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EU to impose tariff of up to 50% on Russia grain imports
Proposal aims to stop Kremlin flooding bloc with cheap wheat to destabilise European market

The EU is set to impose a tariff of up to 50% on Russia grain imports amid fears the Kremlin could flood the bloc with cheap wheat to destabilise the European market.

The proposal, announced by the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, follows a plea on Thursday to EU leaders by the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, to do something about grain “stolen” by the Russians from occupied territories.

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She said: “We propose the imposition of tariffs on these Russian imports to mitigate the growing risk to our markets and our farmers. They will reduce Russia’s capacity to exploit the EU for the benefit of its war machine.”

The measure is intended principally to head off a potential illegal dumping of grain as the Kremlin seeks to weaponise as much as it can in its war against Ukraine.

A senior European official said: “The main reasons for the proposal is to prevent the risk of destabilisation of the EU market through potential future significant redirection of Russian grain into the EU market, including by Belarus.

“This is something we want to shield Europe from.”

Russian grain attracts low or no customs duties when sold in the EU but the proposal would lead to the imposition of a tariff of �95 (�82) per tonne of grain, which currently sells for up to �220, depending on the quality of the wheat.

Zelenskiy complained to EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday that Russian grain was still freely available in the bloc but Ukraine’s own grain was also being stolen, while Polish farmers obstructed legitimate Ukrainian grain getting into the EU for transit to other countries, including poorer nations in Africa and Asia.

“When Ukrainian grain is thrown on the roads or railway tracks, Russian products are still being transported to Europe as well as goods from Putin’s controlled Belarus. This is not fair,” he told leaders in a video address at their summit.

Russian grain exports to the EU had gone up from 960,000 tonnes in 2022 to 1.5m tonnes in 2023, while at the same time production had rocketed from 35m tonnes to 50m tonnes between 2022 to 2023, EU officials said.

The European Commission proposal needs to be finally approved by the European Council of member states but it could be rubberstamped within days or weeks by qualified majority.

Von der Leyen told reporters on Thursday night: “We have prepared a proposal to increase tariffs on Russian and collaboration imports of oil seeds and derived products.

“There are several good reasons for making this proposal. It will prevent Russian grain from destabilising the EU market in these products. It will stop Russia from using the revenues from the export of these goods to the European Union. And it will ensure that illegal Russian exports of stolen Ukrainian grain do not enter the EU market.”

Under the proposal, the EU would invoke the “security exception” in World Trade Organization agreements on the basis of the emergency situation arising from the war in Ukraine, officials said.

An official said: “Since the Russian production is very big and has increased significantly, we think they could redirect a lot of these exports, potentially even via dump prices to the EU. And we’ve seen how destabilising this can be.”

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 20:44 schreef oheng het volgende: [..] Mijn gevoelens hangen voor 90% af van wat voor concert dat was. Was het een conecrt met patriottische muzak waarbij opgeroepen werd tot het vernietigen van iedere Oekrainer? Schijnbaar was er een optreden van de progressieve band Picnic. En dat zijn wat mij betreft normale mensen, en geen Z zombies.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 22:21 schreef zalkc het volgende:
[ x ]

Heb wel mijn twijfels bij visegrad, maar het zou alsnog gewoon zo kunnen zijn.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 22:25 schreef Anton91 het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 22:21 schreef zalkc het volgende:
[ x ]

Heb wel mijn twijfels bij visegrad, maar het zou alsnog gewoon zo kunnen zijn.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 22:32 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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[ x ]
Mogelijk zijn een aantal van deze gasten al een tijdje dood. Mijn Russisch is niet goed genoeg om het te kunnen lezen.

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Wetshandhavingsinstanties blijven zoeken naar een bijzonder gevaarlijke crimineel Adam Magomedovich OZDOEV, geboren op 12 december 1987.

