Ik schets gewoon een mogelijkheid, niks meer niks minder. Jij doet net alsof het leger een soort overleg organisatie is waar de mening van de eerste de beste soldaat leidend is. Impopulaire beslissingen nemen waarbij mensen kunnen sneuvelen hoort bij het commandant zijn.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 15:02 schreef ExTec het volgende:
[..]
Daarbij, die Syrski, met de bijnaam de slachter, kan bovenstaande niet net zo goed opgaan voor zijn beslissingen?
Dus we hebben het over sentiment?
Duidelijk.
Ow, dus omdat ik een situatie schets, waarin een commandant veraf, niet luisterde naar boots on the ground, doe ik ineens "alsof het leger een soort overleg organisatie is waar de mening van de eerste de beste soldaat leidend is."?quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 15:17 schreef AchJa het volgende:
Jij doet net alsof het leger een soort overleg organisatie is waar de mening van de eerste de beste soldaat leidend is.
Dus we hebben het over sentiment?quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:00 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Ow, dus omdat ik een situatie schets, waarin een commandant veraf, niet luisterde naar boots on the ground, doe ik ineens "alsof het leger een soort overleg organisatie is waar de mening van de eerste de beste soldaat leidend is."?
Vervelend trekje is dat, doen alsof mensen waar je tegen spreekt compleet dom zijn, om zo te kunnen scoren met een open deur.
quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 11:24 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Ja, aldus wat anonieme soldaten aan het front.
Electoraal gewin wellicht, Canada heeft altijd veel migranten uit Oekrane ontvangen en door de oorlog zijn er honderdduizenden bijgekomen.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 14:24 schreef Wantie het volgende:
[..]
Wel opvallend dat de conservatieven in Canada aandringen op meer hulp, terwijl de conservatieven in de VS het tegenovergestelde doen.
Wat is er misgegaan in dat land?
Of die conservatieven in Canada weten wel wat goed of fout is.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:22 schreef BlaZ het volgende:
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Electoraal gewin wellicht, Canada heeft altijd veel migranten uit Oekrane ontvangen en door de oorlog zijn er honderdduizenden bijgekomen.
Nee, niet alleen heb ik meermaals opgemerkt dat legers geen democratie zijn, en heb ik zelf ook in het leger gezeten, maar jij denkt hier te moeten "uitleggen" dat als je een opdracht krijgt, je die dient uit te voeren.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:17 schreef AchJa het volgende:
[..]
Dus we hebben het over sentiment?
Duidelijk.
Ja, want dat is altijd precies hoe politici handelen.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:23 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[..]
Of die conservatieven in Canada weten wel wat goed of fout is.
quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:24 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ twitter ]
Daar organiseren ze voorlopig geen aanvallen meer.
Het lijkt nog steeds onduidelijk. Als ik dit lees lijkt het erop alsof de Amerikanen Zelensky overtuigd hebben dit vooral niet te doen.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 11:53 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:
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Die of een slager. Maar het probleem hiermee is vooral dat Zelensky zichzelf blijkbaar voor het grote geheel zet.
Absoluut niet positief dit gezeik. Die man is bekwaam of niet, daar moet ie op beoordeeld worden, niet op persoonlijke voorkeuren.
Het moest allemaal niet zwart-wit bekeken worden toch?quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:23 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Nee, niet alleen heb ik meermaals opgemerkt dat legers geen democratie zijn, en heb ik zelf ook in het leger gezeten, maar jij denkt hier te moeten "uitleggen" dat als je een opdracht krijgt, je die dient uit te voeren.
Nevermind dat je dat als klein kind al vrij snel bevat, je hebt niet voor niets rangen in het leger.
Maar jij moest het mij vertellen
En de redelijk uitvoerig uiteengezette context, clash tussen militaire doctrines, negeer je.
Want de open deur moet natuurlijk wel ingetrap kunnen worden.
En over welke "uitvoerig uiteengezette context" heb je het nou precies?quote:
Nee. Idd. Een leger kan geen democratie zijn. Het is een uitvoerend orgaan.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:23 schreef ExTec het volgende:
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Nee, niet alleen heb ik meermaals opgemerkt dat legers geen democratie zijn, en heb ik zelf ook in het leger gezeten, maar jij denkt hier te moeten "uitleggen" dat als je een opdracht krijgt, je die dient uit te voeren.
