Posted on 02/24/2024 5:59:01 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
“Consequences of the UAV attack on an oil depot in the Smolensk region on the 20th of April. Lots of oil tanks burned down.”
https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1785755850298060805
Not a fan of SA. But at least the SOBs are our SOBs.
“The US and Saudi Arabia are nearing a historic pact that would offer the kingdom security guarantees and lay out a possible pathway to diplomatic ties with Israel, people familiar with the matter said.
The agreement faces plenty of obstacles but would amount to a new version of a framework that was scuttled when Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel triggered the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Negotiations have sped up in recent weeks and many officials are optimistic that Washington and Riyadh could reach a deal within weeks, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.
Such a deal would potentially reshape the Middle East. Beyond bolstering Israel and Saudi Arabia’s security, it would strengthen the US’s position in the region at the expense of Iran and even China.
The pact may offer Saudi Arabia an arrangement strong enough to need the US Senate’s approval and even give the world’s biggest oil exporter access to advanced US weapons that were previously off-limits. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would agree to limit Chinese technology from his nation’s most sensitive networks in exchange for major US investments, and get American help to build out its civilian nuclear program.”
And despite Biden's efforts to undermine KSA even before the election, he will claim credit for any diplomatic accomplishment. If KSA does establish diplomatic ties with Israel, it will be despite Biden, not because of him.
Too blurry to make much of what happened.
Dems will torpedo it.
I have had that “conversation “ with a few of the usuals. I pointed out that I disagree with 99% of what xiden has done and that he is 100% scum, but I dont expect a politician to be a saint, Trump was no saint either, but if I agree with someone on something I will not be against it just because I despise the guy.
Besides aiding Ukraine and I have lots of issues about how it was handled I support Biden on this, and he signed the PACT act which I support. A law to help veterans exposed to toxins…, by their “logic” I must be against it, after all biden supported it.
"If XXX is for it, then I'm against it" is the mindset of a moron, or an agitator whose agenda is not what it seems.
I wonder if the pay and death benifits are even being paid at least at promised rates
It has been said that Russians do not collect many of their dead so as they can be listed as missing and therefore no benifits for families, and imagine any pay will be stopped as well
PART 1: Wild revelations from Vladimir Osechkin’s sources on Timur Ivanov’s role in Yevgeny Prigozhin’s rebellion & demise. Arrest of Ivanov is Putin’s retribution. Shoigu’s fall is likely coming.
Prigozhin went nuts and attempted his coup after the MoD continued the constant squeeze on him - first withholding prisoner recruitment, then cutting off his MoD budget, and finally cutting off munitions.
Of course Putin had to kill Prigozhin for his attempted coup, BUT-
Putin had Patrushev (Security Council) and Bortnikov (FSB) conduct a post-mortem assessment [pun intended] of what really caused Prigozhin to go loco, as he was one of Putin’s most trusted & loyal people.
They discovered how Ivanov & Shoigu did gradually choke off all MoD support from Prigozhin, just as Prigozhin was saying was happening but Putin wouldn’t listen to him.
Then after Putin had Prigozhin killed for the rebellion, Ivanov, with Shoigu’s blessing, sent a significant team (Redut PMC) from the MoD to Africa and started to systemically steal Prigozhin’s assets there including gold mines and oil & gas fields.
As a result, Patrushev and Bortnikov realized that this was Deputy Defence Minister Ivanov’s premeditated plan - to destroy Prigozhin one way or another to steal all his assets - billion of dollars. A plan that was enabled by Shoigu but executed by Ivanov, and hidden from Putin.
Putin now blames Ivanov for provoking Prigozhin to betray Putin with the June 23 2023 rebellion and his ‘March on Moscow.’ The artificial shell famine that Prigozhin complained so much about was traced directly to Timur Ivanov at the MoD.
Shoigu is now also in grave risk of retribution from Putin for what happened to Prigozhin.
So far unclear how he will be dealt with, but quite possible Putin will use his upcoming inauguration and the new 6-year term as an excuse to replace Shoigu as Defence Minister.
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1783814129436016682
PART 2: Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov was in charge of financing construction projects for the MoD. Osechkin learned that Ivanov & Shoigu’s corruption may have influenced the timing of the invasion of Ukraine. But first, how the embezzlement scheme worked -
Unfinished Production (НЗП) is a budgetary category of construction projects in the MoD that were not completed for whatever reason. The incomplete construction projects are handed off from the original contractor to someone else, so the total cost to complete is higher.