De gezochte man is gewapend en zeer gevaarlijk. Met zijn deelname zijn drie aanslagen op politieagenten gepleegd en bestaat er een dreiging van het plegen van andere terroristische misdrijven. Als u informatie heeft over Ozdoev A.M., neem dan contact op met het dichtstbijzijnde politiebureau of per telefoon:

De dienstdoende officier van de Federale Veiligheidsdienst van Rusland voor de Republiek Ingoesjeti�:
8(8734) 55-16-28
Hulplijn van de Federale Veiligheidsdienst van Rusland voor de Republiek Ingoesjeti�:
8(8734) 22-06-60
Dienstplicht van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken voor de Republiek Ingoesjeti�:
8(8734) 55-01-54
Hulplijn van het Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken voor de Republiek Ingoesjeti�:
8(8734) 55-04-99

Anonimiteit en beloning zijn gegarandeerd.

We herinneren de handlangers van de terrorist A.M. Ozdoev. die straf is onvermijdelijk! Personen die hem onderdak bieden en enige hulp verlenen (voedsel, medicijnen, veilige accommodatie of vervoer door de hele republiek) zullen worden vervolgd wegens het faciliteren van terroristische activiteiten (artikel 205.1 van het Wetboek van Strafrecht van de Russische Federatie).

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The Russian Federal Security Service announces the cleansing of the entire area, and there are no casualties among civilians and security personnel.

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From the bodies, two members of the ISIS terrorist organization were identified, who were previously wanted by the Russian authorities.

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In Zaporizhzhya, a university teacher spied on the defence forces
A teacher of a Zaporizhzhya university has set up an "observation point" at his dacha, which he used to spy on the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor-General.

Ateacher of a university in Zaporizhzhya was found guilty of distributing information about the deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (part 3 of article 114-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). He was sentenced to 9 years of imprisonment.

In court, the prosecutor proved that the man deliberately set up an "observation point" at his own dacha, located near the contact line in Zaporizhzhya," the report said.

The convict, disguised as a dacha dweller, visited a garden community and collected information about the locations of deployment, movement of the AFU and military equipment in the Zaporizhzhya direction.

He sent the information to the representative of the aggressor country via Telegram.

The man will be kept in custody until the verdict enters into legal force.

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The damaged Leopard tanks continue to kill Russian soldiers

In their attempts to seize Western armored vehicles, Russian invaders are dying en masse under the fire of the Ukrainian military.

Despite numerous statements by Russian propagandists about the imperfections of Western tanks, Russia has a significant interest in them. This is due to both a demonstration of its own success and a desire to explore Western technologies.

To get the coveted trophy, the Russian military sends its soldiers on risky missions, which often ends in death.

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This situation is well demonstrated by the video released by Company Group Team, which shows snipers shooting at Russian infantrymen who were trying to get close to an abandoned Ukrainian Leopard 2A6 near Stepove.

� осійські військові намагаються підібратись до підбитого Leopard 2 [Березень 2024]

During this episode alone, the unit’s shooters killed five Russians who were trying to approach the damaged tank.

A similar episode took place on March 17 near Kreminna, where Russian invaders managed to get into an abandoned Stridsvagn 122 (a Swedish modification of the Leopard 2A5 tank).

To pull the 62-ton vehicle from the battlefield, Russians used two BREM-1 armored recovery vehicles to pull it together. That’s when they were hit by FPV drones.

The footage shows how a hit to the engine immobilizes both tractors and sets them on fire. The crews managed to escape, but their equipment and the Ukrainian tank remained in the field.

"Азов" знищує російські тягачі, що намагались забрати Leopard 2 [Березень 2024]

However, the coveted trophy for Russians is not only the Leopard tanks, but also the American M1 Abrams tanks, which are glorified in Russian propaganda.

On March 20, Russian officers sent an entire special forces unit to film a video inside an abandoned tank that had been hit earlier in the month near Berdychiv. After filming the video, they immediately abandoned the vehicle and retreated.

However, behind such successful actions are also those that ended in a number of deaths from Ukrainian artillery and drones. The video below shows six Russians killed who were unlucky enough.

