Oorlog in Oekraïne #922 Rockets, POWS or kittens. Whodunnit?

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Russia's large landing ship arrived in Sevastopol.
"ATESH" records the arrival of a large Russian amphibious assault ship in occupied Sevastopol.

Alarge Russian landing ship has arrived in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol. This was reported on 24 January by the military movement of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars "ATESH".

Our agents, after much time of reconnaissance and expectation, were able to record the redeployment of a large landing ship of the project 775 to the Grafskaya pier of the city of Sevastopol, - stated in the message.

It is reported that after arriving in the harbour, the ship was turned around and covered with camouflage. Most likely, it will soon perform combat duty.

All operational information guerrillas passed to the Defence forces of Ukraine.

We will remind, 26 December 2023 in the occupied Crimea AFU struck a large landing ship "Novocherkassk" of the Russian Federation.

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ISW: Kremlin may allow some anti-war opposition to frame Russian presidential election as referendum on war
The Kremlin may allow for some anti-war opposition from Russian presidential candidates, aiming to frame the controlled outcome of Russian President Vladimir Putin's re-election as a "positive referendum" on the war in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) wrote in its assessment on Jan. 23.

The ISW notes that the Kremlin may allow for the nomination of anti-war politician Boris Nadezhdin to funnel opposition votes and portray a "semblance of choice while ultimately ensuring the re-election of Russian President Vladimir Putin" in the March presidential election.

Nadezhdin, a former Russian parliamentarian, has collected more than 100,000 signatures as part of the nomination process, but has yet to reach the signature threshold established by the Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) to become a candidate.

During an interview with independent Russian media outlet Verstka, Nadezhdin said that he believes the CEC will have to register him as a candidate due to his claimed broad support among the Russian electorate.

Nadezhdin campaign website explicitly lists his positions as "peace" instead of "militarism," "civil society" instead of "Putin's (power) vertical," and "cooperation with European countries" rather than "Russia's isolation," among other views that contradict Putin's policies.

Nadezhdin was a close associate to Boris Nemtsov, a Russian opposition figure assassinated in 2015. He then moved to closer align with the Kremlin's current presidential administration, before publicly denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Nadezhdin has previously said that he supports Russia's constitution and considers himself a "Russian patriot." He also said that the citizens of Crimea wanted to join Russia. When asked if he would return the Ukrainian territories illegally occupied by Russia, he declined to answer directly.

Putin is seeking a fifth term as president in an election scheduled for March 2024 that he is widely expected to win handily.

In 2020, Russia held a rigged vote to approve constitutional amendments allowing Putin to run for two more presidential terms after his current one expires in 2024. The vote effectively made Putin, who has been in power since 1999, a dictator for life.

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Op woensdag 24 januari 2024 20:29 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Maar het stelt toch allemaal niet zo veel meer voor de steun.

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Op woensdag 24 januari 2024 20:38 schreef sturmpie het volgende:

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dat dacht ik ook

dus we maken ons verder geen zorgen

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Op woensdag 24 januari 2024 20:48 schreef sp3c het volgende:

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Welke beslissingen gaat hij veto'en?

De meesten zijn op voordracht van de Amerikanen zelf ... dan ziet een veto er behoorlijk stom uit

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Op woensdag 24 januari 2024 20:52 schreef sturmpie het volgende:

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wat houdt dat artikel in ?
kan 't via google niet vinden

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Artikel 5
De partijen komen overeen dat een gewapende aanval tegen een of meer van hen in Europa of Noord-Amerika als een aanval tegen hen allen zal worden beschouwd; zij komen bijgevolg overeen dat, indien zulk een gewapende aanval plaatsvindt, ieder van hen de aldus aangevallen partij of partijen zal bijstaan, in de uitoefening van het recht tot individuele of collectieve zelfverdediging erkend in Artikel 51 van het Handvest van de Verenigde Naties, door terstond, individueel en in samenwerking met de andere partijen, op te treden op de wijze die zij nodig oordeelt met inbegrip van het gebruik van gewapend geweld om de veiligheid van het Noord-Atlantisch gebied te herstellen en te handhaven.

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Op woensdag 24 januari 2024 21:02 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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[ twitter ]

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Op woensdag 24 januari 2024 21:09 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Maar dat gaat dus waarschijnlijk echt niet gebeuren.

