Assault on Kiev: Russian helicopters swoop above Ukraine's capital

[tgw]

2 hours ago, Mavideol said:

and some good news for the week end.... I guess Russians are the only ones with the right to destroy anything, when the Ukrainians fight back they are all surprised and complain about it, the  Mxxxx Fxxxx's are kind of lucky, unfortunate;y it appears only 5 Russian were injured, let's hope Ukraine will shoot again and will have better luck

Russian official says Ukraine carried out drone attack on Black Sea fleet HQ

https://au.yahoo.com/news/russian-official-says-ukraine-carried-061449616.html

yeah, as with previous Ruzzian reporting on Ukrainian attacks in Ruzzian territory, such as Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Rostov, etc. they always report it as if it was an unprovoked attack, with a slight incredulous tone  that seems to say "it almost looks like Ukraine wants to declare war on Ruzzia" while Ruzzia is at peace... notwithstanding their "special military operation" of course.

It's just more of this dishonesty and bad faith the Ruzzians have shown since the beginning of this tragedy, and even for longer, ever since Putin started his great Ruzzia ambitions.

 

I am amazed at Putin's masterplan behind all this and at how long he has kept it up.

 

But we are demonizing Putin, and while this is totally justified, I suspect we should demonize more people than just him.

 

There appears to be a group of ex-KGB officers around him, it's not clear to me whether they control Putin, or the leadership is collegial, or if Putin is the ringleader.

 

It all started in 1999 when Putin successively became Chief of FSB, Chair of Security Council, Prime Minister and acting President.

 

Yeltsin built Putin up as a successor. My personal guess is that Putin had loads of dirt against Yeltsin.

The Yeltsin clan ( "The Family" ) probably thought they can control him.

I'm not sure they were ok with Putin staging terrorism and the Chechen war to get elected as president, and it's quite clear The family wanted to retain control over Ruzzia.
But Putin and his ex-KGB cronies waged war against both the old guard "The Family" and the "New Russians"-Oligarchs.

Putin played The Family against the "New Russians", and the latter had already either been eliminated or made compliant in 2003-2005, some remained alive and had to go into exile: Khodorkovsky, Gusinsky and many others.

And then the ex-KGB turned against The Family. The leader of The Family, Boris Berezovky, was eliminated in 2013.

 

But it didn't stop:

https://www.dw.com/en/mysterious-series-of-deaths-among-russian-oligarchs/a-61719107

https://nypost.com/2022/05/04/suspicious-russian-oligarch-deaths-match-kremlin-playbook-sources/

 

Putin can't control all these fronts alone (disinformation, Trump, Oligarchs, Influence operations, Butina & co., Gazprom, assassinations, etc.). I guess there is a group of ex-KGB with him, and they act at least semi-autonomously. Maybe there is some sort of "council" directing their actions, and Putin is a member, maybe the chairman, similarly to what the mafia did, and Putin is their consigliere.

 

This ex-KGB group is using Ruzzia as their personal empire, and they tried and are still trying to expand it.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/01/the-secret-source-of-putins-evil

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Kazakhstan narrowly avoided a Ruzzian-led coup d'état in January.

[LosLobo]

1 hour ago, ballpoint said:

You posted a link to a newspaper article, and the paper it referenced.  I acknowledged your post, and posted a direct link to the slide pack used in the presentation of that paper, plus highlighted what I found to be a significant conclusion regarding Russia's future as an oil exporting nation.

The paper my original post referenced, if you had bothered to have a look at it, clearly had a link directly to the slide pack, which you duplicated. This slide pack seemed to be the main raison d'etre of your post.

 

[ballpoint]

1 hour ago, LosLobo said:

The paper my original post referenced, if you had bothered to have a look at it, clearly had a link directly to the slide pack, which you duplicated. This slide pack seemed to be the main raison d'etre of your post.

 

Well done.  Here's a little gold star for you.

[Bkk Brian]

Ukraine grain tycoon killed in Russian shelling of Mykolaiv

 

Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said it was probably the heaviest Russian bombardment of the city so far, there was damage to a hotel, a sports complex, two schools and a service station, as well as homes. The region's leader Vitaliy Kim said Mr Vadatursky's "contribution to the development of the agricultural and shipbuilding industry, the development of the region is invaluable".

