19 Apr, 2023 10:57

Sabotage thwarted in Crimea – FSB

A dual Russian-Ukrainian citizen has been arrested for planning to blow up a power system facility in Kerch

The Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced the arrest of a Russian-Ukrainian citizen in the city of Kerch in Russia’s Crimea on suspicion of intending to plant an explosive device at a power system facility.

The 52-year-old man, whose name has not been disclosed, has been accused of illegal acquisition and possession of an explosive device and intent to carry out an act of sabotage. He now faces 20 years to life in prison.

According to an FSB press release, authorities discovered an improvised explosive device (IED) when searching the man’s apartment and found correspondence with representatives of the special services of Ukraine on his mobile phone. The security service claimed that Ukrainian operatives were coordinating the suspect's activities.

A video shared by the FSB from the man’s phone appears to show him filming some sort of energy facility and explaining in Ukrainian what he sees to his handlers in Kiev.

Last month, a 45-year-old Ukrainian citizen in Moscow Region was arrested on suspicion of setting fire to railway equipment. The man, who stands accused of sabotage, is believed to have been acting as part of an organized group and faces up to 20 years behind bars if convicted.

Meanwhile, FSB director Alexander Bortnikov warned last week that Western and Ukrainian intelligence services had launched an “aggressive brainwashing and recruitment [campaign]” in an attempt to involve Russian youths in sabotage, extremist activities, and terrorist attacks against their own country.

According to Bortnikov, since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, security services have prevented some118 terrorist attacksin the country, many of which were beingprepared by young people and minors.

The FSB director also pointed to “a serious threat” stemming from attempts by some students who are influenced by various “destructive subcultures” to lay the groundwork forattacks on Russian schools and other educational institutions. “Some of [these subcultures] are coordinated from Ukrainian territory,” he added, according to the statement.

In late February, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the West had “never hesitated to use both radicals and extremists for their own interests.” “They always use against us whatever is at hand,” he said at the time.

https://www.rt.com/russia/574997-fsb-crimea-sabotage-arrest/

19 Apr, 2023 08:37

No ‘magic wand’ for Ukraine – UK

It is unlikely that the conflict with Russia will end this year, the British defense secretary has said

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine will likely continue into next year, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said on Tuesday.

“I’m optimistic that between this year and next year, I think Ukraine will continue to have the momentum with it and a position of strength,”Wallace told reporters during a trip to Washington, DC, as quoted by the New York Times.

Wallace warned, however, that “there is not going to be asingle magic-wand moment when Russia collapses.”

The UK has been one of Kiev’s main backers, supplying the country with heavy weapons, including Challenger 2 tanks. Britain has trained 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers, according to the Defence Ministry, and pledged to train 20,000 more this year.

For the past several months, Kiev has been outspoken about its planned counteroffensive, but has not publicly revealed the timetable. Ukrainian officials have said, however, that the schedule and success of the endeavor will heavily depend on the supply of Western tanks and other equipment.

Aleksey Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told AP on Monday that the push will start at an appropriate time when the country is ready. Prime Minister Denis Shmigal recently said that the offensive will start “in the nearest future.” Shmigal stated that the recent leaking of the Pentagon files, which included reports about how Western countries were training and equipping Ukrainian troops, will not change the plans for the counteroffensive. However, a source close to President Vladimir Zelensky told CNN that Kiev had altered some of its plans because of the leak.

Some Western leaders, including NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, warned that the conflict, which broke out in February 2022, could last for years. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Washington is determined to support Kiev “for as long as it takes.”

The Kremlin said this month that the Russian military has been “meticulously monitoring”information regarding Ukraine’s plans. Moscow has also repeatedly stated that countries which send weapons to Kiev become de facto parties to the conflict.

(What a weird statement “when Russia collapses”, considering every EU country involved is collapsing in every way. The not only want Russia to lose, they want to destroy the country. Sick people.)

https://www.rt.com/news/574987-ben-wallace-ukraine-assessment/

Remember the big brouhaha when Russia took over as the head of the UN security council for one month, that Russia would destroy it, etc. Haven’t heard a peep since that time.

19 Apr, 2023 09:04

Ukraine recalls envoy to Belarus

The move comes after President Alexander Lukashenko met with the head of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic

Ukraine has recalled its ambassador to Belarus for “consultations” in protest at a meeting between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and the acting head of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin.

The move to recall envoy Igor Kizim was announced by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday. Kiev condemned the meeting between Lukashenko and Pushilin, describing it as another “flagrant unfriendly act” by Minsk and “an attempt to legitimize this representative of the Russian occupation administration in Donetsk.”