Nevermind dat je dat als klein kind al vrij snel bevat, je hebt niet voor niets rangen in het leger.
Maar jij moest het mij vertellen
En de redelijk uitvoerig uiteengezette context, clash tussen militaire doctrines, negeer je.
Want de open deur moet natuurlijk wel ingetrap kunnen worden.
Dat je eerst lid moet worden van Xquote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Hier is een handig lijstje met nieuwe doelen. Oekrane gaat namelijk de hele olie- en gasinfrastructuur van Rusland platleggen.
[ twitter ]
Wordt zo toch een kostbare hobby, zo'n driedaagse speciale militaire operatiequote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Hier is een handig lijstje met nieuwe doelen. Oekrane gaat namelijk de hele olie- en gasinfrastructuur van Rusland platleggen.
[ twitter ]
De Oekranse media berichtten enkele uren terug dat de situatie vooralsnog onduidelijk is. Maar wellicht heb jij zelf betere connecties in de Oekranse politiek, dat weet ik niet.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:51 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Voor het geval jullie het nieuws hebben gemist: Zalushny blijft gewoon aan hoor...
Zal ook wel elders te vinden zijn.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:58 schreef Jaroon het volgende:
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Dat je eerst lid moet worden van X
Zeker als ze daarna ook nog achter je familie aan gaan.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 14:20 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ twitter ]
[ twitter ]
Dit zal zijn collegae vliegeniers niet lekker zitten denk ik. Je gaat toch een beetje over je schouders kijken. Even gezellig een restaurantje pakken wordt natuurlijk ook een gevaarlijk avontuur op deze manier.
Dat zal wel meevallen. Aan de andere kant, als burgers naast militairen gaan staan in oorlogstijd neem je een risico....quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:59 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:
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Zeker als ze daarna ook nog achter je familie aan gaan.
Joh.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:51 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Voor het geval jullie het nieuws hebben gemist: Zalushny blijft gewoon aan hoor...
Nou ja, als Zelenskyy hem gewipt had was hij nu wel weg. De situatie met de Russische bevelhebber is onduidelijker.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:58 schreef BlaZ het volgende:
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De Oekranse media berichtten enkele uren terug dat de situatie vooralsnog onduidelijk is. Maar wellicht heb jij zelf betere connecties in de Oekranse politiek, dat weet ik niet.
Las diverse malen dat hij verzocht zou zijn te vertrekken. Dit heeft hij geweigerd.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:58 schreef BlaZ het volgende:
[..]
De Oekranse media berichtten enkele uren terug dat de situatie vooralsnog onduidelijk is. Maar wellicht heb jij zelf betere connecties in de Oekranse politiek, dat weet ik niet.
Hahahahahahahahaquote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:45 schreef AchJa het volgende:
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Het moest allemaal niet zwart-wit bekeken worden toch?
In die thread postte iemand deze uitgebreide google maps link met lokaties van opslagtanks e.d.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Hier is een handig lijstje met nieuwe doelen. Oekrane gaat namelijk de hele olie- en gasinfrastructuur van Rusland platleggen.
[ twitter ]
Dat is volgens de cijfers van de russen zelf. Jammer genoeg geldt ook hier hetzelfde als voor China: de macroeconomische cijfers laten een ander beeld zien. Je hoeft alleen maar te kijken naar de exportcijfers en rente percentage.quote:
Maar als Isa zegt dat Rusland de Baltische staten gaat binnenvallen, gaat dat juist niet gebeuren.quote:
https://www.ft.com/content/d304a182-997d-4dae-98a1-aa7c691526dbquote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 21:39 schreef oheng het volgende:
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Wacht ff. Die knakker gebruikt het IMF als bron. Ik kom uit op hele andere resultaten.
[ afbeelding ]
Schitterend en nu?quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 21:58 schreef FLATTTENtheCURVE het volgende:
[..]
https://www.ft.com/content/d304a182-997d-4dae-98a1-aa7c691526db
Als de economie zo fantastisch draait in Rusland waarom heeft de gewone bevolking flink last van inflatie en zijn er al op verschillende momenten voedsel tekorten geweest zoals eieren en kip? Of meld dat de pro-Russische bronnen van jouw niet?quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 21:58 schreef FLATTTENtheCURVE het volgende:
[..]
https://www.ft.com/content/d304a182-997d-4dae-98a1-aa7c691526db
FT is pro-Russisch? De economie van de VS draait ook goed maar er zijn ook een hoop daklozen. Wat probeer je te zeggen?quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:01 schreef ipa84 het volgende:
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Als de economie zo fantastisch draait in Rusland waarom heeft de gewone bevolking flink last van inflatie en zijn er al op verschillende momenten voedsel tekorten geweest zoals eieren en kip? Of meld dat de pro-Russische bronnen van jouw niet?