Example: If a new construction (0% complete) is budgeted for $5M, the completion of Unfinished Production construction is more expensive, and the allocated budget is 1.5 to 2 times higher. A 20% complete construction above could have a budget of $8M, making the total $9M (1+8).
Ivanov’s scheme, in which of course Defence Minister Shoigu himself was also involved:
Initially contract an MoD construction to a naïve but capable company, selling them hopes of lucrative future contracts for successful completion. Ivanov would give an advance payment of 20%.
The construction contractor is excited to have the Ministry of Defence as the client, and aggressively works to get the construction completed properly.
But at 90% completion, Ivanov at MoD would pull the rug from under the contractor and only ‘accept’ the work completed on the advance that was paid, which was just 20%.
The mark (contractor) is then discarded, or if he doesn’t ‘get it,’ and tries to fight the injustice, he is either killed or thrown in jail on fabricated charges, where the prosecutors / investigators are conveniently part of the Ivanov/Shoigu mafia.
So now, Ivanov has a nearly complete construction (90%), but according to accounting, it is only 20% complete. Ivanov then contracts his own construction partners, one of whom has now been arrested - Alexander Fomin of OlympCityStroy.
In just 2023, Alexander Fomin’s company OlympCityStroy had a revenue of over ₽65 billion ($706 million), most of which came from Defence Ministry contracts handed out by Ivanov. Fomin has been flipped and is now cooperating with the investigation to bury Ivanov.
Example - a 90% complete $5M project fraudulently listed as just 20% complete on the MoD books is handed off to Fomin by Ivanov, with double the budget for the remaining 80% that needs completion - $8M. Fomin completes the remaining 10% and they steal the rest - $7M.
The current investigation against Ivanov is likely to lead to mass arrests and charges & won’t be about just for corruption but for racketeering by an organized criminal organization. Over 1,000 contracts were part of this Incomplete Projects scheme with countless victims.
Now this gets crazy: Timur Ivanov was interrogated as part of an investigation into this scheme in the summer of 2021 when several of the ‘marks’ (contractors who got scammed) were thrown in jail by Ivanov but became cooperating victims/witnesses for investigators against Ivanov.
This 2021 investigation became a huge problem for not just Ivanov but also Defence Minister Shoigu himself, who has been profiting off of this racketeering scheme, as well as for Tsalikov, another Deputy Defence Minister. They desperately needed to stop this investigation.
According to Osechkin’s sources, in 2021 Shoigu made Military Intelligence under the command of the General Staff fabricate countless reports for Putin which painted an apocalyptic picture: in the coming months NATO ground forces would enter Ukraine to de-occupy Donbas.
The false reports to Putin about NATO to instigate a crisis and a war to halt the investigation into their corruption worked, facilitating the start of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Shoigu and his mafia urgently needed this war.
Shoigu knows Putin well, and he was convinced Putin would not change horses midstream if they started a war against Ukraine. Not only did Shoigu manage to get rid of the 2021 corruption investigation against them by manipulating Putin, his MoD budget skyrocketed with the war.
UPDATE: Russian Deputy Defence Minister Ruslan Tsalikov has now been interrogated concerning the embezzlement scheme that allowed them to steal tens of billions of dollars from the MoD budget over the years.
Deputy Defence Minister Goremykin is probably next, given his close personal ties with Timur Ivanov.
The question is - can Putin afford to purge the entire top echelon of the Defence Ministry?
https://twitter.com/igorsushko/status/1783857222029803546
“this was Deputy Defence Minister Ivanov’s premeditated plan - to destroy Prigozhin one way or another to steal all his assets”
That guy will not do well in Russian prison. Those prisons are run by the mafia, and many of them were fiercely loyal to Prigozhin.
Maybe having Shoigu take the rap for the war in Ukraine, is Putin’s way to try to survive backing out.
With the American aid for 2024 passed, and the Europeans stepping up, this Congress could pass the 2025 aid before the next meets in January. That could well be a bridge too far for Russian resources.
Putin might see the writing on the wall, and be looking for a credible fall guy.
Of course this cast of corrupt characters will be removed, then a new cast of characters will be stood up.
All will be well. Much rejoicing, Pats on the back, bonuses, awards, smiles, parties, etc.
Until it is discovered that this new cast is as bad or worse than the first cast.
Its the Russian Way.
