Putin did this!
Latvia reintroduces conscription to deter Russia from invading Europe.
“NATO member Latvia has re-introduced conscription to deter Russia from invading Europe, the country’s foreign minister told The Telegraph.
Compulsory service came into effect at the start of January, just weeks in advance of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine...
...All male citizens aged 18 to 27 will be required to complete a year of service, including those living abroad...
...Earlier this month, Latvia and its Baltic neighbours, fellow Nato members Estonia and Lithuania, agreed a deal to create a “common defence line” along their borders with Russia and Belarus.
Exact details are still being negotiated, but the agreement will see hundreds of bunkers and other defensive installations built along the frontier...
...Latvia had abolished mandatory service in 2006, two years after joining Nato, only to reverse course on that decision last year.
Neighbouring Lithuania reinstated conscription in 2015 after a seven-year hiatus, provoked by Russia’s annexation of Crimea, while the draft has been continuous in Estonia...
...Latvia plans to increase its defence budget to 3 per cent of GDP by 2027, up from 2.4 per cent this year, and has been steadily building out its military capabilities with deals to purchase air defence and rocket systems from Germany and the US, all while supporting Kyiv’s forces with weapons and training.”
Information control in Russia intensifies.
BBC reports: ‘Russia’s Google’ (Yandex) owner pulls out of home country
https://www.msn.com/en-my/news/world/russia-s-google-owner-pulls-out-of-home-country/ar-BB1hPS1g
“Its Dutch-based parent company sold the operation in Russia for 475 billion roubles ($5.2bn; £4.2bn), much lower than its estimated market value.
The sale to a consortium of investors means Yandex’s Russian business is now a fully Russian-owned (i.e, Putin crony) entity .
The firm has previously been accused of hiding information about the war in Ukraine from the Russian public.
Moscow has welcomed the latest deal which the company said was “the product of an extensive period of planning and negotiation over more than 18 months”...
...Set up in the dotcom boom in the late 1990s, Yandex developed its own search engine, mapping and advertising businesses. Other services include taxis and food delivery.
The $5.2bn deal is believed to be significantly lower than Yandex’s market value, which was estimated to be almost $30bn in 2021.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many foreign-owned businesses have exited the country, often selling assets on unfavourable terms.
Russian president Vladimir Putin also ordered the seizure of others, such as assets belonging to Western brands Danone and Carlsberg.
Yandex’s co-founder, Arkady Volozh, is one of very few top Russia-linked businessmen to have publicly spoken out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He left the firm in 2022.
Our Moscovian-loving MSN man in the Kremlin.
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Kremlin snuff box
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Tucker Carlson was banned from asking Vladimir Putin questions on five topics
Two sources in the Kremlin told us about this. We didn’t really want to publish this information, but our interlocutors (by the way, people who always sympathized with Yevgeny Prigozhin, condemned his riot, but were upset when he died) really asked for this information to be made public.
“Carlson gave Dmitry Peskov a list of questions that he wanted to ask Vladimir Vladimirovich during the interview. The list was returned exhausted. In principle, Carlson easily agreed to all the changes.
“He wants to talk with our President and does not want to disrupt his negotiations with Trump,” said one of them.
Carlson, firstly, was forbidden to ask Putin about who really killed Yevgeny Prigozhin. And are the rumors true that Vladimir Vladimirovich wanted to take revenge on Evgeniy Viktorovich [ Prigozhin ]? By the way, this really upset us.
We believe that Russians (and not only us, but also people in other countries) deserve to know who killed such a respected and significant person for our country.
By the way, Tucker Carlson turned out to be a big fan of Prigozhin and Wagner PMC. He even enthusiastically boasted to the FSO officers guarding him about the stripes and other souvenirs that his “musician” acquaintances had given him in Russia. [ So now we know. Can’t help but wonder what his FR troll name is. ]
Secondly, Carlson wanted to ask Putin about the losses of our army during the Northern Military District and why the Ukrainian army constantly attacks our rear, destroys our ships and planes, and we can’t do anything about it.