Ik heb geen FT account dus kan het artikel sowieso niet lezen en daardoor ook niet de bronnen waar ze het artikel op baseren. Zoals al vaker is aangegeven in dit topic blijken veel journalisten gebruik te maken van Russische bronnen die zeer discutabel zijn. Dat er veel daklozen zijn in de VS is weer een bewuste keuzen van het beleid wat ze daar al jaren voeren. Dat heeft niet zoveel te maken met de economie daarzo. Je weet wel het beleid van een kleine overheid enzovoort wat hier de rechtse kiezer ook zo graag wilt tot dat ze de overheid nodig hebben...quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:03 schreef FLATTTENtheCURVE het volgende:
[..]
FT is pro-Russisch? De economie van de VS draait ook goed maar er zijn ook een hoop daklozen. Wat probeer je te zeggen?
Maar heb je het artikel wel helemaal gelezen, of niet?quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:03 schreef FLATTTENtheCURVE het volgende:
[..]
FT is pro-Russisch? De economie van de VS draait ook goed maar er zijn ook een hoop daklozen. Wat probeer je te zeggen?
Hopelijk gaan nog meer van dit soort vieze ratten door de Oekraense veiligheidsdiensten in eigen land afgemaakt worden.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 14:20 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ twitter ]
[ twitter ]
Dit zal zijn collegae vliegeniers niet lekker zitten denk ik. Je gaat toch een beetje over je schouders kijken. Even gezellig een restaurantje pakken wordt natuurlijk ook een gevaarlijk avontuur op deze manier.
Via de tweet in dit bericht is het bericht gratis te lezenquote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:09 schreef ipa84 het volgende:
Ik heb geen FT account dus kan het artikel sowieso niet lezen
Ah dan zou je de economie van geen enkel land kunnen bestuderen aangezien er overal geld rondgepompt en bijgedrukt wordt. En misschien ben je vergeten dat Rusland veel grondstoffen bezit waar ze geld mee verdienen.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:10 schreef ExTec het volgende:
[..]
Maar heb je het artikel wel helemaal gelezen, of niet?
In geval je dat wel gedaan hebt, weet je dat jezelf aan het feliciteren bent, om jezelf te feliciteren. De toekomst van rus ziet er nog steeds niet echt rooskleurig uit.
En snap je iets van economie? Een heel klein beetje?
Dan snap je mss dat rus per saldo niet echt rijker wordt, van een jaren 50 tank reviseren, die daarna binnen een week in oekraine aan puin wordt geschoten.
Maar je snapt niet veel van economie dus, helder.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:14 schreef FLATTTENtheCURVE het volgende:
[..]
Ah dan zou je de economie van geen enkel land kunnen bestuderen aangezien er overal geld rondgepompt en bijgedrukt wordt.
Russische tactieken tegen de Russen zelf inzetten.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 18:59 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:
[..]
Zeker als ze daarna ook nog achter je familie aan gaan.
De FT snapt er ook weinig van.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:15 schreef ExTec het volgende:
[..]
Maar je snapt niet veel van economie dus, helder.
Nee, die schetsen best een genuanceerd beeld.quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:26 schreef FLATTTENtheCURVE het volgende:
[..]
De FT snapt er ook weinig van.
quote:Op zaterdag 3 februari 2024 23:26 schreef FLATTTENtheCURVE het volgende:
[..]
De FT snapt er ook weinig van.
quote:The huge budget expenses combined with Russia’s isolation . . . create an effect that’s like when you put dough in a plastic container,”(...) “It rises until it runs into the roof, and then there’s nowhere to go.”
The surge in public spending has driven inflation up to 7-7,5 percent, prompting the central bank to raise the key interest rate to 16 percent — a higher rate even than in Ukraine.