 

Mykhailo Podolyak said one of the missiles hit the businessman's bedroom, adding that this "leaves no doubt" it was being guided.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62367356

[LosLobo]

Interesting Ukraine War update with conclusive evidence that the  Olenivka POW Prison attack was Russian :

 

 

 

[Mavideol]

17 hours ago, tgw said:

yeah, as with previous Ruzzian reporting on Ukrainian attacks in Ruzzian territory, such as Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Rostov, etc. they always report it as if it was an unprovoked attack, with a slight incredulous tone  that seems to say "it almost looks like Ukraine wants to declare war on Ruzzia" while Ruzzia is at peace... notwithstanding their "special military operation" of course.

It's just more of this dishonesty and bad faith the Ruzzians have shown since the beginning of this tragedy, and even for longer, ever since Putin started his great Ruzzia ambitions.

 

I am amazed at Putin's masterplan behind all this and at how long he has kept it up.

 

But we are demonizing Putin, and while this is totally justified, I suspect we should demonize more people than just him.

 

There appears to be a group of ex-KGB officers around him, it's not clear to me whether they control Putin, or the leadership is collegial, or if Putin is the ringleader.

 

It all started in 1999 when Putin successively became Chief of FSB, Chair of Security Council, Prime Minister and acting President.

 

Yeltsin built Putin up as a successor. My personal guess is that Putin had loads of dirt against Yeltsin.

The Yeltsin clan ( "The Family" ) probably thought they can control him.

I'm not sure they were ok with Putin staging terrorism and the Chechen war to get elected as president, and it's quite clear The family wanted to retain control over Ruzzia.
But Putin and his ex-KGB cronies waged war against both the old guard "The Family" and the "New Russians"-Oligarchs.

Putin played The Family against the "New Russians", and the latter had already either been eliminated or made compliant in 2003-2005, some remained alive and had to go into exile: Khodorkovsky, Gusinsky and many others.

And then the ex-KGB turned against The Family. The leader of The Family, Boris Berezovky, was eliminated in 2013.

 

But it didn't stop:

https://www.dw.com/en/mysterious-series-of-deaths-among-russian-oligarchs/a-61719107

https://nypost.com/2022/05/04/suspicious-russian-oligarch-deaths-match-kremlin-playbook-sources/

 

Putin can't control all these fronts alone (disinformation, Trump, Oligarchs, Influence operations, Butina & co., Gazprom, assassinations, etc.). I guess there is a group of ex-KGB with him, and they act at least semi-autonomously. Maybe there is some sort of "council" directing their actions, and Putin is a member, maybe the chairman, similarly to what the mafia did, and Putin is their consigliere.

 

This ex-KGB group is using Ruzzia as their personal empire, and they tried and are still trying to expand it.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/01/the-secret-source-of-putins-evil

 

I wouldn't be surprised if Kazakhstan narrowly avoided a Ruzzian-led coup d'état in January.

it's funny as I was reading this morning news about Kazakhstan and you just mention the potential of coup d'etat in January, things were swept under the rug but still boiling on the back ground

Kazakhstan defies Putin

https://news.yahoo.com/kazakhstan-defies-putin-234700423.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

 

 

[placeholder]

42 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

it's funny as I was reading this morning news about Kazakhstan and you just mention the potential of coup d'etat in January, things were swept under the rug but still boiling on the back ground

Kazakhstan defies Putin

https://news.yahoo.com/kazakhstan-defies-putin-234700423.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

 

 

Actually, all the Stans in the Russian Federation are defying Putin by not endorsing the Ukrainian invasion.. oops! I mean the special military operation.

[tgw]

3 hours ago, Mavideol said:

it's funny as I was reading this morning news about Kazakhstan and you just mention the potential of coup d'etat in January, things were swept under the rug but still boiling on the back ground

Kazakhstan defies Putin

https://news.yahoo.com/kazakhstan-defies-putin-234700423.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Kazakh_unrest

Look at the timing.

Putin sent troops in, to "maintain order".

