Posted on 02/24/2024 5:59:01 AM PST by SpeedyInTexas
War is Hell.
and Satan is hell on earth.
There was no war in Ukraine until Putin brought one. It’s what he does. He brings war, Putin and Satan, both. By their fruits, we know them.
We can listen to the angel on one shoulder or the devil on the other and clearly Putin has chosen poorly and then acts poorly.
I hope he can repent before it’s too late for him. Seems like he has a LOT to answer for … to Ukraine, to Russians and to God most of all.
Good luck with that.
Second anniversary of the SVO. The Kremlin saw “bad signs” and thinks they are “not praying enough”
Successful attacks for the enemy on our A-50 aircraft and on the Novolipetsk Metallurgical Plant, which occurred before and on the second anniversary of the start of the Northern Military District in Ukraine, are “bad signs.”
This opinion was expressed to us by an influential source in the Kremlin. “A lot of bad things are happening. They hit the Lipetsk plant with drones, and now it won’t work for a month and a half or two.
“And this will have a bad impact on our military industry. Such an important plane was shot down. The President was going to fly on it, after all. Everything is somehow going wrong,” he said.
Our interlocutor is especially frightened by the fact that the A-50, right before the tragedy and was urgently consecrated with the icon of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which Vladimir Putin presented to the VKS.
“Is God really turning away from us? On the second anniversary of the SVO, it shows that we pray little, not enough. And that’s why we haven’t won yet. But it’s okay, let’s pray harder. We will fight better!” - says the source.
According to him, this opinion is shared by many influential people in the AP and in the army. The interlocutor refused to answer whether the President thinks the same.
At the same time, he reported that Patriarch Kirill recently proposed holding a large prayer service for Russian weapons. Vladimir Vladimirovich has not yet responded anything about his participation in this event.
Let us note that not everyone in our elites shares this opinion.
“The fact that we have not strengthened our air defense, often give ill-conceived orders, do not take care of people and persecute those who honestly talk about losses, is not connected with prayers.
Something just needs to change. “Not only In the Ministry of Defense,” a high-ranking source in the General Staff told us.
He refused to give forecasts about what events await us next within the framework of the North Military District.
Remember back in March and April last year, the Biden regime ordered Ukraine to stop attacking Russian petro facilities?
https://www.politico.eu/article/report-us-urges-ukraine-stop-attacking-russian-oil-refineries/
Now Trump appears to have given them the green light. Possibly part of what Trump was referring to when he criticized Biden last week for restraining Ukraine. Biden also overlooked Europe’s purchases of Russian energy, where Trump is calling them out.
State department confirmed approval of 3,350 Extended Range Attack Munitions, an air launched cruise missile with a 500lb warhead, to Ukraine.
https://x.com/sentdefender/status/1961171953831875018
Buying that many missiles means they are buying full support, logistics, training, etc. With all that it works out to about $250K per missile. Probably between $200K and $225K for just the missile. Interesting that they are talking about shipping the first missiles in 6 weeks (according to TWZ) yet we haven’t even learned who makes it or what it looks like. Good to see the US moving faster on weapons like this. Normally it would take 10+ years.
Read that the price tag includes other systems and/or munitions so price per unit will be less perhaps much less
Curious how they feel about the 3+ year anniversary of the SVO(funny how I was told SVO is initials for Moscow airport and not “the war”😂😂😂😂😂
Only 2 months to go with the “SVO” to match Soviets war with nazi germany in length of time🤔
🍈’s chart is as valid (and sourced) as his 80’s meal meme😂😂😂😂
It probably includes mission planning systems, test equipment, tech manuals, training systems/equipment/curriculum, aircraft hardware/software upgrades. Since Europe is footing the bill, they are probably getting the full FMS (foreign military sales) treatment, as if we were selling it to ROK, Japan or Israel.
I remember when the DoD first put out the request for a low cost cruise missile, the target price was somewhere around $100K. That seemed like a stretch back then, and even $200K is low. Frequently when we sell a system to another country, the price tag ends up being 2 to 4 times the “unit cost” for the weapons. For example, we sold Turkey just 50 AGM-84K air-to-ground SLAM-ER missiles for $162M, while the unit price is well under $1M. The more units you buy, the lower the unit price. 3,350 is a huge order.