Kim Dotcomquote:
Het ontbreken van militaire censuur omdat we officieel niet in oorlog zijn wordt door de Russen slim misbruikt om propaganda te verspreiden. Het lijkt ook te werken, vooral in de VS.quote:
quote:Dozens of journalists detained in Moscow as military wives protest mobilization
A number of people, including journalists from foreign press organizations, have been detained in Moscow after authorities cracked down on protesters at Russian President Vladimir Putin's election headquarters, independent outlets reported Saturday.
The protest was organized by the wives of mobilized men amid a growing movement of women who are demanding that their husbands and sons are returned home from fighting in Ukraine.
Video seen by CNN shows Russian authorities detaining several people wearing "Press" vests near Red Square.
The "500 days of mobilization" rally brought women to the walls of the Kremlin before moving to Putin's nearby election headquarters, it was reported. The independent Russian news outlet SOTAvision posted on their Telegram channel that a correspondent saw security forces "snatching random people from the crowd, and only men."
At least 27 people, only one of them a protester, were driven in a police van to Kitay-Gorod station where they are currently being held, according OVD-info, a group that monitors Russian repression. OVD-info said they dispatched a lawyer to visit the detainees but was denied access.
Independent Russian media group Mediazona reported Saturday that among those held are journalists working for Kommersant, France Press and Spiegel, as well as human rights activists.
Another seven journalists covering the rally were taken to the Basmanny police station, OVD-info said. Among them is the representative of the Japanese television company "Fuji" Andrei Zaiko, they report.
One state media employee has since been released from Kitay-Gorod along with three minors, according to OVD-info on Telegram. They said: "Police officers told them that they planned to soon release the rest of the employees of federal and foreign media, but to leave 'foreign agents' media representatives in the police station. All detainees also had their phones taken away."
Russia's foreign agents law was expanded in late 2022 to include individuals or groups who "received support and (or) is under foreign influence", criticised as a move by the Kremlin to silence those critical of its war on Ukraine, including journalists.
Ook bij het leger aan het front wordt de onvrede steeds groter. Waar die roddel vandaan komt dat de oorlog deze maand over zal zijn en ze naar huis mogen op de 24ste van deze maand is mij een raadsel. Laten we hopen dat er een waarheid achter deze roddel schuilt. Al verwacht ik dat niet natuurlijk. Er staan een aantal links naar verdere artikelen onder in dit artikel die wat meer details geven over genoemde conversaties.quote:‘Foxes Are Eating Our Boys’ – Russian Soldier Reveals Shocking Aftermath of Failed Operation
The soldier also reveals that there are rumors among Russian army that they will all be sent home soon and the war “lasts until February 24 and that's it.”
A Russian soldier has been overheard in an intercepted phone call describing how he and his comrades were deployed on a foolhardy and deadly mission by commanders who later arrested him for complaining about what happened.
In the conversation released by Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR), the man tells his friend Sanya about his company ending up in the midst of withering Ukrainian fire, all while lacking the artillery needed for a counterattack.
“It's just that we ended up where we shouldn't be. What the hell did I do there without artillery? In short, they [commanders] put us in a quarry, and that's where the fire show began.
“On the one side of the quarry – machine guns; on the other side – drones and two f*cking mortars. They [Ukrainian troops] started beating us up from two sides. They kicked our asses totally.
“Non-stop fire from literally everywhere; we are running back and forth, like idiots. No one knows where to go. It was a total f**king disaster.”
Speaking further, he told Sanya that he approached the battalion commander following the failed operation, asking who would be held responsible for the criminal order.
“I was talking to the battalion commander, you know, I put it straight, I said: ‘You're going to be responsible for those who stayed there. We shouldn't have been there. Who sent us there without f*cking artillery, what the f*ck? Will you be held responsible for it?’
"Sanya, and what do you think happened? I was immediately arrested. I spent 4 days in the punishment pit."
Speaking further, the soldier complains that the bodies of his deceased comrades won't even be retrieved and appropriately buried.
"Yes. And the most annoying thing is, f**k it, the guys who died there won't be even taken from there. Before that, we were there too, not far from Avdiivka, and we couldn't take bodies from there either.
"They've been lying there for more than a month. Foxes, f**k it, are gnawing, eating the boys.”
Continuing, the soldier explains to his friend that if the body isn't retrieved, the relatives of the fallen soldiers won't be able to apply for compensation.