But after that intervention, the Kazakh government, instead of being grateful to Putin, instead multiplied affronts, such as refusing Ruzzian honors (medals), refusing talks with Lavrov, publicly announcing they would not support Russia against Ukraine, and also announcing they were ready to supply gas to Europe if transport was solved.

quotes from the aforementioned Wikipedia page:

" Putin described the intervention as a concerted effort to protect regional allies from what he described as colour revolutions instigated by foreign interference in allies' internal affairs."

"3,000 Russian paratroopers arrived in Kazakhstan on the morning of 6 January, "
"On 7 January, Tokayev (president of Kazakhstan)  said in a statement that constitutional order had "largely been restored in all regions of the country."

"On 10 January, military general and politician Zhanat Suleimenov committed suicide"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhanat_Suleimenov"He and many Kazakh politicians have been accused of treason during the unrest, including the former head of Kazakhstan's national security committee, Karim Masimov."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karim_Massimov

"On 11 January, Tokayev said that order had been restored in Kazakhstan in what he described as an attempted coup d'état. The government also stated that "foreign-trained Islamist radicals" were among those who had attacked government buildings and security forces"

=> connect the dots. The military general and Kasim Masimov can't be suspected of being islamist radicals.

So it was an attempted coup d'état by who ?

[Bkk Brian]

U.S. says Russia using 'nuclear shield' in Ukraine, risks terrible accident

 

UNITED NATIONS/KYIV, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The United States has accused Russia of using Ukraine's biggest nuclear power plant as a "nuclear shield" by stationing troops there, preventing Ukrainian forces from returning fire and risking a terrible nuclear accident.

 

Russia said it was responding to comments by Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine's deputy head of military intelligence, about the way Kyiv had used U.S.-made and supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers based on what he called excellent satellite imagery and real-time information.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/us-says-russia-using-nuclear-shield-ukraine-risks-terrible-accident-2022-08-02/

[tgw]

https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-bar-entry-major-british-personalitie/

Russia blacklists 39 Brits, including Keir Starmer, David Cameron and Piers Morgan

 

Moscow has banned 39 British politicians, business people and journalists from entering Russian territory, in response to the U.K.’s support of Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Monday.

The list includes Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, former Prime Minister David Cameron, and journalists Piers Morgan and  Robert Peston.

The names were added to a list of over 200 British citizens, including Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Liz Truss, who are already banned from entering Russia.

 

Wow, these Russian sanctions must really be hard. Sanctioned persons must be desperate ?

[RJRS1301]

42 minutes ago, tgw said:

https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-bar-entry-major-british-personalitie/

Russia blacklists 39 Brits, including Keir Starmer, David Cameron and Piers Morgan

 

Moscow has banned 39 British politicians, business people and journalists from entering Russian territory, in response to the U.K.’s support of Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Monday.

The list includes Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, former Prime Minister David Cameron, and journalists Piers Morgan and  Robert Peston.

The names were added to a list of over 200 British citizens, including Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Liz Truss, who are already banned from entering Russia.

 

Wow, these Russian sanctions must really be hard. Sanctioned persons must be desperate ?

I am sure they must be crying in their  vodkatini 

[Bkk Brian]

Ruzzians feeling the heat and blaming the US

 

Ukraine war: Russia accuses US of direct role in Ukraine war

Russia has accused the US of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine for the first time.

A spokesperson for Moscow's defence ministry alleged the US was approving targets for American-made Himars artillery used by Kyiv's forces.

Lt Gen Igor Konashenkov said intercepted calls between Ukrainian officials revealed the link. The BBC could not independently verify this.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62389537

 

[heybruce]

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

Ruzzians feeling the heat and blaming the US

 

Ukraine war: Russia accuses US of direct role in Ukraine war

Russia has accused the US of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine for the first time.

A spokesperson for Moscow's defence ministry alleged the US was approving targets for American-made Himars artillery used by Kyiv's forces.

Lt Gen Igor Konashenkov said intercepted calls between Ukrainian officials revealed the link. The BBC could not independently verify this.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62389537

 

I doubt that it is true, but if it is the Russians should be happy it is the Americans choosing the targets, not the Ukrainians.

[sawadee1947]

Just sightseeing. Want to see a city which is not totally destroyed????

