It seems they want people in midwest and rural south states to do more killing with covid diagnosis, paying them massive sums compared to blue states
25 Jul, 2022 15:18
Ukraine eyes US replacement for ballistic missile systems
HIMARS should be used instead of the Soviet-era Tochka-U systems, Kiev’s intelligence chief says
Kiev sees US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launchers as the best substitute for its destroyed Soviet-era Tochka-U missile systems, the head of intelligence at Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, Kirill Budanov has said.
During an interview with the Washington Post on Sunday, Budanov pointed out that the Tochka-U currently remained the longest-range system in the Ukrainian military's arsenal. However, he complained that “very few of them are left” after five months of fighting with Russia.
Tochka-U (NATO name ‘SS-21 Scarab’) is a tactical ballistic missile system, which has been around since the 1970s. It carries a single missile and has a range of 120 kilometers (75 miles). According to the Russian military, Kiev had some 40 Tochka-U launchers at the beginning of the conflict with Moscow.
But now the Ukrainian forces have HIMARS, which had been supplied to Kiev by the Americans, and “we’ll fight with these,” the intelligence chief said.
As of July 22, Kiev had received 16 high-mobility multiple rocket launchers from Washington. The HIMARS that have been provided have a range of 85 kilometers (53 miles). But the system can also be fitted with the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) munition, which make it capable of hitting targets up to 300 kilometers (almost 186 miles) away.
So far, the Biden administration has been reluctant to supply the Ukrainian military with ATACMS over concerns that they could be used for attacks on Russian territory, further escalating the conflict.
If we get the longer-range [munitions for HIMARS], we’ll use those. And the Russians know that either way, it’s the end for them with these weapons,” Budanov insisted.
He also rejected Moscow’s claims that between July 5 and 20 its forces had blown up four of the US-supplied launchers in Ukraine. “We haven’t lost a single HIMARS, despite what the Russians have claimed,” he said.
On Monday, Russia’s Defense Ministry also announced that it had destroyed a stockpile of amunition for HIMARS and American-made M777 howitzers in western Ukraine.
During a visit to Kiev at the weekend, the head of the Armed Forces Committee of the US House of Representatives, Adam Smith, said that America and its allies plan to provide Ukraine with an additional 25-to-30 rocket systems, including both high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) and multiple-launch rocket systems (MLRS).
However, even those supplies are unlikely to satisfy Kiev’s demands. Ukrainian Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov said last month that the country’s military would require 50 HIMARS to organize an effective defense, and a least 100 for “an effective counteroffensive.”
https://www.rt.com/news/559608-himars-tochka-ukraine-budanov/
25 Jul, 2022 13:49
Kiev confirms arrival of heavy weapons from Germany
‘Gepard’ anti-aircraft systems and ammunition have been delivered to Ukraine, the country’s defense minister says
Kiev confirms arrival of heavy weapons from Germany
A Gepard anti-aircraft tank fires during a demonstration at a combat exercise on the grounds of the Army Air Defense School on the Baltic Sea. © Christian Hager / picture alliance via Getty Images
Ukraine has received its first shipment of German ‘Gepard’ anti-aircraft systems, as well as thousands of rounds of suitable ammunition, according to a statement made by Defense Minister Aleksey Reznikov on Monday.
“We are waiting for the first 15 Gepards. Three have arrived in Ukraine today. They are already at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Reznikov said on national television. “These are anti-aircraft systems, for which tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition have been transferred to us.”
Germany had previously promised to deliver at least 30 ‘Gepard’ air-defense tanks to Ukraine. The first shipment of 15 tanks is expected to have arrived before the end of this month, while another 15 are to be delivered in August.
Monday’s delivery marks the second time Germany has handed over heavy weapons to Ukraine after it transferred seven Panzerhaubitze (PzH) 2000 self-propelled armored howitzers along with other military hardware back in mid-June.