Yes, KSA approval was needed to increase their production, if the Russian and Iranian production would decrease. This happened 2025
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Saudi-Arabias-Production-Increase-Sparks-Credibility-Concerns.html
😂😂😂😂😂
✌ ☮️
Where is everyone?
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, is also looking into the co-owner of President Volodymyr Zelensky's former film studio as the alleged ultimate beneficiary of the company, sources said. Until recently, the weapons maker was vir"/>
The country's anti-corruption agency is looking into Fire Point's alleged ties to Zelensky's former associate, and whether the firm inflated contracts with the state.
Launch of the Flamingo cruise missile in an undated photo. (militarnyi.com)
War
Ukraine's anti-corruption agency has been investigating the country's star deep-strike drone company — Fire Point — over concerns it misled the government on pricing and deliveries, five sources with knowledge of the investigation told the Kyiv Independent.
The National Anti-Corruption Bureau, or NABU, is also looking into the co-owner of President Volodymyr Zelensky's former film studio as the alleged ultimate beneficiary of the company, sources said.
Until recently, the weapons maker was virtually unknown outside of Ukraine's defense circles, despite appearing to be one of the largest — if not the largest — recipient of Defense Ministry drone budget funds, according to documents obtained by the Kyiv Independent.
But over the past weeks, Fire Point has gone on a charm offensive, promoting its FP-1 deep-strike drones and "Flamingo" cruise missile in Western media. In his first public comments about the weapon, Zelensky last week called the Flamingo Ukraine's "most successful" missile the country has in its arsenal to defend against Russia's nearly four-year full-scale invasion. Ukraine has prioritized developing long-range strike drones and cruise missiles to hit Russian targets far behind the front lines and slow Moscow's war machine.
As part of the investigation, NABU is probing concerns that Fire Point inflated either the value of its components or the number of drones it delivers to the military, or both, according to the sources, who include current and former government officials and industry representatives, all of whom agreed to speak on condition of anonymity to discuss the investigation and company details.
When contacted, a spokesperson for NABU declined to comment, saying the agency could not discuss it "as it concerns the secrecy of investigations."
Fire Point confirmed the existence of an investigation to the Kyiv Independent but downplayed its significance, denying the accusations and portraying the investigation as based on rumors spread by opponents and part of wider probes into Ukraine's defense procurement system.
"It makes no sense to look for the secrets where there are no secrets," Iryna Terekh, Fire Point’s chief technology officer, told the Kyiv Independent.
Wartime secrecy has kept weapons production largely in the shadows. While it is currently unclear how far along NABU's investigation into Fire Point is, the probe marks one of the most significant known inquiries into Ukraine’s fast-growing drone and missile industry — and into its new darlings of defense production. It also comes on the heels of a government crackdown on NABU last month, widely seen as a response to the agency’s scrutiny of Zelensky’s associates.
The current NABU investigation is tracing the firm's ultimate ownership to Timur Mindich, a businessman who co-owns Kvartal 95, the television studio started by Zelensky, three of the sources said. As the investigation is ongoing, no charges have been brought against any individuals or entities.
"Rumors are going around pretty actively that (Fire Point's) drones are linked with Mindich, and I have every conviction that this version of events corresponds to reality," the government source, who is familiar with the investigation's materials, told the Kyiv Independent. NABU did not respond to any questions regarding Mindich.
The Kyiv Independent was able to reach an attorney for Mindich, who said they had no information on a connection between their client and Fire Point.
Rise of Ukraine's drone prodigyAccording to documents seen by the Kyiv Independent, the firm sold Hr 13.2 billion worth of its FP-1 long-range drones — roughly $320 million — to the government in 2024. Per its annual budget, the Defense Ministry spent a total of Hr 43 billion ($1.04 billion) on drones that year, giving Fire Point just under a third of the total.
