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  • Crimea Attack: Kyiv Claims 3 Russian Air Defenses Hit amid ATACMS Barrage

    06/10/2024 7:38:53 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 33 replies
    Newsweek ^ | 6/10/2024 | Ellie Cook
    Ukraine attacked several advanced Russian air-defense systems across Crimea overnight, Kyiv's military said on Monday, in the latest round of long-range strikes to menace vital Russian assets on the annexed peninsula Ukraine has vowed to reclaim from Moscow. -snip- Rybar, one of the influential Russian military blogger accounts often used as sources in lieu of official statements from Moscow, said on Monday that Ukrainian forces had attacked Crimea overnight with "at least 12" U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles, fired from Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region. Another prominent military blogger said Kyiv had attacked Crimea with an unspecified number of...
  • Putin suffers Black Sea nightmare as Ukrainian drones wipe out seven boats in major blow

    05/30/2024 10:30:21 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 123 replies
    Express UK ^ | 5/30/2024 | John Varga
    Ukraine destroyed seven boats in a devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea navy in the Crimea. Ukraine launched a spectacular and devastating attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet, inflicting major damage on Putin's navy. The Black Sea Fleet is stationed in Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. Throughout the current war, Ukraine has managed to sink a number of vessels from the fleet including the Moskva flagship missile cruiser. Through a combination of missiles and drones, Kyiv's army has succeeded in nullifying the threat from Putin's navy in the Black Sea, regularly inflicting huge humiliations on the...
  • Drones Have Offered Last Line of Defense for a Strategic Ukrainian Town

    05/25/2024 6:25:58 PM PDT · by MinorityRepublican · 10 replies
    The New York Times ^ | May 25, 2024 | Carlotta Gall and Vladyslav Golovin
    The commander stepped over boxes stacked full of plastic drones and opened the lid on a new delivery. Inside lay the light-gray fins of a mini plane, the latest addition to his arsenal of crewless aerial vehicles for fighting the Russian army. The 33-year-old leader of what an internal report declared Ukrainian army’s best-performing drone unit, Senior Lt. Yuriy Fedorenko — popularly known by his call sign, Achilles — has been the main constraint on the Russian attempt to seize the strategic town of Chasiv Yar on Ukraine’s teetering eastern front. For months, his drone teams, part of the 92nd...
  • SICK MAN OF RUSSIA Paranoid & sickly Putin has 4 doctors & 111 security guards permanently on alert at his palace, leaked docs claim

    05/25/2024 9:54:50 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 66 replies
    Sun UK ^ | 5/25/2024 | Georgie English
    A PARANOID and sickly Vladimir Putin is kept under surveillance by four doctors at all times, claim shocking leaked documents. The tyrant has been plagued with rumours over his dwindling health for the past year with new bombshell revelations alleging he has 111 security guards on duty at his palace. A secret document has lifted the lid on Putin's biggest concerns - with his health and security seemingly at the forefront for the brutal despot. Putin's nonstop safety blanket has been revealed, according to Russian Telegram channel VChK-OGPU, who have close ties to law enforcement in the country. The stunning...
  • Putin's Military Purge Ramps Up as General Gerasimov's Top Deputy Arrested

    05/23/2024 4:07:59 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 30 replies
    Newsweek ^ | 5/23/2024 | Isabel van Brugen
    Vadim Shamarin, deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, has been arrested, local media reported, marking the latest detention of a Russian high-ranking military official in recent weeks. The development was reported by Russian newspapers Kommersant and Izvestia, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the matter. Kommersant reported that he was detained on Wednesday "in connection with the case of alleged fraud."
  • As the war in Ukraine enters its third summer, Russia is on the offensive.

    05/20/2024 7:03:41 PM PDT · by MinorityRepublican · 27 replies
    The Telegraph ^ | Roland Oliphant; Joe Barnes and Connor James Ibbetson
    All along the 600-mile frontline, the Kremlin’s invasion forces are exploiting Ukrainian exhaustion and a six-month delay in American military aid. A shock offensive in the Kharkiv region has seen Putin’s troops cross the border for the first time since the 2022 invasion. Villages in the Zaporizhzhya region have been wiped off the map as Russia tries to reverse the gains of Ukraine’s 2023 counter-offensive. But the central Russian effort is focused on Donetsk region, where they are now on the outskirts of the hill-top town of Chasiv Yar. If they capture it, they will be in striking distance of...
  • Ukraine's Drones Attack Russia's Only Large Black Sea Oil Refinery

