Ok
What’s the reason for this? Getting accurate information, being bold/provocative, or…?
As I understand it, even in peacetime, NATO, Russia, China, etc. are constantly monitoring each other. They fly aircraft in international airspace and collect data on all the radars and other electronic signals they can collect, plus monitoring for missile launches, nuclear isotopes (from weapons tests or reactor accidents), and so on. Now that there are hostilities, NATO will be sucking up every scrap of info they can get from Russia and advising Ukraine on what Russia is doing, probably down to tracking individual soldiers and unit deployments. Every time a Russian soldier gets homesick and phones home to his mom, NATO will have the call tracked and use it to identify the unit and location. Russia knows NATO is doing this but there's nothing they can do about it unless they want to trigger a war with NATO. It's not a provocation, it's normal practice.
Four Russian Gas Executives have supposidly committed 'murder/suicides'. Lack of fingerprints on one case in Spain on the murder weapons !
Four Russian Gas Executives have supposidly committed ‘murder/suicides’. Lack of fingerprints on one case in Spain on the murder weapons !
Apparently, this is why many multi-national corporations won't quit Russia. Putin is basically holding their CEOs and families hostage to coerce the head office into opposing sanctions. The "murder-suicide" is a pretty convincing negotiating strategy when you're dealing with accountants and purchasing managers.
Four Russian Gas Executives have supposidly committed ‘murder/suicides’. Lack of fingerprints on one case in Spain on the murder weapons !
Aren't these stories all a load of horseradish? It was mentioned earlier on the thread
Another mysterious fire breaks out in Russia.
Interesting! This is the first I've heard of this..
Has it been corroborated? No mention of it on mainstream news
https://www.businessinsider.co.za/2-russian-oligarchs-found-dead-spain-moscow-reports-2022-4
One is new I believe the Spanish one. there are rumors on Reddit about affairs ect.
Right hand again…
Has he been replaced with an animatronic?
One is new I believe the Spanish one. there are rumors on Reddit about affairs ect
Thanks for posting! All very strange. Is the insinuation that they were killed by the Russian state?
Dunno if this has been posted before. I stumbled across this Russian Vlogger on YouTube. This is the only video of hers I've watched, but it's prompted me to watch more - she has 300K+ subscribers. In this video she is Vlogging from what I think is her home town in 'the far East' (Siberia). She is mainly answering questions from subscribers on life in Russia which touches on all sorts. The accuracy of polls in Russia, and what people really think, how much access Russians have to outside media, the prevalence of the 'Z' symbol, the exodus of young Russians and her own plans to leave, etc. and loads more. An interesting insight into life in Russia for ordinary people. She is really open, articulate and savvy. If there are more like her, then there is a glimmer of hope for the future. If they don't all leg it!
'sAdventures
So, it's a fair bet to say Putin is likely to invade Moldova, no doubt to "liberate" Transnistria... if he can create the land bridge of course?
Let's hope that land bridge is a bridge too far.
The Guardian reporting those mysterious Russian fires
https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2022/03/15/expired-arms-tepid-fighters-russian-ally-transnistria-may-have-little-to-offer-for-putins-war/
Transnistria a tiny strip of land with a ammo dump on it what could go wrong.
Chemical plant fire may be a problem for Putin
https://twitter.com/Spoonamore/status/1517510440598843394?t=qP21-AKVbgfGuqybKngWHQ&s=19
https://mobile.twitter.com/OSINT88/status/1517523880331681794
Flood gates blown open on a damn?
And a fire in the space city complex both unconfirmed.
I'd love to see how Putin reacts in private to the pretty much daily setbacks he's having.
I bet it's not pretty and knowing your life is likely to be on the line if you have responsibility in that area, scary as hell to tell him.
This is the apparent Roskosmos fire
https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1517538587151159297?t=6zkqOSSkNp2CJfyPDAQpWA&s=19
And a fire in the space city complex both unconfirmed.
Some of those incidents do seem suspiciously like someone is playing what does this button do with industrial control systems. Be a rather worrying escalation though.
I guess thats the question. How often did these happen when people werent really paying attention to Russia?
I guess thats the question. How often did these happen when people werent really paying attention to Russia?
Yeah we need a baseline!
I suppose the possibility of cyber attacks isn't that improbable
Mafia.
Fed up locals not getting paid.
Opposition to the war.
Spys.
Oligarchy who is suddenly skint.
It could be anything causing all the incidents.
It's clear Russia has been absolutely rinced for any cash or materials that could be sold or nicked maybe some of that is coming home to roost?
I suspect the fire service isn't that great over there either which wont help.
It turns out a mafia state is shit at so many things other than killing people.
It turns out a mafia state is shit at so many things other than killing people
Quite
Some newspapers are reporting that we're ready to send in tanks to Ukraine. Presumably just hardware being given to the Ukrainians as sending in our tanks would be far too close to us having troops on the ground and risk dragging us into it fully.
I think that's likely not entirely accurate beyond are they big green metal things with a pointy thing on top.