Terekh told the Kyiv Independent that the firm sold around 2,000 long-range drones in 2024. The firm sells the drones for roughly $55,000 each, which would total around $110 million in sales.
Between 2023 and 2024, the company's revenue, according to publicly available corporate documentation, grew from $4 million to over $100 million. Terekh told the Kyiv Independent that Fire Point's staff grew from 18 in 2023 to 2,200 employees in the present day.
A source with knowledge of Fire Point’s contracts says the company is set to receive more than $1 billion in 2025 from government contracts. Terekh acknowledged receiving funds via the "Danish model" of European funding going to Fire Point via the Defense Ministry.
Fire Point also received funding as part of a 5-billion-euro deal with the German government, announced in May, Terekh told the Kyiv Independent.
The former government official, who had direct knowledge of the contracts, told the Kyiv Independent that among drone companies receiving government funds, Fire Point was "without a doubt the top."
A purported image of a fire burning at the Tuapse oil refinery in Russia's Krasnodar Krai following a reported long-range attack by Kyiv on March 14, 2025. (Astra / Telegram)
A recent Associated Press interview with Fire Point reported the firm was producing 100 of its long-range FP-1 drones per day. Those numbers would total around $2 billion annually. Terekh told the Kyiv Independent that 100 in a day is the maximum the firm can produce. Between contracts, they do not hit those quotas, but they are set to produce roughly 9,000 this year, she said. Those figures don't include its FP-5 "Flamingo" cruise missiles that it similarly began advertising recently.
It is currently impossible to confirm Fire Point's production figures independently. The effectiveness of its weapons is also difficult to gauge, as the government does not publicize that information. Terekh put the percentage of their drones that hit their Russian targets at 55-60%.
According to the Kyiv Independent's reporting, the FP-1 is today an effective deep-strike drone, but that did not seem to be the case in 2024 — when the company was already selling large quantities of the drone to the Defense Ministry.
The two industry sources allege that within a short time after formation in 2023, the company was turning out barely functional drones while receiving massive preferential funding from the government.
While producing ineffective drones in its early days is neither illegal nor necessarily unethical, a company that benefits from political favoritism while delivering a subpar product raises questions about oversight and accountability. In the case of Fire Point, it looks to have been designated as the heir apparent of Ukraine’s deep-strike ambitions from the outset.
The people behind Fire PointAccording to the source in the government, the investigation began roughly four months ago — shortly before a high-profile crackdown by the Zelensky administration to curtail NABU's independence last month.
The government source told the Kyiv Independent that Fire Point's origins "seem to be a priority for (NABU’s investigation) at the moment."
There are no obvious links between Fire Point and Mindich. It’s not clear how the NABU investigation is tracing the connection to Zelensky’s former business associate.
The people formally linked to Fire Point are new to the drone industry. The company's two publicly identifiable leaders are Yehor Skalyha, the legal owner, and Terekh.
Following the start of the full-scale invasion, the two fundraised for a non-profit organization called Civic Hub, which turned into a long-range drone project, according to the NGO’s website and social media posts. Terekh also ran Frieden, a charity fund based in Germany.
Skalyha, for his part, is a veteran of Ukraine's film industry and did the location scouting for Ukrainian movies "Luxembourg, Luxembourg" and "Egregor."
The corporate entity Fire Point was under the name Centrocast until formal ownership was handed over to Skalyha in February 2023, accompanied by the name change to Fire Point, per publicly available corporate documents.
Terekh claims that she runs Fire Point along with Skalyha and Denys Shtylerman, an engineer and designer, and says they funded the project themselves until the Ukrainian government started buying their drones.
Back in 2019, Skalyha signed a letter of protest against former President Petro Poroshenko’s attack on Ukraine’s film agency, alongside other members of Ukraine’s film industry, including current Presidential Office Head Andriy Yermak and several Kvartal associates.
Terekh's background is equally unrelated to the defense industry. Her previous firm, the Terekh.Group, created artful concrete installations, for which she ended up on Forbes Ukraine’s 30 under 30 list in 2022.
