt of responsibility," it added.

Russia's defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations. The Russian government has previously denied carrying out war crimes in Ukraine. Ukraine's prosecutor general has said her office is receiving 200-300 reports of war crimes a day but cannot investigate every case "properly and effectively" because of a lack of access.

Ladybbird · 26-07-22, 06:10

Ukraine Spy Plot to Manipulate Russian Pilots With £1.6m Blamed on British Secret Service

THE KREMLIN has blamed the British secret service for a Ukrainian spy plot to manipulate Russian pilots to deliver warplanes to Ukraine...

26 Jul 2022 Asia Radar

MI6 headquarters

A plot involving fake lovers, bribes and double agents has surfaced and allegedly been exposed by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

According to the FSB, the British secret service facilitated a plot to tempt Russian pilots to Ukraine with £1.6million and EU residency.& to deliver warplanes to Ukraine.

The supposed plan was to convince Russian fighter pilots to fly their aircraft into Ukrainian-controlled territory and surrender.

The details of the supposed plot were published on Russian television outlets, agencies, and websites.

The reports included text messages, audio clips and supposedly of intelligence officers from Ukraine trying to persuade up to 10 Russian pilots to defect to Ukraine.

The Times revealed one recording exhibited an unidentifiable voice saying:

“Our target is a plane.....

Ladybbird · 02-08-22, 13:34

Ukraine WAR: Britons Held by Rebels in Ukraine to Stand Trial

Three British men accused of being mercenaries are to stand trial in a Russian proxy court in eastern Ukraine.

BBC News 2 AUG 2022.

Andrew Hill (left) and Dylan Healy

John Harding, Dylan Healy, and Andrew Hill will be tried in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, a breakaway region of Ukraine, Russian media said.

The court, which is not internationally recognised, sentenced two British men to death recently.

The Foreign Office said it condemned the exploitation of civilian detainees for political purposes.

Ex-serviceman Mr Harding, originally from Sunderland, had been fighting alongside Ukrainian forces since moving to the country in 2018. In July he appeared in a video appealing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson for help.

Mr Hill has been fighting with Ukraine's International Legion.

Mr Healy, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, had been volunteering in Ukraine as an aid worker when he was captured at a checkpoint in April, alongside Paul Urey who died in July while being held by Russian-backed separatists.

Russia's state news agency Tass reported that the three British men had refused to co-operate with investigators and testify.

They are being tried alongside two other men from Sweden and Croatia.

John Harding, who is in his fifties and originally from Sunderland, moved to Ukraine in 2018

The same court in June sentenced Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin to death.

The Britons were captured while fighting for Ukraine were accused of being mercenaries.

Their families insisted they were long-serving members of the Ukrainian military and not mercenaries.

The UK and Ukraine have condemned the sentences for violating international laws protecting prisoners of war.

After this latest development, the Foreign Office said it was in constant contact with Ukraine to support its efforts to get all the Britons released.

It added: "We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political purposes and have raised this with Russia."

The news came on the same day that Russia banned BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, along with a number of other journalists, as part of its latest wave of sanctions.

Mr Edwards follows several of his BBC colleagues who were blacklisted by Russia in June, including fellow newsreader Clive Myrie and BBC Radio 4's Today programme presenter Nick Robinson.

Edwards tweeted he had "made the Kremlin cut", adding Wales and Ukraine flag emojis next to his name on the list.

Moscow's foreign ministry issued a list of 39 newly-sanctioned individuals who are now barred from entering the country, in response to UK sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It follows a decision last month by the UK to sanction Russian ministers and members of influential families linked to the President Vladimir Putin.

Other journalists banned include ITV's political editor Robert Peston, the Sunday Times' political editor Caroline Wheeler, the Times' columnist David Aaronovich, the Guardian's war news editor Dan Sabbagh, and TalkTV's Piers Morgan.

In response, Morgan tweeted visiting Russia "wasn't on my immediate vacation to-do list".

Travel bans have also been placed on David Cameron, former prime minister, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, and Labour MPs Lisa Nandy and David Lammy.

The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford featured on the list as well.

The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement: "As has been noted more than once, the pernicious actions of the UK in planting Russophobia, spreading false information about our country and supporting the Kyiv neo-Nazi regime will receive an adequate and decisive response from the Russian side."

Despite repeated claims by Russia to the contrary, Ukraine's far-right remains a relatively small minority in the country.

Ladybbird · 05-08-22, 03:17

Canada to Join British-Led Mission to Train Ukrainian Recruits

Canada is prepared to commit a contingent of soldiers to the British Army's ambitious program to turn Ukrainian civilians into fighting troops, CBC News has learned.

Outgoing British prime minister Boris Johnson committed to the training plan in mid-June while meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

CBC News 5 AUG 2022.

Canadian soldiers conduct a demonstration of vehicle recovery techniques alongside Ukrainian soldiers at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, Ukraine, during Operation Unifier on Nov. 25, 2015. (Joint Task Force Ukraine/DND)

Up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers are expected to fly to the U.K. for basic and specialist military training in courses that last five weeks. The first tranche of Ukrainian recruits arrived and instruction began in early July.

Three sources who are familiar with the file but not authorized to speak publicly told CBC News that Canada intends to contribute to the British-led effort. Defence Minister Anita Anand is expected to formally announce it today.

The plan amounts to the restart of Operation Unifier, the long-standing training mission which saw — until its suspension last winter — more than 35,000 Ukrainian soldiers given advanced combat instruction by Canadian soldiers.

That mission, conducted on Ukrainian soil, was halted and the troops pulled out of the eastern European country in mid-February on the eve of the full-scale Russian invasion.

It involved about 200 soldiers and included a contingent. Two of the three sources said the latest initiative with the British will "involve roughly the same number."

A third source was more specific saying the new program will involve three training teams with approximately 60 members each, plus additional command staff.

Minister of Defence Anita Anand speaks during an announcement at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on Monday June 20, 2022. Anand announced Thursday that 225 CAF members will deploy to the U.K. to train thousands of fresh Ukrainian troops. (Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press)

Lt.-Col. Kris Reeves is shown during a medal ceremony in Starychi, Ukraine, on Feb. 26, 2018. (Cpl. Neil P. Clarkson/DND)

The Ukrainian government has repeatedly pressed Canada to restart the training in a third country, said diplomatic sources who spoke separately to CBC News and were granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the file.

RELATED;

NATO 'Will React' if Putin Attacks - Causing Most Dangerous Situation Since WW2'

Ladybbird · 07-08-22, 06:32

Russia Risk Chernobyl-Style Disaster as They Station in Europe's Largest Nuclear Power Station

7 Aug 2022 The Sun

RUSSIAN troops are firing *missiles and artillery rounds from Europe’s largest nuclear power station — because they know Ukraine *cannot shoot back without risking a *Chernobyl-style disaster.

Moscow has repeatedly denied launching strikes from the captured plant which the UN’s atomic energy chief has warned is now “completely out of control”....

But The Sun has obtained exclusive drone footage of military convoys marked with Mad Vlad Putin’s Z war emblem entering the site — where they are believed to have been delivering weapons and ammunition.

British spooks have said heavy artillery has been in use “adjacent to Zaporizhzhia power station” to blast targets across the River Dnieper in southern Ukraine.

Exhausted Russian soldiers have also been using a nearby town for rest and recuperation because its closeness to the power station protects them from attack.

In our footage taken on Monday at the plant, military trucks are seen driving in and stopping between power units.

Ladybbird · 10-08-22, 04:08

HUGE Explosion and Mushroom Cloud Seen Near Russian Airbase in Crimea

One person has been killed after blasts rocked a military base in Crimea, the head of the Russia-appointed regional administration there said.

BBC 10 Aug 2022

Crimea airfield explosion

Sergei Aksyonov wrote on social media that the blasts had taken place at the Saky military base near Novofedorivka on the peninsula's western coast.

Footage circulating on social media appeared to show multiple explosions.

Russia's defence ministry later said ammunition was detonated, but this has not been independently verified.

The ministry said there was no "fire impact" on the ammunition storage area, Russia's state-run Ria news agency reports.

The Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014 is a popular destination with Russian tourists, and one video appeared to show visitors fleeing from a beach as smoke rose in the background.

Local witnesses told the Reuters agency that they heard at least 12 blasts, beginning at about 15:20 local time (12:20 GMT).

After arriving in the area, Mr Aksyonov said a 5km (3 mile) no-go zone around the blast site had been established.

A Map of Crimea

Speaking to Dozhd TV channel, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Kyiv was not responsible for the explosions.

Earlier, Ukraine's military posted a sarcastic statement on Facebook which hinted at the sinking of the Moskva warship and other military setbacks, reminding Russia of its "fire safety rules and the ban of smoking in unsettled places".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky devoted his nightly video address to Crimea, but did not directly mention the explosions.

"Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never give it up," Mr Zelensky said in a video posted on social media.

The war "began with Crimea and must end with Crimea - with its liberation", he added - suggesting that he believes Ukraine must retake the peninsula before the war can end.

Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after a referendum which was seen as illegitimate by the international community. The vote was hastily organised after unmarked Russian troops took control of several strategic locations around the peninsula.

Earlier that year, months of pro-European protests culminated in the ousting of Ukraine's Russian-backed president.

On 24 February this year, Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, using Crimea as a springboard to move Russian troops deeper inside Ukraine.

Novofedorivka and Saky are about 50km (30 miles) north of the port of Sevastopol, home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which has been leading a blockade of the Ukrainian coastline.

Crimean Attack Would Mark Dramatic Escalation

If it emerges Ukraine was responsible for this attack, that would be a significant escalation. It would be the first major attack on a target inside Crimea proper.

By Will Vernon, BBC News, Moscow

The Ukrainians have come close: in June 2022, the Russia-appointed "leader" of Crimea said that Ukrainian forces had fired on Black Sea oil drilling platforms in Crimean waters, resulting in several casualties. And at the end of July, Russian authorities said a drone had struck a Russian naval facility in the city of Sevastopol, injuring six.

Crimea is internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory, but Russia has ruled the peninsula for eight years and Russian state structures and military facilities are very well established.

For the Kremlin, Crimea has a quasi-sacred status, seen as "historically" Russian land that Moscow "re-acquired" triumphantly in 2014. An attack so deep inside Crimean territory would be a major embarrassment for President Putin.

And there are fears that if the Ukrainians begin systematically attacking Russian targets inside Crimea, then the Russian response could be very serious indeed.

Last month, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the powerful Security Council, said that if Crimea were attacked, then "Judgement Day will instantly await all those [involved]. It will be very fast and very hard."

Ladybbird · 21-08-22, 10:16

British Soldiers Told to Get Ready For WAR Against Russia and Prepare Loved Ones

Warrant Officer Paul Carney said soldiers should prepare their families for the possibility of being sent to Ukraine to fight Russia in the war which has now been going on six months

Daily Mirror 21 AUG 2022

WO1 Paul Carney – the Army’s highest ranked Warrant Officer

General Sir Richard Dannatt, former head of the Army,

The Army’s top “other ranks” soldier says troops must be ready to fight Russia – and should alert loved ones to a potential conflict.

Warrant Officer Paul Carney warned that the UK military was now “shaping itself to meet the threat from Russia and was ready to counter any aggression”.

The time had come to prepare “families and loved ones” for the possibility of being sent to the East.

He said the world had changed since Vladimir Putin ’s invasion of Ukraine on February 23 – six months ago on Tuesday – and British troops “must be prepared for new realities”.

WO1 Carney – the Army’s highest ranked Warrant Officer – wrote in Soldier magazine: “I want us all to check we are physically fit for operations. And it is also important we prepare loved ones and families, who often have the hardest role in our absence.

“My ask is that you have discussions about a potential deployment with them now. Find the numbers for the support networks and the relevant people who can help them, such as the unit welfare officer and padre.

"This is key as we could be out of contact for extended periods on tour. Making sure our loved ones have the support they need is vital for us too, as we’re not going to give 100% on tour if we are worried about home.”

Putin invaded Ukraine six months ago

General Sir Richard Dannatt, former head of the Army, said: “This is prudent advice from the Army’s top soldier. It does not mean the Army is about to deploy to Ukraine but it is the duty of any army in peacetime to prepare for war, in every aspect of life.

“That said, with a war in Europe, an aggressive Russia and worried countries on Russia’s borders, it is only sensible that British soldiers are realistic about what might happen.”

He said soldiers should prepare for long periods without contact to loved ones

Ladybbird · 30-08-22, 05:05

Ukraine War: UN Team Leaves For Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the team was expected to arrive at the plant later this week.

Putin WARNED Over Chilling COUP to Seize Control of Nuclear Weapons: 'He's in Trouble'

'One mistake away from something terrible' Ukrainian MP warns of nuclear catastrophe .

BBC News 30 AUG 2022

An inspection team from the UN nuclear watchdog is on its way to Ukraine's embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the organisation's head has said.

"We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine's and Europe's biggest nuclear facility," he tweeted.

The nuclear plant has been occupied by invading Russian troops since March.

Fighting around the facility in Ukraine's south-east has led to mounting global concern over the safety and security of the site.

Ukraine and Russia have accused one another of shelling the area.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said Europe was "one step away" from a radiation disaster on Thursday when the plant was briefly disconnected from Ukraine's power grid and back-up generators kicked in to supply it with power.

He said fires had damaged the overhead power lines, cutting the plant off for the first time in its history.

--How risky is stand-off over Ukraine's nuclear plant?

Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for strikes that caused the damage. The BBC was not able to independently verify which side was responsible.

Russia's military took over the plant in early March, but it is still being operated by Ukrainian staff under difficult conditions.

The Kremlin had previously signalled that it would only allow international inspectors to visit the complex so the IAEA's visit will mark an important moment in being able to verify what is happening on the ground.

Ukraine had feared an IAEA mission to Zaporizhzhia would legitimise the Russian occupation of the nuclear plant, before finally backing a visit.

"Almost every day there is a new incident at or near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We can't afford to lose any more time," the IAEA director general said.

Experts say shelling around the plant is not the main concern, given the plant has thick protection walls.

However, cutting the supply of electricity to it is fraught with danger. The loss of the power supply to the nuclear reactors and back-up generators would mean no power for the pumps cooling the hot reactor core and therefore leading to the fuel starting to melt.

Map showing the location of key components of Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant

Ladybbird · 12-09-22, 00:44

The WAR is Turning Ukrainian Forces on a Roll as Panicked Russians Retreat

Ukraine Launched Biggest Counter-Offensive Since WWII to End Russian Barbaric Empire

Ukraine Has Retaken 1,000 Square Kilometres in a Week

Ukraine Retakes More Territory in The Past Five Days Than Russia Has Taken

BBC News 12 SEP 2022

A soldier waves from a Ukrainian vehicle as it travels towards to the frontline near Kharkiv

Ukraine says it has retaken more than 1,000 sq km (385 sq miles) of territory in its south and east from Russia in the past week.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 30 settlements had been "liberated" in the Kharkiv region.

Russia's top occupation official in Kharkiv region conceded Ukrainian forces had won a "significant victory".

Vitaly Ganchev told Russian TV that the Ukrainians had broken through the Russian defence line.

He said civilians were being evacuated from Kupiansk, one of the most important urban centres in the Russian-held part of Kharkiv, and two other towns.

According to analysis by the Institute for the Study of War think tank, Kyiv's troops are now just 15km (9 miles) from Kupiansk, home to an essential railway junction that Moscow has been using to supply its troops on the battlefield.

Russia is believed to be sending reinforcements to the region by road and by air, using giant Mi-26 transport helicopters, each capable of carrying 80 soldiers.

In a separate Facebook post Ukraine's army said that in three days troops had advanced 50km (30 miles). If verified, that would mark the fastest movement of the front line since the rapid retreat of Russian forces from positions around the capital, Kyiv, in March.

The offensive south-east of Kharkiv would also bring Ukraine's troops closer to the eastern region of Donetsk, over which Russia has maintained substantial military control since the war began six months ago.

Mr Ganchev also denied that Ukrainian forces had recaptured the town of Balakliya despite a video appearing to show Ukrainian soldiers there.

The BBC has verified social media posts show Ukrainian flags flying from administrative buildings in the city's centre on Thursday.

Map Showing East Ukraine. 29 Aug

While Ukraine claims to have advanced its troops in some parts of the country, in other areas there have been reports of renewed Russian aerial attacks.

On Friday the governor of Ukraine's north-eastern Sumy region Dmytro Zhvytskyi said a Russian air strike had "destroyed" a hospital, wounding multiple people.

WARNING: This Report Includes Images of Dead Bodies.

Olena Zelenska Tells About The Human Cost of The War

Ladybbird · 13-09-22, 23:47

PUTIN Dealt Hammer Blow as EU Poised to Replace Russian Gas With NEW £11bn Pipeline

VLADIMIR PUTINS' Plot to Plunge Europe Into a Cold Winter Has Been Dealt a Hammer Blow as The European Union Speeds up The Construction of a Major Gas Pipeline.

The Telegraph UK 14 SEP 2022.

European Union leaders are reportedly looking to end delays on the Trans-Saharan pipeline, which flows across the great desert, from Nigeria into Spain and Italy.

In late July, Algeria, Nigeria and Niger signed a memorandum of understanding to build a natural gas pipeline across the Sahara desert. First proposed in 2002, the pipeline never got off the ground but was finally revived as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced Europe to look for alternative gas suppliers.

The following are a number of major pipelines that import natural gas into the European Union. Some have been on-stream for years, while others are still under consideration or construction.

Ladybbird · 18-09-22, 08:11

Russia Tries to Trick Men Into Army

Short of Soldiers to Send to WAR, Russia’s Mercenaries Recruit in Prisons... Putin Recruits MURDERERS and SEX OFFENDERS to Russia Army Amid Heavy Losses

A Russian army recruitment centre is reportedly trying to trick men into frontline military service in Ukraine as pressure builds on the Kremlin to order an official full mobilisation amid troop

BBC News 18 SEP 2022.

“After six months [at war] you receive a pardon, and there is no option for you to return to prison,” a man dressed in tan-colored fatigues said, addressing a crowd of Russian inmates standing underneath a poster that read “Choose life.” “Those who arrive [at the front line] and say on Day 1 it’s not for them get shot,” the man added. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

The Study of War said that the military commissar in Vladivostok, on Russia's Far East fringe, had sent enrollment deliberately misleading letters to men between the ages of 23 and 65 with military experience.

"Russian recruiters likely intend the letters to confuse recipients into thinking they have been formally and legally conscripted," it said. "The letters are in fact only invitations to discuss volunteering."

The Russian army has suffered 75,000 dead or injured and analysts have said that Vladimir Putin, Russia's leader, now needs thousands more soldiers.

The debate in Russia over whether to fully mobilise has heightened since the Russian army routed around Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine this month.

Some analysts have questioned whether it would change the course of the war and Putin wants to avoid a full mobilisation because he doesn't want to risk triggering unrest.

Ladybbird · 21-09-22, 11:43

Putin Issues Nuclear WARNING- I'm NOT Bluffing, Says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that 300,000 reservists will be drafted into the army in a partial mobilisation, as he warned West he was not "bluffing" over nuclear weapons.

BBC News 21 SEP 2022.

Vladimir Putin has upped the ante, announcing a partial military mobilisation to support his invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian president said reservists with combat experience will be called up starting today to boost Moscow's army. Speaking in the last hour in his first national address since February's invasion, he explained the extraordinary step – and warned that he is "not bluffing" when he says Russia has powerful nuclear weapons to respond to Western "aggression".

"Deranged" Putin ordering nuclear strikes is now closer than ever.

Four Occupied Ukraine Regions Plan Imminent ‘Votes’ on Joining Russia

‘Referendum’ announcements in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson may indicate move to annex territories...

Four Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine have said they are planning to hold “referendums” on joining the Russian Federation in a series of coordinated announcements that could indicate the Kremlin has made a decision to formally annex the territories.

Moscow may be betting that a formal annexation would help halt Russian territorial losses, after a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive that has reclaimed large portions of territory in the Kharkiv region.

But Ukraine and the west have indicated that they will not recognise the annexations – and that Russia’s new territorial claims will not slow Ukraine reclaiming its sovereign land.

“These referenda are an affront to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that underpin the international system,” said White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan.

“If this does transpire, the United States will never recognise Russia’s claims to any purportedly annexed parts of Ukraine.”

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: “Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in these ‘referenda’ and other violations of international law in Ukraine will be held accountable, and additional restrictive measures against Russia would be considered.”

The occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions have said they are ready to hold “polls”, which will be universally viewed as rigged, as soon as this week, with announcements also made in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Some Russian media have reported that Vladimir Putin may deliver a speech on Tuesday evening on a potential annexation.

As Ukrainian troops begin making advances in the Luhansk region, Russia may be worried that it can’t win on the battlefield and threaten a potential escalation, including a formal declaration of war or even a nuclear attack, by claiming to defend its own territory.