[transam]

I see ol' Corby has had to stick his oar in, how embarrassing, but a guy who cavorts with terrorists, probably to be expected.........????

 

 

 

https://uk.yahoo.com/news/jeremy-corbyn-criticises-uk-prolonging-102651228.html

[ballpoint]

18 hours ago, tgw said:

https://www.politico.eu/article/russia-bar-entry-major-british-personalitie/

Russia blacklists 39 Brits, including Keir Starmer, David Cameron and Piers Morgan

 

Moscow has banned 39 British politicians, business people and journalists from entering Russian territory, in response to the U.K.’s support of Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced Monday.

The list includes Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, former Prime Minister David Cameron, and journalists Piers Morgan and  Robert Peston.

The names were added to a list of over 200 British citizens, including Boris Johnson, Dominic Raab and Liz Truss, who are already banned from entering Russia.

 

Wow, these Russian sanctions must really be hard. Sanctioned persons must be desperate ?

The Russians just can't stop lying.

Calling Piers Morgan a journalist. Ha!

[Mavideol]

5 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Ruzzians feeling the heat and blaming the US

 

Ukraine war: Russia accuses US of direct role in Ukraine war

Russia has accused the US of direct involvement in the war in Ukraine for the first time.

A spokesperson for Moscow's defence ministry alleged the US was approving targets for American-made Himars artillery used by Kyiv's forces.

Lt Gen Igor Konashenkov said intercepted calls between Ukrainian officials revealed the link. The BBC could not independently verify this.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62389537

 

typical blaming from losers.... it's not us it's them

[rudi49jr]

45 minutes ago, Mavideol said:

typical blaming from losers.... it's not us it's them

Unfortunately that is a sickness that seems to be conquering the world: it’s always somebody else’s fault, it can never ever in a million years be your own fault. 

[Bkk Brian]

This is where more serious accidents or false flag operations can create a catastrophe.

 

Ukraine war: IAEA says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant out of control

 

A huge nuclear power plant occupied by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine is "completely out of control", the head of the UN's nuclear agency says.

 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia earlier this week of using the plant, which it overran in March, as a military base to launch attacks on Ukrainian forces.

 

At a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Mr Grossi said: "The situation is very fragile. Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated one way or the other and we cannot allow that to continue."

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62412429

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Bkk Brian said:

This is where more serious accidents or false flag operations can create a catastrophe.

 

Ukraine war: IAEA says Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant out of control

 

A huge nuclear power plant occupied by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine is "completely out of control", the head of the UN's nuclear agency says.

 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia earlier this week of using the plant, which it overran in March, as a military base to launch attacks on Ukrainian forces.

 

At a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Mr Grossi said: "The situation is very fragile. Every principle of nuclear safety has been violated one way or the other and we cannot allow that to continue."

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-62412429

Putin will stoop to any level of low life, the West must NOT forget the depths these folk will stoop too.

The World must now take a different tack, which doesn't include Russia, set them adrift, let them live in their own World of negativity..????

[Bkk Brian]

On 8/3/2022 at 8:57 AM, heybruce said:

I doubt that it is true, but if it is the Russians should be happy it is the Americans choosing the targets, not the Ukrainians.

Very difficult to know if true or not, it apparently came initially from Vadym Sibitsky, Ukraine's Deputy Head of Military Intelligence:

 

"The U.S. supply of HIMARS to Ukraine has been accompanied by security cooperation The U.S. has a veto on intended targets and provides satellite imagery and real-time information before Ukraine uses HIMARS

 

This revelation from Vadym Sibitsky, Ukraine's Deputy Head of Military Intelligence, has fuelled Russia's proxy war narrative The Russian Defence and Foreign Ministries are both showing that arms supplies are mere cover for direct US involvement in the Ukraine war"

[heybruce]

1 hour ago, Bkk Brian said:

Very difficult to know if true or not, it apparently came initially from Vadym Sibitsky, Ukraine's Deputy Head of Military Intelligence:

 

"The U.S. supply of HIMARS to Ukraine has been accompanied by security cooperation The U.S. has a veto on intended targets and provides satellite imagery and real-time information before Ukraine uses HIMARS

 

This revelation from Vadym Sibitsky, Ukraine's Deputy Head of Military Intelligence, has fuelled Russia's proxy war narrative The Russian Defence and Foreign Ministries are both showing that arms supplies are mere cover for direct US involvement in the Ukraine war"

I'm sure the U.S. places strict limits on the use of these weapons to ensure they are used in compliance with the rules of war, aren't used against targets in Russia, and don't fall into Russian or other hostile hands. 