So far, Berlin has supplied the Ukrainian Armed Forces with 3,000 Panzerfaust 3 man-portable anti-tank rocket launchers, 14,900 anti-tank mines, 500 US-designed Stingers, and 2,700 Soviet-designed Strela man-portable anti-aircraft missiles. On top of that, 100 MG3 machine guns, 50 bunker-busting rockets for launchers, 21.8 million rounds of ammunition for light weapons, and 100,000 hand grenades have also been delivered, among other items.
Despite Berlin consistently providing Kiev with assorted weaponry since the beginning of Russia’s military operation in February, however, some Ukrainian officials have continued to criticize the German government for lagging behind the US and the UK in terms of arms deliveries.
Meanwhile,German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht has insisted that Berlin can’t “give away much more,” and that it would not send Kiev weapons at the expense of its own defense capabilities.
Russia has repeatedly warned the West against sending weapons to Kiev, saying this would only prolong the conflict, increase the number of casualties, and result in long-term consequences.
Moscow sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state. The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian president Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”
In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.
https://www.rt.com/news/559605-ukraine-germany-gepard-delivery/
25 Jul, 2022 14:49
Russia’s Gazprom to stop another turbine in major gas project
Natural gas supply via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will reportedly be reduced to 20% capacity
Russian energy major Gazprom will stop the operation of another Siemens turbine, the company announced on Monday. The supply through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will not exceed 33 million cubic meters per day starting July 27, business daily Kommersant has reported. That would correspond to 20% of the pipeline's capacity.
Gazprom says the decision to switch off the turbine was made based on its technical condition and the fact that it’s due for an overhaul.
According to an earlier report by Kommersant,several of the nine turbines at the Portovaya compressor station are in need of repair. The paper notes that Gazprom has not yet authorised further repairs, and that one turbine took about three months to overhaul. The current licensing agreement allows Siemens Energy to accept five more turbines for repair before the end of 2024.
This follows a dispute between Russia, Canada and Germany over a Siemens turbine that had been sent to Montreal for repairs and was not returned on time due to Ottawa’s sanctions against Moscow. Gazprom cited the delay as the reason for a 60% reduction in gas flow to Germany last month. Canada eventually sent the part to Germany, where it is currently awaiting shipment to Russia. Gazprom said earlier on Monday that the paperwork it had received from Canada and Siemens regarding the shipment of the turbine did not clear up sanctions-related questions.
Last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz suggested that Berlin could no longer rely on Moscow when it came to gas supplies and said he wasn’t convinced by Russia’s statements that the repaired Siemens turbine that had been delayed was necessary for the full functioning of the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Moscow rejected the claim on Monday, with the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov saying that a decrease in the volume of supplies was due to technical problems resulting from Western sanctions.
https://www.rt.com/business/559618-gazprom-nord-stream-turbine/
25 Jul, 2022 07:58
Russia reveals Western attempts to censor photo-ops
There’s an “obsession” over those images in the US and EU, the Russian FM says
Western countries have tried to bar Arab officials from photo opportunities with Russian counterparts, the Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during a visit to Egypt on Sunday.
Lavrov revealed that before heading to Cairo he was shown a document from the Arab League, which has its HQ in the Egyptian capital, speaking about “an initiative … by a group of ambassadors from the US, France, Germany, the UK and a representative of the EU.”
“It demanded our Arab friends, firstly condemn, secondly, reject certain actions by Russia. And this initiative especially stressed that they shouldn’t sign any documents with us and take pictures with us,” the Russian FM pointed out after talks with his Egyptian colleague, Sameh Shoukry.
He also recalled how German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock recently described a photo of Turkish Presidet Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his Russian and Iranian counterparts Vladimir Putin and Ebrahim Raisi as a “challenge.” Baerbock added that such an image was “incomprehensible” to her.
“They have an obsession with those photos,” Lavrov said of the West. “This is not an issue from the sphere of diplomacy; it’s a different branch of studying the human nature,” he added.
Later in the day, the Russian FM met with the Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit, telling photographers: “Guys, I’ve heard you shouldn’t take pictures of me.”
The remark prompted laughter in the room, according to Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, who shared the moment on her Telegram channel.