“Everything that’s happening today is an absolutely unequivocal ultimatum to Ukraine and the west,” wrote Tatiana Stanovaya, an expert on Kremlin politics and founder of R.Politik. “Either Ukraine retreats or there will be nuclear war.”

“To guarantee ‘victory’, Putin is ready to hold referendums immediately in order to obtain the right (in his understanding) to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory.”

Also on Tuesday, the Russian state Duma passed new amendments to the legal code that directly refer to “mobilisation” and “martial law” and introduce criminal liability for desertion or wilful surrender during that period.

The Kremlin has so far resisted a full mobilisation, likely due to fear of a political backlash. Experts have also questioned whether a Russian mobilisation would have any immediate effect in terms of stopping a Ukrainian advance that has reclaimed more than 3,000 square miles in the past month.

“There’s one problem,” wrote Ekaterina Schulmann, a political analyst. “The administrative side of adding new territory takes time, mobilising and integrating mobilised troops takes time, and they’re assuming the opposing side is going to stop and wait – evidently, out of respect for the Russian legislative process.”

Now, however, it seems that the Kremlin may be willing to go further than before, including using nuclear blackmail in order to freeze the war and solidify its territorial gains in Ukraine.

The decision has not been publicly adopted by the Kremlin or Vladimir Putin. However, senior Russian officials, including the former president Dmitry Medvedev, have supported calls for the referendums.

Ladybbird · 23-09-22, 08:22

Ukraine War: Russians Flee to Border After Military Call-Up

Russians flee to border after military call-up,300,000 people summoned to serve in war.

BBC News 23 SEP 2022.

Russian men are attempting to leave the country to avoid a military call-up for the Ukraine war.

Queues have formed at border crossings since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation on Wednesday, which could see 300,000 people summoned to fight.

The Kremlin says reports of fighting-age men fleeing are exaggerated.

But on the border with Georgia, miles-long queues of vehicles have formed including men trying to escape the war.

Some of those heading into the neighbouring country have used bicycles to bypass lines of cars and evade a ban on crossing on foot.

One of these men, who did not want to be named, told the BBC's Nina Akhmeteli that he had waited since 09:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Thursday and managed to cross over late that evening.

Another man reported a 12-hour wait, citing the partial mobilisation as a reason for leaving Russia to continue his studies.

Georgia is one of the few neighbouring countries that Russians can enter without needing to apply for a visa. Finland, which shares a 1,300km (800 mile) border with Russia, does require a visa for travel, and also reported an increase in traffic overnight - but said it was at a manageable level.

Other destinations reachable by air - such as Istanbul, Belgrade or Dubai - have seen ticket prices skyrocket immediately after the military call-up was announced, with some destinations sold out completely. Turkish media have reported a large spike in one-way ticket sales, while remaining flights to non-visa destinations can cost thousands of euros.

Germany's interior minister signalled on Thursday that Russians fleeing the draft would be welcome in her country.

Nancy Faeser said deserters threatened by "severe repression" would receive protection on a case-by-case basis, following security checks. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic struck a different tone, saying they would not offer fleeing Russians refuge.

'I will break my arm, my leg... anything to avoid the draft'

By Olesya Gerasimenko & Liza Fokht, BBC News

=== Sergei - not his real name - has already been called up.

The 26-year-old PhD student and lecturer was expecting a delivery of groceries the night before the Putin address, when two men arrived in civilian clothes handing him military papers to sign.

The Kremlin said only people who had done their military service and had special skills and combat experience would be called up.

But Sergei has no military experience and his stepfather is worried, as dodging the draft is a criminal offence in Russia.

The call-up sparked protests in major Russian cities including Moscow and St Petersburg on Tuesday, resulting in a reported 1,300 arrests.

There were also reports from Russia that some of those detained for protesting had been handed draft papers while in custody at police stations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the reports, said that doing so was not against the law.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russians to resist the mobilisation during his nightly address on Thursday.

Referring to Russian deaths in the war, he said: "Want more? No? Then protest. Fight back. Run away. Or surrender to Ukrainian captivity."

The reaction to the military mobilisation inside Russia has been unusually strong.

The UK's Ministry of Defence, commenting on the call-up in its Wednesday morning briefing, noted that the mobilisation "is likely to be highly unpopular with parts of the Russian population".

"Putin is accepting considerable political risk in the hope of generating much-needed combat power. The move is effectively an admission that Russia has exhausted its supply of willing volunteers to fight in Ukraine," it said.

Even if successful, challenges remain - and it is unlikely new units will be ready for combat for several more months, the defence intelligence update said.

Russian officials insist the call-up will be limited to those who had completed military service, and fall short of widespread conscription.

But inside Russia, there is also speculation that the military mobilisation could be larger than formally announced.

The independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, which moved its operations to Europe amid a post-war crackdown on media, reported that Vladimir Putin's decree contains an additional paragraph which has been classified and kept secret.

The newspaper alleges that the secret paragraph allows for a call-up of up to a million people, rather than the reported 300,000, citing an unnamed government source.

Ladybbird · 26-09-22, 23:36

Inside Chaotic Russia as it Descends into Anarchy With Violent Protests and Mass Exodus

Vladimir Putin ordered the "partial military mobilisation" of hundreds of thousands of civilian reservists last week after the Kremlin's troops took a vicious beating by Ukraine

Daily Mirror UK 27 SEP 2022

Young men are seen approaching the border between Russia and Georgia as civilians try to dodge Putin's draft

Protesters and cops clash in Moscow

Russian riot police detain a man following calls to protest against partial mobilisation in Moscow last Wednesday

Russia is rupturing into chaos after warlord Vladimir Putin ordered another 300,000 civilians to the frontline of his failing " special military operation ".

Last Wednesday Putin ordered the "partial military mobilisation" of hundreds of thousands of civilian reservists after the Kremlin's troops took a vicious beating in Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces sent Putin's boys packing from the northeastern region of Kharkiv after a lightning counteroffensive, which has been hailed a military tactics masterpiece.

Within hours, Russia's borders were gridlocked with young men desperately trying to dodge the draft. The Russo-Ukraine war, which started in February, has already claimed between 70 to 80,000 Russian lives, according to US estimates.

In some of the territories where losses have been hardest felt, like Siberia, crowds marched through the streets chanting "I'm not going to die for you."

Similar protests have touched most corners of the vast country as citizens flouted the Kremlin's draconian laws against criticism of the armed forces.

More than 1,000 people were seized as Moscow brutally cracked down on the unrest.

The reactions have grown more sinister in recent days after a number of shootings and firebombings were reported across the country.

One directly linked to the mobilisation took place in Irkutsk, Siberia, when an unemployed conscript strolled into an enlistment office and shot the top local military recruiter.

In Izhevsk, a town around 600 miles east of Moscow, another gunman wandered through a school and opened fire, killing at least 13 including young schoolchildren.

Here is How Russia is Crumbling After The Tyrant's Announcement:

Since Wednesday, Putin's heavy-handed cops have thrown 2,353 protesters in jail for demonstrating their fury over the forced mobilisation, according to an independent protest monitoring site.

More than 1,300 of those arrests were made by the end of the first day, OVD-Info reports.

Women have been leading many of the protests and have been seen carrying banners saying: "Our husbands, fathers and brothers do not want to kill other husbands and fathers".

Others hoisted read, "No mobilisation", "No war! There is no grave.”

In Dagestan’s regional capital Makhachkala, anti-war protesters reportedly burned portraits of Putin.

In Novosibirsk, a brave male activist was hauled into detention after shouting at police and FSB officers at a rally: “I am not going to die for Putin, or for you!”

He told the armed law enforcement: “You know too well everything is f***** up!”

The man, seemingly in his 20s, was loudly clapped by other protesters at the rare anti-war rally in Siberia’s unofficial capital.

A police officer bellowed at him: “I demand you to stop this illegal activity.”

A protester’s voice is heard saying “What are you doing?” as he is detained.

Another asks: “Are you animals?”

Vehicles queue to cross the border from Russia to Finland at the Nuijamaa border checkpoint in Lappeenranta,

Ladybbird · 28-09-22, 05:45

European Leaders Blame SABOTAGE as Gas Pours Into Baltic From Nord Stream Pipelines

Ursula Von der Leyen warns of ‘strongest possible response’ to attacks on European energy infrastructure

BBC 28 SEP 2022.

European leaders blame sabotage as gas pours into Baltic from Nord Stream pipelines

Sabotage is the most likely cause of leaks in two Baltic Sea gas pipelines between Russia and Europe, European leaders have said, after seismologists reported explosions around the Nord Stream pipelines.

A seismograph on the Danish island of Bornholm, near where the leaks occurred, twice recorded spikes on Monday, the day on which the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines underwent dramatic falls in pressure, the German geological research centre GFZ said.

A Danish military flight over the leaks brought back striking images from the ruptures, including one showing an area of bubbling gas a kilometre wide on the sea’s surface.

European commission president Ursula Von der Leyen said the leaks were due to “sabotage”, and threatened the “strongest possible response” to any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure.

“Any deliberate disruption of active European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response,” she warned, and urged and investigation to get full clarity on the “events and why”.

Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen described them as “deliberate acts”, adding: “We are not talking about an accident.”

US secretary of state Antony Blinken has spoken to Danish foreign minister Jeppe Kofod about the “apparent sabotage”, said US state department spokesman Ned Price late on Tuesday. “The United States remains united with our allies and partners in our commitment to promoting European energy security,” he said.

Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the leaks were an act of sabotage that “probably marks the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine”.

Sweden’s outgoing prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, said “there have been detonations” although foreign minister Ann Linde said they would not “speculate on motives or actors”.

The seismograph recorded near-silence until just after midnight GMT (2am local time), when there was a spike representing a tremor in the earth followed by a continuous hissing wave form. The pattern was repeated at 5pm GMT.

Amid the claims of sabotage, suspicion immediately turned to potential culprits – with fingers pointed at Russia, whose pipelines were hit, suggesting a further weaponisation of energy supplies to Europe in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine. Not least it was seen as a possible message about the vulnerability of other marine gas infrastructure.

“There are some indications that it is deliberate damage. You have to ask: Who would profit?” one European security source told Reuters.

GFZ declined to be drawn on whether the tremors recorded could have been the result of an explosion but scientists at the research centre ruled out the possibility that the leaks could have been caused by earthquakes.

“There was a spike and then regular noise,” a GFZ spokesperson, Josef Zens, said. “We cannot say if that could be gas streaming out.”

A seismologist quoted by Swedish television suggested the activity may have been the result of explosions. Björn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network, SNSN, which measures Swedish earthquakes and explosions, told the SVT television channel that the event – one of which registered a magnitude of 2.3 – may have been caused by undersea detonations.

“You can clearly see how the waves bounce from the bottom to the surface. There is no doubt that it was a blast. We even had a station in Gnosjö that picked this up,” said Lund, who also lectures in seismology at Uppsala University.

Meanwhile the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, called the news “very concerning” and said that “no option can be ruled out right now”, including sabotage.

“This is a very concerning news,” he added, calling for a prompt investigation. “Indeed, we are talking about some damage of an unclear nature to the pipeline in Denmark’s economic zone.”

The steel pipe itself has a wall of 4.1 cm (1.6 inches) and is coated with steel-reinforced concrete up to 11cm thick. Each section of the pipe weighs 11 tonnes, which goes to 24-25 tonnes after the concrete is applied.

Among those pointing to the war in Ukraine was the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, who was speaking at the opening of a new gas pipeline between Norway and Poland. “Today we faced an act of sabotage. We don’t know all the details of what happened but we see clearly that it’s an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said.

Poland’s foreign minister was more forthright, suggesting that the damage could be an act of provocation on behalf of the Kremlin.

“Sadly our eastern partner is constantly pursuing an aggressive political course,” the deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, said in Warsaw. “If it is capable of an aggressive military course in Ukraine, then it’s apparent that acts of provocations in western Europe also cannot be ruled out.”

Ladybbird · 02-10-22, 10:00

Russia-Ukraine WAR: Ukrainian Capture of Lyman Makes WAR More Difficult For Putin, Says US

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin cheers capture of key city in east after Moscow confirms retreat of its troops

The Guardian UK 2 OCT 2022

The US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has welcomed Ukraine’s capture of Lyman and said the taking of the former Russian stronghold makes the war “more difficult” for Putin.

Mr Austin told a news conference on Sunday he was “very encouraged” after Saturday’s success by Ukrainian military forces.

He noted that Lyman was positioned across supply lines that Russia has used to push its troops and materiel down to the south and to the west, as the Kremlin presses its more than seven-month-long invasion of Ukraine.

“Without those routes, it will be more difficult. So it presents a sort of a dilemma for the Russians going forward.”

Ukrainian soldiers announced the capture on Saturday in a video recorded outside the town council building in the centre of Lyman and posted on social media by Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s office.

Hours earlier, Russia’s defence ministry had announced it was pulling troops out of the area “in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement”.

US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said Lyman’s capture would create new problems for Russia’s military. “We’re very encouraged by what we’re seeing right now,” Austin told a news conference on Saturday.

Austin noted that Lyman was positioned across supply lines that Russia has used to push its troops and materiel down to the south and to the west, as the Kremlin presses its more than seven-month-long invasion of Ukraine.

“Without those routes, it will be more difficult. So it presents a sort of a dilemma for the Russians going forward.”

Ladybbird · 09-10-22, 07:03

Crimea: Why Blowing Up Bridge is a Double Blow For Putin

Key bridge linking Crimea to Russia hit by huge explosion

Section of Kerch bridge collapses after blast, seen as major blow to Russian military prestige

Putin Makes Brutal and Corrupt’ General New Military Chief...

The Guardian UK 9 OCT 2022

A huge explosion has destroyed part of the Kerch bridge from Russia to Crimea, a hated symbol of the Kremlin’s occupation of the southern Ukrainian peninsula, one of Vladimir Putin’s prestige projects and a vital logistical link for the Russian military.

A section of the Ukraine-bound road bridge collapsed into the Kerch strait after the blast, and a fierce fire engulfed a train on the parallel railway connection, creating a vast column of black smoke. The parallel road towards Russia still appeared passable in images from the blast site.

The attack, which came the day after Putin’s 70th birthday, is a major blow to Russian military prestige and its supply chains for the invasion and the defence of Crimea.

Moscow had claimed the bridge was protected by impenetrable layers of defences, ranging from military dolphins to the latest weapons systems, but had also threatened harsh retaliation if it was targeted.

Ukraine has not directly claimed responsibility for hitting the bridge, but senior officials publicly celebrated and on Saturday morning the only real question about the attack was not who ordered it, but how it was carried out.

The explosion, which witnesses said could be heard miles away, happened about 6am on Saturday while a train was crossing the bridge. Pictures of the damage began emerging soon after.

Russia set up a committee to investigate the attack and within hours said three people had been killed and blamed a truck bomb for the blast. It added that they identified the driver of the exploded truck as a resident of the southern Russian Kuban region.

“According to preliminary data, three people died as a result of the incident. These are, presumably, the passengers of a car that was next to the blown-up truck,” Russia’s investigative committee said in a statement.

“At present, the bodies of two dead men and women have already been raised from the water; their identities are being established.”

Footage shared on Russian Telegram channels and news agencies appeared to show the moment of the explosion with two vehicles, a truck and a car, at the centre of the blast, although it was unclear whether either was responsible or simply caught up in the detonation.

The bridge, which was built on the orders of Putin, and inaugurated in 2018, was a key transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, especially in the south, as well as ferrying troops there.

The blast on the strategic bridge linking Crimea with Russia occurred at about 6am local time (3am GMT)

Stratigically Placed Cameras BEFORE, DURING and After The Event..PLUS a FAST Getaway Boat...British SAS Comes to Mind...

Ladybbird · 10-10-22, 11:17

Putin Accuses Ukraine of Terrorism Over Crimea Bridge Blast

75 Russian Rockets Target Ukraine Following Crimean Bridge Destruction

--Putin: 'If Attacks Continue Against Russia, The Response Will be Harsh'

BBC reporter ducks as explosions rock Ukraines' capital Kyiv

BBC News 10 Oct 2022

Explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday (October 10), after Russia accused Ukraine of orchestrating a powerful blast that damaged a key bridge linking Russia and Crimea.

Explosions have been reported in other cities across the country, including Lviv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, in what appears to be the most widespread set of Russian attacks since the early weeks of the war.

A BBC journalist in Kyiv, Hugo Bachega, was delivering a news report when several explosions happened in the centre of Ukraine's capital city.

Just over an hour later, after heading to shelter with his camera crew, the BBC re-established contact with Hugo.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of attacking the bridge to Russian-annexed Crimea, saying that it was an "act of terrorism".

President Putin said Ukraine's intelligence forces had aimed to destroy a critically important piece of Russia's civil infrastructure.

He was speaking at a meeting with the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin.

Officials say three people were killed in the blast on the bridge.

The victims were in a nearby car when a lorry blew up, Russian officials say.

"There is no doubt, this is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying Russia's critical civilian infrastructure," Mr Putin said.

"Its authors, perpetrators and beneficiaries are the security services of Ukraine."

Mr Bastrykin said that citizens of Russia and some foreign states had aided preparations for the attack.

Crimea Map

Putin: 'If Attacks Continue Against Russia, The Response Will be Harsh'

Ladybbird · 13-10-22, 07:00

GCHQ Boss Says Vladimir Putin Losing Home Support and Troops Running Out of Supplies

---- Putin 'Deploys Elite Guard to Moscow' Amid Fears of Coup with Military on High Alert

Brit Accused of Spying For Russia and Leaking Information From Embassy Appears in Court

BBC News 13 Oct 2022

The director of GCHQ, Sir Jeremy Fleming, is expected to say that Russian president Vladimir Putin may face revolt against his leadership, as his "exhausted" troops are now running out of supplies and munitions. The head of the UK's intelligence, cyber and security agency, Sir Jeremy is to brand Putin as becoming "desperate" as Russia loses the war with Ukraine, stating...

Vladimir Putin has deployed a special unit of guards to Moscow amid rising fears of a coup, Ukrainian intelligence sources have claimed. Intelligence officials said the elite ODON unit of the Russian National Guard is bolstering security around the Russian capital and that all military units are on "high alert". The briefing came hours after the Kerch bridge

A man accused of spying for Vladimir Putin's Russia while working as a security guard at the British Embassy in Berlin has appeared in court. David Ballantyne Smith, who has no address in the UK but previously lived in Ayrshire, allegedly collected and leaked information "deemed useful to the Russian state" over a ten-month period.

He was charged with nine offences

Ladybbird · 14-10-22, 13:18

Ukraine WAR: Kyiv Demands Red Cross Visit Notorious Prison

Ukrainian officials have urged the Red Cross to conduct a mission to a notorious prison camp in the Russia-occupied east of the country.

BBC 14 OCT 2022

A security guard stands outside a building at Olenivka prison camp after it was damaged by an explosion in July

The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, demanded that the Red Cross (ICRC) visit the Olenivka prison in Donetsk within three days.

"We just can't waste more time. Human lives are at stake," he tweeted.

Last month, the Red Cross tried to secure access to the camp, but said it was denied by Russian authorities.

In a statement on Friday, the ICRC said: "We want to stress that our teams are ready on the ground - and have been ready for months - to visit the Olenivka penal facility and any other location where POWs are held.

"However, beyond being granted access by high levels of authority, this requires practical arrangements to materialize on the ground. We cannot access by force a place of detention or internment where we have not been admitted."

The Olenivka prison has been under the control of Russian-backed authorities in Donetsk since 2014, and conditions are said to be extremely poor.

In July, dozens of Ukrainian prisoners were killed in explosions at the camp, which both sides blamed on each other. Kyiv said the prison was targeted by Russia to destroy evidence of torture and killing, while Moscow blamed Ukrainian rockets. Without an independent investigation, however, the truth remains unknown.

Those detained at the site include members of the Azov battalion, who were the last defenders of the city of Mariupol and whom Russia has sought to depict as neo-Nazis and war criminals.

This is not the first time Ukraine has applied pressure to international organisations to investigate what is going on at the prison.

Mr Yermak said he had raised the issue again during a video conference with officials from the ICRC and other international organisations.

He has demanded the trip be made by Monday.

"Ukraine... will contribute to this mission in every possible way," he said on Telegram, adding he did not understand why a mission to inspect Olenivka had not yet been arranged.

President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the calls, and accused the Red Cross of inaction, saying it had "obligations, primarily of a moral nature".

In his nightly address on Thursday, Mr Zelensky said he believed that the Red Cross was "not a club with privileges where one receives a salary and enjoys life".

He said a mission to the prison camp could be organised similar to that of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which visited the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in August.

"But it requires leadership," Mr Zelensky said in a thinly veiled criticism of the Red Cross. "The Red Cross can make it happen. But you have to try to make it happen."

Ladybbird · 16-10-22, 07:57

Russia: 11 Dead, 15 Injured in Terrorist Attack at Military Training Ground in Belgorod

At least 11 people died and 15 others were reportedly injured in an attack at a Russian military training ground in the Belgorod region on Saturday

BBC 16 OCT 2022

Russian military troops take part in a military drill on Sernovodsky polygon close to the Chechnya border, some 260 km from south Russian city of Stavropol, on March 19, 2015. About 500 soldiers take part in the military exercises until March 20.

At least 11 people have been killed and a further 15 injured in an alleged 'terrorist act' after two volunteer soldiers opened fire at a military training ground in Russia.

The shooting took place today in the Belgorod region of the country according to the Russian Defence Ministry who labelled it 'terrorism'.

"On October 15, two citizens of one of the CIS countries committed a terrorist act at the training ground of the Western Military District in the Belgorod Region," the ministry said.

CIS countries are countries in the former Soviet republic, including: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

The attackers, believed to be two volunteer soldiers, opened fire on a training unit reportedly during target practice leading to the deaths.

The two shooters were believed to have been volunteer soldiers

The ministry said there were two attackers who were both shot dead.

Russia branded the shooters “terrorists” and the attack reportedly took place in Soloti, a small community not far from the Ukrainian border.

The unit targeted were said to be volunteers to fight in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

Reports circulating on Telegram suggest the death toll is in fact higher and some suggest there were three shooters as well.

The shooting comes amid a desperate mobilisation by Russian boss Vladimir Putin to try and bolster his forces during his faltering invasion of Ukraine.

The shooting comes as Vladimir Putin desperately tries to mobilise more soldiers for his invasion of Ukraine

In his efforts to strengthen his hand in his war against Kyiv his actions have triggered significant protests at home, leading to hundreds of thousands fleeing the country.

Putin said on Friday that over 220,000 reservists already had been called up as part of an effort to recruit 300,000 more soldiers.

This comes as the UK's Ministry of Defence said that the reservists being deployed "almost certainly" had far worse equipment than the "already poor provisions" currently being used by Putin's troops.

On top of that, many reservists are likely required to buy their own body armour.

Ladybbird · 18-10-22, 11:52

Ukraine WAR: Russia Dive-Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones
---US Says Iranian Drones Breach Sanctions

Russian Warplane Crash Kills 13 in Apartment Block

Moscow and Kyiv Swap Women Prisoners For Sailors

BBC NEWS -100 YEARS OLD TODAY-18 OCT 2022,,

An apartment block in Russia's southern city of Yeysk was ablaze after a military aircraft crashed into the residential area

At least 13 people have now died after a Russian fighter-bomber plane crashed into an apartment block in the southern Russian town of Yeysk, officials say.

Russia has hit Ukraine with a wave of attacks, dive-bombing the capital, Kyiv, with what appear to be Iranian-made "kamikaze" drones.

Critical infrastructure was hit in the Kyiv, Dnipro and Sumy regions, with electricity cut in hundreds of towns and villages, the government says.

At least eight people were killed, four in Kyiv and four in Sumy.

Calls have mounted for sanctions on Iran, which continues to deny supplying drones to the Russian military.

A week ago, the Ukrainian capital was hit by Russian missiles at rush hour, part of nationwide attacks which left 19 dead.

In the latest attack, starting at around 06:30 (03:30 GMT), 28 drones targeted the capital but only five hit targets, according to the Mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko.

The city reverberated to the rattle of gunfire as anti-aircraft batteries frantically tried to shoot them down. Video on social media appeared to show one interception.
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter

In the Shevchenkivskyi district, rescuers searched for survivors in the ruins of a block of flats that partially collapsed after one attack. The street was cordoned off as dozens of firefighters and emergency staff worked at the scene. Among the four people killed in the district was a pregnant woman.

Across the street from the ruined building, the offices of Ukraine's energy company were also hit. The facility was probably the intended target of the strike.

Mayor Klitschko described the attacks as a "genocide of the Ukrainian people", saying, "The Russians need a Ukraine without Ukrainians."

The city authorities, he added, were expecting air defence systems to be delivered soon to protect the capital from further drone attacks.

"The enemy can attack our cities, but it won't be able to break us," said President Volodymyr Zelensky, describing the attacks as "terrorising the civilian population".

Despite an appeal from the mayor for people to seek shelter, the city's streets were far from deserted. Between two sets of strikes, plenty of people could be seen going about their business.

A Reuters news agency journalist reported seeing fragments of a drone used in the attack that bore the words "For Belgorod".

The Russian border city of Belgorod has been hit several times since Russia invaded Ukraine. Moscow blames Kyiv for the attacks.

In the other attacks:

Four people were killed when an energy-generating facility was hit in Sumy

In the port city of Mykolaiv, sunflower oil tanks were set on fire by three suicide drones late on Sunday evening.

Big tanks set on fire

Tanks at the port city of Mykolaiv were set on fire by Russian drone attacks, according to the city's mayor

The low buzzing of the slow-moving drones is becoming familiar across Ukraine.

Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak accused Iran of being "responsible for the murders of Ukrainians".

Some EU foreign ministers, including those from France and Germany, are calling for new sanctions against Iran for supplying drones to Russia.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc would investigate Tehran's participation in the conflict.

Despite the mounting evidence of Iranian drones being used, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani insisted his country was not a "party in the war", adding: "We have not supplied any weapons to the sides of the Ukraine war."

Russia said it had hit Ukrainian military command facilities and energy systems "in the course of 24 hours" with long-range air- and sea-based weapons on Sunday.

What are 'Kamikaze Drones'?

Believed to include an Iranian-supplied weapon called the Shahed-136
These drones loiter above a target before attacking
Packed with explosives which detonate upon impact, destroying the drone
Often sent in waves and difficult to spot on radar
The US said Iran planned to send hundreds to Russia, costing just $20,000 (£17,800) each
Ukraine has also used 'kamikaze drones' - including the US-made Switchblade model

Mayor Klitschko shared a photo of what he said were fragments of a kamikaze drone on Telegram

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week's strikes were in retaliation for the bombing of a key bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea, which he blamed on Ukraine.

It was the first time during the war that the centre of Kyiv had been directly targeted.

Earlier this week, Mr Putin said there was no need for more large-scale strikes on Ukraine. Most designated targets had been hit, he said, adding that it was not his aim to destroy the country.

Russia has increased the use of combat drones in Ukraine as it seeks to avoid using long-range precision missions.

Ladybbird · 19-10-22, 20:09

Fears Grow Putin Could Detonate Nukes as Ben Wallace Scrambles to Washington

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace Emergency US Trip Amid Nuclear Threat

The Defence Secretary has made the trip amid fears Putin could detonate a nuclear weapon. Mr Wallace went stateside to discuss "shared security concerns" as Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said the topics of discussion were "beyond belief"

BBC News 19 OCT 2022.

The Defence Secretary has made an emergency trip to the US to discuss the security situation in Ukraine, including the threat of a nuclear attack.

Ben Wallace cancelled his appearance in front of the Commons Defence Committee on Tuesday and flew to the US for summits in the Pentagon and White House

Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said Wallace attended to "discuss the Ukraine situation and the US and UK joint efforts to support Ukraine"

Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said Mr Wallace was meeting with his US counterpart for “the sort of conversations that [are] beyond belief really, the fact we are at a time when these sorts of conversations are necessary”.

A defence source said: “The Defence Secretary is in Washington DC to discuss shared security concerns, including Ukraine.

“He will be visiting his counterpart at the Pentagon and senior figures at the White House.”

Vladimir Putin has stepped up his attacks in recent days after his troops were left scrambling for supplies following Ukraine’s strike on the Kerch Bridge.

Zhytomyr, a city with military bases 85 miles west of the capital Kyiv, has been left without electricity and water after a Russian missile strike on an energy facility.

Missiles also hit an energy facility in Kyiv and severely damaged another in Dnipro.

Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities are “cowardly” acts by Vladimir Putin, the UK has said.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the attacks were the “desperate acts” of a man losing the war.

“Putin failed to capture Ukrainian towns and cities with tanks, now he tries cowardly drone attacks,” he said.

“These are the desperate acts of a man losing a war on the battlefield. It’s why we sent air defence missiles.

Ladybbird · 21-10-22, 13:06

Vladimir Putin Tried to Detonate NUKE But His Plans Were Sabotaged Insider Claims

As the world fears Vladimir Putin could fire nuclear weapons on Ukraine, it is claimed that the Russian President is facing disruptions with his atomic weapon plans due to 'sabotage' or technical issues

BBC News 21 OCT 2022.

Vladimir Putin's tried to detonate a nuke but his plans were "sabotaged", an insider has claimed.

Top brass at the Kremlin are “sabotaging” his plans to use atomic weapons or there may be issues due to technical failures, it is claimed.

In recent days, there have been a series of NOTAM messages (Notice to air missions) and linked Russian navigation warnings indicating tests or live firing drills.

So far, there has been few indications of any major testing, although the final date for such disruption in the Barents Sea is October 22.

At the same time there are claims that earlier this month Putin ordered two nuclear missile tests which did not in fact take place.

Valery Solovey, an expert on the president and former professor at Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations [MGIMO], a training school for spies and diplomats said: “[Putin’s] decision on the use of tactical nuclear weapons [in the Ukraine conflict] would no doubt face resistance.

Russia 'plans to blow up dam and flood city - then blame Ukraine for attack'

Professor Valery Solovey, an expert on the president and former professor at Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations

“I don't know how effective the resistance will be but I will indicate [that] nuclear tests were supposed to be held over the past two weeks, one in the Barents sea, underwater, and the second underground, in Arkhangelsk region.

“Both times the tests were not held.”

He alleged: “The reason is that before the launch, or more accurately, before the use of tactical nuclear weapons, it is necessary to make sure these weapons are fully operable…

“They had to be tested.”

But both times the potentially dangerous were “disrupted”.

Satellite images show Russia's Poseidon nuke-carrying 600ft submarine Belgorod lurking in the Arctic

“The president got reports that there was an emergency situation, that it didn't work out” - implying technical failings.

Putin insisted that the tests are held in the future, said Sololvey. He has also claimed the Kremlin leader has made a decision in principle to use nuclear weapons.

He added: “But the thing is, once is an accident, twice is a coincidence.

“But…if the third time tests end the same way, with nothing, [it will look like] sabotage…not fulfilling….the orders of the chief commander….”

This would show the "dissolution of [Putin’s] authority, of Russia's executive power”.

The Poseidon is a remotely operated nuclear-powered undersea drone

Earlier this month, it was reported that Nato had sent an intelligence note to its member countries warning that Putin had deployed his K-329 Belgorod nuclear submarine, carrier of apocalypse underwater drone Poseidon.

The Russian weapon is a giant nuclear-capable torpedo causing radioactive tsunamis laying waste to enemy coastlines.

Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian TV propagandist, told viewers that Russia should “plunge Britain into the depths of the sea” with its “underwater robotic drone Poseidon” causing a 1,640ft tsunami.

Details of its unique high speed 125 mph underwater propulsion system have been closely guarded as a Russian secret.

Yet there have been no indications of a test launch so far.

Dmitry Kiselyov told viewers that Russia should “plunge Britain into the depths of the sea”

The Barents Observer recently reported that NOTAM flight warnings had been posted by Russia.

For example in the waters between Norway’s Finnmark region and the Svalbard archipelago, and in eastern Barents Sea and southeast Kara Sea.

The warnings were different for each area but in total covered the period October 14 to 22.

General SVR channel said on 13 October that the alleged nuclear missile tests ordered by Putin had been prepared “in strict secrecy”.

The Kremlin leader “was informed about the need to postpone the date and time of the test. Allegedly they did not have time to properly prepare.”

“This is the second time a nuclear test has been postponed in the past two weeks.”

Ladybbird · 21-10-22, 20:38

Ben Wallace: Russian Jet Released Missile’ Near British Plane in International Airspace

Guardian News 21 OCT 2022.

A Russian aircraft released a missile near a British plane patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea on 29 September, the UK defence minister, Ben Wallace, said.

Wallace told parliament Britain had suspended patrols after the incident and expressed its concerns to Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu. Russia said it was a technical malfunction and Britain had resumed patrols, now with fighter aircraft escorts, Wallace added.

Ladybbird · 22-10-22, 18:19

Iran Sending Missiles to Russia as Putins’ Army Loses Weapons at Unsustainable Rate

How Russias' Kamikaze Drones are Changing The Ukraine WAR

Russia Threatens to Equip Belarusian Warplanes With Nuclear Missile

Iran has been forced to deny supplying weapons to Russia following after a number of Iranian kamikaze drones and troops from the Revolutionary Guard were spotted in Ukraine

BBC 22 OCT 2022

Iran is supplying missiles to Russia as it struggles with depleting weaponry and equipment for invading forces in Ukraine, it has been claime

Weapons sold to Russia include 'Kamikaze' attack drones and Iranian-made surface-to-surface missiles...

The United States warned last week that the Islamic Republic of Iran had ramped up arms deals with the Russians as Vladimir Putin's soldiers continue to burn up supplies.

Weapons said to have been sold to Putin include so-called kamikaze attack drones, as well as the first reported Iranian-made surface-to-surface missiles.

Russia is estimated to have lost 6,000 pieces of military equipment during the war and is "expending munitions at an unsustainable rate", US intelligence director Morgan Muir said.

Reports of a deal have been denied by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, who said his country “has not and will not” supply weapons for either side in the Ukraine conflict.

Vladimir Putin 'has now lost more soldiers in Ukraine war than US did in Vietnam'

Quoting the contents of his phone call with Portuguese Foreign Minister, the foreign ministry said: “We believe that the arming of each side of the crisis will prolong the war, so we have not considered and do not consider war to be the right way either in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria or Yemen.”

The denial comes after the Daily Mirror last week revealedIranian troops had secretly entered the Ukraine frontline after being signed up by Putin's army.

Up to 50 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) specialists were reportedly sent to the southern and eastern front along with hundreds of Shahed-136 drones.

Iran has denied supplying weapons to Putin and claim they do not want to 'prolong the war'=

Ukrainian artillery and drone teams have recently destroyed one Shahed-136 base in southern Ukraine, according to Kyiv sources.

They have been based in Dzankoi in Crimea and Kherson in the south, where one IRGC team has already been destroyed.

One Ukrainian military source told the Daily Mirror: “At least one of the Iranian training teams has been hit recently and they are actively being hunted down.

Putin's forces are estimated to have lost 6,000 pieces of military equipment

Ladybbird · 23-10-22, 07:14

Occupied - BBC World Service

Family Secretly Film Life in Russian-Occupied Ukraine

Ukrainian father Dmytro Bahnenko reflects on the months he and his family lived there under occupation and secretly filmed for BBC Eye at great personal risk.

BBC News 23 Oct

On March 1 Dmytro Bahnenko, a journalist in Kherson, southern Ukraine, watched Russian tanks roll down his street. As his world, like many Ukrainians’, turned upside down, he secretly started filming everything around him, sensing history in the making, and sharing the footage with BBC Eye.

Over the next three months Dmytro records his city’s resistance. Acts of defiance, including large demonstrations are followed by a violent crackdown. The city changes. Food and medicine become scarce. Russian military vehicles marked with the “Z” speed up and down Kherson streets. Shelling is heard round the clock. Many people flee. Friends and prominent local people start to disappear - others are put through mock executions.

As the Russians make their intentions clearer, Dmytro and his wife Lidia struggle to shelter their five-year-old daughter Ksusha from what is happening. The documentary is filled with colourful detail of how the young family find ways of coping as their city is steadily stripped of its Ukrainian identity.

Dmytro realises just how dangerous his secret project is when a pro-Ukrainian priest he has been filming is kidnapped and tortured by unidentified men from the Russian security services.

Dmytro, whose day job had been as a local reporter, never thought he'd be filming the invasion of his home city.

Along with his wife Lidia, Dmytro struggles to shelter their five-year-old daughter Ksusha from the war as she increasingly senses the danger around her.

Kherson was the first major city to fall to Russian forces when they invaded Ukraine in February and he began filming the family's lives when Russian soldiers first marched past their window on 1 March.

WARNING VERY Distressing

Ladybbird · 25-10-22, 10:00

Ukraine WAR: UN Nuclear Watchdog to Revisit Sites Amid Russia Dirty Bomb Claim

The UN's nuclear watchdog IAEA says its inspectors have regularly visited two sites in Ukraine at the centre of Russian claims that Kyiv is preparing a so-called dirty bomb.

BBC News 25 Oct 2022

IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi did not disclose which sites would be inspected

Inspectors would return in the coming days following a Ukrainian request, director general Rafael Grossi said.

Russia has not offered any evidence for its allegations, which Nato dismisses.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned it meant Russia itself could be preparing an attack of this kind.

So-called dirty bombs contain radioactive material, such as uranium, which is scattered through the air when its conventional explosive detonates. They don't need to contain highly refined radioactive material, as is used in a nuclear bomb, which makes them cheaper and easier to manoeuvre.

The IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] said it had received an invitation from the Ukrainian government to carry out "verification activities" at two unspecified locations, adding that the agency's inspectors have visited both sites regularly.

Mr Grossi said the IAEA "inspected one of these locations one month ago and all our findings were consistent with Ukraine's safeguards declarations."

"No undeclared nuclear activities or material were found there," he said.

Russia's state-run news agency, RIA Novosti, said it had identified two sites - the Eastern Mineral Enrichment Plant in central Dnipropetrovsk region and the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv - as the locations central to the alleged Ukrainian operation.

Moscow is expected to repeat the allegation during a meeting of the UN's Security Council on Tuesday. In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the Russian representative to the council, Vassily Nebenzia, said his country would "regard the use of the dirty bomb by the Kyiv regime as an act of nuclear terrorism".

"Our Ministry of Defence has also received information that this provocation can be carried out with the support of Western countries," Mr Nebenzia wrote in his letter.

Moscow's allegations, made by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, have been rejected by Ukraine and its Western allies. In a joint statement on Monday, the US, UK and French foreign ministers condemned the claims as "transparently false" and said the "world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation".

Meanwhile, President Zelensky said during his nightly address on Monday that "if Russia calls and says that Ukraine is allegedly preparing something, it means one thing: Russia has already prepared all this".

President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of preparing to use dirty bombs

Western intelligence officials have been keen to stress that there is no indication that Russia is preparing to use so-called dirty bombs or other nuclear devices.

The Russian claims come as Ukrainian forces continue to gain ground in the southern Kherson region. Kyiv's forces launched a counter-attack in the region in August and its forces have slowly moved towards the regional capital of Kherson city.

In recent days, Moscow-installed officials have fled the city and urged civilians to evacuate over the Dnieper river into Russian controlled territory.

But Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, warned state media that Russian troops in the region were preparing the defend the city rather than retreat.

"They are creating the illusion that all is lost. Yet at the same time they are moving new military units in and preparing to defend the streets of Kherson," Mr Budanov said.

Regional authorities have said that some men who chose to remain behind in the city would have the option of joining local militias to defend it, raising fears that Moscow could force men into military formations. Such actions would constitute war crimes under the Geneva convention.

Kherson is the only major Ukrainian city - a regional capital - that Russian forces have managed to capture during its invasion.

Graphic Showing Areas of Russian Control

Ladybbird · 26-10-22, 07:15

Ukraine War Refugees Asked Not to Return This Winter

Ukrainian refugees should not return until spring to help ease pressure on the energy system after a wave of Russian attacks, the government said.

BBC News 26 OCT 2022.

There are 7.7 million refugees from Ukraine across Europe (including Russia), according to the UN's refugee agency

"The networks will not cope," said Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk. "You see what Russia is doing."

"We need to survive the winter," she added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian air strikes had destroyed more than a third of the country's energy sector.

Ms Vereshchuk said that although she would like Ukrainians to return in the spring, it was important to refrain from returning for now because "the situation will only get worse".

"If it is possible, stay abroad for the time being," she added.

Ukraine's economy has suffered badly since the war began. Mr Zelensky has called on the world for help urgently to cover an expected budget deficit of $38bn (£33bn) next year.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Ukraine would need $3bn every month to survive the next year - and $5bn if Moscow's bombardment intensified.

The deputy mayor of the western city of Lviv, Serhiy Kiral, told the BBC on Saturday that Russia's strategy was to damage critical infrastructure before the winter, and bring the war to areas beyond the front line.

Russia says it began attacking Ukraine's energy networks in retaliation for an attack on a bridge linking mainland Russia to occupied Crimea, although Kyiv has not said it was behind the bridge attack.

Areas targeted by the latest attacks include the Cherkasy region, south-east of the capital Kyiv, and the city of Khmelnytskyi, further west.

On Friday Mr Zelensky accused Russia of planting mines at a hydroelectric dam in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine, which is under the control of Moscow's forces.

He said that if the Kakhovka hydropower plant was destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people would be in danger of flooding. Russia has denied planning to blow up the dam and said Ukraine was firing missiles at it.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, the UN's refugee agency has recorded about 7.7 million refugees from Ukraine across Europe, including Russia, out of a population of about 44 million

Ladybbird · 28-10-22, 06:54

World Faces Most Dangerous Decade Since WW2 - Putin

The world faces "probably the most dangerous" decade since the end of World War Two, Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned.

