Fogbow

Notaperson wrote: ↑Thu Apr 21, 2022 1:12 pm Some mysterious fires have happened in Russia today. Earlier a military research facility, and now this. I don't normally approve of arson, but if this is arson, I heartily approve.

Volkonski wrote: ↑Thu Apr 21, 2022 2:42 pm Not a lot of info on the Dmitrievsky Chemical Plant online. Company website has a list of products and counties to which they export.

Plant is not large compared to, say, a typical US petrochemical plant. Have not found any online info about the plant's production rates.

After looking at available fire photos and Goodge Mapping the plant, I think "burned down" and "beyond saving" are likely not true. There do not seem to be large storage tanks onsite so the available fuel may be limited.

I am aware of plants that have suffered significant damage from explosion and fire that were restored to full functionality.

Fires at chemical plants are relatively common. Too soon to speculate about Ukraine-related causes after only 2 fires.

During a Monday meeting at Moscow’s Prosecutor General’s Office, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a shocking accusation, announcing the arrest of several accused assassins who were allegedly planning to kill prominent Russian state TV journalist and ardent Putin loyalist Vladimir Solovyov.

“This morning, organs of the FSB halted the activities of a terrorist group that was planning an attack and a murder of a prominent Russian TV journalist,” Putin stated, claiming that the plot was orchestrated by “high-ranking diplomatic officials in Europe and the United States” who are striving to divide Russian society and “destroy Russia from within.” Putin alleged that the West’s failure to prevail on the information front of the war in Ukraine has prompted it “to resort to terror, to arrange the killings of our journalists.” He added: “We know the names of the sponsors from Western intelligence agencies, first of all—of course—from the United States’ CIA, which are working with Ukraine’s security services.”

Russia’s notorious FSB counterintelligence agency released a video of the arrests, as well as so-called “behind-the-scenes” footage of agents searching and seizing property allegedly found at the suspects’ apartment, which was posted in its entirety by state media outlet RIA Novosti on Telegram. The footage showed an array of items laid out in the apartment, including a photograph of Adolf Hitler, six pristine-looking Ukrainian passports, a blonde wig, and brand new T-shirts emblazoned with swastikas that appeared to bear fresh creases from recent shipping.

But the seemingly brand new items weren’t the only curious elements depicted in the FSB video footage. In the original video, three copies of a Sims video game were shown laid out on the bed, as well as a book containing a menacing inscription, stating in part: “Kill to live and live to kill,” signed with the name of “Signature unclear.”

Social media users were quick to point that the SIMS game and “Signature unclear” could be signs that the arrest was part of an FSB hoax gone wrong, pointing out the directives for setting up the scene of the crime might have included planting three SIM cards and signing the book with an indiscernible signature—and that these instructions might have been misunderstood or taken too literally by the agents. Perhaps realizing their agents have flubbed, official videos posted by the FSB on its YouTube channel excluded the book and blurred the images of the SIMS video games.

pipistrelle wrote: ↑Tue Apr 26, 2022 7:26 am I saw that and wondered if they did it on purpose, as in “Help.”

The United States and Russia have conducted a prisoner exchange, releasing a former Marine detained by Moscow and a Russian pilot convicted by a U.S. court on drug smuggling charges, U.S. and Russian officials said on Wednesday.

A U.S. official said the decision to release Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko in exchange for American Trevor Reed required a "very hard decision” by President Biden, but one the U.S. leader was willing to make as Reed’s health appeared to deteriorate in Russian detention.

“Today, we welcome home Trevor Reed and celebrate his return to the family that missed him dearly,” Biden said in a statement. “The negotiations that allowed us to bring Trevor home required difficult decisions that I do not take lightly.”

Volkonski wrote: ↑Fri Apr 29, 2022 9:09 pm While the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra couldn't compare with the top western European and American orchestras, Rozhdestvensky conducted with unequalled nuance and energy.