Posted on 02/24/2024 5:59:01 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
This list only includes destroyed vehicles and equipment of which photo or videographic evidence is available. Therefore, the amount of equipment destroyed is significantly higher than recorded here. Loitering munitions, drones used as unmanned bait, civilian vehicles and derelict equipment are not included in this list. All possible effort has gone into avoiding duplicate entries and discerning the status of equipment between captured or abandoned. Many of the entries listed as 'abandoned' will likely end up captured or destroyed. Similarly, some of the captured equipment might be destroyed if it can't be recovered. When a vehicle is captured and then lost in service with its new owners, it is only added as a loss of the original operator to avoid double listings. When the origin of a piece of equipment can't be established, it's not included in the list. The Soviet flag is used when the equipment in question was produced prior to 1991. This list is constantly updated as additional footage becomes available.
(Excerpt) Read more at oryxspioenkop.com ...
A cargo vessel drawing the attention of European security services, the HAV Dolphin (IMO 9073854), sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, is expected to arrive in the Finnish port city of Vaasa on Thursday morning. German and Dutch authorities suspect the ship may have served as a platform for Russian reconnaissance drones, Finland's Yle reported.
Officials were alerted by the HAV Dolphin's unusual movements. According to The Insider, the ship left Kaliningrad on April 23, headed to Liepaja, Latvia, approached the German port of Kiel on May 1 and anchored there for eight days. It then transited the Kiel Canal into the North Sea, sailed through the English Channel toward Spain, and later returned along the same route.
Such an extended anchorage is unusual for a commercial cargo vessel. During that period, media reported multiple drone sightings near the German Navy's submarine base in Eckernförde. German police boarded the HAV Dolphin, and later Dutch police, the national gendarmerie and customs in Rotterdam also carried out checks but found no suspicious materials. The crew was Russian.
Investigators nevertheless noted that the vessel approached Kiel unusually slowly - behavior they say could point to reconnaissance activity - and anchored in an atypical location. Drones, they added, could be quickly jettisoned overboard.
It seems that the OCD diagnosis is correct.
Since the early days of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian army has depended on volunteers to source many items of basic kit — from uniforms and warm socks to thermal imagers and drones. In recent months, however, even the most driven among those collecting aid for “participants in the special military operation” increasingly speak of disappointment and fatigue. The Russian population is weary of the war, and many are pinning their hopes on a quick truce. In Russia's border regions, the Russian troops are seen as no less of a threat than the Ukrainians, since they place military facilities in residential areas. The Insider spoke with volunteers who, since 2022, have been buying equipment, gear, and other aid for the army.
Back in February 2022, everyone was telling their relatives: “It'll all be over in a week.” And now those same parents tell their children: “If you see our soldiers, cross to the other side of the street.”
An entire ravine was heaped with bottles -– all empty, drained of beer, moonshine, vodka. The smell was like stepping into a giant beer barrel. At the checkpoint stood a soldier. I asked him: “What's going on here?” He replied: “They bring it! Wives bring it to their husbands, mothers to their sons, and when the men come back from leave, they bring alcohol themselves.” Then he added: “This isn't a pile from several days — those were emptied in just a single day.” It was appalling. He said: “We don't know what to do about it.” And the soldiers themselves admit that the heaviest drinking is done among the mobilized and the volunteers. To punish soldiers for drinking, commanders throw them into a pit for a few days. But they still manage to get alcohol and everything else. No one knows how to deal with it. On the one hand, it's clear they just can't take it anymore. On the other, it's what destroys them. They suffocate in their dugouts because they forget to open a vent. They burn alive. All sorts of things happen. A drunk man feels invincible: he steps outside and gets shot. At the front, he endangers himself and others. And when they come to the rear, they completely let themselves go.
On Sunday, a Russian Il-20 surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft approached U.S. airspace. These “visits” have increased following the summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Anchorage.
Fighters from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) intercepted a Russian aircraft in Alaska's Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) for the third time in the past week, ABC reported. According to NORAD, one E-3 Sentry airborne warning and control aircraft, two F-16 fighters and two KC-135 Stratotanker refueling planes were dispatched “to intercept and visually identify” a Russian Il-20 surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft operating inside the Alaska ADIZ.The Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter U.S. or Canadian sovereign air space, NORAD said.