BBC UK 28 OCT 2022

President Putin said "the future world order is being formed before our eyes"

One of the two missiles was launched from a nuclear-powered submarine in the Barents SeaImage source, RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY

Russia launched two missiles on Wednesday as part of a routine nuclear exercise

In a wide-ranging speech on Thursday, he sought to justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a move that has left his country internationally isolated.

Mr Putin also accused the West of nuclear blackmail against Russia to force allies to turn away from Moscow.

The West has denounced recent veiled nuclear threats by the Kremlin.

Earlier this week, the Nato military alliance condemned unsubstantiated claims by Russia that Ukraine might use a "dirty bomb" - conventional explosives laced with radioactive material.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said alliance members "reject this allegation" and "Russia must not use it as a pretext for escalation".

President Putin was speaking to the annual Valdai forum after a series of recent military defeats in Ukraine and growing public anger at home over a drive to mobilise some 300,000 Russians for the war effort.

The day before his address in Moscow, he had overseen routine nuclear exercises that involved a supposed nuclear strike in retaliation for an enemy's massive nuclear attack. "We've never proactively said anything about Russia's possible use of nuclear weapons. We've only responded with hints to comments voiced by the leaders of Western countries," he told his audience.

President Putin singled out former UK prime minister Liz Truss for suggesting during an August campaign event that she would be ready to press the nuclear button if circumstances required her to do so. He said he was surprised the UK's allies did not object: "What were we supposed to do? Keep silent? Pretend that we didn't hear it?"

However, he has himself repeatedly warned that Russia would use "all available means" to protect itself, in what has been widely seen as a clear nuclear threat.

US President Joe Biden accused the Russian leader of engaging in "very dangerous" rhetoric around the potential use of nuclear weapons.

"Why is he talking about the ability to use a tactical nuclear weapon?" Mr Biden asked during an interview with US media. "If he has no intention, why does he keep talking about it?"

He repeated his recent attacks on the West, and what he called its "dangerous, bloody and dirty game" of denying countries their sovereignty and uniqueness. The West's "undivided dominance" over world affairs was now coming to an end, he asserted.

"We're at a historical frontier. Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and at the same time important decade since the end of World War Two."

The West was no more able to be in charge - but was "desperately trying" to do so. He said a "future world order is being formed before our eyes", and accused the West, led by the US, of trying to destroy Russia. No evidence was provided to back up his claims.

No Regrets in Putins' World
Analysis by Steve Rosenberg, Russia Editor

What we saw and heard today was the world according to Vladimir Putin. It is a world in which Russia is squeaky clean and the West is to blame for everything, from the war in Ukraine to the global food crisis.

We saw a Kremlin leader who has absolutely no regrets for what he has done - or at least who is not prepared to voice those publicly if they do exist.

And so, Vladimir Putin painted for us his parallel reality of what is happening. He blamed the West for "igniting" the war in Ukraine; he insisted that the new world order should be based on "law and justice" - this from a president who, eight months ago, launched a full-scale invasion of a sovereign, independent nation.

He claimed Russia had been wrongly accused of threatening to use nuclear weapons. And yet, since February, President Putin has dropped several unsubtle hints that he would be prepared to use every weapon in Russia's arsenal in this conflict.

For me, perhaps the most telling comment was about the "losses" President Putin admitted to having suffered in his 'special military operation.'

"I'm always thinking of the human lives lost," he said. But that was all he said about that, before quickly moving on to the "enormous benefits" Russia had, in his opinion, gained, including "the strengthening of Russia's sovereignty".

No hint of remorse or regret. No sign of any U-turns.

Ladybbird · 02-11-22, 12:24

Russias’ Invasion of Ukraine Moves Toward ‘WAR of Drones’ as Winter Looms

How are Kamikaze Drones Being Used by Russia and Ukraine?

Ukraine has accused Russia of using "kamikaze" drones against civilian targets in Kyiv.

These carry explosives which detonate on impact, destroying the drone in the process.

BBC 2 NOV 2022.

What is Russia's 'kamikaze' drone?

It's believed Russia has been using the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone in the Ukraine conflict since mid-September.

Also called the Geranium-2 by Russia, it has explosives in a warhead on its nose and is designed to loiter over a target until it is instructed to attack.

The Shahed-136 has a wingspan of about 2.5m (8.2ft) and can be hard to detect on radar.

It's unclear exactly how many Russia has, but the US has said Iran planned to send hundreds to Russia. Iran has denied doing so.

Graphic of Shahed 136 drone

What damage have kamikaze drones done in Ukraine?

Russia was first reported to have used a Shahed-136 drone on 13 September, attacking targets near Kupiansk, a city in the Kharkiv region in the east of the country.

Later that month, it was used in attacks in the south. Debris from the drones were found in wreckage in Odesa and Mykolaiv.

In October, Shahed-136 drones landed on civilian areas in the city of Bila Tserkva, south of Kyiv.

Russia may be using these drones rather than cruise missiles because they are relatively cheap - about $20,000 (£17,800) each.

How is Ukraine trying to combat them?

Ukrainian armed forces have used anti-air missiles and electronic jamming devices to try and down these drones. At the start of October, Ukraine's armed forces said they had been intercepting 60% of all incoming Shahed-136 drones.

However, it is hard to shoot them all down.

"They fly low and you can send them in waves. These swarms of drones are much harder to counter by air defences," military expert Justin Crump told the BBC.

Has Ukraine used 'kamikaze' drones?

It's not clear whether these have been used by Ukraine, but experts believe they may have been deployed in recent attacks on a Russian military base in western Crimea, on an airbase near Sevastopol, and on ships in Sevastopol harbour.

Dr Marina Miron, researcher in defence studies at King's College London, says: "If you look at the explosions in the attacks, they are quite small. I suspect that these are homemade drones, which have had explosives strapped to them."

What other drones do Ukraine and Russia have?

Ukraine's main military drone is the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2. It is about the size of a small plane, has cameras on board, and can be armed with laser-guided bombs.

At the outset of the war, Ukraine had a fleet of "fewer than 50" of these, says Dr Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) think-tank.

The US said it is sending Ukraine 700 Switchblade drones, which are also kamikaze drones.

Russia also uses the "smaller, more basic" Orlan-10, which have cameras and can carry small bombs.

How have military drones been used?

For both sides - Russia and Ukraine - drones have been effective for locating enemy targets and guiding artillery fire toward them.

"Russian forces can bring their guns to bear on the enemy within only three to five minutes of an Orlan-10 drone spotting a target," says Dr Watling. An attack could otherwise take 20-30 minutes to carry out.

Dr Marina Miron says drones have allowed Ukraine to stretch its limited forces.

"If you wanted to seek out enemy positions in the past, you would have had to send out special forces units... and you might lose some troops," she says. "Now, all you're risking is a drone."

A fleet of Russian Orlan-10 drones

Russian Orlan-10 drones can target artillery fire on enemy positions within minutes

In the first few weeks of the war, Ukraine's Bayraktar drones were widely praised.

"They were shown attacking targets such as ammunition dumps, and played a part in the sinking of the Moskva [warship]," Dr Miron says.

However, the Bayraktar is a large and slow moving drone, and Russia has been able to counter it effectively with its air defence systems.

How are the non-military drones being used?

Military drones are expensive to replace - a single Bayraktar TB2 costs about $2m (£1.7m).

So, both sides - but especially Ukraine - also use small, commercial models, such as the DJI Mavic 3, which costs about £1,700.

Graphic showing DJI Mavic 3 drone and its specifications

These commercial drones can be fitted with small bombs. However, they are mainly used to spot enemy troops and to direct attacks.

"Ukraine doesn't have as much ammunition as Russia," says Dr Miron. "Having 'eyes in the sky' to spot targets and direct artillery fire means they can make better use of what they have."

But commercial drones are much less capable than military ones.

For example, the DJI Mavic's total flying distance is only 30km, and it can only fly for a maximum of 46 minutes.

Russia is using electronic devices to counter them, says Dr Miron.

"Russian forces have the Stupor rifle, which shoots electromagnetic pulses," she says. This stops commercial drones from being able to navigate using GPS, she explains.

Russian forces have also used online systems, such as Aeroscope, to detect and interrupt communications between commercial drones and their operators.

These systems can cause a drone to crash or return to base, and can stop it sending back information.

Ladybbird · 03-11-22, 05:49

'Brink of Nuclear WAR' Russia Today Claimed That The World Was on The Brink of Nuclear Conflict

Russia says world’s five nuclear powers are ‘on brink of armed conflict’ as it blames West for ‘provocation’

US Alleges North Korea Covertly Supplying Russia a Significant’ Number of Artillery Shells

BBC 3 NOV 2022.

The world’s five big nuclear powers are teetering “on the brink of a direct armed conflict”, Russia has claimed, warning of catastrophic consequences.

Blaming the West for “provocation”, Moscow ramped up the nuclear rhetoric, pinpointing “irresponsible and impudent actions aimed at undermining our national security”.

North Korea Covertly Shipping Artillery Shells to Russia, US says

White House says North Korea is sending a ‘significant’ number of artillery shells to Russia for the Ukraine war.

The United States has accused North Korea of supplying Russia with a “significant” number of artillery shells to be used in Ukraine, as Moscow increasingly looks to allies for help with the war effort.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday that the alleged North Korean weapon shipments are unlikely to change the course of the conflict, stressing Western efforts to support the Ukrainian military.

Ladybbird · 04-11-22, 12:32

UN Nuclear Inspectors Shut Down Russian Dirty Bomb Claim Against Ukraine

Volodymyr Zelenskiy says findings are ‘clear and irrefutable’ after IAEA finds no evidence of undeclared nuclear activities and materials

BBC News 4 NOV 2022.

The UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed it found no sign of undeclared nuclear activity after inspecting three sites at Ukraine’s request in response to Russian allegations that work was being done on a “dirty bomb”.

Moscow has accused Ukraine of planning to use such a bomb – a conventional explosive device laced with radioactive ma terial – and said institutes linked to the nuclear industry were involved in preparations, without presenting evidence. Ukraine’s government denies the accusation.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, hailed the conclusion, calling it “quite obvious” in his latest national address.

“We have invited the IAEA to check, we have given them full freedom of action at the relevant facilities, and we have clear and irrefutable evidence that no one in Ukraine has created or is creating any dirty bombs,” he said.

“The only thing that is dirty in our region now is the heads of those in Moscow who, unfortunately, seized control of the Russian state and are terrorising Ukraine and the whole world.”

Vladimir Putin says ‘dirty bomb’ claims to Nato were made on his orders

Some Ukrainian and western officials have accused Moscow of making the allegation to give itself cover to detonate its own dirty bomb and pin the blame on Kyiv.

The US rejected as “transparently false” Russia’s accusations. The secretary of state, Antony Blinken, noted that “the world would see through any attempt by Russia to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation”.

In a statement released late on Thursday, the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency said: “Over the past few days, the inspectors were able to carry out all activities that the IAEA had planned to conduct and were given unfettered access to the locations.

“Based on the evaluation of the results available to date and the information provided by Ukraine, the agency did not find any indications of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at the locations.”
Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Radiation, Chemical, and Biological Protection Forces, during a press briefing on Monday.

The IAEA said in October it would inspect two locations in Ukraine after a request by Kyiv. On Monday it said those inspections had begun and on Thursday it said they had been completed at three locations rather than two, all of which had been mentioned by Russia.

The IAEA named the locations as the Institute for Nuclear Research in Kyiv, Eastern Mining and Processing Plant in Zhovti Kody, and Production Association Pivdennyi Machine-Building Plant in Dnipro.

The IAEA chief, Rafael Grossi, said evaluation of the results “did not show any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials” and environmental samples that were taken at the sites would be sent for lab analysis with results to be reported “as soon as possible”.
Congratulations on being one of our top readers globally – you've read 72 articles in the last year

Where will it all end? The conflict in Ukraine appears further than ever from resolution. Nuclear threats, mass graves, the sense that both sides are "all in".

Ladybbird · 04-11-22, 14:06

Largest Nuclear Subs in The World Dock in Gibraltar as UK & US Sends WARNING to Putins’ Russia

BBC News 4 NOV 2022.

USS Rhode Island docked in Gibraltar

Armed Forces minister James Heappey said Gibraltar's military bases were of "huge strategic importance". USS Rhode Island has docked in Gibraltar for a scheduled port visit in what will be seen as a clear signal to Vladimir Putin about Western capability.

The UK Had Sent a Nuclear Sub Weeks Earlier

HMS Audacious is one of the UK’s newest submarines and is considered one of the world’s most deadly underwater vehicles.

The Astute class vessel is a hunter-killer submarine used for attacking and sinking other subs and surface ships with its torpedoes and is capable of attacking land targets with its Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Audacious is capable of striking targets up to 1,200km from the coast with pinpoint accuracy.
The vessel is also capable of producing its own oxygen and fresh water from sea water, meaning it is capable of sustaining long missions without needing to come up for air.

The arrival of the vessel comes after Putin banned Boris Johnson and several other members of the Cabinet from ever entering Russia.

Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement: “In connection with the unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, expressed,

in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials of the Russian Federation, a decision was made to include key members of the British government and a number of political figures in the Russian 'stop list'.

Ladybbird · 06-11-22, 06:14

Ukraine WAR: Zelensky Accuses Iran of Lying Over Russia Support

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Iran of "lying" and "terrorist cooperation" by supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.

Previously, Tehran denied the accusations, but on Saturday Iran's foreign minister said a small number of the vehicles had been sent to Moscow.

"We provided a limited number of drones to Russia many months prior to the Ukraine war," Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters in Tehran.

BBC News 6 NOV 2022.

It comes after Iran admitted for the first time it had supplied drones to Moscow, but only before the invasion.

The West believes Russia has used Iranian "kamikaze" drones to hit key infrastructure sites in Ukraine, but Iran and Moscow previously denied it.

Western officials have accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia and of providing personnel on the ground to train Russian drone pilots.

However, in an address on his Telegram channel, President Zelensky accused Iran of lying "even in this confession".

The 44-year-old claimed that Ukraine was shooting down about 10 Iranian drones every day, despite Iran saying it had only supplied Russia with a small number.

Mr Zelensky warned Iran about its support for Russia, saying this would backfire.

"We know for sure that Iranian instructors taught Russian terrorists how to use drones, and Tehran is generally silent about it.

"And if Iran continues lying about the obvious, it means that the world will make even more efforts to investigate the terrorist cooperation between the Russian and Iranian regimes and what Russia is paying Iran for such cooperation.

"There will be no such thing in the modern world that any of the terrorists or their accomplices will remain unpunished."

The US, EU and UK have all imposed sanctions on Iran for supplying drones to Russia for use in the conflict.

How is Russia using 'kamikaze' drones in Ukraine?
Russia-Iran ties over Ukraine pose new dangers

Russia has used the "kamikaze" drones - named after the Japanese suicide pilots in World War Two because they get destroyed on impact - to hit critical infrastructure sites across Ukraine.

As a consequence, rolling blackouts and restrictions on electricity use have been imposed just as the weather turns cold for winter.

Some Western leaders have called the attacks "war crimes", because under the Geneva Conventions - which define the rules of war - civilian infrastructure cannot be deliberately targeted.

On Saturday, Ukraine's national grid operator imposed further restrictions in some regions because electricity usage had grown compared to the same time last week.

Graphic of Shahed 136 Drone

Growing Russia-Iran Ties Pose New Dangers

There are fears Iran could supply more sophisticated weapons to Russia in the future

For years the headlines have covered the controversies over advanced Russian air defence systems heading to Iran. But now the arms traffic is very much in the other direction, writes Jonathan Marcus of the Strategy and Security Institute, University of Exeter.

BBC News 6 NOV 2022.

Wreckage of a Shahed-136 (or Geranium-2) kamikaze drone shot down by Ukrainians

Iranian-supplied drones are being used by Moscow to terrorise Ukrainian civilians and to strike at the country's electricity generating and distribution system.

Russia's predicament in Ukraine has prompted Moscow to turn to Tehran for stocks of precision-guided weapons. Its own arsenals are fast running out.

There have been a number of instances where coastal defence and air defence missiles have been used by the Russians to strike at land targets in Ukraine - a role for which they are not best suited.

Transport flights have been monitored heading from Iran to Russia. Reports from US sources suggest that Iranian trainers from the IRGC - the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps - have deployed to a base in Crimea to teach Russian personnel how to operate the systems.

Wreckage from drones that have been shot down - both Iranian Shahed-131 loitering munitions (colloquially known as kamikaze drones) and the larger Shahed-136 - has been analysed. There is no doubt that Tehran, despite its denials, is compensating for a significant shortfall in Russia's arsenal.

This is clearly not good news for Ukraine. While a significant number of the Iranian-supplied drones have been shot down there could be worse to come.

Iran has more capable loitering munitions in its arsenal. And there are fears that even more dangerous Iranian weapons - ballistic missiles - could soon be on their way to Russia.

These carry much larger warheads than the drones and Ukraine's anti-ballistic missile capability is limited. This could add a new level of complexity to Western efforts to bolster Ukraine's anti-air and anti-missile defences.

New Tensions

But what of the wider ramifications of this deepening relationship between Moscow and Tehran?

There could be implications for the future of the moribund nuclear agreement between the international community and Tehran. Furthermore the delicate balance of forces in Syria could be altered with significant consequences for Israel and, in turn, for its relationship with Moscow.

Clearly both Russia and Iran need friends. They are both isolated and embattled.

Russia is facing economic sanctions due to its aggression against Ukraine, a war which is not going well for Moscow. Iran's regime is also under sanction for its nuclear programme and human rights record, and it is facing massive discontent at home.

They are both part of a small "club" of authoritarian nations, along with China, that seek not just to pursue their own regional strategic goals but also, more broadly, to strike back against what they see as a US-dominated global order.

Iran's security clamp-down at home has already drawn additional economic sanctions from the West. Now its weapons transfers to Russia are being seen by the United Kingdom and France as a breach of UN Security Council resolution 2231 that was passed in the wake of the 2015 nuclear deal.

This could potentially lead to some nuclear-related sanctions being restored. These new tensions will further undermine efforts to return to the JCPOA, the international deal designed to constrain Iran's nuclear activities which was abandoned by the Trump Administration in May 2018.

Efforts to restore the deal have lapsed at least until after the US Mid-Term elections on 8 November. Meanwhile Iran has continued to make progress in its enrichment activities.

The Iran nuclear dossier is a looming shadow for the West as its focus is firmly fixed upon Ukraine. Russia - one of the key parties to the original deal - is hardly going to pressure its new arms supplier to give ground.

Syria Factor

Nonetheless, the relationship between Moscow and Tehran is driven by circumstance rather than any deep ideological bond.

Russia's relationship with Iran has long had a measure of ambivalence; a good example is their differing ambitions in Syria.

Russia's military intervention saved the Assad regime. Iranian manpower, weaponry and militias were also crucial to his survival.

But Russia, which still maintains a presence in Syria, has never been enthusiastic about Tehran's regional ambitions there. However it has not acted to contain Iranian influence in quite the way Israel would have wished. That said, it has done little to thwart Israeli air strikes aimed at reversing Iran's build-up in Syria.

Could the new dynamic in Russia-Iranian relations change this? While some Russian air defences and troops have been removed from Syria Moscow still has the capacity to interfere with Israeli operations.

This has been one of the guiding concerns influencing Israel's tentative support for Ukraine.

But what of the future? Suppose for example that Russia decided to transfer even more advanced weaponry to Iran in return for its assistance, what then? Might this prompt a shift in Israel's attitude to Kyiv?

That for now, with an Israeli general election looming, seems unlikely. But the new Russia-Iran relationship has the potential to impact global affairs way beyond the war in Ukraine.

Jonathan Marcus is a former BBC Defence & Diplomatic Correspondent and now an honorary professor at the Centre for Strategy and Security at the University of Exeter UK

Ladybbird · 08-11-22, 11:33

Ukraine War: US Confirms Communications With Kremlin

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has confirmed communication channels between Washington and Moscow remain open.

Trouble For Putin? US Confirms Presence Of Its Soldiers In Ukraine

BBC News 8 NOV 2022

It comes as the White House refuses to deny reports that Mr Sullivan has been leading talks with Russia to prevent a nuclear escalation in Ukraine.

Speaking in New York, Mr Sullivan said it was "in the interests" of the US to maintain contact with the Kremlin.

But he insisted officials were "clear-eyed about who we are dealing with".

The Wall Street Journal reports that Mr Sullivan has held confidential discussions with his Russian counterpart, Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, and senior Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov, over the past several months.

Senior officials told the paper the men had discussed ways to guard against the risk of nuclear escalation in the war in Ukraine, but had not engaged in any negotiations around ways to end the conflict.