The ministry called on Belarus to “refrain from such destructive steps” and to cease support for Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Lukashenko welcomed Pushilin to the Belarusian capital on Tuesday, in what was their first official meeting since the DPR became part of Russia in September along with the Lugansk People’s Republic and Kherson and Zaporozhye Regions.

The Belarusian president offered to help restoration efforts in the DPR, which has seen some of the heaviest fighting throughout the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The Ukrainian military has repeatedly shelled the region since 2014, when the DPR rejected Kiev’s rule following the Western-backed Maidan coup. Residential parts of the regional capital Donetsk have been among the areas hit, often resulting in civilian casualties.

“There is a lot of work ahead,” Lukashenko said during the meeting, according to the BelTa news agency. “Industrial enterprises and agriculture need to be revived. In the end, people will live there.This is 100%. And these people will need to be fed. Therefore, we are ready to provide all the necessary assistance so that people, who are not strangers to us,finally stop suffering.”

Belarus has long been a close ally of Russia but has not directly participated in Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. However, the two countries created a joint military grouping on Belarusian territory last autumn to address perceived threats from the West. Lukashenko has accused Western nations of being eager to drag Belarus into the Ukrainian conflict in order to extend the front line and stretch the resources of Russian forces.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced last month that Moscow intends to place tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus as early as this summer, after the UK disclosed plans to supply Kiev with depleted uranium munitions. Minsk had repeatedly called on Russia to deploy nuclear weapons on Belarusian soil, citing the perceived threat posed by US nuclear weapons deployed in neighboring countries.

https://www.rt.com/russia/574988-kiev-recalls-belarus-ambassador/

19 Apr, 2023 05:09

North Korea touts new spy satellite

Pyongyang says it will be ready for launch by the end of the month

North Korea says it has completed work on its first reconnaissance satellite and is preparing for its maiden launch, stressing the need to bolster its military capabilities amid continued threats from the US and South Korea.

After visiting the country’s space development agency one day prior, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un unveiled the new military satellite on Tuesday, saying the tech would enhance Pyongyang’s “war deterrence” given Washington and Seoul’s “anti-DPRK military posture.”

“Under these circumstances, it is only natural for our state to develop military deterrence commensurate with the current… security environment, and acquiring and operating military reconnaissance means is essential in enhancing our military effectiveness,” Kim said, as cited by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

The leader said successfully launching the spy satellite – which he simply dubbed “military reconnaissance satellite No. 1”– is currently the “most crucial primary task” for the military, noting that its first voyage into space is scheduled for later this month.

Last December, Kim said North Korea had carried out an “important final-stage” test for putting a recon satellite into orbit, suggesting the military has made gradual progress on the new technology.

Pyongyang has carried out a flurry of weapons tests over the last year in response to joint US-South Korean military drills, which it considers rehearsal for an invasion, and touted several new weapons in recent months. In March, the DPRK showed off an underwater drone which it said was capable of producing “radioactive tsunamis,” while last week it claimed to have successfully tested its new Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Washington and Seoul have repeatedly condemned the North’s weapons tests, but have refused to scale back military operations around the Korean Peninsula, insisting the live-fire war drills are purely defensive in nature.

https://www.rt.com/news/574973-north-korea-spy-satellite/

19 Apr, 2023 01:11

The US seeks to enlist an old communist foe against China

Will Vietnam, having suffered immensely at American hands decades ago, tilt towards Washington?

By Timur Fomenko, a political analyst

Shunned and shut out from China, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently visited Hanoi, Vietnam. Here, the US is courtinga country which it once bombed with millions of tons of napalm, leading to a wholesale loss of innocent lives. Now, of course, its tune has changed in a bid to shore up its ‘Indo-Pacific strategy’ and contain the rise of Beijing.

The situation may seem favorable to the US, given that Vietnam is located right on China’s periphery, leading to struggles of independence against its much larger neighbor. Additionally, despite also being a communist country, it has a contentious relationship with Beijing owing toterritorial disputes over the South China Sea.

Seemingly, as a country with also a very large population, and a cheaper labor force, Vietnam could be in a position to offer a partial economic alternative to China as well. But is it that easy? Can Washington lure Hanoi in as a partner in an anti-Beijing axis?Don’t count on it.As much as Vietnam is open to building partnerships with various countries to sustain its own strategic independence, it is nonethelessunder no illusionsabout the true intentions of the US, and the myriad of risks which growing closer to Washington will bring. The concern is not just because of China’s possible reaction, but also because of the actions of America itself, which will always beVietnam’s least appropriate ‘friend’ in modern times.