Over the past week, U.S. F-16 fighters scrambled twice (on August 21 and 20) to intercept Russian Il-20 aircraft operating in the Alaska ADIZ. “NORAD employs a layered defense network consisting of satellites, ground-based and airborne radars, and fighter aircraft to detect and track aircraft, and to inform appropriate actions,” the command said in its Sunday statement. U.S. officials said NORAD “remains ready to employ a range of response options to defend North America.”
US President Donald Trump announced a new deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine no later than August 9. Trump stated on July 28 that he is “very disappointed” with Putin and will “reduce” his previously articulated 50-day deadline by which Putin must agree to peace negotiations.[1] Trump stated that he will make a new deadline of roughly “10 to 12 days from today [July 28]” as Putin’s ongoing disinterest in peace negotiations leaves “no reason” for the United States to delay its response.[2] Trump insinuated that he will more formally announce the new deadline on the evening of July 28 or on July 29. Trump’s new deadline would expire between August 7 and 9. Trump previously stated on July 14 that Putin had 50 days (September 2) to conclude a peace agreement with Ukraine or face “severe” 100 percent secondary tariffs on its trade partners.[3]
Kremlin officials continue to frame Russia as in direct geopolitical confrontation with the West in order to generate domestic support for the war in Ukraine and future Russian aggression against NATO. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claimed at a Russian youth forum on July 28 that “Russia is fighting alone against the entire West... for the first time in history” and that Russia “must rely on [itself].”[4] Lavrov claimed that Russia has “no allies on the battlefield,” unlike during the first and second World Wars. Lavrov’s claim that Russia is operating alone in its war in Ukraine ignores the current support that Russia receives from North Korea, Iran, and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). North Korea has sent ballistic missiles, artillery shells, and North Korean troops to support Russia’s war effort against Ukraine, and there are economic and political signs of a growing rapprochement between Russia and North Korea.[5] Iranian Shahed drones have played a key role in Russia‘s air campaigns against Ukrainian cities throughout the war, and Iran’s assistance has allowed Russia to become self-sufficient in producing the Shahed-variants that Russian forces are increasingly leveraging in frontline strikes.[6] Russia largely depends on the PRC for support in Russia’s ongoing sanctions evasion schemes, and Chinese companies provide critical dual-use components and microelectronics for Russian military technology.[7] Strengthening relationships between Russia, Iran, North Korea, and the PRC constitute a growing threat to Western security, and Russia is actively pursuing a global anti-Western alliance. Lavrov’s statements also underscore the Kremlin’s efforts to install an informal state ideology that perpetuates the idea that the West is in an existential conflict with Russia in order to foster unquestioning support of the Russian government.[8]
Lavrov additionally claimed that Russia had “no alternative” to launching its war in Ukraine as Russia needed to protect Russian-language speakers in Ukraine, a routine narrative that Russian officials use to justify Russian aggression against Ukraine.[9] Lavrov claimed that Russia must insist on its “legitimate” demand: “no drawing Ukraine into NATO, no expansion of NATO at all,” and recognition of Russia’s illegal annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson oblasts and Crimea. Lavrov’s statements reinforce the Kremlin’s commitment to its war goals in Ukraine to the Russian public, and specifically Russian youth. The Kremlin has devoted a significant amount of time and energy to generating domestic support for the war, and Russian state and independent polling suggest that most Russians support continuing the war in Ukraine until Russia achieves its war aims of Ukrainian “denazification,” demilitarization, and neutrality.[10] Russian society’s commitment to achieving Russia’s war aims, which the Kremlin has worked hard to foster, will make it much harder for Russian President Vladimir Putin to present any peace agreement that falls far short of his stated aims as a victory to his domestic audience. Putin is unlikely to make any concessions in his war aims unless he is forced to do so by significant Ukrainian battlefield victories, as any negotiated end to the war that does not achieve all of Putin’s objectives would call into question the success, and, potentially, wisdom of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-july-28-2025
Aeroflot CEO Sergei Aleksandrovsky has not changed the password in the corporate system since 2022, that is, since his appointment to his post, claim hackers from the Cyberpartisans BY group, involved in hacking and destroying the carrier’s IT infrastructure. In addition, as it turned out, the airline’s network uses Windows XP and 2003 operating systems, which led to the compromise of the entire infrastructure.