    05/17/2024 3:50:23 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 45 replies
    Newsweek ^ | 5/17/2024 | Isabel van Brugen
    Ukrainian drones attacked the only large oil refinery on Russia's Black Sea coast on Friday morning, authorities said. The attack on the Rosneft-owned refinery in the southern Russian town of Tuapse was reported by local authorities, who said a fire had broken out at the facility and that emergency services were working to extinguish the blaze. -snip- The Russian Black Sea naval port of Novorossiysk and Crimea's Sevastopol were also targeted a the massive aerial assault, which Russia's defense ministry said involved at least 100 drones.
  • Russian general Yuri Kuznetsov dragged out bed at 5am by cops as three more defence chiefs resign after Shoigu sacked

    05/14/2024 3:57:49 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 61 replies
    Sun UK ^ | 5/14/2024 | ALIKI KRATEROU
    Lt-Gen Yuri Kuznetsov was arrested "on suspicion of criminal activity" just after Putin dismissed his Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. A RUSSIAN general was dragged out of his bed at 5am to be taken into detention facing "criminal charges over state secrets" in Vladimir Putin's latest purge. Lt-Gen Yuri Kuznetsov, 55, was arrested by heavily armed cops in balaclavas who smashed their way into his home using crowbars. The top MoD official was reportedly “dragged out of bed and taken away for interrogation”. The arrest of the military chief comes a day after Vladimir Putin oversaw major changes in Russia's defence,...
  • Putin Mocked Over Single Tank at Victory Parade

    05/09/2024 7:35:36 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 75 replies
    Newsweek ^ | 5/9/2024 | Isabel van Brugen
    For the second year in a row, a lone Soviet-era tank rolled across Moscow's Red Square during Russia's Victory Day parade, prompting social media users to mock President Vladimir Putin's military's procession on a day which is traditionally used to display the country's might. A single T-34 tank participated in the parade in Moscow to mark May 9, or Victory Day, which is the annual commemoration of Nazi Germany's defeat during World War II. Like last year, this year's procession was notably muted in contrast to previous events amid Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, during which both sides have suffered...
  • Gazprom plunges to first annual loss in 20 years as trade with Europe hit

    05/02/2024 10:01:21 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 21 replies
    CNBC ^ | 5/2/2024 | Reuters
    Kremlin-owned gas giant Gazprom said on Thursday it plunged to a net loss of 629 billion rubles ($6.9 billion) in 2023, its first annual loss in more than 20 years, amid dwindling gas trade with Europe, once its main sales market. The results highlight the dramatic decline of Gazprom, which since the collapse of the Soviet Union has been one of Russia’s most powerful companies, often used as a leverage to solve disputes with its neighbors, such as Ukraine and Moldova. Analysts had expected net income of 447 billion rubles, according to Interfax news agency. According to Reuters analysis, it...
  • DeSantis Was Always Going to Lose

    01/18/2024 6:02:20 AM PST · by River Hawk · 29 replies
    Highly Respected ^ | January 17th, 2024 | Scott Greer
    Donald Trump won Iowa decisively Monday night. Despite spending little money and time in the state (especially compared to his rivals), Trump won the caucus by 30 points. This was a humiliating defeat for his closest competitor, Ron DeSantis. Despite spending over $30 million on ads and visiting every county, DeSantis only eked out 21 percent of the vote. The Florida governor bet his whole campaign on Iowa, and he came up well short. However, he’s not dropping out. His campaign still insists he’s going to be the next president, but there’s no strategy or plan besides massive amounts of...
  • Small Quadcopters Rule The Battlefield In Ukraine — Which Makes Their Chinese Manufacturers Very Unhappy

    04/29/2022 10:47:16 PM PDT · by Zhang Fei · 61 replies
    Forbes ^ | Apr 29, 2022,07:59am EDT | David Hambling
    At its simplest, a small drone is an eye in the sky, giving what every commander has wanted for centuries: a view of what is happening on the other side of the hill, or in the middle of the forest, or just down the next street, without having to send troops. Aerial reconnaissance was previously confined to higher levels of command and only gradually filtered down the chain; now every squad leader can have a folding Mavic Mini 2 small enough to fit into a cargo pocket but able to send back HD video from three miles away for half...