Last month, Mr Sullivan said any use of nuclear weapons would have "catastrophic consequences for Russia". He told the US broadcaster NBC that senior officials had "spelled out" the scope of the potential US response in private discussions with Russian officials.

US National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson refused to confirm the story, telling the paper that "people claim a lot of things", while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Western newspapers of "publishing numerous hoaxes".

But White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre said on Monday that the United States reserved the right to hold talks with Russia.

And Mr Sullivan - who is said to be one of the most senior advisers to US President Joe Biden still pushing for discussions with Russia - said maintaining contact with Moscow was in the "interests of every country who is affected by this conflict".

Last week, the Washington Post reported that senior US officials were urging Kyiv to signal an openness to hold negotiations with Russia and drop their public refusal to discuss an end to the war while President Vladimir Putin remained in power.

But Mr Sullivan told a public event in New York that the Biden administration had "an obligation to pursue accountability" and pledged to work with international partners to "hold the perpetrators of grave and grotesque war crimes in Ukraine responsible for what they have done".

"I was just in Kyiv on Friday. and I had the opportunity to meet with President [Volodymyr] Zelensky and my counterpart Andriy Yermak, with the military leadership and also to get a briefing on just what level of death and devastation has been erupted by Putin's war on that country," Mr Sullivan said.

Concerns have been heightened in recent months that Russia could resort to using nuclear weapons in a desperate attempt to defend four regions of eastern and southern Ukraine that it illegally annexed.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has invoked its war-time martial laws to take control of the assets of five strategically important companies.

Some of the companies - which include two energy companies and firms that make engines, vehicles and transformers - are linked to oligarch Vyacheslav Bohuslayev, who was arrested on suspicion of collaborating with Russia.

President Zelensky said the move would help Ukraine's defence sector meet the needs of the military, which is currently engaged in counteroffensives in southern and eastern Ukraine.

The Brutal Battle For The Occupied Ukrainian City of Kherson

Meet The Georgian Legion Joining The Fight Against Russia's Invasion

Ladybbird · 09-11-22, 07:14

Inside Gruesome Kremlin Punishment Camp For Heroic Russians Who Refuse to Fight in War

BBC News 9 NOV 2022

A picture shows Russian troops held in a Kremlin "punishment camp" for brave mobilised heroes who have refused to fight in his illegal war. The enlistees were dumped in a cellar in the Donetsk region where they are “starved” and “threatened with mass execution by firing squad”. Independent Russian media outlet The Insider highlighted the plight of 21 refuseniks illegall...

UK Hauliers Deliver Christmas Presents to Ukraine...

A UK haulage firm is hoping to deliver Christmas presents and vital aid to Ukrainians as the country faces the prospect of a bitter winter.

Ladybbird · 10-11-22, 08:22

The Brutal Battle For The Occupied Ukrainian City of Kherson

Russian Troops Ordered to Retreat From Kherson in Face of Ukrainian Advance

Loss of only regional capital captured by Moscow since invasion began will come as significant blow to Vladimir Putin

Kherson retreat shows Russian military has ‘real problems’ as Zelenskiy urges caution

BBC News 10 NOV 2022.

Russia says it is going to pull its army out of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the only regional capital it captured after invading in February.

The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has ordered the country’s troops to leave an area including Ukraine’s city of Kherson, the only regional capital captured by Moscow since the February invasion.

A Ukrainian victory in in the city, one of the main objectives of Kyiv’s southern offensive, would be widely seen as a significant blow to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, only weeks after a high-profile ceremony in Moscow in which he announced the “forever” annexation of the Kherson region, along with three others.

As details of Russian troop movements remained opaque, some Ukrainian senior officials cautioned against celebrating too soon until a fuller picture of the situation on the ground became clear.

It was unclear how many Russian troops remained on the west bank of the Dnipro and in Kherson city itself, or how complicated it would be to make a full retreat.

All the evidence, however, pointed to a new humiliating defeat for Moscow, as Shoigu and the overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, commanded Russian troops to fall back across the Dnipro River, destroying bridges on its west bank to cover their withdrawal.

In Washington, Joe Biden said the news showed the scale of the difficulties Moscow is facing. “It’s evidence of the fact that they have some real problems, Russia, the Russian military,” the US president told reporters. A Ukrainian liberation of the area would pose fresh military headaches for Russia’s military commanders, bringing some parts of the Russian-occupied Crimea within range of Ukrainian Himars rocket systems, as well as threatening Russian operations around Melitopol and Mariupol.

Vladimir Putin's puppet head of occupied city 'killed in car crash' as Russia retreats

Vladimir Putin bracing Russia for all-out war by preparing schoolchildren for frontline

Ladybbird · 12-11-22, 07:24

Ukrainian Troops Retake The City of Kherson

Ukraine: Footage Shows Russian Troops Scrambling to Escape Kherson City as Explosion Rips Through Key Antonovsky Bridge in Kherson

--- Explosions have been heard near the Antonovsky Bridge over the Dnipro River at the city of Kherson. The strategic bridge has been the target of attacks by both Ukrainian and Russian forces during the current war

Brit Soldier Aiden Aslin RETURNING to Ukraine 50 Days After Release From Death Sentence

BBC News 12 NOV 2022.

Russia’s retreat from the city of Kherson appears to have descended into chaotic scenes amid reports of some units being told to escape any way they could.

Russian forces are believed to have blown up a bridge over the Dnipro River to prevent a Ukrainian pursuit. It was unclear how many Russian troops were still waiting to cross, although the Russian Telegram channel Rybar suggested the retreat was complete.

Russia is in the process of abandoning its positions in Kherson, retreating to the east bank of the Dnipro. in the Kherson region.

Some social media reports say the bridge has been completed destroyed but this has not been confirmed.

The Sun newspaper brings you the latest breaking news videos and explainers from the UK and around the world

Brit Soldier Aiden Aslin RETURNING to Ukraine 50 Days After Release From Death Sentence

22-06-22, 11:33	#151
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: British & US Extraction Group Rescue Civilians From Ukraine Putin Rocked as Ukrainian Drones BOMB Russian Oil Refinery Russian Oil Refinery Ablaze After Reported Hit From Ukrainian Drone Russia Unveils Prometheus System to Wipe Out Nukes After Chilling WW3 Warning Asia Radar 22 Jun 2022 Russia's state-run news agency TASS cited an anonymous source in the local authorities as saying that a fire broke out at Novoshakhtinsk refinery in the Rostov region near the Ukrainian border after two Ukrainian drones were spotted over the plant. Russia Unveils Prometheus System to Wipe Out Nukes After Chilling WW3 Warning __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

23-06-22, 15:14	#152
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: British & US Extraction Group Rescue Civilians From Ukraine Europe Told to Prepare For Russia Turning Off Gas European Countries Say They Have Received Less Russian Gas Than expected Recently The head of the International Energy Agency has warned that Russia may stop supplying gas to Europe this winter. BBC News 23 JUN 2022. Fatih Birol says he believes a complete shutdown is not the most likely scenario but that Europe needs to work on contingency plans just in case. In recent weeks, several European countries said they received significantly less Russian gas than they expected. Russian officials deny it's deliberate and have blamed technical issues. Before the invasion of Ukraine, Europe imported about 40% of its natural gas from Russia but that figure has now fallen to about 20%. 'Strategic' Reductions Mr Birol says he believes that recent Russian reductions in gas supply are "strategic". The falls are making it harder for European countries to fill up their gas storage and increasing Russia's leverage this winter. "I wouldn't rule out Russia continuing to find different issues here and there, and continuing to find excuses to further reduce gas deliveries to Europe and maybe even cut it off completely," Mr Birol told BBC News. Last week the flow of natural gas through Nord Stream 1, one of the main pipelines from Russia to Europe, was just 40% of capacity. Many experts are sceptical of the Russian explanation that this was caused by "technical issues". Across Europe, shortfalls in gas supply continue to be reported. On Friday the Italian firm energy firm Eni said that it had only received half of the gas that it was expecting from the Russian state-controlled gas giant Gazprom, while Slovakia and Austria have also reported falls. France says it has received no Russian gas from Germany since 15 June while Poland, Bulgaria, Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands have had their Russian gas deliveries suspended after they refused a demand to pay in Russian roubles. Oil Pipelines Last month European countries agreed to try to protect themselves from the volatility of gas prices by filling up their storage facilities. They jointly committed to reaching at least 80% capacity by November, with the latest data suggesting they are at about 55%. Mr Birol said the ongoing gas crisis now justified emergency short-term measures to reduce demand, such as increasing the use of coal-fired power stations, and if possible prolonging the life of nuclear power plants. If there was a complete shutdown of Russian gas supply, he says drastic measures may be needed. "I don't exclude the possibility that Europe will need a planned and orderly rationing of gas," Mr Birol says. "I don't say this is the base scenario, but looking at the last several months, if not several years, the experiences we have had with Russia as an energy partner, this is a scenario we cannot afford to exclude for the time being." __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

25-06-22, 12:08	#153
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: British & US Extraction Group Rescue Civilians From Ukraine Putins' Missile FARCE as Kremlin Weapon Malfunctions and Strikes its OWN Launch Site 25 Jun 2022 Asia Radar VIDEO footage shows a Russian missile launch in chaos as a mid-air malfunction causes the rocket to divert and strike its own launch site Russian missile launched into the sky, when an apparent malfunction caused the rocket to abruptly shift direction and return to strike the site it was launched from just moments before. .

26-06-22, 08:10	#154
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine Politicians & Civilians TORTURED in Russian Detention Inside The British & US Elite Extraction Group Rescuing Civilians From Ukraine's Most Dangerous Warzones British & US Veterans Form Group to Extract Ukrainians Stuck in Unsafe Areas..... Racing through the dust as fast as their vehicles could take, Andy Milburn, a British former US Marine Colonel, and his team of military veterans knew they could be seen by Russian drones or spotters on the surrounding slag heaps, but had decided their humanitarian mission was worth the gamble. “We wanted to get in from behind the town so we were masked from Russian artillery, but the Russians have every surface road dialled in [registered], so very quickly within seconds they can bring rounds down on vehicles travelling on it,” he said. The Telegraph UK 26 JUN 2022. Marine Colonel Andy Milburn, British Founder of the Mozart Group The potholed dirt road in and out of the besieged Ukrainian town of Novoluhanske last week was impossible to cross without the risk of being struck by heavy artillery fire, but there was no other escape route for terrified residents trapped in their basements for months. As the convoy bounced towards the town, shells pounded craters in the fields on either side. “It seemed to be what we call harassment and interdiction rounds – one round every minute or so. Those are worrying because you never know where the next one is going to land, and it looked like a couple were phosphorous,” said Mr Milburn. Anything could go wrong, but the rescuers forged on. They had been told of a group of civilians, including children, under bombardment less than a mile from the Russian frontline and in desperate need of extraction. “You’ve got to press the ‘I believe’ button. because otherwise you can second-guess yourself to death,” Mr Millburn said. “We didn’t know these people but it’s trust tactics and you take sensible precautions.” His team of special operations veterans are volunteers with the Mozart Group – running daily evacuations from Ukraine’s war-torn Donbas region and riding in small, unarmed convoys into conflict hotspots that few would dare to enter. In a scene encountered by rescuers as they raced to evacuate civilians, burnt-out cars lie abandoned across a road - Andy Milburn/The Mozart Group © Provided by The Telegraph In a scene encountered by rescuers as they raced to evacuate civilians, burnt-out cars lie abandoned across a road - Marine Colonel Andy Milburn The Mozart Group They navigate the current hell-scape of the Donbas confident in their military expertise from decades of experience in armed forces around the world, but with the full knowledge of the extreme risks. The Mozart Group, which has 20-30 volunteers in its ranks, was founded by Milburn, who was commander of a combined special operations task force in Iraq to counter ISIS, and a former commanding officer of the Marine Raider Regiment. He originally hails from Lymington, Hampshire UK He said the group’s members were drawn together by a “sense of purpose” and “moral clarity” that was missing in the Iraq and Afghan wars. “Here we are definitely on the side of right,” he said. Funded by donations, the group also trains the Ukrainian forces and conducts mine clearances but does not engage in fighting. Novoluhanske in Donetsk lies on the cusp of territory occupied by Russian forces as they slowly advance across the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions to occupy Donbas. Ukraine war: 80% of troops killed or injured in elite military unit, says commander How Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia’s war are settling in Wales – BBC News Sean Penn helps Ukrainian fighter pilots lobby for US aid __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

30-06-22, 10:21	#155
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine Politicians & Civilians TORTURED in Russian Detention NATO Leaders Voice Concern About Threat China/Moscow Pose to World Order For First Time NATO poised to harden position on China as support for Russia deepens distrust Beijing’s efforts to build up nuclear forces, hacking operations and increasingly close ties to Moscow are ‘serious challenges’, says Nato secretary general The Guardian UK 30 JUN 2022 Nato leaders voice concern about threat China poses to world order for first time Beijing’s efforts to build up nuclear forces, hacking operations and increasingly close ties to Moscow are ‘serious challenges’, says Nato secretary general Chinese state broadcaster CCTV shows the launch of the Fujian, Beijing’s new aircraft carrier in June 2022. China is not an adversary but it does represent serious challenges, Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said on Wednesday, as the alliance agreed for the first time to include threats posed by Beijing into a blueprint guiding its future strategy. While Russia’s war against Ukraine has dominated discussions at the Nato summit, China earned a place among the western alliance’s most worrying security concerns. “We now face an era of strategic competition … China is substantially building up its forces, including in nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbours, including Taiwan,” Stoltenberg said. “China is not our adversary but we must be clear-eyed about the serious challenges it represents.” The alliance’s last blueprint – or strategic concept – was agreed to in 2010 and did not mention China. The new one states that China’s policies challenge Nato’s interests, security and values, though Russia remains the most significant and direct threat to security. “The PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] malicious hybrid and cyber operations and its confrontational rhetoric and disinformation target allies and harm alliance security,” the strategic concept reads, noting a deepening partnership with Russia in their shared attempts to “subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains”. Nato warned that the Chinese government was “rapidly expanding” its nuclear capability without increasing transparency or engaging in good faith in arms control, and using economic leverage to “create strategic dependencies and enhance its influence”. US secretary of state Antony Blinken accused Beijing of undermining the rules-based order “that we believe in, that we helped build”. “If China’s challenging it in one way or another, we will stand up to that,” he said. The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, attending his first Nato summit in Madrid, warned that the strengthening of relations between Beijing and Moscow posed a risk to all democratic nations. “Just as Russia seeks to recreate a Russian or Soviet empire, the Chinese government is seeking friends, whether it be … through economic support to build up alliances to undermine what has historically been the western alliance in places like the Indo-Pacific,” he told the summit on Wednesday. Albanese said Australia had been subjected to “economic coercion” from China, and urged democratic leaders to pursue trade diversification. Australia, South Korea, Japan and New Zealand were invited to the Madrid summit to add a greater focus on the Indo-Pacific region. Albanese’s objective was to elevate the region as a second theatre of strategic competition with Nato members preoccupied with Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Addressing her first Nato summit, New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern warned of a “more assertive” China but urged more diplomatic engagement. New Zealand has toughened its tone recently amid Beijing’s growing presence in the South Pacific, in part due to the signing of a security pact between China and Solomon Islands. Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian responded by saying Nato should stop “trying to launch a new cold war”. “Stop trying to mess up Asia and the world after messing up Europe,” he said. “What they should do is give up their cold war mindset, zero-sum games and stop doing things that create enemies.” Japan’s prime minister, Fumio Kishida, said the invasion of Ukraine had shaken the foundation of the rules-based order. “The security of Europe and the security of the Indo-Pacific cannot be decoupled,” he said in opening remarks. En route to the summit, UK prime minister Boris Johnson said the Russian invasion of Ukraine had shown the need for extra vigilance and caution over potential Chinese action against Taiwan. “I just think it’s very important that countries around the world should not be able to read across from events in Europe and draw the conclusion that the world will simply stand idly by if boundaries are changed by force,” he said. “That’s one of the most important lessons that we pick up from Ukraine.” UK foreign secretary, Liz Truss, was more explicit, calling for faster action to help Taiwan with defensive weapons, a key requirement for Ukraine since the invasion. “There’s always a tendency – and we’ve seen this prior to the Ukraine war – there’s always a tendency of wishful thinking, to hope that more bad things won’t happen and to wait until it’s too late,” Truss told the UK’s foreign affairs committee. “We should have done things earlier, we should have been supplying the defensive weapons into Ukraine earlier. We need to learn that lesson for Taiwan. Every piece of equipment we have sent takes months of training, so the sooner we do it, the better.” LIVE: NATO leaders meet in Madrid to discuss urgent situation in Ukraine RELATED; Joe Biden: US to increase military forces across Europe, Joe Biden announces __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

02-07-22, 11:36	#156
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine Politicians & Civilians TORTURED in Russian Detention NATO Prepares For Dangerous New World - as Russia WARNS of New IRON Curtain The Nato summit has been thick on unity and defiance. 2 JUL 2022 Channel 4 News A message to President Putin, and President Xi of China, that this alliance is stronger than ever - and ready to defend itself and its values. In a symbolic lift mentioned by both the Prime Minister and the American President - one of Ukraine's symbols of resilience, Snake Island in the Black Sea, has now been abandoned by Russia. But this war is far from over. Its economic and military costs are bound to climb - and this summit has not given Ukraine enough heavy weapons ro win the war, only enough not to lose it in the near term. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

03-07-22, 00:33	#157
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine Politicians & Civilians TORTURED in Russian Detention UK Soldiers Captured by Russian Separatists Two more Brits charged with being mercenaries in separatist-held east Ukraine -TASS 2 Jul 2022 Sky News Australia Two MORE UK soldiers have been captured by Russian separatists in the Eastern Donbas region of Ukraine and are facing mercenary charges. UK's foreign office said it condemns the exploitation of prisoners of war and is supporting the men's families. Up to 100 foreign nationals have been taken prisoner in the Ukraine-Russia war so far. LONDON (Reuters) -Two Britons have been charged with "mercenary activities" by investigators in a Russian-backed separatist-held territory in eastern Ukraine, the Russian state news agency TASS reported on Friday. TASS cited a source in the power structures of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), recognised only by Russia and Syria, as saying criminal cases had been opened and charges filed against Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill under Article 430 of the DPR criminal code. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

06-07-22, 06:41	#158
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine Politicians & Civilians TORTURED in Russian Detention Sole Survivor of Russian Firing Squad Escaped Execution by Playing DEAD BBC News 5 Jul 2022 Taxi driver and father of four, Ivan Skyba, was one of a group of Ukrainian men defending their suburban street near Kyiv at the start of the war. He narrowly avoided death after being captured with his comrades by Russian soldiers as they advanced on Ukraine’s capital. Along with eight of his fellow captives he was led to a courtyard where Russian soldiers opened fire in a cold-blooded execution. The other eight men were shot dead in an atrocity that prosecutors are treating as a war crime. Somehow though, Ivan Skyba survived by playing dead. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

07-07-22, 04:45	#159
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine Politicians & Civilians TORTURED in Russian Detention Complete Cut-Up of Russian Gas EU in Disarray as 12 Countries Affected by Cut-Off THE EUROPEAN Union scrambles to find alternative sources of gas as Vladimir Putin is turning off gas taps to 12 European countries. BBC News 7 JUL 2022. Europeans gearing up for a potentially catastrophic winter as Vladimir Putin has started to switch off the gas from flowing to a dozen of European countries. In a further blow to Europe’s gas supplies, Russia is bound to temporarily shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – the EU’s biggest piece of gas import infrastructure – from July 11 for annual maintenance. *Fear is now mounting about the possibility for Russia to continue to squeeze Europe's supply beyond the planned end of the maintenance works.* __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

07-07-22, 04:50	#160
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine Politicians & Civilians TORTURED in Russian Detention Complete Cut-Up of Russian Gas EU in Disarray as 12 Countries Affected by Cut-Off THE EUROPEAN Union scrambles to find alternative sources of gas as Vladimir Putin is turning off gas taps to 12 European countries. BBC News 7 JUL 2022. Europeans gearing up for a potentially catastrophic winter as Vladimir Putin has started to switch off the gas from flowing to a dozen of European countries. In a further blow to Europe’s gas supplies, Russia is bound to temporarily shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline – the EU’s biggest piece of gas import infrastructure – from July 11 for annual maintenance. *Fear is now mounting about the possibility for Russia to continue to squeeze Europe's supply beyond the planned end of the maintenance works.* __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

