Russia

[Suranis]

Vlad Putin is on a charm offensive net to an important trading partner... North Korea? And

► Show Spoiler

VIDEO: Putin and Kim Jong-Un on who enters the car first.

► Show Spoiler

The Korean forced the Russians to leave the room because according to the rules Kim must enter first

► Show Spoiler

Putin regretting his life decisions

Sorry not sorry. You are stuck with your crappy dictatorship allies now. The only way you are going to Europe again is in handcuffs to the Hague Mr Putin.

► Show Spoiler

Putin and Kim Jong Un couldn't stop waving to each other as Putin was leaving for Vietnam.

This is, frankly, pathetic. Therefore we all know who is calling this a show of strength and how masterful and strong Putin is.

[johnpcapitalist]

Vlad Putin is on a charm offensive net to an important trading partner... North Korea? And

► Show Spoiler

VIDEO: Putin and Kim Jong-Un on who enters the car first.

► Show Spoiler

The Korean forced the Russians to leave the room because according to the rules Kim must enter first

► Show Spoiler

Putin regretting his life decisions

Sorry not sorry. You are stuck with your crappy dictatorship allies now. The only way you are going to Europe again is in handcuffs to the Hague Mr Putin.

► Show Spoiler

Putin and Kim Jong Un couldn't stop waving to each other as Putin was leaving for Vietnam.

This is, frankly, pathetic. Therefore we all know who is calling this a show of strength and how masterful and strong Putin is.

Russia, with a GDP of $1.6 trillion, is sucking up to a shithole country with a GDP of around $50 billion. Lame... Though to be fair, the GDP is probably understated because it doesn't include narcotrafficking and other criminal enterprises. And defense technology could amount to a decent sized chunk of the overall economy.

Back in the height of the cold war, in the 1970s, Defense Intelligence Agency estimates were that Russia was spending ~15% of nominal GDP on defense versus about 4% to 5% for the US. That's a big tax burden for the taxpayer to finance (and they couldn't engage in deficit financing before communism collapse because they didn't participate in the international financial system).

North Korea is likely spending more to try to keep pace with the South Koreans, who spend about 2.7% of their $1.7 trillion GDP on defense, an amount approximately equal to the entire GDP of North Korea.

If we assume that NK has a $20 billion defense industry, that's an opportunity to buy a lot of capacity for Russia, whose defense budget before invading Ukraine was ~$50 billion, of which one third to one half might be stolen, and much of the rest is soaked up by the air force and nuclear sub force.

Similarly, DPRK doesn't have much air force capability or large navy to dilute spending on producing massive amounts of ground attack weapons -- mortars, rockets, etc. So they have enough capacity to make a significant number of bullets for Putin despite their small overall size. And bullets are a lot easier to make than stealth fighters, so even a small, focused country like North Korea can do a better job there than the corrupt, comically inept Russians.

[Suranis]

Russian Spy Plot To Sow 'Panic and Terror' in US Leaked in Bombshell Report
Published Jul 05, 2024 at 11:17 AM EDT

A Russian spy plot that sought to sow "panic and terror" in the West has been revealed in a joint-investigation.

Leaked emails from Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) obtained by independent Russian site The Insider and the German newspaper Der Spiegel reveal an elaborate plan masterminded in 2022, dubbed "Project Kylo."

Just months into Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in May 2022, a group of SVR employees unveiled the operation at a private roundtable discussion in the Russian Senate. Leaked communications showed that Moscow sought to sow disinformation campaigns in the West about Ukraine, "stoke existential fears and create animosity to [Ukrainian] refugees fleeing the war."

Russian President Vladimir Putin is pictured in Astana, Kazakhstan, on July 4, 2024. A Russian spy plot which sought to sow “panic and terror” in the West has been revealed in a joint investigation. SERGEI GUNEYEV/POOL/AFP/Getty Images

The proposal, first put forward by Mikhail Kolesov, a 45-year-old SVR officer, was designed to "inject a new scheme into the Kremlin's propaganda approach" that was "systematic, targeted and active, offensive in nature," according to the investigation.

The SVR officer suggested that instead of pushing typical pro-Russian arguments about the conflict, the operation should "deepen internal contradictions between the ruling elites" in the West, including in the U.S., which is known among the special services as Russia's "main adversary."

This involved SVR recruits creating fake advertisements disguised as news headlines, fake NGOs and websites, publishing manipulative content on social media platforms including YouTube, and hiring individuals to take part in protests in the West with the aim of filming them and disseminating the content online.