Hackers claim that they destroyed more than 7 thousand servers and workstations in the offices of Sheremetyevo, Melkisarovo and the corresponding data centers. The databases and information systems of CREW, Sabre, Sharepoint, Exchange, KASUD, Sirax, Sophie, CRM, ERP, 1C, security systems and other elements of the Aeroflot corporate network structure were destroyed. Databases, employee wiretaps, mail and much more were downloaded. Leaks are announced. An array of flight history databases has also been downloaded, which can now be used upon request for independent investigations.
Roskomnadzor announced by the evening of July 28 that it did not confirm reports of compromise of personal data of Aeroflot clients or employees. At the same time, based on the materials of the Prosecutor General’s Office’s investigation, a criminal case was opened under Part 4 of Article 272 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (unauthorized access to computer information). The supervisory agency acknowledged the delay and cancellation of flights to Sheremetyevo due to a “failure in the operation of the Aeroflot information system.” The airline itself claims that it is carrying out operational activities despite the failure.
According to data as of the evening of July 28, there were more than 60 paired flights (round trip), including seven on July 29. The remaining 206 flights out of the 260 planned for today are planned for operation. Priority in Aeroflot’s schedule is given to flights to the Far East, Kaliningrad, Sochi, Mineralnye Vody and abroad, including on wide-body aircraft, the Ministry of Transport announced.
https://t.me/rucriminalinfo/3645
A source of the VChK-OGPU reported panic in the ranks of the FSB’s Department “T” in connection with the hacker attack on Aeroflot. The special service employees who supervise transport infrastructure once again found themselves on the front line and were unable to ensure the security of yet another strategic facility. This is not being discussed publicly, but behind the scenes there is talk that this area will once again be subject to a purge, as happened after the blowing up of the Crimean Bridge. Then the deputy minister (an attached employee of the FSB’s Department of Transport) Alexander Sukhanov, the management of the department and many others lost their “cushy” seats.
According to the source, the security of the country’s main airline is the responsibility of the supervising department (Department 5, located at Aeroflot’s “home” airport, Sheremetyevo) and the indecently inflated staff of the apparatus of attached FSB employees. For a long time, generals retired there (you don’t have to go far, at the time of the blowing up of the Crimean Bridge, UT was headed by Gavrilov, a former member of the airline’s board of directors), who had long since lost touch with operational realities, as well as employees who provided security only nominally in reports and certificates, by pull. In fact, individual FSB employees are assigned to change passwords (this vulnerability was noticed by hackers who took responsibility for the Aeroflot attack), information hygiene, updates and the operation of antiviruses, who must keep special logs and monitor the internal infrastructure. But, according to the source, the attitude of the management towards the service is the same for their subordinates.
“Patriarch Kirill has been instructed to organize and conduct religious processions near a number of oil refineries”
Last rites, and funeral in advance.
Funerals are logistically difficult once the refinery is already burning and exploding.
“600,000 new Han Chinese “students” imported by 47”
What did President Trump get in return, for the United States?
Previously, Chinese students came with no reciprocation of any kind. Now they are a trading chip in negotiations.
Chinese students provide our Intelligence services opportunities, as well as the other way around. They are among the cream of the crop for human capital among a billion people. Many would like to flee from life under CCP dictatorship.
What he said was that the first guys who were captured — they were from intelligence — had their eyes gouged out, their lips cut off, their male organs cut off, ears, nose. He is already thinking about returning to the front. But most of all, the man dreams of seeing his 4-year-old daughter now.
https://bsky.app/profile/maks23.bsky.social/post/3lxc4ord7as26
“Ukraine’s ongoing drone campaign targeting Russian refineries has destroyed 13-17% of Russia’s fuel production capacity”
As reported by oil industry analysts, and confirmed by the shortages and export restrictions in Russia, Russia does not have significant idle spare capacity to fall back on. They are running at the edge of their capability.
Conditions are set for a Strategic Campaign against Russia’s Center of Gravity. Non-Russian oil production has ramped up well over 2 million bpd since the Spring, and millions of bpd of spare capacity remain available to replace Russian supplies in the market. New longer range weapons like ERAM and Flamingo missiles are reported to be approaching operation in coming weeks, just as freezing temperatures will be descending on Russia’s oil infrastructure, to magnify secondary destruction.