09-07-22, 09:20	#161
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine Politicians & Civilians TORTURED in Russian Detention Putin Warns Ukraine and Their Western Allies About Future of War: 'We Haven't Even Yet Started' In a Thursday speech, Putin said that those who "reject" Russian offers "should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us" 'We'll Get to Berlin' Vladimir Putin's Chechen Allies Threaten to Wage 'Jihad' on Europe - *Putin's Chechen warlord ally plans to bolster Russia's forces in Ukraine with 4 new battalions* AP 9 JUL 2022 More than four months into its continued invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin claims his country has only just begun its fight, which began on Feb. 24 and has since led to countless deaths of both Ukrainians and Russians. "Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try," Putin said in a Thursday speech, adding: "We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this." Elsewhere in his speech, Putin spoke with a hawkish tone, but still left the door open for negotiations, saying: "Everyone should know that, by and large, we haven't even yet started in earnest. At the same time, we don't reject peace talks." He did offer a caveat, however, saying that those who "reject" Russian offers "should know that the further it goes, the harder it will be for them to negotiate with us." Putin also offered a thinly veiled threat at those who he said "want to defeat us" on the battlefield: "Let them try." Russia's invasion of Ukraine — which was ordered by Putin, with forces moving from the north, south and east — marked the first major land conflict in Europe in decades. Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilian sites in its ongoing invasion, though footage and on-the-ground accounts suggest otherwise. A montage shown by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a virtual address at the Capitol back in March depicted images of pre-war Ukraine with footage of the country now — large, colorful buildings reduced to rubble and images of smiling children replaced by tears, blood and bombs as the words "this is a murder" were displayed across the screen. Still, Russia's offensive has shown numerous setbacks, with soldiers being met with fierce resistance from the Ukrainian people. Russia failed to capture the capital city of Kyiv or any other large cities early on its invasion of Ukraine, though it has taken control of many other parts of the country, engaging in what human rights organizations have deemed "war crimes" in the process. The U.S., the European Union and Group of Seven countries have announced several punishments of Russia for the war, including some directed at the families of Putin and a few of his allies, cutting them off from any U.S. financial systems and freeing any assets they have within the U.S. In his Thursday speech, Putin alleged the sanctions were aimed at "demoralizing" the Russian people, the Associated Press reports. "The course of history is unstoppable, and attempts by the collective West to enforce its version of the global order are doomed to fail," Putin said, per the AP. The invasion has drawn widespread condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia. Various countries have also pledged aid or military support to Ukraine, whose president, Zelenskyy, has pleaded for peace talks while urging his country to resist. Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the interest of so-called "peacekeeping" — a claim disputed by the west. The Ukrainian volunteers using drones to defend against the Russians – BBC News __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

15-07-22, 09:29	#162
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine WAR: Britons Held by Rebels in Ukraine to Stand Trial They Started Hunting For Me -Ukraine Politicians Face Torture in Russian Detention Russian Soldiers Have Been Accused of Torturing Civilians While in Detention Hundreds of Ukrainians, including civilians and local politicians, are being subjected to forced detentions by Russian forces in occupied regions, the UN has told the BBC. BBC News 15 Jul 2022 Oleh Pylypenko was held by Russian forces for three months, during which time he was repeatedly tortured Officials said they had verified some 271 cases of forced detentions, with many of those seized facing torture. Separately, a Ukrainian politician told the BBC that he was waterboarded after being abducted by the Russian military. Russia's defence ministry did not reply to a request for comment on the claims. Oleh Pylypenko, the elected head of the Shevchenkivska united territorial community in southern Ukraine, said he was seized by Russian paratroopers near Kherson on 10 March while delivering aid to constituents. Warning: this article contains descriptions of torture The 36-year-old told the BBC that he was arrested along with his driver at a roadblock by Russian troops and suspected he was deliberately targeted after sharing the locations of Russian artillery with Ukrainian forces. "I think that they started hunting specifically for me almost from the very start of the war. I believe they were planning an ambush because they wanted to take me alive," he said. He was subsequently taken to an airfield, where allegedly he was tortured for three days by Russian paratroopers. "They didn't touch my driver," Mr Pylypenko recalled. "They were interrogating only me. They used physical violence, electric currents and poured cold water over me during freezing temperatures outside. I had frostbite on my feet, damaged ribs and internal organs." The father of three added that paratroopers also beat him with a "rubber club" and kicked him until he passed out. He also alleged that he was repeatedly subjected to electric shocks by the Russian troops. "On the third day of all this I was so badly beaten up that I unable to move [independently]. And I wouldn't have survived without my driver, who was helping me all the time," he said. Mr Pylypenko said he later became the subject of a turf war between paratroopers - who wanted to execute him for his part in helping Ukrainian forces target their positions - and military police, who wanted him to use his position to help organise prisoner swaps. "These two groups had had an internal conflict about who would be further dealing with this prisoner of war. Because the paratroopers had just wanted to destroy me," he said. The military police officers eventually won the fight, and after arranging 11 rounds of prisoner exchanges, Mr Pylypenko was finally released on 10 June. A spokesperson for the UN's Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (UNOHR), whose monitoring mission in Ukraine has been documenting the abductions, told the BBC that at least 65 local politicians had been detained by Russian forces since the invasion began on 24 February. They added that UN monitors had "documented cases of torture and ill-treatment of civilians subjected to enforced disappearances", which they said had taken place in improvised and former official places of detention controlled by either "Russian armed forces" or "affiliated armed groups". Complaints included "credible allegations of beatings, strangling, electrocution, sexual violence, positional torture, and threats of execution with firearms, threats of physical violence against relatives, and providing no or scarce food", said the UNOHR. In the occupied port city of Mariupol, an adviser to the city's elected mayor told the BBC he had received reports that a civil servant was executed by Russian forces after spending time in detention. Petro Andryushchenko said the man, who had been a director with the city's transport authority, was tried and sentenced to death by a Russian-backed court. Russian forces have been accused of targeting civilians in the city of Mariupol The BBC cannot independently verify the report, and the UN said while it had received "allegations of the killings of civilians in Mariupol outside of hostilities, allegedly perpetrated both by Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups" in the city, it had not yet been able to corroborate them. But Mr Andryushchenko affirmed that mass detentions were ongoing in the region and that around 10,000 people had been arrested by Russian forces. Local politicians who "don't want to work with the regime" or representatives from "pro-Ukrainian parties" are among the most frequent targets, he said. Former police officers, Red Cross volunteers and civilians who held pro-Ukrainian views were also being targeted in the city, he said, with many being sent to former Ukrainian prisons and makeshift "filtration" camps. Moscow's Search For Collaborators Dmytro Vasyliev, a former speaker of the local council in the occupied southern city of Nova Khakova, told the BBC that he was arrested by Russian proxy forces from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in March. Mr Vasyliev was held for 46 days before being released. During his detention he was repeatedly interrogated by balaclava-clad guards who pressured him to collaborate with the occupying force. "I was called for questioning about six times," the 54-year-old said. "The questions were only about co-operation. 'Do you have links with the Ukrainian security services or military?' Then in the end they just suggested that I co-operate with them - to have a think." Dmytro Vasyliev was held in Russian detention for 46 days and pressured to cooperate with a new pro-Moscow administration He said beatings by prison guards were a regular feature of life for those held at the detention centre in a former police station in Nova Kakhova. "I wasn't hit. Other people were - I heard it every day, but not me," he recalled. "I spoke to two people. One was an elderly man who was once an ambulance driver in the Donbas military operation zone. He was hit." Another man in the cell next to him was "beaten badly during the first few days" of his detention, he added. Mr Vasyliev said in most cases there was no reason or purpose behind the beatings. They were carried out "just because", he said. On his final day in detention, he said the prison officials revealed to him they were officers with Russia's internal security service, the FSB. Other Ukrainians abducted by Russian forces have similarly alleged the FSB was involved in their arrests. In March, Viktoriia Roshchyna, a journalist with Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske, said she had been abducted and interrogated by FSB officers in the occupied city of Berdyansk. After Viktoriia Roshchyna was released from detention, a hostage-style video began to circulate on pro-Russian Telegram channels The UN has told the BBC it has documented many cases of FSB officers taking part in the "detention, torture and ill-treatment" of Ukrainian civilians. Both Oleh Pylypenko and Dmytro Vasilyev remain free, though Mr Pylypenko continues to work on the front line of the conflict delivering aid to his constituents. *But dozens of Ukrainian officials remain in custody.* In a short statement, Ukraine's ministry of defence called the detention and torture of local politicians "shameful" and said all allegations must be investigated urgently. "Russia should bear the brunt of responsibility," it added. Russia's defence ministry did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations. The Russian government has previously denied carrying out war crimes in Ukraine. Ukraine's prosecutor general has said her office is receiving 200-300 reports of war crimes a day but cannot investigate every case "properly and effectively" because of a lack of access. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

26-07-22, 06:10	#163
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Ukraine WAR: Britons Held by Rebels in Ukraine to Stand Trial Ukraine Spy Plot to Manipulate Russian Pilots With £1.6m Blamed on British Secret Service THE KREMLIN has blamed the British secret service for a Ukrainian spy plot to manipulate Russian pilots to deliver warplanes to Ukraine... 26 Jul 2022 Asia Radar MI6 headquarters A plot involving fake lovers, bribes and double agents has surfaced and allegedly been exposed by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). According to the FSB, the British secret service facilitated a plot to tempt Russian pilots to Ukraine with £1.6million and EU residency.& to deliver warplanes to Ukraine. The supposed plan was to convince Russian fighter pilots to fly their aircraft into Ukrainian-controlled territory and surrender. The details of the supposed plot were published on Russian television outlets, agencies, and websites. The reports included text messages, audio clips and supposedly of intelligence officers from Ukraine trying to persuade up to 10 Russian pilots to defect to Ukraine. The Times revealed one recording exhibited an unidentifiable voice saying: “Our target is a plane..... __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

02-08-22, 13:34	#164
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	Re: Ukraine WAR: Britons Held by Rebels in Ukraine to Stand Trial Ukraine WAR: Britons Held by Rebels in Ukraine to Stand Trial Three British men accused of being mercenaries are to stand trial in a Russian proxy court in eastern Ukraine. BBC News 2 AUG 2022. Andrew Hill (left) and Dylan Healy John Harding, Dylan Healy, and Andrew Hill will be tried in the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, a breakaway region of Ukraine, Russian media said. The court, which is not internationally recognised, sentenced two British men to death recently. The Foreign Office said it condemned the exploitation of civilian detainees for political purposes. Ex-serviceman Mr Harding, originally from Sunderland, had been fighting alongside Ukrainian forces since moving to the country in 2018. In July he appeared in a video appealing to Prime Minister Boris Johnson for help. Mr Hill has been fighting with Ukraine's International Legion. Mr Healy, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, had been volunteering in Ukraine as an aid worker when he was captured at a checkpoint in April, alongside Paul Urey who died in July while being held by Russian-backed separatists. Russia's state news agency Tass reported that the three British men had refused to co-operate with investigators and testify. *They are being tried alongside two other men from Sweden and Croatia.* John Harding, who is in his fifties and originally from Sunderland, moved to Ukraine in 2018 The same court in June sentenced Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin to death. The Britons were captured while fighting for Ukraine were accused of being mercenaries. Their families insisted they were long-serving members of the Ukrainian military and not mercenaries. The UK and Ukraine have condemned the sentences for violating international laws protecting prisoners of war. After this latest development, the Foreign Office said it was in constant contact with Ukraine to support its efforts to get all the Britons released. It added: "We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political purposes and have raised this with Russia." The news came on the same day that Russia banned BBC newsreader Huw Edwards, along with a number of other journalists, as part of its latest wave of sanctions. Mr Edwards follows several of his BBC colleagues who were blacklisted by Russia in June, including fellow newsreader Clive Myrie and BBC Radio 4's Today programme presenter Nick Robinson. Edwards tweeted he had "made the Kremlin cut", adding Wales and Ukraine flag emojis next to his name on the list. Moscow's foreign ministry issued a list of 39 newly-sanctioned individuals who are now barred from entering the country, in response to UK sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It follows a decision last month by the UK to sanction Russian ministers and members of influential families linked to the President Vladimir Putin. Other journalists banned include ITV's political editor Robert Peston, the Sunday Times' political editor Caroline Wheeler, the Times' columnist David Aaronovich, the Guardian's war news editor Dan Sabbagh, and TalkTV's Piers Morgan. In response, Morgan tweeted visiting Russia "wasn't on my immediate vacation to-do list". Travel bans have also been placed on David Cameron, former prime minister, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, and Labour MPs Lisa Nandy and David Lammy. The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford featured on the list as well. The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement: "As has been noted more than once, the pernicious actions of the UK in planting Russophobia, spreading false information about our country and supporting the Kyiv neo-Nazi regime will receive an adequate and decisive response from the Russian side." Despite repeated claims by Russia to the contrary, Ukraine's far-right remains a relatively small minority in the country. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

05-08-22, 03:17	#165
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: HUGE Explosion Seen Near Russian Airbase in Crimea Canada to Join British-Led Mission to Train Ukrainian Recruits Canada is prepared to commit a contingent of soldiers to the British Army's ambitious program to turn Ukrainian civilians into fighting troops, CBC News has learned. Outgoing British prime minister Boris Johnson committed to the training plan in mid-June while meeting with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. CBC News 5 AUG 2022. Canadian soldiers conduct a demonstration of vehicle recovery techniques alongside Ukrainian soldiers at the International Peacekeeping and Security Centre in Starychi, Ukraine, during Operation Unifier on Nov. 25, 2015. (Joint Task Force Ukraine/DND) Up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers are expected to fly to the U.K. for basic and specialist military training in courses that last five weeks. The first tranche of Ukrainian recruits arrived and instruction began in early July. Three sources who are familiar with the file but not authorized to speak publicly told CBC News that Canada intends to contribute to the British-led effort. Defence Minister Anita Anand is expected to formally announce it today. The plan amounts to the restart of Operation Unifier, the long-standing training mission which saw — until its suspension last winter — more than 35,000 Ukrainian soldiers given advanced combat instruction by Canadian soldiers. That mission, conducted on Ukrainian soil, was halted and the troops pulled out of the eastern European country in mid-February on the eve of the full-scale Russian invasion. It involved about 200 soldiers and included a contingent. Two of the three sources said the latest initiative with the British will "involve roughly the same number." A third source was more specific saying the new program will involve three training teams with approximately 60 members each, plus additional command staff. Minister of Defence Anita Anand speaks during an announcement at Canadian Forces Base Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on Monday June 20, 2022. Anand announced Thursday that 225 CAF members will deploy to the U.K. to train thousands of fresh Ukrainian troops. (Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press) Lt.-Col. Kris Reeves is shown during a medal ceremony in Starychi, Ukraine, on Feb. 26, 2018. (Cpl. Neil P. Clarkson/DND) The Ukrainian government has repeatedly pressed Canada to restart the training in a third country, said diplomatic sources who spoke separately to CBC News and were granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the file. RELATED; NATO 'Will React' if Putin Attacks - Causing Most Dangerous Situation Since WW2' __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

07-08-22, 06:32	#166
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: HUGE Explosion Seen Near Russian Airbase in Crimea Russia Risk Chernobyl-Style Disaster as They Station in Europe's Largest Nuclear Power Station 7 Aug 2022 The Sun *RUSSIAN troops are firing missiles and artillery rounds from Europe’s largest nuclear power station — because they know Ukraine cannot shoot back without risking a Chernobyl-style disaster. Moscow has repeatedly denied launching strikes from the captured plant which the UN’s atomic energy chief has warned is now “completely out of control”.... But The Sun has obtained exclusive drone footage of military convoys marked with Mad Vlad Putin’s Z war emblem entering the site — where they are believed to have been delivering weapons and ammunition. British spooks have said heavy artillery has been in use “adjacent to Zaporizhzhia power station” to blast targets across the River Dnieper in southern Ukraine. Exhausted Russian soldiers have also been using a nearby town for rest and recuperation because its closeness to the power station protects them from attack. In our footage taken on Monday at the plant, military trucks are seen driving in and stopping between power units. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL** ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

10-08-22, 04:08	#167
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	Re: HUGE Explosion Seen Near Russian Airbase in Crimea HUGE Explosion and Mushroom Cloud Seen Near Russian Airbase in Crimea *One person has been killed after blasts rocked a military base in Crimea, the head of the Russia-appointed regional administration there said.* BBC 10 Aug 2022 Crimea airfield explosion Sergei Aksyonov wrote on social media that the blasts had taken place at the Saky military base near Novofedorivka on the peninsula's western coast. Footage circulating on social media appeared to show multiple explosions. Russia's defence ministry later said ammunition was detonated, but this has not been independently verified. The ministry said there was no "fire impact" on the ammunition storage area, Russia's state-run Ria news agency reports. The Ukrainian peninsula that Moscow annexed in 2014 is a popular destination with Russian tourists, and one video appeared to show visitors fleeing from a beach as smoke rose in the background. Local witnesses told the Reuters agency that they heard at least 12 blasts, beginning at about 15:20 local time (12:20 GMT). After arriving in the area, Mr Aksyonov said a 5km (3 mile) no-go zone around the blast site had been established. A Map of Crimea Speaking to Dozhd TV channel, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Kyiv was not responsible for the explosions. Earlier, Ukraine's military posted a sarcastic statement on Facebook which hinted at the sinking of the Moskva warship and other military setbacks, reminding Russia of its "fire safety rules and the ban of smoking in unsettled places". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky devoted his nightly video address to Crimea, but did not directly mention the explosions. "Crimea is Ukrainian, and we will never give it up," Mr Zelensky said in a video posted on social media. The war "began with Crimea and must end with Crimea - with its liberation", he added - suggesting that he believes Ukraine must retake the peninsula before the war can end. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014 after a referendum which was seen as illegitimate by the international community. The vote was hastily organised after unmarked Russian troops took control of several strategic locations around the peninsula. Earlier that year, months of pro-European protests culminated in the ousting of Ukraine's Russian-backed president. On 24 February this year, Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, using Crimea as a springboard to move Russian troops deeper inside Ukraine. Novofedorivka and Saky are about 50km (30 miles) north of the port of Sevastopol, home of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which has been leading a blockade of the Ukrainian coastline. Crimean Attack Would Mark Dramatic Escalation If it emerges Ukraine was responsible for this attack, that would be a significant escalation. It would be the first major attack on a target inside Crimea proper. By Will Vernon, BBC News, Moscow The Ukrainians have come close: in June 2022, the Russia-appointed "leader" of Crimea said that Ukrainian forces had fired on Black Sea oil drilling platforms in Crimean waters, resulting in several casualties. And at the end of July, Russian authorities said a drone had struck a Russian naval facility in the city of Sevastopol, injuring six. Crimea is internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory, but Russia has ruled the peninsula for eight years and Russian state structures and military facilities are very well established. For the Kremlin, Crimea has a quasi-sacred status, seen as "historically" Russian land that Moscow "re-acquired" triumphantly in 2014. An attack so deep inside Crimean territory would be a major embarrassment for President Putin. And there are fears that if the Ukrainians begin systematically attacking Russian targets inside Crimea, then the Russian response could be very serious indeed. Last month, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of the powerful Security Council, said that if Crimea were attacked, then "Judgement Day will instantly await all those [involved]. It will be very fast and very hard." __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

21-08-22, 10:16	#168
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones British Soldiers Told to Get Ready For WAR Against Russia and Prepare Loved Ones Warrant Officer Paul Carney said soldiers should prepare their families for the possibility of being sent to Ukraine to fight Russia in the war which has now been going on six months Daily Mirror 21 AUG 2022 WO1 Paul Carney – the Army’s highest ranked Warrant Officer General Sir Richard Dannatt, former head of the Army, The Army’s top “other ranks” soldier says troops must be ready to fight Russia – and should alert loved ones to a potential conflict. Warrant Officer Paul Carney warned that the UK military was now “shaping itself to meet the threat from Russia and was ready to counter any aggression”. The time had come to prepare “families and loved ones” for the possibility of being sent to the East. He said the world had changed since Vladimir Putin ’s invasion of Ukraine on February 23 – six months ago on Tuesday – and British troops “must be prepared for new realities”. WO1 Carney – the Army’s highest ranked Warrant Officer – wrote in Soldier magazine: “I want us all to check we are physically fit for operations. And it is also important we prepare loved ones and families, who often have the hardest role in our absence. “My ask is that you have discussions about a potential deployment with them now. Find the numbers for the support networks and the relevant people who can help them, such as the unit welfare officer and padre. "This is key as we could be out of contact for extended periods on tour. Making sure our loved ones have the support they need is vital for us too, as we’re not going to give 100% on tour if we are worried about home.” Putin invaded Ukraine six months ago General Sir Richard Dannatt, former head of the Army, said: “This is prudent advice from the Army’s top soldier. It does not mean the Army is about to deploy to Ukraine but it is the duty of any army in peacetime to prepare for war, in every aspect of life. “That said, with a war in Europe, an aggressive Russia and worried countries on Russia’s borders, it is only sensible that British soldiers are realistic about what might happen.” He said soldiers should prepare for long periods without contact to loved ones __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