 

However regarding approving targets, I assume the U.S. allows broad use against legitimate military targets whenever the opportunity arises without a requirement to check with the U.S. before firing.  Not all targets stay in the same location for hours or days; people in the field need the flexibility to quickly fire when the opportunity arises before the enemy river crossing is completed or the enemy's mobile artillery is relocated.

[farmerjo]

1 hour ago, heybruce said:

I'm sure the U.S. places strict limits on the use of these weapons to ensure they are used in compliance with the rules of war, aren't used against targets in Russia, and don't fall into Russian or other hostile hands. 

 

However regarding approving targets, I assume the U.S. allows broad use against legitimate military targets whenever the opportunity arises without a requirement to check with the U.S. before firing.  Not all targets stay in the same location for hours or days; people in the field need the flexibility to quickly fire when the opportunity arises before the enemy river crossing is completed or the enemy's mobile artillery is relocated.

The US would not want them being used like a machine gun at $150,000 a rocket.

I do question this article saying the Russian version is better.

https://eurasiantimes.com/himars-is-the-third-weapons-platform-along-with-the-javelin-m777/

[Rimmer]

‘It’s just hell’: Ukraine says Russia has the upper hand in Donbas; U.S. approves Sweden and Finland to NATO

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the situation in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine as hellish, adding that Russia still has the upper hand in the region. Kyiv ordered the mandatory evacuation of Donetsk, a part of the Donbas, last weekend amid severe fighting there.

 

The first shipment of grain exports from Ukraine in months safely reached an anchorage in Turkish waters Tuesday night. The shipment will be inspected there Wednesday before carrying on its journey to Tripoli in Lebanon. The Sierra Leone-flagged Razoni departed Odesa on Monday, and Zelenskyy called the shipment a “positive signal.”

 

See more:

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/03/russia-ukraine-live-updates.html

 

[Bkk Brian]

2 hours ago, farmerjo said:

The US would not want them being used like a machine gun at $150,000 a rocket.

I do question this article saying the Russian version is better.

https://eurasiantimes.com/himars-is-the-third-weapons-platform-along-with-the-javelin-m777/

Unsurprising really when you read a co owned Indian online website that carries an article with a so called expert review from writer Parth Satam. Known for his pro Russian tweets, cites his source of Russians destroying US supplied HIMARS in Ukraine from unverified tweets from an unverified Russian troll "Ghost of Zepo"

 

The Russian 9A54 Tornado-S systems mentioned in it do seem to be as good if not better than the HIMARS but that's just on a quick google search without spending time on it.

 

[LosLobo]

Interesting update. Big drop in Oil price!

 

 

[placeholder]

10 minutes ago, LosLobo said:

Interesting update. Big drop in Oil price!

 

 

This is Joe Biden's fault!!!

[jvs]

3 hours ago, LosLobo said:

Interesting update. Big drop in Oil price!

 

 

I have been watching Jake for awhile now,this guy makes sense most of the time.

[Bkk Brian]

Excellent well researched investigation, even managed to speak to the suspect

 

Tracking the Faceless Killers who Mutilated and Executed a Ukrainian POW

 

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/08/05/tracking-the-faceless-killers-who-mutilated-and-executed-a-ukrainian-pow/

[LosLobo]

4 hours ago, Bkk Brian said:

Excellent well researched investigation, even managed to speak to the suspect

 

Tracking the Faceless Killers who Mutilated and Executed a Ukrainian POW

 

https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/08/05/tracking-the-faceless-killers-who-mutilated-and-executed-a-ukrainian-pow/

Bellingcat are a brilliant and very professional organisation, they would have to rate highly as one of Putin's main arch enemies They also documented, amongst many other examples of Putin's depravity, the Russian culprits for the Navalny underwear and Salisbury poisonings and the shooting down of MH17.