We dont really have that many actual tanks, and they are not the sort of thing you just hop into. Not even convinced we have the manufacturing capacity to meet Ukrainian defence needs long term post war considering who they have as a neighbour.
What I read was some sort of armour being sent to Ukraine (crewed by Ukr) and a forward deployment of tanks to somewhere like Poland (crewed by British Army) who may then send T72 like machines to Ukrained (crewed by Ukr).
Maybe this?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/FV107_Scimitar
Which is due out of service 2023 according to Wikipedia.
Admittedly I dont really know anything beyond the odd article read yesterday.
It turns out a mafia state is shit at so many things other than killing people.
I do find myself wondering where Russia would be if it wasnt for the legacy of technology and military capacity from the previous round of authoritarian governance. And the influence that a population that's never really known anything different.
Going from the Tsars to Stalin, what does that do to the collective will to change leadership.
I do find myself wondering where Russia would be if it wasnt for the legacy of technology and military capacity from the previous round of authoritarian governance.
Kamil Galeev seems to think that Russia has never really been able to develop without outside assistance.
https://twitter.com/kamilkazani/status/1517504820420268033
I think that’s likely not entirely accurate beyond are they big green metal things with a pointy thing on top.
Sod it I give up, just do a search for "journalists guide to tank identification".
Thanks @blokeuptheroad, that wee vlog was genuinely interesting. Thanks for posting
@nickc👍 It's an example of how despite the dross, sometimes social media can be genuinely useful and help break down barriers. She has only done one other video since the war started, posted before the one above. It's only 10 minutes long and also worth a look.
'sAdventures
Transnistria a tiny strip of land with a ammo dump on it what could go wrong.
Transnistria is merely a pretext for moving west. There is nothing Putin actually wants there, and the people there don't seem in dire need of 'liberation', if this is anything to go by:
Given that Putin couldn't resupply his forces a couple of hundred km from the border near Kyev, how is he proposing to take and hold the coast all the way to Odessa and beyond? Holding Donbas, and maybe Mariupol to make the Crimea land bridge seems 'possible'.
I still like the fifth column explanation for all the fires and stuff.
We dont really have that many actual tanks, and they are not the sort of thing you just hop into. Not even convinced we have the manufacturing capacity to meet Ukrainian defence needs long term post war considering who they have as a neighbour.
Problem with tanks is they're a big target, especially with drones up above directing fire. (Both Russian and Ukrainian).
The Ukrainian military and militia appears to have done well from anti tank weapons, carried by individual units, and very very effective, so much so Russian tank crews seem more than likely to abandon their vehicle when they come under sustained attack.
I think what would serve them best would be attack drones and more anti air and anti tank weaponry. The latter are easier to move in in bulk.
I think that’s likely not entirely accurate beyond are they big green metal things with a pointy thing on top
BBC is saying Challenger 2s
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61190310
Challenger 2 is a main battle tank, apparently. We may have as many as 79 to give to Poland, so that they can give their old T72s to Ukraine
Journos do the same thing with construction machinery. Everything is a digger. Oh, and all demolition is done with bulldozers. Even though pretty much none is.
Transnistria is merely a pretext for moving west. There is nothing Putin actually wants there, and the people there don’t seem in dire need of ‘liberation’, if this is anything to go by:
I don't think Russia has any serious plans to attack west. They got routed in the north and are struggling in the east. They literally don't have any troops or equipment to spare to start yet another attack. The claim that they are going to go into Transnistria is just intended to rally support around the war - this is the "we're going to rescue Russian speaking people" justification.
When the idea of Poland sending planes to Ukraine in exchange for American ones was around it fell flat on its arse as they would have gone from Poland to a US airbase in Germany then on to Ukraine. Why was this? surely the Polish could have sent them direct to Ukraine.
Will we now see a flock of US jets going direct to Poland and some old Migs heading to Ukraine following the tanks?
The DoD (in the US) has now changed it's mind about supplying air assets* to Ukraine, so presume so.
*It's not clear whether thy're O K with fixed wing, helicopters, what sort and what capability seems to be unclear at the moment. So they could mean things like a few MiL-8 helicopters, or all the way to MiG-29 which both Poland and Germany have in reserve
Edit: I tell a lie, the Germans sold their MiGs to Poland
Will we now see a flock of US jets going direct to Poland and some old Migs heading to Ukraine following the tanks?
I think the idea was that they didn't want to have military aircraft fly from a NATO base into Ukraine because they felt that Russia might view that as an attack by NATO. Now they have shipped "spare parts" in by land. My suspicion is that the spare parts may have included fuselages with wings attached, plus engines, plus other assorted parts. In other words, partially disassembled aircraft.
Some newspapers are reporting that we’re ready to send in tanks to Ukraine.
Could not believe that stupid headline. It's so obviously not what Boris announced, even with his usual spouting bollocks, yet the papers made it look lime we were putting our tanks - and crews - into Ukraine.
Putin's strategic ineptitude brings about exactly the thing he most fears.
https://twitter.com/PhillipsPOBrien/status/1517821964630511616