“Vladimir Vladimirovich would like to talk about victories and prospects for Russia, and not about defeats. This will be better for negotiations with Trump,” explained our source in the Kremlin.
Thirdly, Carlson was asked in advance not to ask the President about what awaits Alexei Navalny, and why the oppositionist was transferred to another colony. Maybe just “go over the top” in this topic.
Fourthly, Vladimir Vladimirovich does not really want to answer questions about LGBT people - neither about the ban on the movement, nor about the gay lobby that exists in our elites (and Tucker Carlson knows very well about it).
The topic can be raised, but in very general terms. By the way, this topic is also not very close to the journalist; his attitude towards LGBT people is known to everyone. But he is doing interviews for an American audience. That is why this question must be raised.
Fifthly, the journalist wanted to ask why those who “failed the war in Ukraine and were unable to provide Russia with a quick victory” were not dismissed.
First of all, Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov.
“I’ll somehow deal with them myself, without the Americans,” Putin said. This is understandable; the President does not want the West to think that not everything is all right with our military leaders. This is fraught with problems for Russia’s security.
At the same time, we do not rule out Carlson circumventing some of the prohibitions. We’ll see in the interview.
General Zaluzhny was just replaced as Commanding General of the Ukrainian Military.
Syrski (previously the Ground Forces Commanding General) is the new CG. Several higher Generals have also been shifted around.
Another month of reports released on the Chinese economy. Deflation is entrenched and accelerating, reducing business profits (or increasing losses).
Manufacturing continued to contract marginally.
Forbes reports that communist China is cracking down on anyone who expresses any negative news or opinion about the ChiCom economy. https://www.forbes.com/sites/williampesek/2024/02/09/chinas-7-trillion-crash-masks-the-really-bad-news/?sh=388c78835359
“Economists are struggling to put China’s epic $7 trillion stock crash in perspective. The best size and scope may be that, since 2021, the market has lost the combined gross domestic product of Japan and France.
And that’s not even the worst news emanating from Asia’s biggest economy. No, the reference here isn’t to Chinese deflation deepening at the fastest pace in decades. Or that “China Evergrande” is trending again. The reference is to the war that Xi Jinping’s inner circle seems to be waging against bad news itself.
In recent week, the state security ministry has reportedly made clear Beijing is on the lookout for those disseminating negative views on China’s economic and market prospects...
...More recently, Xi resurrected the “Article 23” stunt the Communist Party has been trying to impose on Hong Kong for two decades now...
...The law centers on five offences: treason, insurrection, espionage, destructive activities endangering national security, and external interference. What constitutes each infraction is an open question, and maddeningly so if you work for a foreign investment bank, news outlet, consulting company or internet platform...
...In recent weeks, commentaries by prominent economists and journalists have been scrubbed from cyberspace...
...The Xi era has made press censorship great again, while opacity has increased in financial circles.”
Nvidia is now worth as much as the whole Hong Kong (Hang Seng) stock market ($1.7 Trillion).
Went back to ‘War in Ukraine’ for a commentary on the switch of generals.
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Zelenski & Zaluzhnyi:
The Ukrainian, who runs ‘War in Ukraine’, said that Zelenski wanted someone controllable, a puppet, a yes man, and Zaluzhnyi is not controllable.
Zaluzhnyi is not political, but his popularity is threatening Zelenski, whose popularity is falling, making Zaluzhnyi an existential threat in Zelenski’s mind. Worse, Zelenski’s term is up in March, and he would not be able to appoint anyone then.
[ In effect, Zelenski is now running the war, not the military. This is a recipe for disaster. ]
Next, Zelenski gave Zaluzhnyi a hero medal to say ‘go away and be quiet’, but Zelenski then had his puppet Attorney General open a couple of criminal cases against Zaluzhnyi.
One of the cases brought is for treason, and another being for actions that led to the deaths of a large number of people. These cases would only be brought, if Zaluzhnyi does not go quietly into the night.
Zaluzhnyi was mediocre as a military commander and manager, but he was very human with lots of empathy which made him so likeable.
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Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi:
Zelenski began firing more top generals to complete his new team made from Syrskyi’s buddies.