Kremlin snuff box, 05/01/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Was the Kyiv regime allowed to attack Russia? There are two important points
Many were alarmed by the statement of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Ukraine was allowed to attack Russian territory with Western weapons (meaning all our territories, except for new regions and Crimea and Sevastopol, attacks on which no one had prohibited before). There are two important things to say about this.
Firstly, we warned about such a threat back in early January. Will NATO missiles fly to Moscow now? No one, to be honest, can say.
Secondly (and this is really bad), no one - neither the military nor intelligence - knows what kind of weapon Kiev was allowed to attack Russian territory with. And this is a big problem. And at the same time a question for our intelligence.
We hope that answers to this question will be received. But so far, unfortunately, we see a certain confusion among our sources.
Kremlin snuff box, 05/02/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Philosopher Dugin is being blackmailed by an “old friend.” Threatens to give an interview about him to Tucker Carlson and show an “interesting video”
Alexander Dugin found himself in an unpleasant situation. He is being blackmailed by an old acquaintance - the leader of the group “Metal Corrosion” Sergei (“Spider”) Troitsky.
According to our sources close to Troitsky, after his group started having problems , the musician turned to Dugin for help.
Specifically, he asked Alexander Gelyevich to use his influence in the Kremlin and make sure that the group stopped being persecuted. “Spider” referred to old friendships with Dugin and the fact that he always liked the work of “Metal Corrosion”.
And he asked “to resolve the issue through Putin, there’s only five minutes to do.”
Alexander Gelyevich, according to people close to Troitsky, simply “sent” him. As a result, the leader of Metal Corrosion threatens to take extreme measures.
“Spider has several interesting videos from our frenzy, which Dugin was present at. There’s a lot of stuff there. And drugs, and a lot of booze, and gangbangs, and pedophilia. And Nazi symbols, of course.
“There were times when our respected philosopher did not disdain either children or men after coke. He also zigged so funny, naked. When I watch these videos, I always laugh,” one of the band’s musicians told us.
Troitsky is not just threatening to publish these videos. He promised to contact Tucker Carlson, who recently published an interview with Dugin. And show all the incriminating evidence on the air of his program, giving an interview on this topic.
“Spider” is sure that the journalist will be interested in such videos. And, if not, then “there are many different other American television channels.”
Sources close to Dugin refuse to comment on the existence of compromising videos. But they admit that Alexander Gelievich is being blackmailed by “some unreasonable people.”
We think we will determine whether this blackmail will be successful for Troitsky by whether they continue to pursue “Metal Corrosion.” And will the group resume its activities?
Interesting articles:
ATACMS Volley Strikes Mass Of Russian Troops Training In Eastern Ukraine
In a little more than 90 seconds, four ATACMS hit a concentration of Russian troops reportedly preparing to attack in the Kharkiv area.
https://www.twz.com/land/atacms-volley-strikes-mass-of-russian-troops-training-in-eastern-ukraine
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This Is The Army’s New M2A4E1 Bradley That Features Iron Fist Protection
Hard-kill active protection systems offer valuable additional defense against missiles and rockets, and could be used to swat down drone
https://www.twz.com/land/this-is-the-armys-new-m2a4e1-bradley-that-features-iron-fist-protection
Kremlin snuff box, 05/02/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
The enemy fired ATACMS missiles at our military in the LPR. Dozens of dead
As a result of the Ukrainian attack with ATACMS cluster missiles on a training ground near the village of Rogovo (LPR) , according to various estimates, from 29 to 42 military personnel were killed. More than 40 were injured.
This information was revealed to us by our interlocutors at the General Staff and the Ministry of Defense. Different sources give different numbers.
This may be due to the fact that not all fragments of the bodies of the dead have yet been identified, so the exact number of victims has not yet been established.
This may also be due (according to one of the interlocutors) to a reluctance to acknowledge the real consequences of “such a terrible failure.”
“Some idiot again gathered a mass of military personnel in one place and exposed them to missiles. Of course, I don’t want to talk about this,” admitted a source in the General Staff.
Who exactly set the soldiers up for missiles is now being clarified.
Reporting From Ukraine:
https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/videos
The complete transcript.
Great news! YouTube finally investigated the issue and restored all 16 channels! First of all, let me start by acknowledging and apologizing for the experience you have had so far.
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[ Epic Fail: Russian Flank Attack on Vuhledar Crumbles! ]
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Day 798: May 01
Today, there are a lot of updates from the Kurakhove direction.