Zakharova advised the photographers to send their pictures straight to the US State Department, which she said is especially concerned that Moscow could use the images for propaganda purposes. “They may use them themselves,” she added.
(this is funny because there are hardly any pics of Bidan with leaders, that they are smiling and shaking his hand, they are just jealous. It also means the EU, US propaganda is not working)
https://www.rt.com/news/559586-lavrov-photos-egypt-west/
25 Jul, 2022 06:04
Ukrainian plot to hijack Russian warplanes exposed by Moscow
According to information shared with RT, Kiev’s spies offered Russian pilots money and EU citizenship as a reward
Russian intelligence has claimed that it foiled a sophisticated plot from Ukrainian spies to hijack several military jets. A security official official and a pilot, who is said to have been targeted by Kiev's agents, have shared details of the operation with RT.
Russia's Federal Security Service (the FSB) has sensationally added that a leading figure from the US-government funded investigative organization Bellingcat – which presents itself as a journalistic grouping – was also involved in the scheme, which it believes was "supervised by NATO intelligence agencies." The FSB specifically pointed the finger at British operatives.
It explained that Russian pilots were promised passports from EU members states, and substantial cash rewards in order to participate in the plot.
Early in the ongoing conflict, the Ukrainians compiled a list of Russian military hardware, using publicly available information. They promised monetary rewards for potential defectors who managed to bring the equipment with them. The more elaborate the weapons were, the better the rewards that were promised, with warplanes, helicopters and tanks fetching the top payment of up to $1 million.
When the public call for defectors fell flat, Ukraine’s security service targeted individual Russian servicemen – pilots in particular – directly. They apparently traced and identified the airmen through the digital trail they left online, an operative with the Russian Security Service (the FSB) told RT TV reporter Maria Finoshina. Kiev appeared to be specifically interested in Russian Su-34 fighter-bombers and Tu-22M3 strategic aircraft, according to the source.
A Su-34 pilot targeted in the plot told RT that he was initially reluctant to speak with the Ukrainian spies, believing the promise of $1 million for stealing warplanes and defecting to Kiev to be a prank. After realizing his interlocutors were serious about the proposal, he tipped off Russian intelligence, which then monitored subsequent conversations.
“Initially, of course, I took it as a joke, but after a period of talking it became clear that I was dealing with representatives of the Ukrainian intelligence service and their Western partners,” the pilot said. “Also, I was supposed to get passports of European states and a comfortable life abroad was promised.”
Kiev's intelligence operatives apparently believed the Russian pilots who they contacted were ready to commit treason and hijack their own warplanes, putting them in touch with a Ukrainian pilot to discuss technical details.
“They believed so much in the possibility of organizing the hijacking that they revealed the layout of their defense systems, altitude maps, and lots of other useful information to us,” the Russian airman said, adding that the information obtained from the Ukrainians was used during the military operation.
To prove that the pilots were actually able to pull off the hijacking and had access to the specific warplanes, Ukrainian intelligence demanded video proof from them. The pilots were paid between $4,000 and $7,000 per video, which showed them getting into the planes while holding pieces of paper with specific numbers.
Since most financial transactions between Russia and foreign countries has been heavily restricted under Western sanctions, the pilots were to be paid in cash through an elaborate network of couriers. The FSB says it has detained the man who had allegedly hired the couriers to deliver the money, and the suspect made a rather unexpected revelation.
The middleman claimed he had received orders directly from Christo Grozev, the Bulgarian ‘lead Russia investigator’ with Bellingcat, a controversial Western state-funded organization that was labeled “undesirable” in Russia earlier in July. Moscow has repeatedly questioned the independence of the investigative group, citing its close ties with intelligence agencies.
“Grozev… did not actually explain anything to me, he just told me the name of the courier who would deliver the money by train,” the suspect claimed.
The alleged involvement of Grozev is not the only suggestion of Western influence in hijacking the planes. During the negotiations with the pilots, Ukrainian intelligence was able to procure two legitimate EU passports – one Slovakian and one Romanian – for wives of the pilots, as a guarantee for the would-be ‘defectors’.