Since Syrskyi is not well liked in the military, that puts Syrskyi even more under Zelenski’s control.
Syrskyi is from Moscovia’s Vladimir region, his parents & brother still live there. His father is connected to Moscovian intelligence agencies - he may have even worked for them. His son lives in Australia.
Syrskyi has no roots or connection to Ukraine, and does not speak Ukrainian; he’s just some passer by. Just another reason the military and general population does not like him.
As mediocre as Zaluzhnyi was as a commander, Syrskyi is even worse.
9 years ago during the fighting in Donbas, the Moscovians encircled the 128th Brigade by cutting the supply road. Syrskyi and others in command would not allow their men to retreat. 128th Brigade was one of the better ones in the Army.
Syrskyi tried to relieve them, but is was too little too late and was a horrendous disaster. When the relief failed, he told the troops to just stay there and take it. The only way out of the pocket was through open fields. The local commander did not listen to Syrskyi, and they successfully broke out.
This incident shows the level of Syrskyi’s rigidity which would have allowed all the troops an heavy equipment to be lost.
In the current war, Syrskyi was also responsible for the loss of Soledar & Bakhmut.
The successes in the Izum and Kharkiv regions was not due to Syrskyi’s management, but due to Moscovian ineptitude.
Syrskyi’s appointment has led to decreased morale in the Ukrainian army and this will accelerate in the coming months.
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The Future:
In theory, there should not be any shortage of front line troops with Ukraine having 900,000 to Moscovia’s 600,000. But as morale collapses adding more troops will not solve the problem. Nor will Zelenski’s attempt to paper over the whole situation.
Without understanding the situation and its root causes, only more disasters will follow in the coming months.
Feb 10, 2024
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Tanks: 2730
destroyed: 1785
damaged: 149
abandoned: 253
captured: 542
Towed Artillery: 344
destroyed: 199
damaged: 41
abandoned: 5
captured: 99
Self-Propelled Artillery: 671
destroyed: 519
damaged: 38
abandoned: 7
captured: 107
Multiple Rocket Launchers: 347
destroyed: 261
damaged: 30
abandoned: 2
captured: 54
OT:
Hamas Data Center Captured. High end sever racks taken to Israel. Passwords found. Analysis will take at least a week to expose Hamas networks, plans, worldwide connections and more.
Hamaz’s Great Commander Could Not Escape This Time! Israel Found the Most Secret Center! Raptor News
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2lbTybvnKg
Congratulation in crossing the 500 post level!
Volodymyr Kukharenko’s Post
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7161662397886283776/Putin said to Tucker that Russia started in 862. But he did not say that at that time, Moskow area was a swampy forest with no civilization at all.
But Kyiv already existed, and the Rurikid dynasty started ruling there in 882 (before them, Kyiv was ruled by Askold and Dyr since 860).
By 1100, Kyiv became 4th largest city in Europe (much bigger than Paris or London those days), and Moskow was not yet founded (its founding date is 1147). The founder of Moskow is buried in Kyiv, you can come to his grave whenever you want.
And that state was called Rus or Ruthenia. The emperor of Bysanthium called it “Rossia” in 10th century, so it was just the Greek spelling of “Rus”.
In 13th century, the Pope was calling Danylo “King of Rus” while Alexander Nevsky was called “Duke of Suzdal”. Even in 17th century, Ukrainian Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitskyi was calling himself “the Hetman of Rus”.
So Moskow was a colony of Rus and was never called “Rus” officially before 18th century. Old kings of Rus oficially called it "Zalissia" ("The land behind the forest").
They started the first state only in 1157, and were calling themselves Suzdalese (after the city of Suzdal). Their first newspaper was called “The News of Moskovian state”.
There is a coin of Peter first with “Moskovian rouble” engraved on it. Ivan Fedorov, the first book printer of Moskovia escaped to Ukraine just 2 years after printing his book, and he was identifying himself as Moskovian.
But in 1721, after taking control of the lands of the ancient Rus, Moskovia renamed themselves to Russia officially (and took the 2-headed eagle of Bysanthium too).
And then they made a strange story that Rus “migrated” to Moskow escaping from the Golden Horde. Which is weird, because they should have escaped in the opposite direction.