At a time when some Western politicians were suggesting that Ukrainian refugees who fled the war were becoming burdens on state resources, SVR recruits attempted to exploit the situation by creating fake news websites and running articles with headlines such as: "How Ukrainians are robbing Germany of economic prosperity."

https://vxtwitter.com/1/status/1808899767776522473

Christo Grozev (@christogrozev)
Project Kylo: how SVR, FSB and GRU plotted to terrorize the West, stoke existential fears and create animosity to Ukraine refugees. How they conspired to make this "utterly tracelessly". Until we got their emails. https://theins.press/en/politics/272870

[Suranis]

https://vxtwitter.com/1/status/1810284303923720428

Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski)
A former FL police officer now living in Moscow is creating fake stories using AI while posing as local US newspapers. His fake story that Zelensky’s wife bought a $4 million Bugatti was spread by millions of pro-Russia US social media accounts. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c72ver6172do

[Suranis]

https://x.com/UKikaski/status/1814314316411363808

OSINT (Uri Kikaski) (@UKikaski) on X

RUMINT: Radiation Leak at Rostov NPP

There are currently rumors and panic in the Rostov, Russia, region related to a potential and officially unconfirmed radiation leak from the nuclear power plant there. Locals claim that all of the pharmacies have run out of potassium iodide

https://www.newsweek.com/rostov-radiati ... es-1927588

Newsweek
Russia denies Nuclear "emergency" amid rumors of radioactive leak
The Rostov nuclear power plant in Southern Russia was hit by a malfunction just days earlier as the region suffers from a scorching heat wave.

[Volkonski]

A Russia without Russians? Putin’s disastrous demographics

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content ... ographics/

Russia’s future will be characterized by a smaller population. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war has virtually guaranteed that for generations to come, Russia’s population will be not only smaller, but also older, more fragile, and less well-educated. It will almost certainly be ethnically less Russian and more religiously diverse. While some might view diversity as a strength, many Russians do not see it this way. In a world with hordes of people on the move to escape war, persecution, poverty, and the increasing impact of climate change, xenophobic political rhetoric sells well.

Putin has spoken frequently about Russia’s demographic problems, beginning in his first months as president. Despite spending trillions of rubles on high-profile “national projects” to remedy the situation, population decline continued. Putin’s choice of timing for military aggression in Ukraine might have reflected an understanding that Russia’s demographic (and economic) situation would not improve in the next two decades. However, the war is turning a growing crisis into a catastrophe.

The demographic consequences from the Russian war against Ukraine, like those from World War II and the health, birth rate and life expectancy impact from Russia’s protracted transition in the 1990s, will echo for generations. Russia’s population will decline for the rest of the twenty-first century, and ethnic Russians will be a smaller proportion of that population. The ethnic and religious groups that embrace the “traditional family values” Putin favors are predominantly non-Russian.

United Nations scenarios project Russia’s population in 2100 to be between 74 million and 112 million compared with the current 146 million. The most recent UN projections are for the world’s population to decline by about 20 percent by 2100. The estimate for Russia is a decline of 25 to 50 percent.

[Volkonski]

Russia's test launch of ICBM known as Satan II appears to have failed

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-ic ... ch-failed/

New satellite imagery indicates Russia may have conducted a failed intercontinental ballistic missile test in recent days involving its Sarmat ICBM, also known as the Satan II.

A satellite image analyzed by CBS News shows a large crater and remnants of a possible explosion on a launchpad at Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia on Sept. 21. The crater is approximately 200 feet wide, and the site contains dark rubble and other debris indicating a large fire or explosion.

The satellite images show several trucks at the site. Fires continued to burn in the trees near the launchpad site on Saturday, according to George Barros, the Institute for the Study of War's Russia team lead.

Pavel Podvig, director of the Russian Nuclear Forces Project, an arms control and nuclear weapons analysis blog, said the launch likely happened on Sept. 19. A Notice to Air Missions or NOTAM notification for pilots in the area was later canceled the same day. Podvig said an explosion may have occurred during the defueling of the missile as the images indicate the missile may have "exploded in the silo."

The Plesetsk Cosmodrome is located roughly 500 miles north of Moscow and 250 miles east of Russia's border with Finland.

[RTH10260]

Nice before/after images with slider in the article!