Leaving Russia with such documents would have immediately turned the pilots’ families into “hostages” of Ukrainian intelligence, the FSB operative told RT, as “methods of blackmail, threats and pressure on relatives” have long been standard practice for them….
https://www.rt.com/russia/559528-fsb-ukraine-spies-hijack-warplanes/
The body of a minibus driver killed in a shelling in Donetsk, the capital of the People's Republic of Donetsk. © Sputnik / Sergey Averin
25 Jul, 2022 09:47
Russia accuses Ukrainian troops of war crimes
Charges have already been filed against 92 commanders and soldiers, the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee says
Preliminary probes have found that more than 200 members of the Ukrainian military have been involved in “crimes against the peace and security of mankind,” the head of Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Monday.
A total of 92 commanders and subordinates have already been charged with the offenses, he revealed.
More than 1,300 criminal cases, involving over 400 individuals, have been launched over violations committed by the Ukrainian side since the start of Russia’s military operation on February 24, Alexander Bastrykin told newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
According to the Investigative Committee chief, it had already been established that more than 220 suspects, “including representatives of the high command of the Ukrainian Armed Forcesand commanders of military units which fired at civilians, had been involved in crimes against the peace and security of mankind, which don’t have a statute of limitations.”
Charges have been filed against 92 Ukrainian commanders and subordinates to date, with 96 suspects being placed on the wanted list, he added.
“There can be no justification for the use of force by the Ukrainian nationalists,” Bastrykin insisted. “They are intensively shelling the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. They brutally and cynically target peaceful citizens, civilian infrastructure, including children’s institutions.”
He also accused the Ukrainian forces of having struck their own territory “in order to blame the Russian military for this.”
During the conflict, Moscow has insisted that its troops never target civilians, only striking Ukrainian forces and military infrastructure.
More than 7,000 civilian facilities have been destroyed in attacks by the Ukrainian side, including homes, schools and kindergartens, with over 91,000 people being designated as victims, the Investigative Committee chief said.
Сriminal cases have also been launched against citizens of the UK, the US, Canada, Georgia and the Netherlands for their involvement in the conflict as mercenaries, while Ukrainian nationalist units have been accused of torturing Russian POWs, attacking Russian embassy
“It’s paramount to keep objectively informing the international community about what has been happening [in Ukraine] in recent months,” Bastrykin insisted.
https://www.rt.com/russia/559591-ukraine-crimes-bastrykin-shelling/
24 Jul, 2022 08:33
China’s domestic Boeing rival nearly ready
The C919 jet is awaiting certification after passing tests
China’s C919 narrow-body jet, the country’s first domestically designed commercial passenger aircraft, is nearing certification, having successfully passed test-flight tasks, state-owned manufacturer Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC) said on its official social media account on Saturday, as cited by Reuters.
According to the manufacturer, six test planes successfully finished their tasks and the aircraft is now ready to receive a flight certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, which is necessary for commercial operations.
Beijing launched the C919 aircraft program back in 2008, but it faced a flood of regulatory and technical setbacks, including US export controls. While the plane is assembled in China, the C919 relies on Western components, such as flight controls and jet engines. Production started in 2011, and the first prototype was ready in 2015.
The first C919 is expected to be delivered to state-owned China Eastern Airlines in August. The airline placed an order for five C919 jets back in March 2021.
The C919 was designed to rival Europe’s Airbus 320neo and the US Boeing 737 MAX planes. However, this may prove difficult, as Airbus has a strong presence in the country (142 planes were delivered to Chinese companies in 2021 alone), and the Boeing 737 MAX was cleared to operate in China again earlier this year after two fatal crashes grounded the plane in 2019. At least 100 MAX planes are expected to be delivered to Chinese
cahttps://www.rt.com/business/559542-china-first-passenger-plane-tests/rriers this year.
(POTUS said at the Student Summit that China took their brand new apaches at Bagram and is stealing all the technology we had. He also said China can produce them at a much cheaper price)