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​russia Strikes Ukraine With Defective Kh-47 Kinzhal Missiles, They Do Not Explode (Photo)

In addition to the fact that the russian Kinzhal missiles were helpless against the Patriot surface-to-air (SAM) system due to the low culture of production, their warheads do not explode.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine once again showed the process of disposing of warheads of the russian "hypersonic" Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles.

This demonstrates that these missiles, which were presented in russia as the most modern and which "have no analogues in the whole world", do not work at all as expected in the Kremlin. More precisely – they do not work at all.

Update: later findings indicate that non-triggering of Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles is not a defect but a feature due to a conscious design choice on the part of russian engineers. The text below is left without changes as originally published.

It should be noted, that, firstly, they were able to be shot down by Ukrainian air defense (it is said that with the help of the American Patriot SAM system. Secondly, despite the fact that the warheads of these missiles fall to the ground, a large part of them does not explode. And two such warheads were destroyed the other day in Kirovohrad Region.

The fact is that the warhead of the Kinzhal missile should at least have a delayed-action contact detonator. It should be noted that a warhead of the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile itself must penetrate an obstacle and then explode. But, despite hitting the ground, the detonator does not always go off, as can be seen in the photos presented by theThe Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

Earlier, on January 5, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine showed the process of disposing of another Kh-47 Kinzhal warhead, which was shot down in the Kyiv region. At the same time, it is known that in January of this year the enemy used a total of 20 of these missiles. January 2 - 10 (all missiles were shot down), January 8 - 4 (all missiles were not shot down), January 13 - 6 (all missiles were not shot down).

Defense Express learned from its own sources that the above-mentioned cases of failure of the Kinzhal’s warheads are far from all such cases. But even three cases are 15% of defective warheads that did not explode.

This may indicate a rather interesting trend that the russian federation has existing problems with the reliability of both the missile and its warhead. It should also be noted that 15% of head unit failures is a very high level of unreliability. Considering the fact that the X-47 Kinzhal is essentially a small-scale, if not an artificial product, this situation is quite telling.

According to a preliminary expert assessment, this may indicate that the quality of russian missiles is declining against the background of russian neglect of quality control for the sake of increasing the number of missiles produced. As a result, the number of defective missiles in the final products of the russians significantly increases.

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Op woensdag 24 januari 2024 21:22 schreef sp3c het volgende:

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Maar de NATO steunt Oekraïne helemaal niet dat doen de lidstaten, er wordt niet over gestemd en het valt niet te veto'en
Nieuwe lidstaten veto'en kan, proberen ze het over vier jaar nog een keer

Oefeningen blokkeren kan niet, je kan zeggen wij doen niet mee of het mag niet meer op ons grondgebied maar dan loop je het risico dat dat twee kanten op werkt en alle amerikaanse troepen naar huis moeten

Trump kan he-le-maal niets

Behalve twitteren

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Translation:
-Why the fuck did you come here?
-I came here for bread.
-For bread?
-Is this the fucking time for bread?

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In the end they say "You'll eat some fucking bread in a moment".

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Apple has paid a $13 million fine that will go directly into Russia's state budget as Putin ramps up war spending, report says
• Apple has paid a $13 million Russian fine over alleged illegal app store practices, per the FT.
• The funds have gone straight into Russia's state budget.
• Russia also fined Google over $400 million last year for not deleting "fake news" about Ukraine.

Apple has reportedly paid a $13 million Russian fine as President Vladimir Putin escalates his crackdown on foreign tech firms.

The US tech giant paid the 1.18 billion roubles ($13.3 million) fine on January 19, Russia's FAS antitrust agency announced, per Reuters — with those funds immediately going into the country's federal budget as Russia ramps up spending on its destructive invasion of Ukraine.

The fine was levied after the regulator ruled that Apple had used its dominant market position to stop developers from informing customers they could pay for in-app purchases outside of Apple's app store, according to the Financial Times.

Like many other Western companies, Apple has largely abandoned Russia since Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, though it still operates its app store in the country.

The Silicon Valley heavyweight paused all iPhone sales shortly after Russian tanks rolled across the Ukrainian border, and has also limited its ApplePay service in the country.

Apple and its Big Tech rivals have faced repeated fines and legal action by Russian regulators.

Apple previously paid a $12 million fine over similar allegations of anticompetitive behavior in February, and Google has received over $400 million worth of fines for failing to remove what Russia describes as "fake" information about the war in Ukraine.

Russia's finances are straining under the pressure of the ongoing war in Ukraine and crippling sanctions, with the Kremlin reportedly burning through nearly half of its national wealth fund since the invasion began.