Now to start a rumour that Ukraine had used a drone swarm to attack this site

[Suranis]

Not sure what thread this goes in. Feck it I'll put it here cause I'm lazy

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian ... n-ukraine/

Russian aircraft carrier crew sent to frontline in Ukraine

In a surprising development, Russia has seemingly formed a mechanised battalion from the crew of its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.

This new unit is reportedly involved in ground operations in Ukraine, according to open-source intelligence researcher Moklasen on X (formerly Twitter).

Initially stationed in the Kharkiv region, the battalion has since been redeployed to the Pokrovsk sector, according to the Ukrainian military. The formation of the battalion came to light after a message was shared on Russian social media platform Vkontakte, requesting help in locating personnel from military unit 78987.

This unit recently gained attention following the disappearance of Oleg Sosedov, a sailor from the Admiral Kuznetsov, who went missing during a Russian operation in the Kharkiv region in July. Sosedov, also linked to the battalion, was last seen during an assault on the frontier village of Sotnytskii Kozachok.

Additionally, reports indicate that Russia is also forming infantry units from members of its Aerospace Forces, with these new units playing a role in battles around Kursk.

The Admiral Kuznetsov has faced numerous setbacks since being withdrawn from service for repairs in 2017. Originally planned for modernisation to extend its service life by 25 years, the ship’s overhaul has been continuously delayed by accidents and technical challenges.

One incident occurred in October 2018 when the PD-50 drydock, housing the carrier, sank, damaging the vessel and killing a worker. A crane collapse caused significant damage to the flight deck, further delaying the repair process. The carrier was later moved to the 35th Ship Repair Plant in Murmansk. The difficulties continued. In December 2019, a major fire broke out onboard, killing two workers and injuring more than a dozen others, adding to the delays. Initially expected to return to service by 2023, the completion of repairs has been repeatedly postponed, with current estimates suggesting the ship may not be handed over to the Russian Navy until 2024 or 2025.

Despite these ongoing setbacks, Russian officials remained optimistic about the eventual return of the Admiral Kuznetsov to active duty. Repair work has continued since the ship was dry-docked in May 2022, with upgrades focusing on avionics and power systems.

However, another fire in December 2022 has raised additional concerns about whether the ship will meet its revised schedule for completion. However, with the recent news that the crew has been redeployed to form a mechanised battalion in Ukraine, the handover of the Admiral Kuznetsov now seems unlikely to proceed without a crew.

More at link.

[Suranis]

Russia's test launch of ICBM known as Satan II appears to have failed

They staged a successful unscheduled disassembly. From which they extracted tons of operational data that will guarantee lots of success in the future.

[johnpcapitalist]

Not sure what thread this goes in. Feck it I'll put it here cause I'm lazy

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian ... n-ukraine/

Russian aircraft carrier crew sent to frontline in Ukraine
In a surprising development, Russia has seemingly formed a mechanised battalion from the crew of its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.

Of course, this makes sense because getting the ship repaired is not the only issue that Russia faces in the sad saga of this floating turd.

Russia no longer has pilots anywhere in the Navy that have actually landed on a carrier. They have completely lost any institutional knowledge of how to conduct carrier operations.

And they don't have aircraft that I'm aware of that are capable of taking off from a slow ski-jump carrier that lacks any sort of catapult. They had the Yak-38, which was a poor-quality Harrier clone in the 1980s, but the ones that didn't crash and kill the pilots were retired long ago.

So there's not really any point in keeping a crew around when you could turn them into cannon fodder to deal with your short term problem.

[RTH10260]

Not sure what thread this goes in. Feck it I'll put it here cause I'm lazy

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian ... n-ukraine/

Russian aircraft carrier crew sent to frontline in Ukraine

More at link.

That's quite a pricey piece of scrap metal loitering in the Musmansk docks

One wonders what has happened to the rest of the Russian navy as the aircraft carrier personnel was not transferred to some other floating rust heap. Rather sent as punishment to fight a land war. Nothing like a moral booster for any sailor on a Russian navy vessel.

[Frater I*I]

So there's not really any point in keeping a crew around when you could turn them into cannon fodder to deal with your short term problem.

They're being fed to the meat grinder, at this point the sailors and airmen who are transferred to infantry operations are going to get a real hard look at the horrors of war, something that even in a full scale war they'd rarely experience. They will be facing battle hardened Ukraine troops who will grind them into crimson grease, those that survive will no doubt will try to flee and possibly surrender, rather than be cannon fodder.