The US sees Vietnam as a strategic counterweight to China, but to what extent can America’s tolerance and patience for Vietnam, a communist country, feasibly last? Partnership with the US will bring the long-term expectation thatVietnam ought to ‘evolve’ to mirror America’s political values and vision, in a vein to expectations the US formerly held towards China. Vietnam is a smaller communist country (at least by Asian standards), and the US will ultimately strive to gain political and economic hegemony over it, and if Hanoi does not conform to Washington’s political preferences, the latter will seek to coerce it.

It is worth noting that presently, US media and politicians are not interested in the issue of ‘human rights’ or ‘freedoms’ in the country, despite Vietnam being сommunist. Vietnamese dissidents are not platformed in the US, or if they are, don’t get nearly as much attention as those of China or North Korea. Despite Vietnam and China having similar systems, as well as the former having become increasingly authoritarian in a way mirroring Xi Jinping’s centralization of power in China, this is being ignored for geopolitical reasons. So, the Western public doesn’t have a problem with Vietnam now, but the moment the US government decides to create critical narratives of Hanoi, public opinion of the country will instantly be transformed and Vietnam will be characterized as a brutal, inhumane, communist regime.

For now, Vietnam’s industries are only at the low end of manufacturing, providing the cheapest of goods. What happens if one day Hanoi creates technologies which challenge US brands and high-end firms? All of a sudden, you’ll also hear rhetoric about how certain products and goods from Vietnam constitute a “national security threat” and should be blacklisted. Under no circumstanceswill the US tolerate a developed Vietnamesecommunist state, just as it now doesn’t tolerate China. In the long run, the US still continues to pose an ideological, strategic and military threat to Vietnam, through its attempts to militarize Asia and contain China. Along these same lines, what happens to Taiwan if China falls?

While Vietnam recognizes China as a historical challenge, one deemed to infringe on its sovereignty, at the same time, Beijing is still an important partner to hedge against domination by the US and its allies. When it comes to territorial claims in the sea, China is indeed a challenge to Vietnam. However, Beijing is not a challenger to the legitimacy or affairs of Hanoi’s communist regime, which Mao helped bring to power. In this case, China acts as an ideological guarantee against the US, and it is unwise for Hanoi to encourage Washington in its crusade against Beijing, even if it can reap some benefits from it. This is why Vietnam’s leadership, even against its own public opinion, pursues partnership and pragmatism with China, and will continue to do so.

https://www.rt.com/news/574945-us-washington-vietnam-china/

I guess only some communist countries are the US’s friends as long as they can be used against the powerful communist countries. This article is right, getting into bed with the likes of incompetent Bidan and Blinken does not bode well.

19 Apr, 2023 14:43

Russia responds to seizure of state property in Finland

A cultural center and diplomats’ apartments were targeted, Moscow’s embassy in Helsinki has said

The Russian Embassy in Finland has demanded an explanation after restrictions were placed on Russian state property in Helsinki.

“A demand has been lodged to the Finnish Foreign Ministry to explain how the actions of the bailiffs are compatible with thenorms of international law about the immunityof the property of a (foreign) state,” the embassy said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to Russian officials, the Finnish authorities cited EU sanctions when they imposed restrictions on the Russian Science and Culture Center building, the surrounding plot of land, and the apartments of diplomats who work there.

The Helsingin Sanomat newspaper reported on Tuesday that Finland’sdebt recovery agencyplaced temporary restrictions on the Russian building a week ago at the request of the Finnish Foreign Ministry. Officials now have three weeks to determine if the property can be linked to blacklisted individuals or entities. The injunction forbids the owner from making deals involving the real estate.

The newspaper added that the seven apartments in question areowned by Rossotrudnichestvo, a Russian federal agency for foreign cooperation which was blacklisted by the EU last year.

Last month, the Finnish authoritiesfroze theRussian Science and Culture Center’s account at national bank Nordea, TV channel YLE said.

The EU, together with the US and Britain, has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine. The Kremlin has argued that the sanctions are illegal, while the Russian Foreign Ministry has likened the freezing of assets abroad totheft.

https://www.rt.com/russia/575008-finalnd-arrests-russian-property/

Finland previously always worked well with Russia, they had friendly relations until US got involved

>>18720111

Rossotrudnichestvo

Wiki’s description:

Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian CooperationWatch. The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation commonly known as Rossotrudnichestvo, is an autonomous Russian federal government agency under the jurisdiction of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[1] It is primarily responsible for administeringcivilian foreign aid and cultural exchange. Rossotrudnichestvo operates in Central Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe (but mostly in the Commonwealth of Independent States).