30-08-22, 05:05	#169
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Ukraine War: UN Team Leaves For Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said the team was expected to arrive at the plant later this week. Putin WARNED Over Chilling COUP to Seize Control of Nuclear Weapons: 'He's in Trouble' 'One mistake away from something terrible' Ukrainian MP warns of nuclear catastrophe . BBC News 30 AUG 2022 An inspection team from the UN nuclear watchdog is on its way to Ukraine's embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the organisation's head has said. "We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine's and Europe's biggest nuclear facility," he tweeted. The nuclear plant has been occupied by invading Russian troops since March. Fighting around the facility in Ukraine's south-east has led to mounting global concern over the safety and security of the site. Ukraine and Russia have accused one another of shelling the area. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky said Europe was "one step away" from a radiation disaster on Thursday when the plant was briefly disconnected from Ukraine's power grid and back-up generators kicked in to supply it with power. He said fires had damaged the overhead power lines, cutting the plant off for the first time in its history. --How risky is stand-off over Ukraine's nuclear plant? Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for strikes that caused the damage. The BBC was not able to independently verify which side was responsible. Russia's military took over the plant in early March, but it is still being operated by Ukrainian staff under difficult conditions. The Kremlin had previously signalled that it would only allow international inspectors to visit the complex so the IAEA's visit will mark an important moment in being able to verify what is happening on the ground. Ukraine had feared an IAEA mission to Zaporizhzhia would legitimise the Russian occupation of the nuclear plant, before finally backing a visit. "Almost every day there is a new incident at or near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. We can't afford to lose any more time," the IAEA director general said. Experts say shelling around the plant is not the main concern, given the plant has thick protection walls. However, cutting the supply of electricity to it is fraught with danger. The loss of the power supply to the nuclear reactors and back-up generators would mean no power for the pumps cooling the hot reactor core and therefore leading to the fuel starting to melt. Map showing the location of key components of Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

12-09-22, 00:44	#170
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones The WAR is Turning Ukrainian Forces on a Roll as Panicked Russians Retreat Ukraine Launched Biggest Counter-Offensive Since WWII to End Russian Barbaric Empire Ukraine Has Retaken 1,000 Square Kilometres in a Week Ukraine Retakes More Territory in The Past Five Days Than Russia Has Taken BBC News 12 SEP 2022 A soldier waves from a Ukrainian vehicle as it travels towards to the frontline near Kharkiv Ukraine says it has retaken more than 1,000 sq km (385 sq miles) of territory in its south and east from Russia in the past week. President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 30 settlements had been "liberated" in the Kharkiv region. Russia's top occupation official in Kharkiv region conceded Ukrainian forces had won a "significant victory". Vitaly Ganchev told Russian TV that the Ukrainians had broken through the Russian defence line. He said civilians were being evacuated from Kupiansk, one of the most important urban centres in the Russian-held part of Kharkiv, and two other towns. According to analysis by the Institute for the Study of War think tank, Kyiv's troops are now just 15km (9 miles) from Kupiansk, home to an essential railway junction that Moscow has been using to supply its troops on the battlefield. Russia is believed to be sending reinforcements to the region by road and by air, using giant Mi-26 transport helicopters, each capable of carrying 80 soldiers. In a separate Facebook post Ukraine's army said that in three days troops had advanced 50km (30 miles). If verified, that would mark the fastest movement of the front line since the rapid retreat of Russian forces from positions around the capital, Kyiv, in March. The offensive south-east of Kharkiv would also bring Ukraine's troops closer to the eastern region of Donetsk, over which Russia has maintained substantial military control since the war began six months ago. Mr Ganchev also denied that Ukrainian forces had recaptured the town of Balakliya despite a video appearing to show Ukrainian soldiers there. The BBC has verified social media posts show Ukrainian flags flying from administrative buildings in the city's centre on Thursday. Map Showing East Ukraine. 29 Aug While Ukraine claims to have advanced its troops in some parts of the country, in other areas there have been reports of renewed Russian aerial attacks. On Friday the governor of Ukraine's north-eastern Sumy region Dmytro Zhvytskyi said a Russian air strike had "destroyed" a hospital, wounding multiple people. WARNING: This Report Includes Images of Dead Bodies. Olena Zelenska Tells About The Human Cost of The War __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

13-09-22, 23:47	#171
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones PUTIN Dealt Hammer Blow as EU Poised to Replace Russian Gas With NEW £11bn Pipeline VLADIMIR PUTINS' Plot to Plunge Europe Into a Cold Winter Has Been Dealt a Hammer Blow as The European Union Speeds up The Construction of a Major Gas Pipeline. The Telegraph UK 14 SEP 2022. European Union leaders are reportedly looking to end delays on the Trans-Saharan pipeline, which flows across the great desert, from Nigeria into Spain and Italy. In late July, Algeria, Nigeria and Niger signed a memorandum of understanding to build a natural gas pipeline across the Sahara desert. First proposed in 2002, the pipeline never got off the ground but was finally revived as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced Europe to look for alternative gas suppliers. The following are a number of major pipelines that import natural gas into the European Union. Some have been on-stream for years, while others are still under consideration or construction. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

18-09-22, 08:11	#172
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Russia Tries to Trick Men Into Army Short of Soldiers to Send to WAR, Russia’s Mercenaries Recruit in Prisons... Putin Recruits MURDERERS and SEX OFFENDERS to Russia Army Amid Heavy Losses *A Russian army recruitment centre is reportedly trying to trick men into frontline military service in Ukraine as pressure builds on the Kremlin to order an official full mobilisation amid troop* BBC News 18 SEP 2022. “After six months [at war] you receive a pardon, and there is no option for you to return to prison,” a man dressed in tan-colored fatigues said, addressing a crowd of Russian inmates standing underneath a poster that read “Choose life.” “Those who arrive [at the front line] and say on Day 1 it’s not for them get shot,” the man added. (Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP) The Study of War said that the military commissar in Vladivostok, on Russia's Far East fringe, had sent enrollment deliberately misleading letters to men between the ages of 23 and 65 with military experience. "Russian recruiters likely intend the letters to confuse recipients into thinking they have been formally and legally conscripted," it said. "The letters are in fact only invitations to discuss volunteering." The Russian army has suffered 75,000 dead or injured and analysts have said that Vladimir Putin, Russia's leader, now needs thousands more soldiers. The debate in Russia over whether to fully mobilise has heightened since the Russian army routed around Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine this month. Some analysts have questioned whether it would change the course of the war and Putin wants to avoid a full mobilisation because he doesn't want to risk triggering unrest. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

21-09-22, 11:43	#173
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Putin Issues Nuclear WARNING- I'm NOT Bluffing, Says Putin Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced that 300,000 reservists will be drafted into the army in a partial mobilisation, as he warned West he was not "bluffing" over nuclear weapons. BBC News 21 SEP 2022. Vladimir Putin has upped the ante, announcing a partial military mobilisation to support his invasion of Ukraine. The Russian president said reservists with combat experience will be called up starting today to boost Moscow's army. Speaking in the last hour in his first national address since February's invasion, he explained the extraordinary step – and warned that he is "not bluffing" when he says Russia has powerful nuclear weapons to respond to Western "aggression". "Deranged" Putin ordering nuclear strikes is now closer than ever. Four Occupied Ukraine Regions Plan Imminent ‘Votes’ on Joining Russia ‘Referendum’ announcements in Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson may indicate move to annex territories... Four Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine have said they are planning to hold “referendums” on joining the Russian Federation in a series of coordinated announcements that could indicate the Kremlin has made a decision to formally annex the territories. Moscow may be betting that a formal annexation would help halt Russian territorial losses, after a successful Ukrainian counter-offensive that has reclaimed large portions of territory in the Kharkiv region. But Ukraine and the west have indicated that they will not recognise the annexations – and that Russia’s new territorial claims will not slow Ukraine reclaiming its sovereign land. “These referenda are an affront to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that underpin the international system,” said White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan. “If this does transpire, the United States will never recognise Russia’s claims to any purportedly annexed parts of Ukraine.” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: “Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in these ‘referenda’ and other violations of international law in Ukraine will be held accountable, and additional restrictive measures against Russia would be considered.” The occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions have said they are ready to hold “polls”, which will be universally viewed as rigged, as soon as this week, with announcements also made in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Some Russian media have reported that Vladimir Putin may deliver a speech on Tuesday evening on a potential annexation. As Ukrainian troops begin making advances in the Luhansk region, Russia may be worried that it can’t win on the battlefield and threaten a potential escalation, including a formal declaration of war or even a nuclear attack, by claiming to defend its own territory. “Everything that’s happening today is an absolutely unequivocal ultimatum to Ukraine and the west,” wrote Tatiana Stanovaya, an expert on Kremlin politics and founder of R.Politik. “Either Ukraine retreats or there will be nuclear war.” “To guarantee ‘victory’, Putin is ready to hold referendums immediately in order to obtain the right (in his understanding) to use nuclear weapons to defend Russian territory.” Also on Tuesday, the Russian state Duma passed new amendments to the legal code that directly refer to “mobilisation” and “martial law” and introduce criminal liability for desertion or wilful surrender during that period. The Kremlin has so far resisted a full mobilisation, likely due to fear of a political backlash. Experts have also questioned whether a Russian mobilisation would have any immediate effect in terms of stopping a Ukrainian advance that has reclaimed more than 3,000 square miles in the past month. “There’s one problem,” wrote Ekaterina Schulmann, a political analyst. “The administrative side of adding new territory takes time, mobilising and integrating mobilised troops takes time, and they’re assuming the opposing side is going to stop and wait – evidently, out of respect for the Russian legislative process.” Now, however, it seems that the Kremlin may be willing to go further than before, including using nuclear blackmail in order to freeze the war and solidify its territorial gains in Ukraine. The decision has not been publicly adopted by the Kremlin or Vladimir Putin. However, senior Russian officials, including the former president Dmitry Medvedev, have supported calls for the referendums. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

23-09-22, 08:22	#174
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Ukraine War: Russians Flee to Border After Military Call-Up Russians flee to border after military call-up,300,000 people summoned to serve in war. BBC News 23 SEP 2022. Russian men are attempting to leave the country to avoid a military call-up for the Ukraine war. Queues have formed at border crossings since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial military mobilisation on Wednesday, which could see 300,000 people summoned to fight. The Kremlin says reports of fighting-age men fleeing are exaggerated. But on the border with Georgia, miles-long queues of vehicles have formed including men trying to escape the war. Some of those heading into the neighbouring country have used bicycles to bypass lines of cars and evade a ban on crossing on foot. One of these men, who did not want to be named, told the BBC's Nina Akhmeteli that he had waited since 09:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Thursday and managed to cross over late that evening. Another man reported a 12-hour wait, citing the partial mobilisation as a reason for leaving Russia to continue his studies. Georgia is one of the few neighbouring countries that Russians can enter without needing to apply for a visa. Finland, which shares a 1,300km (800 mile) border with Russia, does require a visa for travel, and also reported an increase in traffic overnight - but said it was at a manageable level. Other destinations reachable by air - such as Istanbul, Belgrade or Dubai - have seen ticket prices skyrocket immediately after the military call-up was announced, with some destinations sold out completely. Turkish media have reported a large spike in one-way ticket sales, while remaining flights to non-visa destinations can cost thousands of euros. Germany's interior minister signalled on Thursday that Russians fleeing the draft would be welcome in her country. Nancy Faeser said deserters threatened by "severe repression" would receive protection on a case-by-case basis, following security checks. Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic struck a different tone, saying they would not offer fleeing Russians refuge. 'I will break my arm, my leg... anything to avoid the draft' By Olesya Gerasimenko & Liza Fokht, BBC News === Sergei - not his real name - has already been called up. The 26-year-old PhD student and lecturer was expecting a delivery of groceries the night before the Putin address, when two men arrived in civilian clothes handing him military papers to sign. The Kremlin said only people who had done their military service and had special skills and combat experience would be called up. But Sergei has no military experience and his stepfather is worried, as dodging the draft is a criminal offence in Russia. The call-up sparked protests in major Russian cities including Moscow and St Petersburg on Tuesday, resulting in a reported 1,300 arrests. There were also reports from Russia that some of those detained for protesting had been handed draft papers while in custody at police stations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about the reports, said that doing so was not against the law. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Russians to resist the mobilisation during his nightly address on Thursday. Referring to Russian deaths in the war, he said: "Want more? No? Then protest. Fight back. Run away. Or surrender to Ukrainian captivity." The reaction to the military mobilisation inside Russia has been unusually strong. The UK's Ministry of Defence, commenting on the call-up in its Wednesday morning briefing, noted that the mobilisation "is likely to be highly unpopular with parts of the Russian population". "Putin is accepting considerable political risk in the hope of generating much-needed combat power. The move is effectively an admission that Russia has exhausted its supply of willing volunteers to fight in Ukraine," it said. Even if successful, challenges remain - and it is unlikely new units will be ready for combat for several more months, the defence intelligence update said. Russian officials insist the call-up will be limited to those who had completed military service, and fall short of widespread conscription. But inside Russia, there is also speculation that the military mobilisation could be larger than formally announced. The independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, which moved its operations to Europe amid a post-war crackdown on media, reported that Vladimir Putin's decree contains an additional paragraph which has been classified and kept secret. The newspaper alleges that the secret paragraph allows for a call-up of up to a million people, rather than the reported 300,000, citing an unnamed government source. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

26-09-22, 23:36	#175
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Inside Chaotic Russia as it Descends into Anarchy With Violent Protests and Mass Exodus Vladimir Putin ordered the "partial military mobilisation" of hundreds of thousands of civilian reservists last week after the Kremlin's troops took a vicious beating by Ukraine Daily Mirror UK 27 SEP 2022 Young men are seen approaching the border between Russia and Georgia as civilians try to dodge Putin's draft Protesters and cops clash in Moscow Russian riot police detain a man following calls to protest against partial mobilisation in Moscow last Wednesday Russia is rupturing into chaos after warlord Vladimir Putin ordered another 300,000 civilians to the frontline of his failing " special military operation ". Last Wednesday Putin ordered the "partial military mobilisation" of hundreds of thousands of civilian reservists after the Kremlin's troops took a vicious beating in Ukraine. Ukrainian forces sent Putin's boys packing from the northeastern region of Kharkiv after a lightning counteroffensive, which has been hailed a military tactics masterpiece. Within hours, Russia's borders were gridlocked with young men desperately trying to dodge the draft. The Russo-Ukraine war, which started in February, has already claimed between 70 to 80,000 Russian lives, according to US estimates. In some of the territories where losses have been hardest felt, like Siberia, crowds marched through the streets chanting "I'm not going to die for you." Similar protests have touched most corners of the vast country as citizens flouted the Kremlin's draconian laws against criticism of the armed forces. More than 1,000 people were seized as Moscow brutally cracked down on the unrest. The reactions have grown more sinister in recent days after a number of shootings and firebombings were reported across the country. One directly linked to the mobilisation took place in Irkutsk, Siberia, when an unemployed conscript strolled into an enlistment office and shot the top local military recruiter. In Izhevsk, a town around 600 miles east of Moscow, another gunman wandered through a school and opened fire, killing at least 13 including young schoolchildren. Here is How Russia is Crumbling After The Tyrant's Announcement: Since Wednesday, Putin's heavy-handed cops have thrown 2,353 protesters in jail for demonstrating their fury over the forced mobilisation, according to an independent protest monitoring site. More than 1,300 of those arrests were made by the end of the first day, OVD-Info reports. Women have been leading many of the protests and have been seen carrying banners saying: "Our husbands, fathers and brothers do not want to kill other husbands and fathers". Others hoisted read, "No mobilisation", "No war! There is no grave.” In Dagestan’s regional capital Makhachkala, anti-war protesters reportedly burned portraits of Putin. In Novosibirsk, a brave male activist was hauled into detention after shouting at police and FSB officers at a rally: “I am not going to die for Putin, or for you!” He told the armed law enforcement: “You know too well everything is f***** up!” The man, seemingly in his 20s, was loudly clapped by other protesters at the rare anti-war rally in Siberia’s unofficial capital. A police officer bellowed at him: “I demand you to stop this illegal activity.” A protester’s voice is heard saying “What are you doing?” as he is detained. Another asks: “Are you animals?” Vehicles queue to cross the border from Russia to Finland at the Nuijamaa border checkpoint in Lappeenranta, __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

28-09-22, 05:45	#176
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones European Leaders Blame SABOTAGE as Gas Pours Into Baltic From Nord Stream Pipelines Ursula Von der Leyen warns of ‘strongest possible response’ to attacks on European energy infrastructure BBC 28 SEP 2022. European leaders blame sabotage as gas pours into Baltic from Nord Stream pipelines Sabotage is the most likely cause of leaks in two Baltic Sea gas pipelines between Russia and Europe, European leaders have said, after seismologists reported explosions around the Nord Stream pipelines. A seismograph on the Danish island of Bornholm, near where the leaks occurred, twice recorded spikes on Monday, the day on which the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines underwent dramatic falls in pressure, the German geological research centre GFZ said. A Danish military flight over the leaks brought back striking images from the ruptures, including one showing an area of bubbling gas a kilometre wide on the sea’s surface. European commission president Ursula Von der Leyen said the leaks were due to “sabotage”, and threatened the “strongest possible response” to any deliberate disruption of European energy infrastructure. “Any deliberate disruption of active European energy infrastructure is unacceptable and will lead to the strongest possible response,” she warned, and urged and investigation to get full clarity on the “events and why”. Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen described them as “deliberate acts”, adding: “We are not talking about an accident.” US secretary of state Antony Blinken has spoken to Danish foreign minister Jeppe Kofod about the “apparent sabotage”, said US state department spokesman Ned Price late on Tuesday. “The United States remains united with our allies and partners in our commitment to promoting European energy security,” he said. Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the leaks were an act of sabotage that “probably marks the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine”. Sweden’s outgoing prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, said “there have been detonations” although foreign minister Ann Linde said they would not “speculate on motives or actors”. The seismograph recorded near-silence until just after midnight GMT (2am local time), when there was a spike representing a tremor in the earth followed by a continuous hissing wave form. The pattern was repeated at 5pm GMT. Amid the claims of sabotage, suspicion immediately turned to potential culprits – with fingers pointed at Russia, whose pipelines were hit, suggesting a further weaponisation of energy supplies to Europe in the midst of the conflict in Ukraine. Not least it was seen as a possible message about the vulnerability of other marine gas infrastructure. “There are some indications that it is deliberate damage. You have to ask: Who would profit?” one European security source told Reuters. GFZ declined to be drawn on whether the tremors recorded could have been the result of an explosion but scientists at the research centre ruled out the possibility that the leaks could have been caused by earthquakes. “There was a spike and then regular noise,” a GFZ spokesperson, Josef Zens, said. “We cannot say if that could be gas streaming out.” A seismologist quoted by Swedish television suggested the activity may have been the result of explosions. Björn Lund, director of the Swedish National Seismic Network, SNSN, which measures Swedish earthquakes and explosions, told the SVT television channel that the event – one of which registered a magnitude of 2.3 – may have been caused by undersea detonations. “You can clearly see how the waves bounce from the bottom to the surface. There is no doubt that it was a blast. We even had a station in Gnosjö that picked this up,” said Lund, who also lectures in seismology at Uppsala University. Meanwhile the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, called the news “very concerning” and said that “no option can be ruled out right now”, including sabotage. “This is a very concerning news,” he added, calling for a prompt investigation. “Indeed, we are talking about some damage of an unclear nature to the pipeline in Denmark’s economic zone.” The steel pipe itself has a wall of 4.1 cm (1.6 inches) and is coated with steel-reinforced concrete up to 11cm thick. Each section of the pipe weighs 11 tonnes, which goes to 24-25 tonnes after the concrete is applied. Among those pointing to the war in Ukraine was the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, who was speaking at the opening of a new gas pipeline between Norway and Poland. “Today we faced an act of sabotage. We don’t know all the details of what happened but we see clearly that it’s an act of sabotage, related to the next step of escalation of the situation in Ukraine,” Morawiecki said. Poland’s foreign minister was more forthright, suggesting that the damage could be an act of provocation on behalf of the Kremlin. “Sadly our eastern partner is constantly pursuing an aggressive political course,” the deputy foreign minister, Marcin Przydacz, said in Warsaw. “If it is capable of an aggressive military course in Ukraine, then it’s apparent that acts of provocations in western Europe also cannot be ruled out.” __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