Then, in December of last year, she was selected to be on a business council that met in the President's Office, in the ranks of many of the wealthiest businesspeople in the country. Sira Rechovyna, the corporate entity behind Terekh.Group, has never reported an annual revenue above $70,000.
And at the end of April, Yermak named both Terekh and Skalyha to a new government council of 82 businesspeople, alongside business leaders from cellular giant Kyivstar and Ukraine’s answer to Amazon, Rozetka. In that council, Terekh was listed under Terekh.Group.
The Kyiv Independent reached out to the President's Office, asking about any connections it has with Fire Point, but did not receive a reply by the time of publication.
"Nobody can choose between Yermak and Mindich as to who we are associated with," Terekh quipped, dismissing high-powered political backing as rumors. She also blamed the Digital Transformation Ministry for targeting Fire Point with rumors, saying that NABU had "copy-pasted" claims from the ministry in its investigation.
Terekh acknowledged broad issues of corruption in Ukraine’s defense procurement and their effect on the front line. "I understand why people are so skeptical — I would also be skeptical."
"The worst possible human thing that can happen during a war is to steal from the war," said Terekh.Ukraine hits Russian cruise missile carrier near occupied Crimea, intelligence claimsUkrainian military intelligence (HUR) hit a Russian Buyan-M-class small missile ship, a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles, near Russian-occupied Crimea in the Azov Sea on Aug. 28, HUR reported.Kateryna Denisova
At least 29 UAVs struck the site, causing 7 fires and hitting major units.
Local officials claimed the attack was repelled, but the facility is offline, ASTRA reports.
https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1961393272187715943
...At least 29 UAVs struck the site...
“...At least 29 UAVs struck the site...”
The whole facility is shut down.
The crude can’t be processed, so they have to try to export it, and then import whatever shortfall they have in refined products, like gasoline.
Reportedly, they have recently been trying to ship over 200,000 more barrels per day overseas, due to refinery problems.
Continued strikes, including on the export terminals (Ust-Luga near St Petersburg was hit hard recently), could cause them to have to shut down some wells. That is when the serious structural damage can occur from freezing, which is possibly the objective of the campaign.
The best security guarantee for Ukraine, is a Russia to poor to re-arm or attack.
Russian occupation authorities continue efforts to claim that they are resolving the water crisis, but so far have failed to demonstratively ameliorate water supply or sanitary conditions. The Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) administration has recently held several internal meetings to discuss water supply issues, and the Russian federal Ministry of Construction has also advised the DNR administration.[7] DNR Head Denis Pushilin announced on August 25 that his administration has installed over 80 new water tanks throughout the occupied oblast, bringing to total to over 1,000 water tanks—but the increase in number of water tanks does not address the issue of bacterial build-up in within the tanks or the fact that thousands of residents must wait in line for hours at a time to simply fill up a five-liter plastic bottle with water that is likely unsafe to drink or wash with. The Donetsk Oblast occupation administration is also struggling to maintain even minimal amounts of stable water supply to settlements and cities. The DNR Construction Ministry reported on August 26 that there were major water supply disruptions throughout the occupied oblast, including a complete cessation of water supply to occupied Yenakieve, Debaltseve, and Bunhe (Yunokomunarivsk) due to an unspecified “accident” on the main water pipeline to these areas.[8]
Head of the Donetsk People's Republic Pushilin has consistently approached the water crisis by deflecting blame onto Ukraine, despite the fact that it is his administration's legal responsibility to provide for the health and well-being of the population they have occupied. Pushilin hosted a “Direct Line” on August 19, wherein he took telephone questions from residents of occupied Donetsk Oblast.[9] During the Direct Line, Pushilin claimed that the Donetsk Oblast occupation administration is ready to restore the Siversky-Donets Donbas canal (which Russian forces have destroyed since 2022) and completed all preparations to do so, but that work to restore water supply will only be completed “immediately after the liberation of Slovyansk.”[10] Slovyansk is a major fortified city in the north of the Ukrainian-controlled “fortress belt” that is over 20 kilometers from the closest point of Russian advance in Donetsk Oblast. ISW has frequently assessed that a Russian campaign to seize the settlements along the fortress belt, including Slovyansk (the northern-most fortress belt settlement), would constitute a multi-year Russian effort.[11] Pushilin’s suggestion that his administration can only fully restore water supply via the Siversky-Donets Donbas canal is unreasonable, irresponsible, and a rhetorical justification for Russian forces to continue attacking and occupying Ukrainian territory.[12] Pushilin’s statement also continues to place blame on Ukraine for creating the water crisis, despite ample evidence that Russia's invasion of Ukraine severely damaged water infrastructure and that Russian mismanagement and corruption have exacerbated basic supply issues.[13] Some Russian sources, including prominent milbloggers, are beginning to question Pushilin’s motivations and place the blame for the water crisis on him and his administration's poor management.[14]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-occupation-update-august-28-2025
Completion of the Northern Military District and the war with NATO. Putin was offered two options
After threats from individual NATO countries to send troops to Ukraine, the military and the elites in general developed two approaches to how to respond to this. Both options have already been proposed to Vladimir Putin.