The Federal agency was created from its predecessor agency by Presidential decree, signed by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on 6 September 2008, with the aim of maintaining Russia's influence in the Commonwealth of Independent States, and to foster friendly ties for the advancement of Russia's political and economic interests in foreign states.[2]

According to OECD estimates, 2019 official development assistance from Russia increased to US$1.2 billion.[3]

Rossotrudnichestvo was assessed by expert observers[notes 1] to be organising andorchestratingsynchronous pro-Russian publicrallies, demonstrations, and vehicle convoys across Europe in April 2022 in support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Demonstrations were held simultaneously in Dublin (Ireland), Berlin, Hanover, Frankfurt (Germany), Limassol (Cyprus), and Athens (Greece).[4]. (Rallies are illegal now, KEK!)

Sanctions

In July 2022 the EU imposed sanctions on Rossotrudnichestvo in relation to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine

Russia’s description:

Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation

Eleonora Mitrofanova

Head of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation

Section:

Federal Services and Agencies

Site:

http://rs.gov.ru/en

Description

The Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) is a federal executive body responsible for rendering state services and managing state property to support and develop international relations between the Russian Federation and the member-states of the Commonwealth of Independent States and other foreign countries, as well as in the sphere of international humanitarian cooperation.

http://government.ru/en/department/93/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Agency_for_the_Commonwealth_of_Independent_States_Affairs,_Compatriots_Living_Abroad,_and_International_Humanitarian_Cooperation

>>18720118

No

>>18720163

His education didn’t pay off, dumb rocks cannot learn anything

>>18720210

More betrayal by Bidan they wanted to ultimately blame everything on Trump and they did. We need a public trial and execution for all in that admin

>>18720261

Mayorkas always says the same thing, “you are misconstruing what happened!” His smug look is sickening. He has been nailed by various committees, impeach him already!

19 Apr, 2023 14:33

US military industry struggling to meet Ukraine demand – WSJ

A shortage of rocket motors is interrupting the supply of missiles to Kiev

American arms manufacturers are struggling to obtain enoughrocket motorsto build missiles for Ukrainian forces, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. With multiple contractors relying on asingle supplier, production targets have already been pushed back.

In a quarterly earnings report released on Tuesday, Lockheed Martin said that although its overall sales rose from a year earlier, sales of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) fell due to a “lower volume” leaving its factories.

GMLRS projectiles are artillery rockets, and are fired from Lockheed Martin’s M142 HIMARS platform. According to the most recent Pentagon figures, theUS has given Ukraine 38 HIMARS platforms, and while the Defense Department does not disclose how many GMLRS projectiles have been sent to Kiev, a Reuters investigation put the figure at over5,000 last November, more than the 4,600 Lockheed Martin can make in a year.

A shortage of rocket motors has hindered the company’s efforts to boost production, the Wall Street Journal reported. Othermissile makers like Raytheon Technologieshave also been affected, the newspaper’s source said.

Lockheed Martin also uses solid-fuel rocket motors in itsJavelin anti-tank missiles, of which more than8,500 have been sentto Ukraine over the last year. During a visit by President Joe Biden to the company’s Javelin manufacturing facility in Alabama last May, CEO Jim Taiclet vowed to double production of the shoulder-fired missiles by 2024. However, the company and the Pentagon told the Wall Street Journal that the date has since beenpushed back to 2026.

“We thought we could get there earlier,”Lockheed Martin’s Chief Financial Officer, Jay Malave, told the paper.

US missile makers like Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies source their rocket motors from asingle supplier, Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings. However, although the Pentagon awarded Aerojet a $216 million contract last week to boost production, it said it was still recovering from afire at one of its factorieslast year, while thesale of the company to aerospace giant L3Harris Technologiesis still being scrutinized by antitrust authorities.

While rocket artillery and guided missile production are apparently hindered, Ukraine is also grappling with ashortage of conventional artillery rounds. Leaked Pentagon documentsrecently suggested that the shortfall is delaying a planned spring offensive by Kiev’s forces, while the US is reportedly looking to its allies to replenish its depleted stockpiles.

Russia has repeatedly warned that the influx of Western weapons will only prolong the conflict in Ukraine. The West’s involvement “is rising gradually,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier this month, adding that the West’s support for Kiev “cannot influence the final outcome of the special operation.”

https://www.rt.com/news/575004-lockheed-martin-shortage-ukraine/

>>18720265

Is that what I think it is? I thought it was larger, but the guy sure seems to be trying to get our of sight fast.

>>18720519

Good for him. Someone should do to RNC, Ronna is a fucking pain

>>18720471

I’ve never been that impressed with him

>>18720435

Now no one wants to work. I hear it from lots of employers. It made everyone paranoid. Bidan admin is stupid and evil