Putin has attempted to top up stretched defense budgets by cracking down on foreign companies and selling off their stranded Russian assets, with the Russian government hoping to raise 114.5 billion roubles ($1.3 billion) from such sales in 2023.

However, the war has left the Russian economy struggling with spiraling food prices and a shortage of workers.

It has also devastated Russia's once-thriving tech sector, with tech workers fleeing the country to escape conscription and social media giant Yandex NV, once known as "Russia's Google," reportedly planning to sell off most of its Russian business.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

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Russia's foreign minister accuses Ukraine of targeting plane with missile
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Ukraine of targeting the plane that went down in the Belgorod region with a missile while addressing reporters at the United Nations on Wednesday.

“The Ukrainian side launched an air defense missile from the Kharkiv region," Lavrov stated, adding that the "fatal strike" targeted the plane.
CNN is not able to independently verify Russia’s claims.

Lavrov said he has also requested an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting at 3 p.m. ET today following the downing of the plane.

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Gallery fire destroys more than 4,000 artworks in Georgia’s separatist region Abkhazia

A fire broke out at the National Art Gallery of Abkhazia — a pro-Russian separatist republic that is officially part of Georgia — in the early hours of Sunday morning, destroying at least 4,000 works of art, local state media has reported.

“Everything burned down,” Acting Minister of Culture Dinara Smyr said, according to the region’s Apsnypress news agency. “This is an irreparable loss for the national culture of Abkhazia. I am choking with tears. It is difficult for me to speak.”

Apsnypress reported that the gallery’s collection included around 300 works by Alexander Chachba-Shervashidze, an exiled painter whom the breakaway republic considers to be the “first professional Abkhazian artist.” None of his pieces are thought to have survived, said Smyr.

The National Art Gallery is in Sukhumi, the separatist republic’s capital city. Abkhazia has declared its own government and is propped up by Russia, but is not officially recognized as a state by most countries or by the United Nations. According to Abkhazia’s State Committee for Statistics, the region’s population was around 244,000 in 2021.

The National Art Gallery’s Central Exhibition Hall caught fire overnight, and emergency services were called to the scene early Sunday morning, according to state media. By 7 a.m. local time the flames were contained, and by 11 a.m. the blaze was extinguished, Apsnypress said, adding that 11 fire brigades were called to the site from surrounding areas.

“The death of the works of art that made up the fund of the National Art Gallery is an irreparable loss for the cultural heritage of our state,” Abkhazia’s Parliament said in a statement posted on state media.

Around 150 paintings by Abkhaz artists survived the fire, Apsnypress reported, citing Smyr. The news agency also said that Abkhazia’s Prosecutor General’s Office has opened an investigation into the cause of the blaze.

In a social media post, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called the fire a “tragedy for us all.” She also criticized the region’s leadership, saying, “I deplore what is a direct consequence of the neglect of cultural identity both by the de-facto leadership and the Russian occupants.”

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Op donderdag 25 januari 2024 10:10 schreef oheng het volgende:
Het russische vliegtuig dat neerstortte in Afghanistan, mist 1,2 miljoen dollar in contanten.

Een waterzuiverings installatie is "ingestort". .... Na een explosie

Verder nog een brand in een botenfabriek.

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Op donderdag 25 januari 2024 14:38 schreef dudewhereismycar het volgende:
Van de week waren er behoorlijk wat users die hoog en laag beweerde dat er geen 65 oekrainers in het neergestorte vliegtuig zaten.

Toch wel opvallend dat zelfs Oekraïne een onderzoek wil naar de crash.. dus zoals ik al zei; niet te snel juigen mensen. Schijnbaar zijn zelfs de veiligheidsdiensten van Oekraïne niet helemaal zeker van de situatie.
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Kills in five minutes: Russia begins using new grenades with poisonous substances
Ukraine's captain has reported that in December 2023, 81 instances of the use of Russian grenades with poisonous substances were recorded

As of January 2024, 626 attacks using chemical substances have been recorded since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion, as stated by Captain Andriy Rudyk, a representative of the Center for the Research of Trophy and Prospective Weapons and Military Equipment.

The first instances of new Russian grenades with poisonous substances were recorded in December 2023. Rudyk discussed this at the briefing "RG-VO Grenade – Undeniable Proof of the Use of Chemical Weapons by the Russian Armed Forces Against Ukraine," which took place at the Military Media Center.