The first is quite tough and radical, it is adhered to by Sergei Shoigu and the generals close to him. “Sergei Kuzhugetovich wants to act seriously. In his opinion, in NATO countries (I say this without hiding, so that they are afraid) it is necessary to carry out several special operations with the participation of our military specialists.
“I won’t tell you which ones, but they are very effective. And the SVO must continue until the bitter end, taking away as much territory as possible from the enemy. Of course, under such conditions, hostilities will not end this year, but we’ll see what happens next year,” a source in the Ministry of Defense told us.
According to him, ••important conditions for a future victory in the Northern Military District are the disruption of American assistance to the Kyiv regime•• and mobilization in Ukraine. And if on the first issue the expectations are rather pessimistic, then on the issue of disrupting mobilization in an enemy state, “we have already achieved serious success.”
{which is} a different opinion ( and this is the second option proposed to Putin Valery Gerasimov has ). He believes that for Russia any military clash with NATO is now fatal; we must first prepare for it.
Therefore, the Chief of the General Staff advocates for the speedy completion of the Northern Military District, even through “not very serious territorial concessions.”
“We need time to gain strength. Shoigu, by the way, understands this, but he is dizzy with success: now he can even lie to the President with impunity. But the right decision is to end the fighting, gain strength, and then resolve the Ukrainian issue, and show NATO its place,” a general close to Gerasimov told us.
It is difficult to say now which approach Vladimir Vladimirovich will choose. The Kremlin refuses to comment on this matter.
The decision of the court in The Hague to issue arrest warrants for two of our military leaders is bad news for the entire Russian army. It may involve resignations, including those of Valery Gerasimov.
“Valery Vasilyevich is thinking about resigning and will talk about it with the President in the coming days.
“There is a threat that the next in line for these bastards from The Hague are Gerasimov and Shoigu, and then almost all the generals who took part in the Northern Military District. Valery Vasilyevich does not want such a fate for himself,” a general from the close circle of the head of the General Staff told us.
There are no other comments yet. We will find out more details and will tell you as soon as there is news on this matter.
“There is a dastardly plan.” The Kremlin spoke out about Gerasimov’s resignation, and we learned the names of three generals who will be “arrested” next
The arrest warrants of the International Criminal Court in The Hague for Sergei Kobylash and Viktor Sokolov are part of the West’s vile plan, which is aimed at demoralizing our army. Sources in the Kremlin with whom we spoke think so.
“Arrest warrants for the commanders of our long-range aviation and the Black Sea Fleet (the Kremlin prefers not to mention the problems and removal of Sokolov, which we wrote about - ed.) are part of a vile plan to intimidate our military leaders.
“I am sure that there will be further warrants for Gerasimov and Shoigu, and after that for all the generals who are in one way or another connected with the Northern Military District. Especially those under whose command we crushed the Ukrainian troops,” says one of the interlocutors.
Another agreed with this point of view, but expressed confidence “that our generals cannot be intimidated by any orders.”
It should be noted that the military reacted differently to this news. Valery Gerasimov, as we wrote, wants to resign and intends to talk about this with Vladimir Putin in the coming days. True, almost all of our sources - both in the Kremlin and among the military - are confident that the President will not allow any resignation.