“In short, if there is no body – there is no business,” he says.
“I told him [the commander], I said take the phone, call these boys' parents and explain to them why their kid died and where his body is. I say, explain how he died and under what circumstances. Why the f**k it happened?
“And he starts to beat himself in the chest and says that he's a battalion commander, like, ‘you better think about who you're talking to.’"
"I replied: "Yes, I know exactly who I am talking to, what I am saying, why I am saying it, and to whom it refers."
The soldier continues to lament that commanders assign unrealistic combat tasks but never participate in military missions, but instead “sit in Donetsk and watch via a drone as we are being killed.”
“F**king assh*le, you're sitting in Donetsk, looking at a drone, as we are being killed. You haven't been on a single assault with us, f**king douchebag.
In an unexpected conclusion of the conversation, he voices his allegations that the war might be over soon, precisely on its second anniversary.
"Well, again, you see, there are rumours that we're going home sooner, that it all lasts until February 24 and that's it."
Discord over commanders' unrealistic goals and extremely hazardous combat tasks appears to grow among Russian soldiers.
In a number of conversations recently intercepted by HUR, soldiers discuss ways to give up serving and avoid further deployment to the frontline while civilians panic about being conscripted.
For example, a Russian soldier was overheard on a phone call revealing that a portion of Moscow's battalion had defied orders and was currently "idle in the forest, not engaged in combat."
In another instance, Russian soldiers were complaining about not being given leave in almost two years and saying that “soon we'll gather a crowd and head towards Russia.”
Back in December of 2023, Alexander Shpilevoy, mobilized from Voronezh, recorded a video calling for the rotation of military personnel and an end to hostilities in Ukraine.
Three weeks later, it was revealed that he was confined in a penal guards' facility – basically a punishment pit – in the Luhansk region.
Earlier this year, Kyiv Post interviewed Maria* who works as one of Ukrainian intelligence’s professional eavesdroppers and spoke about the shocking things she hears.
Russia regularly dismisses the content of intercepted calls published by Ukraine, saying they are faked, a claim Kyiv Post put to Maria. She said: “Yes, they all are real even though they might seem insane. Sometimes I can’t believe the words I’m hearing myself, but we have what we have.”
Kyiv Post regularly reposts some of the most revealing and shocking intercepted conversations.
quote:HBO drops pro-Kremlin actor Bikovic from The White Lotus cast after Ukraine's condemnation
HBO terminated its contract with Serbian-Russian actor Milos Bikovic for a role in an upcoming season of the White Lotus series a week after Ukraine called out the television network over his casting, sources told the Deadline media outlet on Feb. 2.
Bikovic has worked in Russia for over a decade and was granted Russian citizenship by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. The actor has repeatedly justified Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea and has not condemned the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
HBO announced on Jan. 12 that Bikovic had been cast for the upcoming third season of the popular show The White Lotus. He was supposed to play a small role of Russian Valentin, a flirtatious yoga instructor at a Thailand hotel, according to Deadline.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry posted a video on Jan. 24 featuring Bikovic's pro-Russian statements and a video of an award ceremony where Putin gave Bikovic an award for "contribution to Russian culture," among other things.
"Is it all right for you to work with a person who supports genocide & violates international law?" the ministry wrote on X (formerly Twitter), tagging the TV network.
Bikovic has traveled to Russian-occupied Crimea multiple times, including for work, resulting in Kyiv putting him on a no-entry list. He starred in popular Russian movies and TV shows, including those directed by known war supporter Nikita Mikhalkov.
The actor confirmed on Feb. 3 that he would not star in The White Lotus, calling the events "a targeted campaign… that can create a disturbing precedent shadowing the essence of artistic freedom."
"I was honored to be chosen to be a part of White Lotus, a TV series that I hold in high regard and with colleagues whom I deeply respect," Bikovic said in a statement published on X.
"However, my participation is not possible due to reasons beyond the realm of art, and I will not bow to any narrative that seeks to compromise my integrity."
HBO will now recast Bikovic's part as production is about to start in Thailand.
quote:Russia Labels Veteran Rights Campaigner Orlov 'Foreign Agent'
Moscow targets a prominent human rights activist in continuing bid to suppress dissent.
Russia on Friday named veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov, head of the Nobel Prize-winning Memorial group, a "foreign agent".