02-10-22, 10:00	#177
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Russia-Ukraine WAR: Ukrainian Capture of Lyman Makes WAR More Difficult For Putin, Says US US defence secretary Lloyd Austin cheers capture of key city in east after Moscow confirms retreat of its troops The Guardian UK 2 OCT 2022 The US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has welcomed Ukraine’s capture of Lyman and said the taking of the former Russian stronghold makes the war “more difficult” for Putin. Mr Austin told a news conference on Sunday he was “very encouraged” after Saturday’s success by Ukrainian military forces. He noted that Lyman was positioned across supply lines that Russia has used to push its troops and materiel down to the south and to the west, as the Kremlin presses its more than seven-month-long invasion of Ukraine. “Without those routes, it will be more difficult. So it presents a sort of a dilemma for the Russians going forward.” Ukrainian soldiers announced the capture on Saturday in a video recorded outside the town council building in the centre of Lyman and posted on social media by Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s office. Hours earlier, Russia’s defence ministry had announced it was pulling troops out of the area “in connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement”. US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said Lyman’s capture would create new problems for Russia’s military. “We’re very encouraged by what we’re seeing right now,” Austin told a news conference on Saturday. Austin noted that Lyman was positioned across supply lines that Russia has used to push its troops and materiel down to the south and to the west, as the Kremlin presses its more than seven-month-long invasion of Ukraine. “Without those routes, it will be more difficult. So it presents a sort of a dilemma for the Russians going forward.” __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

09-10-22, 07:03	#178
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Crimea: Why Blowing Up Bridge is a Double Blow For Putin Key bridge linking Crimea to Russia hit by huge explosion Section of Kerch bridge collapses after blast, seen as major blow to Russian military prestige Putin Makes Brutal and Corrupt’ General New Military Chief... The Guardian UK 9 OCT 2022 A huge explosion has destroyed part of the Kerch bridge from Russia to Crimea, a hated symbol of the Kremlin’s occupation of the southern Ukrainian peninsula, one of Vladimir Putin’s prestige projects and a vital logistical link for the Russian military. A section of the Ukraine-bound road bridge collapsed into the Kerch strait after the blast, and a fierce fire engulfed a train on the parallel railway connection, creating a vast column of black smoke. The parallel road towards Russia still appeared passable in images from the blast site. The attack, which came the day after Putin’s 70th birthday, is a major blow to Russian military prestige and its supply chains for the invasion and the defence of Crimea. Moscow had claimed the bridge was protected by impenetrable layers of defences, ranging from military dolphins to the latest weapons systems, but had also threatened harsh retaliation if it was targeted. Ukraine has not directly claimed responsibility for hitting the bridge, but senior officials publicly celebrated and on Saturday morning the only real question about the attack was not who ordered it, but how it was carried out. The explosion, which witnesses said could be heard miles away, happened about 6am on Saturday while a train was crossing the bridge. Pictures of the damage began emerging soon after. Russia set up a committee to investigate the attack and within hours said three people had been killed and blamed a truck bomb for the blast. It added that they identified the driver of the exploded truck as a resident of the southern Russian Kuban region. “According to preliminary data, three people died as a result of the incident. These are, presumably, the passengers of a car that was next to the blown-up truck,” Russia’s investigative committee said in a statement. “At present, the bodies of two dead men and women have already been raised from the water; their identities are being established.” Footage shared on Russian Telegram channels and news agencies appeared to show the moment of the explosion with two vehicles, a truck and a car, at the centre of the blast, although it was unclear whether either was responsible or simply caught up in the detonation. The bridge, which was built on the orders of Putin, and inaugurated in 2018, was a key transport link for carrying military equipment to Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, especially in the south, as well as ferrying troops there. The blast on the strategic bridge linking Crimea with Russia occurred at about 6am local time (3am GMT) *Stratigically Placed Cameras BEFORE, DURING and After The Event..PLUS a FAST Getaway Boat...British SAS Comes to Mind...* __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

10-10-22, 11:17	#179
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Putin Accuses Ukraine of Terrorism Over Crimea Bridge Blast 75 Russian Rockets Target Ukraine Following Crimean Bridge Destruction --Putin: 'If Attacks Continue Against Russia, The Response Will be Harsh' *BBC reporter ducks as explosions rock Ukraines' capital Kyiv* BBC News 10 Oct 2022 Explosions rocked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Monday (October 10), after Russia accused Ukraine of orchestrating a powerful blast that damaged a key bridge linking Russia and Crimea. Explosions have been reported in other cities across the country, including Lviv, Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia, in what appears to be the most widespread set of Russian attacks since the early weeks of the war. A BBC journalist in Kyiv, Hugo Bachega, was delivering a news report when several explosions happened in the centre of Ukraine's capital city. Just over an hour later, after heading to shelter with his camera crew, the BBC re-established contact with Hugo. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of attacking the bridge to Russian-annexed Crimea, saying that it was an "act of terrorism". President Putin said Ukraine's intelligence forces had aimed to destroy a critically important piece of Russia's civil infrastructure. He was speaking at a meeting with the head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin. Officials say three people were killed in the blast on the bridge. The victims were in a nearby car when a lorry blew up, Russian officials say. "There is no doubt, this is an act of terrorism aimed at destroying Russia's critical civilian infrastructure," Mr Putin said. "Its authors, perpetrators and beneficiaries are the security services of Ukraine." Mr Bastrykin said that citizens of Russia and some foreign states had aided preparations for the attack. Crimea Map Putin: 'If Attacks Continue Against Russia, The Response Will be Harsh' __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

13-10-22, 07:00	#180
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones GCHQ Boss Says Vladimir Putin Losing Home Support and Troops Running Out of Supplies ---- Putin 'Deploys Elite Guard to Moscow' Amid Fears of Coup with Military on High Alert Brit Accused of Spying For Russia and Leaking Information From Embassy Appears in Court BBC News 13 Oct 2022 The director of GCHQ, Sir Jeremy Fleming, is expected to say that Russian president Vladimir Putin may face revolt against his leadership, as his "exhausted" troops are now running out of supplies and munitions. The head of the UK's intelligence, cyber and security agency, Sir Jeremy is to brand Putin as becoming "desperate" as Russia loses the war with Ukraine, stating... Vladimir Putin has deployed a special unit of guards to Moscow amid rising fears of a coup, Ukrainian intelligence sources have claimed. Intelligence officials said the elite ODON unit of the Russian National Guard is bolstering security around the Russian capital and that all military units are on "high alert". The briefing came hours after the Kerch bridge A man accused of spying for Vladimir Putin's Russia while working as a security guard at the British Embassy in Berlin has appeared in court. David Ballantyne Smith, who has no address in the UK but previously lived in Ayrshire, allegedly collected and leaked information "deemed useful to the Russian state" over a ten-month period. He was charged with nine offences __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

14-10-22, 13:18	#181
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Ukraine WAR: Kyiv Demands Red Cross Visit Notorious Prison Ukrainian officials have urged the Red Cross to conduct a mission to a notorious prison camp in the Russia-occupied east of the country. BBC 14 OCT 2022 A security guard stands outside a building at Olenivka prison camp after it was damaged by an explosion in July The Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, demanded that the Red Cross (ICRC) visit the Olenivka prison in Donetsk within three days. "We just can't waste more time. Human lives are at stake," he tweeted. Last month, the Red Cross tried to secure access to the camp, but said it was denied by Russian authorities. In a statement on Friday, the ICRC said: "We want to stress that our teams are ready on the ground - and have been ready for months - to visit the Olenivka penal facility and any other location where POWs are held. "However, beyond being granted access by high levels of authority, this requires practical arrangements to materialize on the ground. We cannot access by force a place of detention or internment where we have not been admitted." The Olenivka prison has been under the control of Russian-backed authorities in Donetsk since 2014, and conditions are said to be extremely poor. In July, dozens of Ukrainian prisoners were killed in explosions at the camp, which both sides blamed on each other. Kyiv said the prison was targeted by Russia to destroy evidence of torture and killing, while Moscow blamed Ukrainian rockets. Without an independent investigation, however, the truth remains unknown. Those detained at the site include members of the Azov battalion, who were the last defenders of the city of Mariupol and whom Russia has sought to depict as neo-Nazis and war criminals. This is not the first time Ukraine has applied pressure to international organisations to investigate what is going on at the prison. Mr Yermak said he had raised the issue again during a video conference with officials from the ICRC and other international organisations. He has demanded the trip be made by Monday. "Ukraine... will contribute to this mission in every possible way," he said on Telegram, adding he did not understand why a mission to inspect Olenivka had not yet been arranged. President Volodymyr Zelensky echoed the calls, and accused the Red Cross of inaction, saying it had "obligations, primarily of a moral nature". In his nightly address on Thursday, Mr Zelensky said he believed that the Red Cross was "not a club with privileges where one receives a salary and enjoys life". He said a mission to the prison camp could be organised similar to that of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which visited the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in August. "But it requires leadership," Mr Zelensky said in a thinly veiled criticism of the Red Cross. "The Red Cross can make it happen. But you have to try to make it happen." __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

16-10-22, 07:57	#182
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	Re: Russia: 11 Dead,15 Injured in Terror Attack at Military Training Ground Russia: 11 Dead, 15 Injured in Terrorist Attack at Military Training Ground in Belgorod At least 11 people died and 15 others were reportedly injured in an attack at a Russian military training ground in the Belgorod region on Saturday BBC 16 OCT 2022 Russian military troops take part in a military drill on Sernovodsky polygon close to the Chechnya border, some 260 km from south Russian city of Stavropol, on March 19, 2015. About 500 soldiers take part in the military exercises until March 20. At least 11 people have been killed and a further 15 injured in an alleged 'terrorist act' after two volunteer soldiers opened fire at a military training ground in Russia. The shooting took place today in the Belgorod region of the country according to the Russian Defence Ministry who labelled it 'terrorism'. "On October 15, two citizens of one of the CIS countries committed a terrorist act at the training ground of the Western Military District in the Belgorod Region," the ministry said. CIS countries are countries in the former Soviet republic, including: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. The attackers, believed to be two volunteer soldiers, opened fire on a training unit reportedly during target practice leading to the deaths. The two shooters were believed to have been volunteer soldiers The ministry said there were two attackers who were both shot dead. Russia branded the shooters “terrorists” and the attack reportedly took place in Soloti, a small community not far from the Ukrainian border. The unit targeted were said to be volunteers to fight in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Reports circulating on Telegram suggest the death toll is in fact higher and some suggest there were three shooters as well. The shooting comes amid a desperate mobilisation by Russian boss Vladimir Putin to try and bolster his forces during his faltering invasion of Ukraine. The shooting comes as Vladimir Putin desperately tries to mobilise more soldiers for his invasion of Ukraine In his efforts to strengthen his hand in his war against Kyiv his actions have triggered significant protests at home, leading to hundreds of thousands fleeing the country. Putin said on Friday that over 220,000 reservists already had been called up as part of an effort to recruit 300,000 more soldiers. This comes as the UK's Ministry of Defence said that the reservists being deployed "almost certainly" had far worse equipment than the "already poor provisions" currently being used by Putin's troops. On top of that, many reservists are likely required to buy their own body armour. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

18-10-22, 11:52	#183
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: Russia Bombs Ukraine & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones Ukraine WAR: Russia Dive-Bombs Kyiv & Power Plants With Iranian Kamikaze Drones ---US Says Iranian Drones Breach Sanctions Russian Warplane Crash Kills 13 in Apartment Block Moscow and Kyiv Swap Women Prisoners For Sailors BBC NEWS -100 YEARS OLD TODAY-18 OCT 2022,, An apartment block in Russia's southern city of Yeysk was ablaze after a military aircraft crashed into the residential area At least 13 people have now died after a Russian fighter-bomber plane crashed into an apartment block in the southern Russian town of Yeysk, officials say. Russia has hit Ukraine with a wave of attacks, dive-bombing the capital, Kyiv, with what appear to be Iranian-made "kamikaze" drones. Critical infrastructure was hit in the Kyiv, Dnipro and Sumy regions, with electricity cut in hundreds of towns and villages, the government says. At least eight people were killed, four in Kyiv and four in Sumy. Calls have mounted for sanctions on Iran, which continues to deny supplying drones to the Russian military. A week ago, the Ukrainian capital was hit by Russian missiles at rush hour, part of nationwide attacks which left 19 dead. In the latest attack, starting at around 06:30 (03:30 GMT), 28 drones targeted the capital but only five hit targets, according to the Mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko. The city reverberated to the rattle of gunfire as anti-aircraft batteries frantically tried to shoot them down. Video on social media appeared to show one interception. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter In the Shevchenkivskyi district, rescuers searched for survivors in the ruins of a block of flats that partially collapsed after one attack. The street was cordoned off as dozens of firefighters and emergency staff worked at the scene. Among the four people killed in the district was a pregnant woman. Across the street from the ruined building, the offices of Ukraine's energy company were also hit. The facility was probably the intended target of the strike. Mayor Klitschko described the attacks as a "genocide of the Ukrainian people", saying, "The Russians need a Ukraine without Ukrainians." The city authorities, he added, were expecting air defence systems to be delivered soon to protect the capital from further drone attacks. "The enemy can attack our cities, but it won't be able to break us," said President Volodymyr Zelensky, describing the attacks as "terrorising the civilian population". Despite an appeal from the mayor for people to seek shelter, the city's streets were far from deserted. Between two sets of strikes, plenty of people could be seen going about their business. A Reuters news agency journalist reported seeing fragments of a drone used in the attack that bore the words "For Belgorod". The Russian border city of Belgorod has been hit several times since Russia invaded Ukraine. Moscow blames Kyiv for the attacks. In the other attacks: Four people were killed when an energy-generating facility was hit in Sumy In the port city of Mykolaiv, sunflower oil tanks were set on fire by three suicide drones late on Sunday evening. Big tanks set on fire Tanks at the port city of Mykolaiv were set on fire by Russian drone attacks, according to the city's mayor The low buzzing of the slow-moving drones is becoming familiar across Ukraine. Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak accused Iran of being "responsible for the murders of Ukrainians". Some EU foreign ministers, including those from France and Germany, are calling for new sanctions against Iran for supplying drones to Russia. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the bloc would investigate Tehran's participation in the conflict. Despite the mounting evidence of Iranian drones being used, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani insisted his country was not a "party in the war", adding: "We have not supplied any weapons to the sides of the Ukraine war." Russia said it had hit Ukrainian military command facilities and energy systems "in the course of 24 hours" with long-range air- and sea-based weapons on Sunday. What are 'Kamikaze Drones'? Believed to include an Iranian-supplied weapon called the Shahed-136 These drones loiter above a target before attacking Packed with explosives which detonate upon impact, destroying the drone Often sent in waves and difficult to spot on radar The US said Iran planned to send hundreds to Russia, costing just $20,000 (£17,800) each Ukraine has also used 'kamikaze drones' - including the US-made Switchblade model Mayor Klitschko shared a photo of what he said were fragments of a kamikaze drone on Telegram Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week's strikes were in retaliation for the bombing of a key bridge linking Russia to occupied Crimea, which he blamed on Ukraine. It was the first time during the war that the centre of Kyiv had been directly targeted. Earlier this week, Mr Putin said there was no need for more large-scale strikes on Ukraine. Most designated targets had been hit, he said, adding that it was not his aim to destroy the country. Russia has increased the use of combat drones in Ukraine as it seeks to avoid using long-range precision missions. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

19-10-22, 20:09	#184
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	Re: Britains' Defence Secretary URGENTLY Called to Washington RE Putins' Nuclear Thre Fears Grow Putin Could Detonate Nukes as Ben Wallace Scrambles to Washington Defence Secretary Ben Wallace Emergency US Trip Amid Nuclear Threat The Defence Secretary has made the trip amid fears Putin could detonate a nuclear weapon. Mr Wallace went stateside to discuss "shared security concerns" as Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said the topics of discussion were "beyond belief" BBC News 19 OCT 2022. The Defence Secretary has made an emergency trip to the US to discuss the security situation in Ukraine, including the threat of a nuclear attack. Ben Wallace cancelled his appearance in front of the Commons Defence Committee on Tuesday and flew to the US for summits in the Pentagon and White House Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said Wallace attended to "discuss the Ukraine situation and the US and UK joint efforts to support Ukraine" Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said Mr Wallace was meeting with his US counterpart for “the sort of conversations that [are] beyond belief really, the fact we are at a time when these sorts of conversations are necessary”. A defence source said: “The Defence Secretary is in Washington DC to discuss shared security concerns, including Ukraine. “He will be visiting his counterpart at the Pentagon and senior figures at the White House.” Vladimir Putin has stepped up his attacks in recent days after his troops were left scrambling for supplies following Ukraine’s strike on the Kerch Bridge. Zhytomyr, a city with military bases 85 miles west of the capital Kyiv, has been left without electricity and water after a Russian missile strike on an energy facility. Missiles also hit an energy facility in Kyiv and severely damaged another in Dnipro. Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities are “cowardly” acts by Vladimir Putin, the UK has said. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the attacks were the “desperate acts” of a man losing the war. “Putin failed to capture Ukrainian towns and cities with tanks, now he tries cowardly drone attacks,” he said. “These are the desperate acts of a man losing a war on the battlefield. It’s why we sent air defence missiles. __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES

21-10-22, 13:06	#185
Ladybbird Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 47,685 Thanks: 27,647 Thanked 14,458 Times in 10,262 Posts Awards Showcase Total Awards: 8	re: UK & USs’ WARNING to Putin-Largest Nuclear Subs in World Dock in Gibraltar Vladimir Putin Tried to Detonate NUKE But His Plans Were Sabotaged Insider Claims As the world fears Vladimir Putin could fire nuclear weapons on Ukraine, it is claimed that the Russian President is facing disruptions with his atomic weapon plans due to 'sabotage' or technical issues BBC News 21 OCT 2022. Vladimir Putin's tried to detonate a nuke but his plans were "sabotaged", an insider has claimed. Top brass at the Kremlin are “sabotaging” his plans to use atomic weapons or there may be issues due to technical failures, it is claimed. In recent days, there have been a series of NOTAM messages (Notice to air missions) and linked Russian navigation warnings indicating tests or live firing drills. So far, there has been few indications of any major testing, although the final date for such disruption in the Barents Sea is October 22. At the same time there are claims that earlier this month Putin ordered two nuclear missile tests which did not in fact take place. Valery Solovey, an expert on the president and former professor at Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations [MGIMO], a training school for spies and diplomats said: “[Putin’s] decision on the use of tactical nuclear weapons [in the Ukraine conflict] would no doubt face resistance. *Russia 'plans to blow up dam and flood city - then blame Ukraine for attack'* Professor Valery Solovey, an expert on the president and former professor at Moscow’s prestigious Institute of International Relations “I don't know how effective the resistance will be but I will indicate [that] nuclear tests were supposed to be held over the past two weeks, one in the Barents sea, underwater, and the second underground, in Arkhangelsk region. “Both times the tests were not held.” He alleged: “The reason is that before the launch, or more accurately, before the use of tactical nuclear weapons, it is necessary to make sure these weapons are fully operable… “They had to be tested.” But both times the potentially dangerous were “disrupted”. Satellite images show Russia's Poseidon nuke-carrying 600ft submarine Belgorod lurking in the Arctic “The president got reports that there was an emergency situation, that it didn't work out” - implying technical failings. Putin insisted that the tests are held in the future, said Sololvey. He has also claimed the Kremlin leader has made a decision in principle to use nuclear weapons. He added: “But the thing is, once is an accident, twice is a coincidence. “But…if the third time tests end the same way, with nothing, [it will look like] sabotage…not fulfilling….the orders of the chief commander….” This would show the "dissolution of [Putin’s] authority, of Russia's executive power”. The Poseidon is a remotely operated nuclear-powered undersea drone Earlier this month, it was reported that Nato had sent an intelligence note to its member countries warning that Putin had deployed his K-329 Belgorod nuclear submarine, carrier of apocalypse underwater drone Poseidon. The Russian weapon is a giant nuclear-capable torpedo causing radioactive tsunamis laying waste to enemy coastlines. Dmitry Kiselyov, a Russian TV propagandist, told viewers that Russia should “plunge Britain into the depths of the sea” with its “underwater robotic drone Poseidon” causing a 1,640ft tsunami. Details of its unique high speed 125 mph underwater propulsion system have been closely guarded as a Russian secret. Yet there have been no indications of a test launch so far. Dmitry Kiselyov told viewers that Russia should “plunge Britain into the depths of the sea” The Barents Observer recently reported that NOTAM flight warnings had been posted by Russia. For example in the waters between Norway’s Finnmark region and the Svalbard archipelago, and in eastern Barents Sea and southeast Kara Sea. The warnings were different for each area but in total covered the period October 14 to 22. General SVR channel said on 13 October that the alleged nuclear missile tests ordered by Putin had been prepared “in strict secrecy”. The Kremlin leader “was informed about the need to postpone the date and time of the test. Allegedly they did not have time to properly prepare.” “This is the second time a nuclear test has been postponed in the past two weeks.” __________________ PUTIN TRUMP & Netanyahu Will Meet in HELL ..................*SHARKS are Closing in on TRUMP*.......................... *TRUMP WARNS; 'There'll Be a Bloodbath* If I Don't Get Elected'..MAGA - MyAssGotArrested...IT's COMING** PLEASE HELP THIS SITE..Click DONATE & Thanks to ALL Members of ... 1.. THIS SITE IS MORE THAN JUST WAREZ...& TO STOP SPAM-IF YOU WANT TO POST, YOUR FIRST POST MUST BE IN WELCOMES