The clock is ticking for Putin’s war, and Russia’s economy.
https://x.com/front_ukrainian/status/1960396970041995741
The USAF would consider this to be BAI (Battlefield Air Interdiction).
What did President Trump get in return, for the United States?
—
He claimed the money would save 15% of US academic institutions which otherwise would fail.
And that’s all folks.
Just selling off the US bit by bit.
Oh liking to flee means death or worse for their families ... only CCP approved “students” would make the cut. Them working for the US gov is a lark, which family member would they willing to sacrifice?
Only heavily vetted “students” come to the US. They are not just random kids, but children of the elite whose families are either prominent Party members or are well connected to same.
Just future colonizers is what we get, plus lots of CCP money. Art of the deal etc.
Tomorrow (27 August) is the day that additional 25% tariffs go into effect on Indian exports to the USA, to discourage their purchase of Russian blood oil. The United States today (26 Aug) issued a formal “notice of implementation” to New Delhi. Goods currently in shipment have three weeks to arrive, before tariffs begin being collected (standard practice).
Indian purchases of Russian oil have declined. Despite having resumed after an initial (week-long) pause after the punitive tariff announcement, they are at a lower rate. Russia has also had to increase the discount offered by several dollars per barrel, resulting in a significant reduction in revenue from both price and volume.
Looks like India is getting some last minute tankerloads in before they hit the hard payment deadline, but being careful about it, to not poison their eventual deal, which likely needs to be concluded in coming weeks, to prevent a train crash in their exports. They also likely need time to re-direct that massive flow of ships, oil and money.
It is going to take weeks for alternate suppliers to arrange for tankers to sail to load cargoes for India, and weeks more for them to deliver. President Trump may be doing them a big favor by imposing the incentives in time to get them out of the line of fire and safely transitioned to new suppliers, before Russian oil infrastructure gets hit so hard that they can’t deliver.
Indian oil imports from Russia had already declined about 15% since they peaked in April 2025 (around 2.15 MBPD) - the same time that OPEC+ began increasing their production quotas after President Trump’s big deal with the Saudis, Emiratis and Qataris. It seems likely that Indian officials were also informed in advance that this major transition was coming, so they would not be caught flat-footed. Indeed, American officials have been introducing Indian officials to alternative suppliers (like Guyana) over the last several months.
Conditions continue to be set, for a Grand, Strategic, crushing of Russia’s oil revenue. That is likely what it will take to stop Putin’s aggression.
Kyiv Independent (26 Aug):
“Indian refineries are preparing to modestly reduce Russian crude purchases in the coming weeks amid mounting U.S. trade pressure, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 26...
...State-owned and private processors, including energy giant Reliance Industries, plan to trim daily purchases (further) to 1.4-1.6 million barrels from the current 1.8 million barrels, Bloomberg wrote, citing undisclosed industry sources...
...India intends to scale back Russian oil shipments ahead of doubled U.S. tariffs on Indian imports reaching 50%, set to take effect Aug. 27. These tariff measures could prove temporary, as reaching a trade deal between the U.S. and India might ease pressure and restore previous duty rates, sources told Bloomberg.
The Trump administration has publicly criticized New Delhi for the dramatic surge in Russian purchases since 2022.
U.S. officials have targeted India’s refining sector, accusing the country of bankrolling Russian aggression through oil deals.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on India starting Aug. 1, prompting Indian state refineries to quickly halt Russian oil purchases. On Aug. 6, Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% duty on Indian goods, effective Aug. 27, if the country continues buying Moscow’s oil.
This forced Indian refineries to seek alternative supply sources with the U.S., Brazil, and Middle Eastern producers, fearing further U.S. measures before Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
India’s state refiners reportedly resumed Russian oil purchases immediately after the summit.”
“liking to flee means death or worse for their families ... only CCP approved “students” would make the cut. Them working for the US gov is a lark, which family member would they willing to sacrifice?”
Boatloads of Chinese students graduate in the USA each year, and are hired by US tech firms under H1-b visas, and other visa categories, such as O1-A (Aliens with Extraordinary Ability). Many of the Chinese who come to study, are doing so as a way to get out of China for good.
Gott mir uns Russian mir😎
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