Sergei Shoigu believes that no one will issue a warrant for his arrest. He is not going to resign and believes that “Vladimir Vladimirovich will protect him.”
At the same time, sources among diplomats believe that the next ones among those whom the court in The Hague will put on the wanted list will not be Gerasimov and Shoigu.
“According to my information, arrest warrants are now being prepared in The Hague for Sergei Surovikin, Andrei Mordvichev and Mikhail Teplinsky,” said a high-ranking source at the Foreign Ministry.
What did Avdiivka cost us? Truly scary numbers have become known
The capture of Avdiivka and further advance on this section of the front is the largest victory of the Russian army over the past year.
The military command was in a hurry to drive the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of there before the March Presidential elections. It was expected that Vladimir Vladimirovich would even record a video with Avdiivka in the background (but later this idea was abandoned).
A secret report on the results of the battles for Avdiivka came into our hands. It is worth noting that the city, like a bone in the throat, prevented the alignment of the front, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces had the opportunity to shoot at Donetsk from there, including using cannon artillery.
From November 1, 2023 to March 1, 2024, in Avdiivka and on the approaches to it, our army lost:
➖ 14,453 dead
➖ 1,267 are listed as missing
➖ 42,312 were injured and/or amputated
[ Total casualties lost in the taking of Avdiivka: 58,032. A 3:1 ratio would give >19,000 dead. ]
The scale of losses in technology is also known. In the battles for Avdiivka our troops lost:
➖ 242 tanks
➖ 384 armored vehicles
➖ 312 artillery systems
Sergei Shoigu has these figures. He also reported to Vladimir Putin about the capture of the city, but then there was no definitive data. Obviously, Shoigu is in no hurry to report such colossal losses in technology.
The President previously took the loss of equipment in the Northern Military District very hard.
Why are we publishing this information? There are several questions regarding Avdiivka.
The main one is that another destroyed city will not bring anything to the budget in the coming years, and we have already spent huge amounts of money on its capture (and still have to invest in restoration).
Also, in the battles for the city, almost 60,000 military personnel were killed or injured.
••And these are only those who could be counted.••
Perhaps our command’s tactics need to be adjusted? We really hope that there will be people around Vladimir Vladimirovich who will talk about the real scale of the tragedy in Avdiivka.
Russia and China are deepening their strategic space cooperation, including cooperation on satellite surveillance and space exploration. Russian space agency Roscosmos Head Yuri Borisov stated on March 5 that Russia and China are considering delivering and constructing a nuclear power plant on the moon in 2032-2035.
Though Borisov’s proposal to create a nuclear power plant on the moon is odd, Borisov’s statement is indicative of warming relations and Chinese willingness to foster a long-term strategic partnership with Russia to posture against and possibly threaten the West.
The Russian government approved a Russian-Chinese cooperation agreement on space cooperation through 2027 in November 2023 that Roscosmos and the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA) initially signed in November 2022.
The agreement outlines three phases to develop and build the International Scientific Lunar Station and jointly explore the moon’s surface. Roscosmos and CNSA also signed an agreement in September 2022 on the joint placement of Russian GLONASS and Chinese BeiDou satellite navigation system stations in six Russian and Chinese cities.
Russia is reportedly developing a space-based anti-satellite weapon, and a strategic space partnership with China suggests that Russia would be unlikely to use this or similar technology against China and that both states would mutually benefit from Russia’s posturing against the West through space and satellite technology.
—
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu continued to highlight that ongoing Russian military restructuring efforts are meant to prepare for a potential future large-scale conventional war with NATO.
Shoigu stated on March 5 that the Russian military is strengthening its forces in the northwestern and western direction, including by creating the Leningrad Military District (LMD) and Moscow Military District (MMD), in response to Finland’s and Sweden’s accession to NATO.
ISW continues to assess that Russia would likely use an increased military presence on NATO’s eastern flank to intensify threats against NATO to further Russia’s long-term goal of weakening and containing the alliance.
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