And there are no records about any mass migrations. Also, Kyiv was paying tribute to the Horde for 80 years only, while Moskow was there for 240 years, and their elites mixed as result (e.g. Ivan the Terrible was Rurikid by father and Genghizid by mother).
Bottom line: As political unit, Ukraine started in 9th century as Kingdom of Rus. Moskovia as a political unit started in 1157 as the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal.
Saying that Russia started in Kyiv is like saying that Argentina started as the Kingdom of Castile in the 9th century or that the USA started as the Kingdom of Wessex in 6th century. There is a connection, but a VERY remote one.
PS: the map of 1570 shows "Rvssia" in modern Ukraine and "Moskovia" in modern Russia. (map available only at link.)
Kremlin snuff box
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
The military and part of Putin’s entourage want to resume large-scale attacks on enemy energy and leave Ukraine without electricity
According to our sources in the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, a corresponding proposal has already been made to Vladimir Putin by a group of generals and AP officials.
“We had plans for such attacks, but a large-scale campaign this winter did not materialize due to strong enemy air defense, and for several other reasons that I will not mention. But we think it’s worth trying again,” says one of the initiators of this proposal. According to him, recently we have been attacking Ukrainian energy again, but not on a too large scale.
Another source admitted that there are two risks in striking enemy energy.
Firstly, this is a really strong enemy air defense. “And if we start a campaign of such strikes, the West, I’m afraid, will further strengthen Ukrainian air defense. There is hope that it will not strengthen, but it is weak,” the military man told us.
Secondly, there is a threat that the Ukrainians, in response to our strikes, will increase their attacks on the deep Russian rear, which have now become a serious problem .
“Moscow, for example, may be left without electricity, heating and other public amenities for quite a long period of time. Many people are afraid of this. We also need to take into account our problems with the communal infrastructure, which often does not even need enemy strikes for serious accidents,” noted a high-ranking interlocutor in the Kremlin.
Kremlin snuff box - 02/12/24
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Conditions for the completion of the Northern Military District and the war with NATO. We learned what Putin “confidently” told Tucker Carlson
An American journalist confirmed our insider - Vladimir Vladimirovich wants negotiations on the Ukrainian crisis. At the same time, sources in the Kremlin told us what Putin told Carlson “in secret and off the record.”
“We talked about the conditions for completing the SVO. To be honest, I am not sure that these conditions will suit the Kiev regime and its Western curators. I hope the situation will become favorable for us, and the States will stop giving weapons to Ukraine this year. Otherwise, you will have to make concessions. Now, based on events at the front, we can do without concessions for now,” said one of our interlocutors.
What exactly were the conditions for completing the SVO that Putin conveyed to America through Carlson, he promised to tell later. Now “we cannot talk about this, since there will be many dissatisfied people - both in the West and among our patriots. And in general, let’s better tell you everything after the elections,” the source suggested.
Another claims that Carlson asked Putin several direct questions off camera: “One of them was about whether we can attack the Baltic states , that is, NATO countries. Vladimir Vladimirovich said that he would not like to, but it’s time to stop oppressing Russian speakers. He also confirmed that he was ready not to interfere with Trump’s dealings with Iran, but in exchange for a complete cessation of American assistance to Ukraine ( we wrote about this - ed.).”
Separately, Vladimir Vladimirovich noted that his words about Hitler and Poland, which were said in an interview, were not at all an excuse for a Nazi criminal. “It was just an example, an analogy. But Poland, after it helped Ukraine during the SVO, I think, should definitely be punished,” Putin explained to the journalist, who was surprised by the statement about Hitler.
We will learn more about what message Vladimir Vladimirovich conveyed to America, and we will tell you about it in the near future.
By the way, Carlson took Putin’s gift - a watch from a Ukrainian soldier liquidated in Mariupol - with him from Russia. Although, apparently, he didn’t like the gift too much, or rather scared him. The journalist is afraid to wear this watch and says that he “feels heavy energy in it.”
It’s happening.
Who did it?
Trump, Putin, or both?
