Russia Invades Ukraine

[Suranis]

A Granny comments

Natalka
@NatalkaKyiv
OMG My dear #NAFOfellas, I just know you’ll get a kick out of this clip. I haven't laughed this much in a while and I know you’ll say the same after watching it.

This senior citizen from Ufa, Russia absolutely rocks! She’s the opposite of Russian brainless babushkas from Putin’s troops.

Thank you @Lorelei_0502
for bringing this video to my attention.

[Dr. Ken]

[Dr. Ken]

[p0rtia]

Now I can die.

[Suranis]

BBC report

[John Thomas8]

[Suranis]

[Suranis]

Probably not an actual front line soldier but I think you guys will like this.

Kursk Offensive: Ukraine's Childless Cat Ladies Brigade is in Sudzha.

More seriously

Yaroslav Trofimov
@yarotrof
The Russian army and pontoon crossings don’t have a good record in this war. Here are Ukrainian drones hitting at attempt to set up a pontoon over the Seym river in Kursk region of Russia after Ukraine bombed all the bridges. Source: https://t.me/mysiagin/30478

[RTH10260]

Pontoons to go the way of the Black Sea fleet

[RTH10260]

Sanctions? What sanctions?

Gambian ‘Airline’ Ferries A330s, A320 To Belarus

Aviation Week Network Staff
August 19, 2024

Gambian company Magic Air has ferried its four Airbus airliners into Belarus, a country subject to Western sanctions that bar the import of aircraft or parts. Arriving from Cairo, Istanbul and Muscat, Oman, the aircraft could be destined for Russian operators. According to tracking service...

rest under paywall https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/ ... 20-belarus

Gambiaj Exclusive – A Shady Gambian Airline Ferries Four Sanctioned Aircraft to Belarus

Frederic Tendeng
August 20, 2024

Gambiaj.com – (BANJUL, the Gambia) – On Saturday, four Airbus aircraft operated by Magic Air, a Gambian-registered company with a dubious reputation, were ferried to Belarus—a nation under Western sanctions prohibiting the import of aircraft and parts. This development mirrors a similar incident earlier this year when another mysterious Gambian company, Macka Invest, secretly flew its planes to Iran and Afghanistan in February.

The aircraft in question arrived in Belarus from Cairo, Istanbul, and Muscat International Airport. These airports served as the departure points for Magic Air’s Airbus A320 and A330 jets, which have a suspicious operational history marked by frequent storage periods and failed leases.

In our August edition of The Gambia Journal Confidential, we highlighted how The Gambia has become a haven for shadowy air companies operating with unclear intentions. Among these, Magic Air stands out. On Saturday, the company flew its four aircraft—three Airbus A330s and one A320—in a convoy to Belarus. Their arrival in Minsk has sparked further speculation about the secretive operations connected to The Gambia. Allegations of involvement by high-ranking officials in these suspicious activities are also circulating, heightening the intrigue around the situation.

How Magic Air Used The Gambia as a Cover

Magic Air’s fleet consists of four aircraft with puzzling histories: an Airbus A320-200 (C5-TAA) and three Airbus A330-200s (C5-TAB, C5-TAC, and C5-TAD). All share a common pattern—multiple lease agreements, extended storage at various global locations, and leases that never materialized, suggesting potential hidden motives behind their operations.

The company has owned these planes since 2023 but has yet to begin any official operations. Notably, none of these aircraft have ever flown to The Gambia, and Magic Air has not brought any of its fleet to Banjul. The company’s website, launched in August 2023, is shrouded in mystery, revealing no information about the owners, aircraft, or future plans—only a cryptic “Coming Soon” message is displayed.

The limited available data shows that Magic Air’s first aircraft, an Airbus A320 nearly 19 years old, was delivered in October 2023. Three additional Airbus A330-200s, all around 21 years old, were added in November. All four planes were previously operated by Lebanon’s Sky Aviation and had frequently changed ownership before being acquired by Magic Air.

The A320-200, originally delivered to Jetstar Airways in 2005, underwent several modifications and storage periods before its acquisition by Magic Air. It remains stored at Istanbul Airport. The A330-200s, which began their service with Emirates, have equally complex histories, cycling through various operators like Onur Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines. These aircraft spent long periods in storage and had multiple leases that never took effect, raising suspicions about the reasons behind these failed deals.

Instead of transferring these aircraft to The Gambia, Magic Air kept them parked in Istanbul-Atatürk, Cairo, and Muscat until last week, when they were suddenly flown to Belarus. The coordinated movements of these planes—departing within hours of each other—suggest an attempt to circumvent international sanctions. Delivering aircraft to Russian airlines is currently prohibited, making this detour via The Gambia appear as a calculated maneuver to bypass restrictions.

On Friday, August 16, the Airbus A330 registered as C5-TAC left Cairo. On Saturday, August 17, the A320 (C5-TAA) took off from Istanbul, followed by two A330s (C5-TAB and C5-TAD) departing Muscat. They all landed at Minsk National Airport in Belarus before immediately leaving for Russia. They were last tracked near Kudinovo in the Russian Federation later that same day, according to reports from the Russian aviation channel Aviatorshina.

Earlier this month, The Gambia Journal published an in-depth investigation revealing that Magic Air’s registration of these aircraft in The Gambia raises significant red flags. The findings suggest a shell company scheme designed to evade international sanctions similar to those targeting Iran and Russia.



https://www.gambiaj.com/gambiaj-exclusi ... o-belarus/

[Chilidog]

Hmmmm.

A reverse stalingrad.

Boom-shack-a-lacka.