Moscow has labelled hundreds of activists and independent journalists "foreign agents" in recent years as part of a sweeping crackdown on dissent.
Russia's justice ministry said Orlov "opposed the special military operation in Ukraine, disseminated false information about decisions taken by public bodies of the Russian Federation, (and) participated in the creation of messages and materials for foreign agents".
Orlov, 70, was fined last year for "discrediting" Russia's armed forces -- one of the new censorship laws Russia brought in to stifle criticism of its offensive on Ukraine.
His Memorial organization was the most prominent and respected human rights group inside Russia in the decades after the fall of the Soviet Union.
It established itself by battling to preserve the memory of victims of Communist repressions and campaigning against rights violations linked to Russia's brutal wars in Chechnya and beyond.
It was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, months after Russian authorities outlawed the group as part of a sweeping crackdown against independent civil society.
Russia's Supreme Court ordered it to dissolve in December 2021, weeks before Moscow launched its military campaign against Ukraine, finding it had violated the foreign agents law.
Its closure was seen as a stark example of how far political freedoms and human rights had been quashed under President Vladimir Putin's more than two decades in power.
Despite the pressure and as tens of thousands of anti-Kremlin campaigners fled the country, Orlov stayed in Russia and has tried to appeal the ruling that he "discredited" Russia's armed forces -- marshalling support from Nobel Prize-winning editor Dmitry Muratov in court hearings.
The "foreign agent" designation carries Soviet-era spying connotations and is designed to cut off groups and individuals from their funding and support inside Russia.
Individuals named foreign agents are required to submit financial reports to the justice ministry and label all their communications and public statements with a lengthy disclaimer.
quote:Jailed as collaborators: the stories of Ukrainians who ended up in prison
There is little sympathy for them in their society, but rare prison interviews with those convicted of helping the Russians reveal a complex picture of war
Alongstanding supporter of Russia who shared classified information about Ukrainian troop movements. A woman who said her husband had secretly sent information and maps to the Russians using her phone. Another woman targeted by online flirting that turned out to be a Russian intelligence sting.
One by one, the prisoners entered the visiting room to tell their stories. The women were dressed in prison uniforms of thick grey winter coats with a headscarf knotted over the hair, and the men in regulation brown overalls. All were serving sentences for one of two crimes under Ukrainian law: cooperation with the enemy state, Russia, or providing the enemy with information about Ukrainian troop movements.
Ukraine’s SBU security service says it has opened more than 8,100 criminal proceedings “related to collaboration and aiding and abetting the aggressor state” and Ukrainians convicted on these counts are only held in certain prisons, where they are kept away from other inmates. The Guardian was granted rare access to two such prisons – one for men and one for women – on the condition that their locations would not be revealed.
Interviews took place with a prison guard in the room but participation was voluntary. Some prisoners did not wish to be interviewed at all, others told their stories on condition of anonymity, while many were willing to speak openly and be photographed.
Most of the high-level turncoats managed to flee to Russia, meaning it is mostly lower-level collaborators who are in jail. As Russia continues to strike Ukraine, causing death and misery, there is scant sympathy for these people, as evidenced by one male prisoner with a 12-year sentence who agreed to be photographed but declined to share his name. He had been assaulted by his cellmates while in pre-trial detention. They tattooed the word “Orc” – a pejorative term for Russian soldiers widely used in Ukraine – on his forehead.
Among the prisoners there are different shades of guilt. Some have clearly put Ukrainian lives at risk by handing over information and coordinates to the Russians. In other cases, such as a woman jailed for five years for providing logistical assistance during Russia’s fake referendum in Kherson region, the facts of the case point to the difficult decisions people were forced to make when faced with an occupying force that claimed it was there to stay.
Every story was different, but taken together, they shed light on a largely hidden element of Russia’s war in Ukraine: the fate of Moscow’s local helpers.
Anyuta Holomb was running an errand at the bank in Chasiv Yar, close to the frontlines in Donbas, when Ukraine’s security services arrested her in December 2022. They took the 30-year-old back to her home and found screenshots of maps marked with the positions of Ukrainian forces and sent by Telegram to a Russian number.
Her husband was also arrested. Holomb had married him in 2019 shortly after he was released from jail. He had served five years for co-operating with the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. She claimed she never discussed politics with her husband, describing herself as largely apolitical and focused on raising their daughter, who was born in 2021. “Of course I wanted to be part of Ukraine, but the main thing was that there were jobs and that our children were alive and close to us,” she said.