Reuters reported:
(NATO’s) “European states would invest a combined total of $380 billion in defence this year, taking their spending as a whole to an estimated 2% of GDP in 2024 compared to 1.85% in 2023, Stoltenberg said.”
OilPrice.com reports:
“Russia’s Novatek restarted earlier this week fuel processing at its complex on the Baltic Sea damaged last month in a suspected Ukrainian drone attack, industry sources told Reuters on Wednesday.
Novatek’s export terminal and processing site at Russia’s Ust-Luga port on the Baltic Sea was damaged in January by what Ukraine said was a drone attack on Russian energy infrastructure.”
They don’t say how much of the capacity is back on line.
Since the Moscovians pose absolutely no threat in space, there is no reason to give military assistance to a country killing actual Moscovians who are invading their country. Makes sense, right?
Kremlin snuff box
https://t.me/s/kremlin_secrets
Up to 10 thousand “black janitors” from Africa are being trained to participate in the SVO
In recent days, there has been a lot of discussion about the arrival in Russia of 10 thousand workers from Kenya, who have already begun to appear in Moscow. As it turns out, this news has a direct bearing on the SVO.
According to our interlocutors from among Yevgeny Prigozhin’s close associates, former “Wagnerites” (who left the PMC and signed contracts with the Ministry of Defense) opened two special training camps - in Kenya and Mali.
There they recruit locals and prepare them to participate in the Northern Military District in order to “strengthen our army in several difficult sectors of the front.”
One group of such fighters (about 500 people, by the way, among them there are both men and women) has already arrived in Russia under the guise of workers.
For cover, they took staged photos in janitor uniforms and will soon be sent to the front - most likely to the Avdeevka area and the Zaporozhye region. Several more groups are on the way; in total, it is planned to train approximately 10 thousand African fighters.
Some Africans were well trained and offered contracts - they will be paid from 300,000 to 500,000 rubles per month (they will be paid, of course, in dollars).
At the same time, not all new fighters are well prepared, but “there are enough of them to go on assaults,” our interlocutors say. In general, new fighters will be paid different amounts depending on their skills and abilities.
“To be honest, a lot of people laugh at these fighters. They have even been given a nickname - “black wipers”. Oh, if Evgeny Viktorovich could see this,” said one of the sources.
By the way, our interlocutors at the Ministry of Defense confirmed to us the training of African fighters for the Northern Military District. But they refused to provide any details.
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“Black wipers” from Africa opened fire on their own at the front. More than 20 of our military personnel died.
Back in January, we wrote that they plan to train up to 10 thousand fighters who are recruited in Africa to participate in the North Military District. The formation of African military detachments is in full swing, but they have already begun to be actively transferred to the front.
From the very beginning, the nickname “black wipers” stuck to such fighters (we wrote about why here). And now many of our military continue to call them that.
African volunteers who fight under contract were in the North Military District zone before this. But now, due to large losses at the front, their active transfer has begun here, primarily to the Avdeevka area and to other hot areas of the front in the DPR.
“We have already trained more than eight thousand people from five African countries. Now their transfer to the front has begun. About one and a half thousand African fighters have already left or will soon go to Avdeevka, Marinka and Donetsk,” a source in the Ministry of Defense told us.
Officers and ordinary soldiers who are fighting in the Northern Military District zone are dissatisfied with the arrival of new African colleagues and complain about them.
Firstly, they fight poorly, but they willingly surrender. And they help the enemy - they surrender positions to him and pose for propaganda materials.
Secondly, Russian soldiers are dying because of them.
According to the officers who took part in the assault on Avdeevka, over the past week “black janitors” fired at their own at least twice on this section of the front.
“Once they confused our scouts with the enemies and shot them with a machine gun. Another time they went for an assault, a shell fell near them, they got scared and ran. They shot the guys who prevented them from retreating and tried to stop them,” one of the military men told us.
According to another, as a result of these emergency situations, 24 of our soldiers were killed and about 20 more were wounded. Among the Africans who received friendly fire in return, at least 18 were killed.
The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff say they are aware of the problem and are “doing everything possible to improve the morale and combat readiness of our new African troops.”