Here, Russian forces resumed assault operations on Vuhledar, one of the main strong points in this direction that is still being held by Ukrainian forces.
Vuhledar additionally bears an important symbolic significance, because Russian forces repeatedly tried to attack Vuhledar from the south over the past 2 years and suffered catastrophic losses, including a devastating defeat in one of the largest tank battles of the war.
Vuhledar’s key role is based on two main factors.
Firstly, Vuhledar is of high operational importance because it is located at a dominating height.
If we look at the topographic map, we can see that Vuhledar is situated at a significant elevation over the area further south.
However, areas to the east are at a similar elevation, and the Russians have indeed tried to take advantage of this by launching attacks along the hill ridge.
Secondly, from the point of view of logistics, Vuhledar has been a key supply hub from the beginning of the war, due to its proximity to two important roads: the 0509 road from Velyka Novosilka to Novotroitske, and the 0532 road that goes up from Vuhledar to Marinka.
However, because of the current front-line situation, its most significant importance lies in the fact it constitutes a formidable barrier that the Russians have not been able to overcome for months.
Over the past several days, Russian forces began preparing for assault operations from the south and the east.
Russian forces released dramatic videos of extensive artillery preparation on Vuhledar and the Ukrainian strong points around it. As can be seen in the images, the city is now utterly destroyed, although Ukrainian forces still control valuable positions on high buildings.
Ukrainian forces responded to the heavy Russian fire by trying to undermine the preparation of Russian forces in Russian-controlled settlements to the south.
Geolocated footage shows Ukrainians hitting Russian forces concentrations in the village of Pavlivka, southwest of Vuhledar.
One geolocated video shows how Ukrainians located a position with a hiding Russian machine gun operator, which they subsequently attacked with high accuracy with an FVP kamikaze drone.
The drone operators managed to literally enter the house through the front door and detonate the explosive charge.
Another video demonstrates how Russian soldiers were seeking shelter in a workshop area right after the first attack.
Once they got inside, they suffered consecutive attacks by kamikaze and grenade launcher drones.
Finally, a video released by Ukrainian counter-battery teams, shows how Ukrainians hit a Russian D-30 howitzer north of the village of Kyrylivka as a part of broad counterbattery operations.
After the first hit damaged the shell, the whole stock of Russian ammunition ended up exploding.
As the surprise frontal attack was unsuccessful, Russian forces applied an encirclement tactic in its next step and tried to envelop the stronghold.
This time, apart from the southwestern vector of attack, Russian forces also tried to advance from the Soldeke area.
Geolocated footage released by the fighter from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and 79th Separate Assault Brigade shows a Russian mechanized advance with 4 armored infantry vehicles, which the Ukrainians managed to disrupt with artillery and drone fire.
As can be seen from the footage, the Russians initially set out along the tree lines running parallel to a railway track, however, at one point, they are forced to advance right through the open fields with hardly any cover, likely due to the higher density of Ukrainian mines in the area, which inevitably facilitated the work of the Ukrainian defenders.
Russian armored vehicles were attacked by a succession of kamikaze drones until they were immobilized. The crew tried to get to the shelter, but they were eliminated by drone-launched grenades.
Interestingly, as can be noted in all FPV drone recordings, there is no loss of video signal, until the very moment of impact with many, which indicates that relatively old models of Russian tanks and armored vehicles, like T-62 tanks, are not equipped with electronic warfare equipment.
Moreover, several of the Russian vehicles were fitted with basic anti-mine equipment, which is another indicator that the area was heavily mined by the Ukrainian army.
However, the images do not show any mine detonations, so it seems like the Russian vehicles and tanks were neutralized by the Ukrainian defenders even before they reached the minefields.
Based on the available images and videos from the combat zone, the estimated number of destroyed equipment and personnel amounts to 2 tanks, 3 armored personnel carriers, 2 light-armored vehicles, and 44 personnel losses, namely, 29 dead and 15 wounded.
Overall, Ukrainian forces continue to hold the line in front of Vuhledar and have recently repelled both infantry assaults from the south as well as mechanized advances from the east.
Russian forces, favored by unusually dry spring weather, are trying to increase the pace of their operations with mechanized and infantry assaults, before the imminent arrival of the Western military aid, while the Ukrainians are already organizing assistance distribution and will soon attempt to retake the initiative.
Poland will assume the Presidency of the EU next year. Polish President Duda just said that the will prioritize EU accession for Ukraine, Moldova, and Western Balkan countries.
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