In June 2022, her husband’s father was killed in a Russian airstrike, she said. Despite this, her husband had been sending photographs from his phone to a “girl in Donetsk”, who Ukrainian authorities assume was working in some capacity for Russian intelligence. The compromising material was also found in her phone, said Holomb. She claimed her husband had been using her phone under the guise of playing games. “I didn’t know anything about it. But he decided to give testimony against me too, so that they would exchange us together as a family,” she claimed.
Holomb admitted her guilt, she said, because she felt she had no choice. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison. She is currently with her two-year-old daughter in prison, but after her third birthday the child will be taken away. “Everyone was in shock at the sentence. My mum hired a lawyer, we filed an appeal but it was too late,” she said.
Holomb has now signed a request asking to be swapped in a prisoner exchange and sent to Russia, as she thinks it is her best chance of being freed. She has never set foot in the country before.
Many of those the Guardian interviewed insisted their innocent activity had been misinterpreted and they had then been pressured into signing confessions. Valentyn Moroi, a 52-year-old from Sloviansk, said he had merely taken photographs of the warehouse where he worked, to prove everything was secure, and sent them to his boss, who was in Russia. The SBU had taken this as evidence he was sending classified information to Russian intelligence, he claimed.
Kostiantyn Vanin, a 34-year-old geography and physics teacher from Sloviansk, was detained driving across the frontline near Bakhmut, he said because he wanted to reach friends in Crimea. He said life is “more peaceful and more stable” on the other side, but claimed he had not shared any information about Ukrainian army positions. He admitted guilt under pressure, he said.
Some, however, were open and unapologetic supporters of Russia. “My parents raised me to fight fascism, and here there is fascism,” said 57-year-old Yuri Tsybulsky, from Bakhmut, who was given a 13-year sentence for treason. He admitted sharing information about Ukrainian troop movements.
Oksana Kuzmych’s family said she was staunchly pro-Ukrainian. Her husband had fought during the conflict in Donbas in 2014-2015, but found it difficult to readjust after serving, and died a few years later. A number of close relatives are currently serving in the Ukrainian army.
The 47-year-old, currently one year into a five-year sentence, had stayed behind in the settlement of Novooleksandrivka in Kherson region when the Russians occupied it quickly after the start of full-scale war to take care of her mother-in-law, who is immobile. At the end of September 2022, the Russians held a fake referendum in Kherson region in order to proclaim it part of Russia. Kuzmych was offered a modest payment for helping with the organisation. “We had no money, so I agreed to carry a ballot box, just one box on one street, that was it,” she claimed.
A week later, the Ukrainian army liberated the town. Russia’s senior local helpers fled but Kuzmych and other low-level auxiliaries stayed behind. They thought they had done nothing wrong, and anyway did not want to go to Russia. A few weeks later, Kuzmych was arrested along with three other women, including the director of the local cemetery, and charged with aiding in an illegal referendum.
Kuzmych’s daughter Olha, who is currently living in Poland, said: “She was pro-Ukrainian. If they had checked her phone they would have found our Telegram chats where we wrote bad things about Russians to each other. She knew the Russians might check her phone and she wrote anyway.”
Olha, who was able to get through to her mother for a brief telephone call in December for the first time since her arrest, said she was worried for her mother’s health and praying for her early release.
While most of those the Guardian met were from Donbas or other places close to the frontlines, one woman was from Kyiv. She agreed to tell parts of her story on condition of anonymity.
She explained how, in the early days of the war, she began chatting with a man who introduced himself as being from the FSB, Russia’s security agency. At the time, she said, she was struggling under the stress of war and desperate to leave Ukraine. She was constantly arguing with her husband, who did not want to leave, when the Russian man made contact via Telegram.
“We talked about stuff, about books, it got really flirty,” she recalled, speaking quietly and with visible anguish. The man suggested that the Russians could exfiltrate her to Russia, give her a passport, and hinted at the possibility of romance. First, though, she had to take photographs of particular sites around Kyiv of interest to the Russians. “I said I’m not going to go, and he started to blackmail and threaten me. This was the most surprising thing, how his tone changed in a second,” she said.