Rudyk said that as of January 2024, since the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion, 626 attacks with the use of chemical substances have been recorded. The occupiers used K-51 and RGR irritant grenades until December 2023.

In December 2023, 81 instances of the use of Russian grenades with poisonous substances were recorded, which at that time accounted for 17% of the total number since the start of the Russian invasion.

"In December, the use of the RG-Vo grenade was recorded for the first time. This grenade contains chloroacetophenone – a choking substance, prohibited by the Geneva Protocol on the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other similar gases," he emphasized.

REFERENCE
RG-VO is a Soviet offensive hand fragmentation grenade for short-range use, designed to strike enemy personnel and equipment. To increase the fragmentation capability, the grenade's body is lined with a four-to-six-layer folded steel tape with notches for creating fragments. The radius of the fragments' spread is 25 meters.
The Center for the Research of Trophy and Prospective Weapons and Military Equipment assumes that if it lands in a building or a bunker, it would take only five minutes and 70 drops of this gas to kill the people inside.

The specimen examined by the Center was manufactured in 2023 at a factory that has been operational since the Soviet era.

"Thus, in 2017, Russia lied about fulfilling its obligations under the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, according to which, it was supposed to destroy both the weapons and the production facilities where they were manufactured," Rudyk said.

The Center suggests that Russia is currently trying to gauge the world community's reaction to later expand the range of chemical weapons usage.

REFERENCE
K-51 is a Soviet hand-held aerosol "tear gas" grenade of non-lethal action. The body is made of hard plastic with a metal bottom. The hermetically sealed grenade body is filled with a powder-like highly irritating substance of non-lethal action. The effect of the K-51 grenade compared to grenades for dispersing demonstrators is significantly higher, as it was created for military and special services.

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'Trainwreck': Conservative GOP senators break on border, Ukraine deal as Donald Trump pressures Republicans
WASHINGTON – Lawmakers have spent months battling over aid to Ukraine and solutions for the crisis at America's southern border. But some of the Senate's more conservative Republicans are increasingly wary of a bipartisan plan to address both issues as former President Donald Trump weighs in, creating additional challenges for negotiations that are already a political minefield.

Several Senate Republicans argued during a press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday that the package, which seeks to tie together border programs and aid to Ukraine, would not actually increase the president’s ability to slow migration to the U.S. The comments come as Trump – the dominant GOP presidential frontrunner – is pressuring Congressional Republicans to reject the deal.

“This supplemental bill is a kamikaze plane in a box canyon with no exit headed for a trainwreck,” quipped Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

“From what I’m hearing, this could cause as many problems as it solves,” said Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

More: 'We have sharp elbows': Nikki Haley braces for home-state dirty tricks in Trump fight

The deal – which has not yet been finalized – would reportedly make it harder for migrants to claim asylum, make it easier for U.S. officials to deport migrants who have remained in the country illegally, expand detention capacity and add Border Patrol staff.

It would also bar additional migrants from entering the country if the system becomes overwhelmed, which Republican lawmakers said would mean a cap of 5,000 migrants per day.

Lee, Cruz and Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Mike Braun, R-Ind., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. raised concerns that such a threshold could effectively set migration at that level, which they deem too high. The conservative leaders on Wednesday also said the package stands no chance of passing in the House, where some members on both the right and left have raised concerns with the proposal.

“I think this is dead on arrival in the House,” Scott said. “We should not be voting for anything as Republicans in the Senate if the Republicans in the House don’t support it.”

It’s not clear if the Senate-negotiated deal would fail in the lower chamber. But the odds aren't great: House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has expressed doubt about a compromise that doesn’t resemble the hardline border bill House Republicans passed last year. The speaker has argued all aspects of their bill – referred to as H.R. 2 – must be passed together in a comprehensive package to address the southern border.

The criticism from conservative senators came ahead of a private Wednesday afternoon meeting that stretched on for roughly an hour and a half. During the gathering, the full group of GOP senators aired their concerns or made their case for Ukraine funding and tying it to the border and immigration debate.

Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio told reporters after the lengthy meeting that most minds weren’t changed. The discussion was instead for senators to express their positions surrounding American support for the war in Ukraine, including an “exit strategy” and the “depletion of reserves.”

The Donald Trump factor
The debate between senators that erupted on Capitol Hill in recent weeks isn't purely about policy. Election year politics have also influenced conversations, as some Republicans raise concerns that the border package would give President Joe Biden a victory on a hot-button campaign issue.

Fresh off his win in the New Hampshire primary, Trump has started pressuring congressional Republicans to reject the deal. Some senators have grown concerned Trump’s musings could endanger what are incredibly delicate negotiations.

“If someone is running for president and is trying to actively undermine governance, that’s bad,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told USA TODAY. “Is it really better to have 10,000 people crossing a day illegally or 5,000? Clearly it’s 5,000. So somebody who is trying to defeat legislation, all in the name of running for office? That is irresponsible.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., acknowledged the new political challenges of linking Ukraine aid to border policy in the closed-door meeting Wednesday, according to reporting by Punchbowl. "We don’t want to do anything to undermine" Trump, McConnell reportedly said. "We're in a quandry."

And as Trump remains the dominant 2024 GOP frontrunner after winning the critical states of Iowa and New Hampshire, some of his allies in the Senate appear to be welcoming his input on whatever deal emerges.

“He’ll be the next Republican president. If we expect him to be able to secure the border, he ought to be able to see this bill and he ought to be able to be engaged and say ‘Is this gonna help me secure the border or not?’” Scott said.

“I think we’re gonna hear his opinion almost certainly,” Vance, one of the former president’s strongest supporters in the Senate said. “I think it’s an important opinion because he’s effectively (the) leader of the party.”

Proponents of the deal are arguing the proposal would empower Trump if he regains office – and that Congress has a unique opportunity to get something done. The last attempt at major border or immigration policy change came in 2013, which passed the Senate but never came up for a vote in the House.

“I think if anyone’s intellectually honest with themselves, they all know that these would be extraordinary tools for President Trump,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who has been a vocal advocate of additional aid to Ukraine.

He said Trump asked for additional tools to manage the border when he was president.

“These tools, he will use. It may be politically difficult to deal with it now, but we will rue the day if we miss this opportunity.”

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UK intelligence analyses reasons for heating issues in Russian cities
UK intelligence has reported disruptions in heating and electricity supply in several regions of Russia in recent months.

Source: UK Defence Intelligence update on Twitter (X) for 25 January, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The intelligence noted that the heating problem in the regions of Russia has become particularly acute against the backdrop of sub-zero temperatures and Russia's wartime policy.

As the intelligence service points out, Russia prefers to finance military expenses rather than the overall state infrastructure, especially after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Many regional governments in Russia were offered funding for local volunteer formations, which likely led to straining their budgets and the need for some reduction in infrastructure maintenance expenses.

Additionally, mobilisation likely resulted in a shortage of labour in all sectors, including qualified heating engineers and plumbers.

"Putin has asked the Minister of Emergency Situations, Aleksandr Kurenkov, to ensure the supply of heating and electricity to residents. Appearing to tackle this issue is likely a key concern for Putin ahead of the forthcoming Russian presidential elections," the overview states.

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Two more countries join drone and electronic warfare coalition
Sweden and the United Kingdom have joined the coalition of drones and electronic warfare, along with Ukraine and Latvia; the number of participants has increased to four countries.

Source: Ministry of Defence

Details: It is reported that Paul Johnson, Swedish Defence Minister, announced this decision during a meeting of the Contact Group on Defence of Ukraine on 23 January.

The UK also announced its intention to join the coalition and become its co-leader with Latvia.

"Technology, not people, should fight. The drone coalition will be another step towards implementing this idea. This will save many lives. Strengthening and developing the production of unmanned systems will transform the army and make the latest technologies a reality today," said Kateryna Chernohorenko, Deputy Minister of Defence for digital development, digital transformation and digitalisation.

Background:
• Ukraine and Latvia created the drone and electronic warfare coalition. The decision was made during the visit of Latvian Defence Minister Andris Sprūds to Kyiv. Now, it has four participating countries.
• In early January 2024, Latvia took over the leadership role in the "drone coalition" among the countries that provide military support to Ukraine to repel Russian aggression.

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France Transfers Additional M270 LRU MLRS to Ukraine
France has delivered an additional number of LRU multiple launch rocket systems, announced the French Ministry of Armed Forces.

The Ministry further stated that this transfer is part of the ‘Artillery for Ukraine’ coalition.

As part of this coalition, France handed over two additional LRU multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine, bringing the total number of French systems to six.

Lance-Roquettes Unitaire, or LRU for short, is the French version of the American M270 MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System).

They are equipped with a modernized EFCS fire control system, a new navigation system (using GPS), and a new communication system.

In total, 13 out of 57 MLRSs of the French army were modernized in 2011-2014. They were then sent to the 1st Artillery Regiment.

Other combat vehicles that were decided not to be upgraded were placed into storage. France has an overall plan to replace all of its M270s by 2027.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine received the first four units of LRUs in the fall of 2022. The first photos of this system in the army appeared in December 2022.

Like the U.S. version, the LRU can use GMLRS high-precision rockets, which provides it with unmatched accuracy and a range of up to 80 km.

As Militarnyi previously reported, the UK and Italy will receive M270 MLRS upgraded to M270A2 configuration.

Work on modernizing a certain number of MLRS is planned to be completed by September 30, 2027.

Modernization of the British MLRS will be carried out at local enterprises.

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Ukraine's Come Back Alive Foundation, Monobank, and United24 Obtain 2,020 Daylight FPV Drones for Military
The Come Back Alive Foundation, Monobank, and United24 received the first batch of 2,020 daylight FPV drones.

According to Come Back Alive, drones were received as part of 'Operation Unity 2: New Year's Fireworks' initiative.

These drones have the capability to fly within a range of 12 to 20 kilometers and carry ammunition weighing up to 4 kilograms. Each drone obtained under the initiative will be equipped with such ammunition.

"Thank you to everyone who joined the fundraising for the New Year's salute for the invaders. Next up is the arrival of 3,000 kamikaze drones with thermal imaging optics. Stay tuned," the foundation's statement reads.

Militarnyi reported on December 22 that all 10,000 FPV kamikaze drones purchased as part of the 'Operation Unity' project have already been handed over to Ukrainian troops.

As previously reported, in August 2023, due to 'Operation Unity', the Come Back Alive Foundation, together with United24 and Monobank, raised UAH 235,000,000 in 3 days.

These funds were used to purchase and transfer 10,000 FPV kamikaze drones with Ukrainian-made HEAT and high-explosive incendiary warheads to the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

The Come Back Alive Foundation received first 5,000 kamikaze drones in October. The drones have already been handed over to Ukrainian defenders in various parts of the frontline.

The Come Back Alive Foundation received the second batch of 5,000 FPV drones in early December.

The Ukrainian military approved the models of FPV drones and their ammunition. The drones were manufactured by a foreign company that specializes in the production of drones.

The warheads for FPV drones are manufactured by a Ukrainian company. In addition, in December, the project was extended and named Operation Unity 2: New Year's Salute.

In less than 3 days, as part of the fundraiser, volunteers raised more than UAH 226,000,000 for 5,000 FPV kamikaze drones: 3,000 drones will be equipped with special thermal imaging cameras for night vision and 2,000 with a daytime camera.

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Military intelligence: Senior Russian officials were supposed to be on Il-76 flight but did not board
High-ranking Russian officials were supposed to be on board the Il-76 aircraft that crashed in Belogorod Oblast on Jan. 24, but the Federal Security Service (FSB) did not allow them to board at "the last moment," Andrii Yusov, Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson, told RFE/RL on Jan. 25.

The Il-76 transport plane crashed in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on Jan. 24, allegedly killing everyone on board. Russia's Defense Ministry then claimed that 65 Ukrainian POWs had been on the plane due to a scheduled prisoner exchange later that day.

Ukraine's military intelligence agency did not confirm whether prisoners were on the plane, nor commented on what might have caused the crash, but said a prisoner exchange had been planned for that day.

According to Yusov, Ukrainian intelligence suggests that several senior military and political officials should have been on board but were instead told by the FSB to use other modes of transport.

Yusov said that this information became known to Ukrainian intelligence after the plane crashed.

Following the crash, the FSB and the Russian military did not allow emergency workers to inspect the crash site as per protocol, Yusov said.

According to Yusov, five bodies were sent to the local morgue in Belgorod, and no human remains are visible on videos from the crash site.

Russia claimed that 65 Ukrainian POWs, six crew members, and three accompanying people were on board.

Chief Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets also said on air on Jan. 25 that photos and videos from the site do not indicate "any signs that there were such a large number of people on the plane."

"I'm not an expert, but if there were even photos and videos of our prisoners of war, (Russia) would have already posted it," Lubinets said, referring to the photographic evidence of the crash site.

Yusov said the names of the senior officials who were supposed to be on board "are known and will be revealed," as Ukraine intends to provide its findings to international investigators.

Lubinets said he will appeal to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross for help find out what happened, following President Volodymyr Zelensky's announcement on the evening of Jan. 24 that Ukraine will insist on an international investigation into the crash.