Another thing is that there is a reason why those of us in the infantry are taught to dehumanize our enemy. The ancient maxim of war is speed means life. The moment that you begin to think of the enemy as someone's brother/sister, son/daughter, father/mother, is the moment you hesitate, and the moment you catch the round that ends you. They will not have the training that will allow them to ignore those feelings, and will be at a disadvantage for it...I almost feel sorry for them.




Now if you will excuse me, I gotta go punch the sociopath part of me back into his cage.

[Dave from down under]

We all have bits of ourselves that should be kept locked away.

If you need help with forcing the demons back into their box - just shout.

[Frater I*I]

We all have bits of ourselves that should be kept locked away.

If you need help with forcing the demons back into their box - just shout.

Thank you for the offer, should the day ever come that I can not ever control the daemons of my mind, I will seek your advice, second of course to that of Third Grandma, [Tired Retired Lawyer], who's advice I would immediately seek should my public face fail me.

[pipistrelle]

So there's not really any point in keeping a crew around when you could turn them into cannon fodder to deal with your short term problem.

Now if you will excuse me, I gotta go punch the sociopath part of me back into his cage.

You might appreciate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunte ... eneration)

[northland10]

Not sure what thread this goes in. Feck it I'll put it here cause I'm lazy

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian ... n-ukraine/

Russian aircraft carrier crew sent to frontline in Ukraine

In a surprising development, Russia has seemingly formed a mechanised battalion from the crew of its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.

This new unit is reportedly involved in ground operations in Ukraine, according to open-source intelligence researcher Moklasen on X (formerly Twitter).

They're probably safer this way.

[zekeb]

Not sure what thread this goes in. Feck it I'll put it here cause I'm lazy

https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/russian ... n-ukraine/

Russian aircraft carrier crew sent to frontline in Ukraine

In a surprising development, Russia has seemingly formed a mechanised battalion from the crew of its only aircraft carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov.

This new unit is reportedly involved in ground operations in Ukraine, according to open-source intelligence researcher Moklasen on X (formerly Twitter).

They're probably safer this way.

Uh huh. Highly-trained people turned into grunts.

[Suranis]

Usual caviats about videos on the internet, but the photos he shows are interesting at least.



And there are reports of explosions in Belgorod in Russia.

[RTH10260]

Russian court sentences 72-year-old American for fighting for Ukraine
Steven James Hubbard given six years and 10 months in prison, but family cast doubt on his reported confession

Reuters in Moscow
Mon 7 Oct 2024 13.08 CEST

A Russian court has sentenced a 72-year-old American citizen, Stephen James Hubbard, to six years and 10 months in prison after convicting him in a closed-door trial of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.

Investigators said Hubbard, a native of Michigan, was paid $1,000 (£760) a month to serve in a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the eastern city of Izyum, where he had been living since 2014.

They said Hubbard was provided with training, weapons and ammunition when he allegedly signed up in February 2022, the same month Moscow sent thousands of troops into Ukraine. He was detained by Russian soldiers on 2 April of that year, the RIA state news agency quoted the prosecutor as saying last month.

Russian state media said Hubbard had pleaded guilty to the charge.

But in interviews last month, Hubbard’s sister Patricia Hubbard Fox and another relative cast doubt on his reported confession, telling Reuters he held pro-Russian views and was unlikely to have taken up arms at his age.

On Monday, Hubbard, wearing a beige sweater, sat in a glass courtroom cage in handcuffs. He stood up, seemingly with difficulty, to hear the judge in the Moscow city court pronounce him guilty, removing his hat to reveal a shaved head.

Hubbard listened without visible emotion to the judge before conferring with his lawyer, who later declined to comment to reporters. Though RIA reported that Hubbard’s lawyer would appeal against the verdict.

Reuters was unable to confirm how Hubbard was detained. The Ukrainian foreign affairs ministry has not replied to multiple messages seeking comment.

A spokesperson for the US embassy in Moscow said it was aware of the detention of an American citizen, but declined further comment on Monday.



https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/ ... ng-ukraine

[Flatpoint High]

then there is this: https://www.politico.eu/article/vladimi ... ck-attack/

Ukrainian-linked hackers hit Russian state broadcaster VGTRK with an “unprecedented” attack, President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson said Monday.
In the early hours of Monday morning, all of the company's online broadcasting and internal services stopped working, including the streaming services of prominent TV and radio channels such as Russia-1 and Russia-24.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov expressed support for the Russian broadcasters and said specialists were working to determine who was responsible for the attack on what he called a “critical infrastructure facility.”