[Suranis]

Ya Sanctions don't seem to be working out very well. Kadyrov is the head of the Chechen Republic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramzan_Kadyrov

Anton Gerashchenko@Gerashchenko_en

Kadyrov said he received a Tesla Cybertrack from Elon Musk. He promised to send it to the "special military operation" zone and attached a machine gun to it.

"Elon, thank you! Come to Grozny, I will receive you as the most dear guest! I do not think that our Russian MFA will be against such a trip. And, of course, we are waiting for your new developments that will contribute to the completion of the SMO," Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel.

Knowing Kadyrov, I'd give 60/40 odds that he bought that Cybertruck himself, and is saying Musk give it to him to make himself look important ("Me so important Musk giving me expensive Cybertruck!") and just to stir shit.

Regardless, that RustBucket isn't going within 1000 Kms of Ukraine or any other battlefield. It would shake itself apart on the ground and you would be able to see it 50 KMs away.

[northland10]

Southern Russia have a lot of charging stations? Lots or places to charge up on the battle field?

Granted, some utilities may still function such as the Berlin phone network during the Battle of Berlin leading to the story, not sure if it's true, that Russian soldiers in the suburbs called Goebbels to tell him what they thought of him.

Anyway, I don't think having a vehicle you have to stop and charge would be all that useful in an advance. Much quicker to have a tanker of fuel following to fill it up, check the tires, clean the bugs off the windshield, and ask, cash or charge (the credit kind).

[RTH10260]

Did Elon Musk leak the performance test data on the CyberTruck in the category of Mine Fields

Did anyone already get their hands on the draft of the "Maintenance Handbook (War Zones)"

[Suranis]

https://fixupx.com/nexta_tv/status/1827763515647766531

FxTwitter / FixupX

NEXTA (@nexta_tv)
BREAKING:

Lukashenka has moved troops and mercenaries of the PMC "Wagner" to the border with Ukraine. Kyiv demands that the forces be withdrawn

This was reported by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, which urged Lukashenka "not to make tragic mistakes for his own country under pressure from Moscow".

Ukraine is demanding that Belarus Withdraw its troops from the border to a distance that is beyond the fire range of Belerus's Weapons.

If Lukashenka is stupid enough to attack Ukraine the rest of the Eastern block will most likely Walk all the way to Minsk without his army being able to do shit to stop it. But he wouldn't be doing this without Putin's say so either.

[John Thomas8]

[RTH10260]

Chechen warlord accuses Elon Musk of ‘remotely disabling’ his Cybertruck

By Anna Chernova and Lauren Kent, CNN
Updated 11:19 AM EDT, Fri September 20, 2024

CNN — Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has accused Tesla CEO Elon Musk of “remotely disabling” his Cybertruck, which had been sent to the frontline of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Kadyrov claimed Thursday that the vehicle, which he said had been outfitted with a machine gun and was “performing well in combat,” had been shut down, adding Friday that he had sent two additional Tesla Cybertrucks to the frontline.

The Chechen warlord, known for his loyalty to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his active involvement in Russia’s ongoing military operations in Ukraine, shared footage of himself in August driving a Cybertruck and claimed it was a gift from Musk. In the video, a smiling Kadyrov was shown driving through an empty square in Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, and thanking Musk for the vehicle “soon to be sent to the front.”

Musk, however, firmly denied sending it. “Are you seriously so retarded that you think I donated a Cybertruck to a Russian general?” he wrote at the time on X, the social media platform he owns.

Kadyrov repeated his claim earlierthis week as he lamented that the high-tech vehicle had to be towed from the battlefield, saying: “What Elon Musk did was not nice. He gives expensive gifts from the heart and then remotely switches them off.”

“Two more Cybertrucks have been sent to the SVO (Ukraine war) zone,” the warlord added Friday, posting a video of two Tesla trucks in a forested area, each armed with mounted machine guns. The video shows men in military uniforms firing from the roofs of the vehicles.

“The remote shutdown did not affect these vehicles. They are operating normally, without any failures,” he said on Telegram. “You couldn’t ask for better advertising for the Cybertruck.”



https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/20/busi ... index.html

[Suranis]

"Towed to the battlefield" from a guy nowhere near the battlefield. It probably just broke down or whatever from The Great General driving it around like a maniac... or going to the shops.

[Dave from down under]

I blame the puddle he drove through

[zekeb]

Who in their right mind would send a cybertruck into a war zone? I can't think of a less practical vehicle. How do you conveniently refuel the thing, just for starters.

[pipistrelle]

Who in their right mind would send a cybertruck into a war zone? I can't think of a less practical vehicle. How do you conveniently refuel the thing, just for starters.

Don't think anyone's accused Kadyrov of being in right mind.

[RTH10260]

Who in their right mind would send a cybertruck into a war zone? I can't think of a less practical vehicle. How do you conveniently refuel the thing, just for starters.

The Russians are sitting at Chernobyl, all the power you want at their disposal

[northland10]

Who in their right mind would send a cybertruck into a war zone? I can't think of a less practical vehicle. How do you conveniently refuel the thing, just for starters.

A shiny silvery thing. In the green woods. Sitting peacefully in its puddle.

There's nothing in the world that says louder, I want an RPG.

If the Ukrainian army doesn't take it out, the Russians will. It's just screaming, shoot me now.

[Foggy]

A shiny silvery thing.

You forgot ugly. A shiny, ugly, silvery thing.

An RPG would improve its ambiance.

How do you conveniently refuel the thing, just for starters.

Make all the infantry carry batteries in their pockets.

I mean, the thing is basically artillery cavalry, like a good horse. Didn't somebody have to provide the hay? (full disclosure, I'm more of an infantryman than a horse soldier. Love horses, but they're a lot of work!)

[John Thomas8]

From a year ago, but Professor MacMillan has an interesting take: