NWS Nieuws & Achtergronden
Discussieer hier diepgaander over de actualiteiten.
Het is veel erger: rusland is een onbetrouwbare leverancier van militaire hardware geworden.quote:Op zondag 28 januari 2024 17:03 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:
[..]
De Oekraïne oorlog is nou niet bepaald de ultieme showcase voor Ruzzische militaire hardware
In Syrië werd het nog geweten aan de Syrische crews.
Stel, India komt morgen in een oorlog terecht, dan zijn ze fucked. Want hun leverancier kan niet leveren.
De performance van russische hardware is op zich niet zo heel erg slecht. Het zijn vooral de taktieken die onvoorstelbaar zijn.
Had Ruzland redelijk in het begin van de oorlog niet een redelijk aantal (T90?) tanks van India gehouden?quote:Op zondag 28 januari 2024 17:19 schreef oheng het volgende:
[..]
Het is veel erger: rusland is een onbetrouwbare leverancier van militaire hardware geworden.
Stel, India komt morgen in een oorlog terecht, dan zijn ze fucked. Want hun leverancier kan niet leveren.
De performance van russische hardware is op zich niet zo heel erg slecht. Het zijn vooral de taktieken die onvoorstelbaar zijn.
Die voor onderhoud in Ruzland waren.
Zoiets staat me vaag bij.
Perhaps you've seen it, maybe in a dream.
A murky, forgotten land.
A murky, forgotten land.
Tactieken zijn inderdaad idioot. Maar de kwaliteit is wel echt een stuk minder.quote:
[..]
Het is veel erger: rusland is een onbetrouwbare leverancier van militaire hardware geworden.
Stel, India komt morgen in een oorlog terecht, dan zijn ze fucked. Want hun leverancier kan niet leveren.
De performance van russische hardware is op zich niet zo heel erg slecht. Het zijn vooral de taktieken die onvoorstelbaar zijn.
En dan komt de perceptie ineens om de hoek kijken: Een minister van defensie moet aan het parlement en dus de kiezer duidelijk maken waarom ze die bepaalde systemen willen. Als er dan beelden opduiken van een T-90 die door een Bradley met een 25mm kanon wordt uitgeschakeld heb je een beetje een uitdaging. Idem voor de zogenaamd superieure S-400. Een stelletje stormshadows vlogen er gewoon langs en bliezen een korvet op die pal naast een batterij lag. Ga dan maar uitleggen waarom je nou zulke systemen wil hebben.
Klopt, die zijn in beslag genomen.quote:
[..]
Had Ruzland redelijk in het begin van de oorlog niet een redelijk aantal (T90?) tanks van India gehouden?
Die voor onderhoud in Ruzland waren.
Zoiets staat me vaag bij.
https://kyivindependent.c(...)-if-russia-wins-war/
Die Hongaarse bevolking in die regio wil helemaal niet bij Hongarije horen. Sterker nog zij strijden helemaal niet tegen het moeten leren van de Oekraïense taal. De enige die daar zo'n probleem van maken zijn de Hongaarse politici in Hongarije zelf (hoofdzakelijk Orban). Die dat gebruiken als argument om hun zin er door heen te kunnen drukken.quote:Hungarian far-right leader calls for seizure of Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast if Russia wins war
The Hungarian far-right party Our Homeland declared its claim to Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast if Ukraine loses the war, party leader Laszlo Toroczkai said on Jan. 27.
Zakarpattia Oblast, bordering Slovakia and Hungary to the west, and Romania to the south, has a significant population of ethnic Hungarians. The issue of minority rights has created friction between Hungary and Ukraine, particularly centered around Ukrainian state linguistic policies.
The language law that has long been a source of strife between Hungary and Ukraine was instituted in 2017 and requires at least 70% of education above fifth grade to be conducted in Ukrainian.
In response to criticism, Ukraine has said that it does not intend to limit the linguistic rights of its minorities but rather to simply ensure that all Ukrainian citizens have the sufficient capability to speak the national language, Ukrainian.
Our Homeland has called for increased autonomy for ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine and in other neighboring countries with a Hungarian diaspora.
The party, which currently holds six seats out of a total of 199 in Hungary's parliament, has been criticized for its nativist views and rhetoric. Toroczkai has made a number of controversial statements, including some deemed to be antisemitic, anti-Roma, and anti-immigrant.
Dora Duro, a member of Our Homeland in the Hungarian parliament, also said in an interview with the Russian state-controlled media outlet Izvestia in April 2023 that Ukraine would need Russia's permission to join NATO.
Toroczkai's comments about the proposed plan to claim Ukrainian territory came at a party conference in Budapest, which was also attended by representatives of other far-right parties from Europe, including Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the Dutch Forum for Democracy.
"If this war ends up with Ukraine losing its statehood, because this is also on the cards, then as the only Hungarian party taking this position, let me signal that we lay claim to (Zakarpattia Oblast)," Toroczkai said.
Hungary's Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on Toroczkai's statements, Reuters said.
The news came ahead of a meeting between Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto scheduled to take place on Jan. 29 in the Zakarpattia Oblast city of Uzhhorod.
In the leadup to Szijjarto's visit, the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet, considered to be closely affiliated with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, published an article condemning the state of Ukraine's press freedom. It also criticized Ukrainian media directives for journalists to use the official Ukrainian spelling of city names instead of the Russian version.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has continued an ongoing process of “de-Russification” that gained momentum after the EuroMaidan Revolution in 2014. Reclaiming Ukrainian names of cities has been a key element of this process.
Ukraine is still working on organizing a visit from Orban to Ukraine. The Hungarian prime minister said he had received an invitation from President Volodymyr Zelensky in December 2023 to hold a bilateral meeting in the future and accepted it.
Orban last visited Ukraine in 2010.
Hungary continues to undermine Western efforts to support Ukraine and sanctions against Russia. Budapest has maintained warm relations with Moscow amid the all-out war, and top Hungarian officials have visited Russia repeatedly since February 2022. Orban also met Russian President Vladimir Putin in October 2023 in Beijing.
Hungary blocked a 50 billion euro ($54 billion) aid package from the EU in December 2023 that was supported by all other member states. EU leaders are set to reconvene on the issue on Feb. 1, with Brussels signaling that a deal might be reached even without Hungary's approval.
Voornamelijk draagvlak.quote:Op zondag 28 januari 2024 16:24 schreef ExTec het volgende:
[..]
Waarom spant de VS zich dan altijd zo enorm in, om europa aan boord te krijgen als ze militair weer iets willen?
Natuurlijk zijn Westerse wapens meestal beter, maar het allemaal héél erg genuanceerd. Je moet ook kijken naar bestaande infrastructuur, kosten, training, etc.quote:
[..]
Maar de kwaliteit is wel echt een stuk minder.
En dan komt de perceptie ineens om de hoek kijken
Hoe dan ook, de russische wapenexport is ten dode opgeschreven. Told you so aan het begin van deze oorlog gheghe.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/28/7439222/
Voor de zekerheid de Oekraïense pers maar even in diskrediet brengen. Zodat bij elk ietwat negatief artikel over Orban/Hongarije over dit bezoek ze daar naar kunnen verwijzen en kunnen zeggen van "zie je nu well".quote:Hungarian newspaper close to PM publishes anti-Ukrainian article ahead of foreign minister's visit to Ukraine
The Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet, part of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's informal media empire, has published an article criticising Ukrainian media ahead of Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó's visit to Uzhhorod.
Source: the article in Magyar Nemzet; European Pravda
Quote from the anonymous article: "While a Potemkin village is being organised for the foreign press, not a single crumb of classical journalism can be found in the Ukrainian national press." [A Potemkin village is a construction (literal or figurative) whose purpose is to provide a façade to a situation, to make people believe that the situation is better than it is – ed.]
Details: The Media Center Ukraine comes in for particular criticism from Magyar Nemzet: "They provide additional information to correspondents visiting the Eastern European country regarding what is permitted and what is not. For example, they explain how to correctly describe and pronounce the names of settlements in Ukrainian, omitting their original Russian names. According to this, Kiev is Kyiv, Kharkov is Kharkiv, Dniepr is Dnipro, Donbass is Donbas, and Odessa has to be Odesa."
Yet the Magyar Nemzet article refers to Lviv as Lemberg, despite the fact that the correct name, Lviv, is also common in Hungary and is used by the Hungarian government.
The article is also critical of independent Ukrainian media outlets, claiming that they are funded by George Soros or European taxpayers to publish articles that please the Ukrainian authorities.
"Male writers working at media organisations with such connections are at no risk of mobilisation; they can enjoy privileges provided they berate Russians, Slovaks, Hungarians, Putin, Trump, Tucker Carlson, Viktor Orbán, Robert Fico, Pope Francis, and anyone who has doubts about Kyiv's leadership from abroad," the article says.
One of the outlets mentioned by Magyar Nemzet is European Pravda, which comes in for criticism for "anti-Hungarian articles", and even for spelling the names of hostile countries and politicians with small letters in social media comments.
Magyar Nemzet does have praise for Diana Panchenko, a "TV presenter who stands for peace" who has urged her counterparts working in Ukraine to temporarily leave the country if they want to work freely. Panchenko is a well-known pro-Russian propagandist who has worked for Putin crony Viktor Medvedchuk's TV channels NewsOne, 112 Ukraine, and ZIK.
It is worth noting that the article in this virtually state-owned newspaper was published the day before Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó is expected to visit Ukraine. It is hoped that the visit will help to improve Ukrainian-Hungarian relations.
Background: The Ukrainian and Hungarian foreign ministers will meet in Uzhhorod on 29 January to prepare for a meeting between Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
zolang Wilders en deel van de coalitie is en een nog kleiner deel van het TK parlement , kan hij alleen MP spelen, en dat zal ie graag doen , prima, beter dan het stotterende meisje yselguz,quote:
[..]
Dat valt allemaal wel mee, de kans dat dat gebeurt door Wilders is een stuk groter dan dat West-Europa Russisch wordt, daar heeft Poetin ook helemaal geen behoefte aan. Het enige dat er kan gebeuren is wederzijdse vernietiging bij een Russische aanval op de Baltische staten.
Er gaat niets boven lekker in de zon zitten in de achtertuin met een heel koud glas bier , als je al 72 jaar bent en nog gezond, laat ze maar lachen de sukkels
Ruzzia wordt niet gehinderd door 100 miljoen regeltjes van de linkse zijde bij het bouwen van kerncentralesquote:
[..]
Jammer, hier val je weer door de mand.
Het is altijd Oekraïne die iets moet doen, moet laten, of moet opgeven.
Ondertussen plant rusland (=land in oorlog) minimaal 11 nieuwe kernreactoren, bovenop degenen die al gebouwd worden.
Hypocrisie level = 5000
Er gaat niets boven lekker in de zon zitten in de achtertuin met een heel koud glas bier , als je al 72 jaar bent en nog gezond, laat ze maar lachen de sukkels
Dat, en oude kerncentrales moeten vervangen worden.quote:
[..]
Ruzzia wordt niet gehinderd door 100 miljoen regeltjes van de linkse zijde bij het bouwen van kerncentrales
https://uawire.org/russia(...)revenue-losses-mount
Nee dank je. De EU en de landen erin zouden nooit meer gas moeten afnemen van Rusland. Zelfs niet als de oorlog straks weer voorbij is. Die kans heeft Rusland verspeelt door het te gebruiken als pressie/chantage middel.quote:Russia signals willingness to maintain gas exports to Europe through Ukraine as revenue losses mount
Russia, which previously attempted to "freeze" Europe by slashing gas supplies to European customers in a bid to force the West to make concessions over the war in Ukraine, has now dramatically changed its rhetoric after losing a significant portion of its income from exporting natural gas.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced Moscow's readiness to continue the delivery of gas to Europe, including through the territory of Ukraine, as reported by Russian media.
However, Novak lamented the lack of enthusiasm from European buyers to negotiate over supplies of Russian fuel.
It was previously reported by international media that the European Union has no plans to negotiate the extension of the contract for the transit of Russian gas through the Ukrainian pipeline system, which expires at the end of this year. The EU has stated that they have considered various options in the event of the cessation of the aforementioned agreement and have concluded that even those countries still dependent on supplies from Moscow will be able to find alternative suppliers.
A day earlier, the press service of the head of the Ukrainian government once again declared that Ukraine will not extend the contract for the transit of gas from Russia across its territory. This statement was made in response to Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's comments, who after visiting Ukraine claimed that Kyiv was supposedly ready to discuss prolonging the contract with Gazprom.
Wat ik dan alleen niet snap. Waarom zou je dit wereldkundig makenquote:
Don't worry about the future. Or know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.
Werkt ook als een afschrikmiddel natuurlijk. Zodat Rusland zijn schepen en onderzeeboten uit de Zwarte Zee houdt. Want het gaat om een erg groot oppervlak. En bijvoorbeeld een onderzeeboot is haast onmogelijk om te vinden en dus aan te vallen wanneer deze zich onderwater bevindt, en alleen nu en dan de hoofd boven het water uitsteekt.quote:
[..]
Wat ik dan alleen niet snap. Waarom zou je dit wereldkundig maken
Tenminste met dit soort drones.
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/01/27/7439183/
quote:Russian media uncovers military intelligence agent in Brussels facilitating defence equipment supply to Russia
The Russian publication The Insider claims to have found in Brussels an agent of Russian military intelligence (GRU), Viktor Labin, who, together with his family, provides the Russian defence industry with coordinate-measuring machines.
Source: European Pravda
The Insider refers to Viktor Labin as a GRU agent because he previously lived in the dormitory of the Russian Military Intelligence Academy in the Russian Federation. Afterwards, he resided in a building where some apartments were rented by military personnel.
Viktor Labin, along with his sons Roman and Ruslan, owns the Groupe d'Investissement Financier company in Belgium. The Insider says that, through this company, the supply of scarce equipment for the Russian defence industry is carried out, specifically to the Sonatec Moscow-based LLC, owned by Ruslan Labin.
In at least 2022, Sonatec LLC was a contractor for 18 Russian defence companies. The company imports measuring instruments, challenging to substitute in Russia, from different countries, such as Italy (Tomelleri Engineering), Germany (Messtechnik), and the UK (Aberlink).
Journalists also point out that the office of the Labin family's Brussels firm, Groupe d'Investissement Financier, is located within a 15-minute drive from the headquarters of the European Commission.
Viktor Labin told The Insider that "after the sanctions" and the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine in 2022, his son's firm no longer conducts shipments to Moscow.
Ruslan Labin, the Sonatec’s owner, did not deny that his company was a contractor for 18 defence companies and may still be supplying. Roman Labin, who organises pro-Russian actions in Europe, refused to communicate with journalists.
Background:
• Journalists have previously uncovered individuals in Europe associated with Russian intelligence or defence. Last summer, it was revealed that the relatives of Boris Obnosov, Director General of Tactical Missiles Corporation, whose missiles are used to attack Ukraine, continue to reside in Czechia and own real estate worth tens of millions of crowns.
• In August 2023, the Czech Financial Analytical Office seized assets belonging to the family of Boris Obnosov.
https://money.usnews.com/(...)s-stuck-sources-data
quote:Exclusive-Russia Struggles to Sell Pacific Oil, 14 Tankers Stuck - Sources, Data
MOSCOW (Reuters) -
• This content was produced in Russia where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine
More than a dozen tankers loaded with 10 million barrels of Russia's Sokol grade crude oil have been stranded off the coast of South Korea for weeks, so far unsold due to U.S. sanctions and payment issues, according to two traders and shipping data.
The volumes, equating to 1.3 million metric tons, represent more than a month's production of the Sakhalin-1 project, once a flagship venture of U.S. major Exxon Mobil, which exited Russia after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Sakhalin-1 was one of the first post-Soviet deals in Russia made under a production sharing agreement. When Exxon Mobil left in 2022, output fell to nearly zero and hasn't fully recovered since.
Difficulties in selling Sokol grade pose one of the most significant challenges Moscow has faced since the West imposed sanctions and one of the most serious disruptions to Russian oil exports in two years.
Washington has said it wants sanctions to reduce revenues for President Vladimir Putin and his war machine in Ukraine but not to disrupt the flows of Russian energy to global markets.
Last year, the United States imposed sanctions on several vessels and companies involved in transporting Sokol.
As of Friday, 14 vessels loaded with Sokol were stuck around South Korea's port of Yosu, including 11 Aframax vessels and three very large crude carriers (VLCCs), according to LSEG, Kpler data and traders.
The volume stored in tankers represent 45 days of production from Sakhalin-1, which averages output of 220,000 barrels per day (bpd).
Supertankers (VLCCs) La Balena, Nireta and Nellis with some 3.2 million barrels onboard (430,000 metric tons), currently near South Korea's Yosu, are acting as a floating storage for the Russian oil grade, Reuters sources said and Kpler and LSEG shipping data show.
The VLCCs previously accepted oil from several Aframax vessels via ship-to-ship, the data showed. Supplying oil volumes from smaller ships to bigger ones can save on freight.
The rest of the Sokol oil loaded from November to January is stored on smaller Aframax vessels (able to carry 500,000-800,000 barrels) - Krymsk, NS Commander, Sakhalin Island, Liteyny Prospect, NS Century, NS Lion, NS Antarctic, Jaguar, Vostochny Prospect, Pavel Chernysh and Viktor Titov.
Shipments of Sokol to the Indian Oil Corp have been delayed by payment problems, forcing India's biggest refiner to draw from its inventories and buy more oil from the Middle East.
A source close to IOC said the company did not expect to receive any Sokol shipments soon due to a disagreement over which currency would be used to pay for it.
IOC is the only state refiner that has an annual deal to buy a variety of Russian grades, including Sokol, from Russian oil major Rosneft. IOC and Rosneft did not reply to Reuters requests for comment.
Vliegende mijnen dus eigenlijk.quote:
Over 10 jaar zitten die dingen overal op muren en gebouwen met wat AI systemen aan boord, wachtend op een voorbijganger of auto.
Opgeblazen gevoel of winderigheid? Zo opgelost met Rennie!
https://www.euractiv.com/(...)hungary-on-nato-bid/
quote:Swedish PM says won’t negotiate with Hungary on NATO bid
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Friday (26 January) he would “not negotiate” with Hungary over Sweden’s NATO bid despite Budapest now the sole holdout after Turkey’s ratification.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this week invited Kristersson to Budapest to discuss the issue “at your earliest convenience”, an invitation Kristersson on Thursday accepted.
“I’m happy to go to Budapest … We have a lot to talk about … but we’re not negotiating the NATO membership, there are no negotiations on this,” Kristersson told Swedish television TV4.
“But we could talk about how we will best cooperate in NATO,” he said.
Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström on Tuesday said there was “no reason to negotiate” with Hungary.
Kristersson said Friday that while he was willing to travel to Budapest, a meeting with Orbán at the European Union Council in Brussels on 1 February was more practical.
“We’ll see each other on Thursday next week at the European Council and we can begin discussing things then,” he said.
For a visit to Budapest, “we’d have to find a date for this, things like this aren’t usually done in haste. I suspect that his calendar, like mine, is quite full.”
Orbán’s invitation came just days after Hungary criticised Sweden for not taking steps to strengthen bilateral relations.
Budapest has often denounced what it called Sweden’s “openly hostile attitude”, accusing Swedish representatives of being “repeatedly keen to bash Hungary” on rule-of-law issues.
Orbán said nonetheless on Wednesday that he had reaffirmed his “support” for Sweden’s membership to the security alliance in a phone call with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Sweden and Finland dropped decades of military non-alignment and applied for NATO membership in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago.
Finland became the 31st nation of the alliance last April.
NATO membership applications require unanimous ratifications by all alliance members.
After more than a year of delays, Turkey’s parliament ratified Sweden’s bid on Tuesday and President President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan signed the formal accession protocol on Thursday.