In the end, she was arrested by the SBU, and given an eight-year sentence for the illegal sharing of information during martial law. “My family has disowned me, my friends have turned their backs on me. Only my husband, the husband I wanted to run away from, has extended a hand of support and forgiven me,” she said.
Many of the prisoners have signed documents asking to be exchanged with Russia. Some always dreamed of ending up there; others realise it is their best chance of being freed before the end of their sentences.
“Each individual case has to be discussed separately,” said Oleksiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine’s national security council, when asked about the process for a potential exchange. He said, however, that if Russia made an offer and people wished to be exchanged, in principle Ukraine was willing to give them up in exchange for some of the many Ukrainian civilians kidnapped from occupied territories and held in Russian jails. So far, however, there is little sign that Russia is interested in taking in its low-level helpers.
Not everyone has signed up to be exchanged, however. The woman from Kyiv said she planned to sit out her sentence and repent her actions. “I hate myself for what I’ve done. I made a huge mistake, out of idiocy. I believed them, and they made a fool out of me,” she said.
quote:Standards Sometimes Do Not Work – What’s Wrong With Japanese 155 mm Shells?
At this point, you’ve probably heard of weaponry standards, shared by many different countries. For example, the artillery standard for NATO and other partner countries is 155 mm. This allows different countries to share ammunition in the case of war. But does this standard actually work?
The idea is quite simple. If a war breaks out in one country, its partners can supply their own natively produced shells. This should not require any new tooling or preparation. My country’s 155 mm shells can replace 155 mm shells in your country.
This is a great idea – these standards help produce ammunition quicker, without being bogged down by thinking about different weapon systems. Polish AHS Krab, British M777, the Swedish Archer or the Japanese Type 99 – all these howitzers can use the same 155 mm shells. This standard works in Taiwan and South Korea, in the US and Finland, in Ukraine and Israel – it just works.
Or it is just supposed to. The Wall Street Journal reports that at the end of last year, Japan eased its restrictions on arms exports. Japan has a very strict defensive military doctrine, which severely limits Japan’s arms movement unless the country itself is at war. Because of this doctrine, Japan cannot sell its tanks to other countries.
Only recently Japan made its shells available for export, but only to countries that are not in active conflict. That’s hardly a problem – the UK immediately saw an opportunity to buy Japanese shells for itself to free up other shells for deliveries to Ukraine. However, when the British military tested those shells that Komatsu produces under license from the British BAE Systems, they found that they are not exactly compatible with the British artillery.
Or at least that’s what is being talked about. The fact is, as WSJ noted, that the British decided to abandon the idea of supplying shells from Japan just after those tests. And this is bad news because of two main reasons.
First of all, this means that Ukraine will not get those shells that could be freed up by countries buying surplus ammunition from Japan. Secondly – and this is even more of a big deal – this system of standards is not up to par with expectations. If a large war breaks out some countries might be disappointed with the supply of shells from other countries. What if Japan is in trouble – can their howitzers use the shells from other countries?
And it is not just the 155mm standard. NATO and partner tanks share a 120 mm standard. How often do they test the Type 10 main battle tank with Western-made ammunition. Handguns, mortars, missile systems and so on – do all of these ammunition standards work?
Waarom blijf jij sensationele onzin posten?quote:
Bij andere landen zou ik nog grotere fout toleranties als reden kunnen noemen maar Japan staat bekend om zijn precisie werk.quote:Op zondag 4 februari 2024 02:04 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.technology.or(...)anese-155-mm-shells/
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Dat wordt smullen; geesteszieke wappie interviewt Russische rat over complotten en de "deep state".quote:
Oh zo kritischquote:
Het beste zou zijn dat de roddel inmiddels wijd verspreid is onder zowel militairen als burgers en niet waar blijkt te zijn; dat zal de onvrede nl. alleen maar groter maken.quote:Op zondag 4 februari 2024 01:16 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/27532
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Ook bij het leger aan het front wordt de onvrede steeds groter. Waar die roddel vandaan komt dat de oorlog deze maand over zal zijn en ze naar huis mogen op de 24ste van deze maand is mij een raadsel. Laten we hopen dat er een waarheid achter deze roddel schuilt. Al verwacht ik dat niet natuurlijk. Er staan een aantal links naar verdere artikelen onder in dit artikel die wat meer details geven over genoemde conversaties.
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