� осійські військові біля Abrams в Бердичах [Березень 2024]

It is worth noting that all the tanks shown were not destroyed despite numerous attacks. It is highly likely that if the Ukrainian Forces advance, they will be returned and repaired.

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Ukraine's Strikes on Russian Refineries Follow NATO Practices, Says Deputy PM
Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna defends Ukraine's strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, stated that oil refineries in Russia are legitimate targets for the Ukrainian military.

She added that in this case, Ukraine is acting in accordance with NATO standards.

Speaking at the Kyiv Security Forum, Stefanishyna addressed reports about the US advising Ukraine against strikes on Russian oil refineries.

She remarked, "The Ukrainian side responded, I think, by mentioning that it was achieving its goals and carrying out very successful operations on the territory of the Russian Federation."

"Conversely, there have also been statements from other officials that these are absolutely legitimate targets from a military point of view. We understand the concerns of our American partners. At the same time, we have to make the most of the capabilities, resources and methods that we have," the Deputy Prime Minister added.

She recalled her February 2022 communication with NATO headquarters, seeking support for a ‘no-fly zone’ over Ukraine.

"They told me, 'Olha, you don't understand NATO methods.' These methods prioritize the destruction of infrastructure within the aggressor country that enables attacks on cities in the targeted country, including missile production facilities. Thus, we are adhering to NATO's best practices."

Reflecting on the Russian attack on 22 March, Stefanishyna expressed her expectation for support from partners: "Outrage and condolences are one thing, but we expect weapons first and foremost."

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NATO Alliance is ready for conflict with Russia – NATO Military Committee Chair

Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, has said that the Alliance countries are prepared for a potential direct clash with Russia.

Source: Admiral Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, in an interview with ArmyInform, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Admiral Bauer stated that NATO acknowledged a change in the security situation in 2014, following Russia's occupation of Crimea. In 2019, the Allies began to return to collective security by changing their defence strategy, operational planning, and the forces required to carry out all of these missions.

Quote: "We are all aware that time is of the essence when it comes to reestablishing collective security. Because the enemy determines when and where to attack you, as well as the length of the conflict. Unfortunately, Ukraine has experienced this.

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Are we ready? Answer: Yes! Our primary task is to be prepared. If this happens today, you must fight with what you have. It is always a combination of being ready for today and improving opportunities for the future," said Rob Bauer.

When asked about NATO's readiness on its eastern flank, where the most potential threats exist, he recalled how the Alliance has increased its presence in the Baltic states since 2016, as well as in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria since the outbreak of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

"We now have eight such combat groups, each with a battalion, and they can be combined to form a brigade if necessary. The relevant countries are constantly collaborating on this mechanism. We will consider additional requirements. But so far, this is sufficient," Bauer said.

He went on to say that modern warfare has additional dimensions, such as cyberspace or space attacks, and that Russia can wield power in the Arctic, the West Atlantic Ocean, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.

"It would be foolish to focus solely on the eastern flank, because the Russians are not just there. They are everywhere. That is why NATO constantly monitors their actions and responds appropriately if necessary," added Rob Bauer.

He also stated that he was not concerned about the prospect of increased threats from Russia following Vladimir Putin's "re-election" because the war in Ukraine weakened Russia, and the replenishment and modernisation of its troops will be complicated by Western sanctions.

"We can see that Russia has the capacity to produce large quantities of weapons, but their quality has been steadily declining since the start of the war. They have plans, but they are at war, so they will need plenty of time. It will not be easy for them," the admiral said.

Rob Bauer also commented on the potential military deployment of any NATO country in Ukraine, stating that such decisions affect the interests of all allies and thus require consultations among them.

In addition, Bauer cautioned against excessive pessimism about Ukraine's ability to win the war and urged the world to further support Kyiv.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 22:31 schreef zalkc het volgende:

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Die hebben ook wel vaker lukraak dingen geclaimed, vaak posten ze videobewijs als ze het echt gedaan hebben.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:24 schreef TheJanitor het volgende:

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Benieuwd naar een aantal voorbeelden van grote aanslagen geclaimed door IS wat niet waar bleek te zijn.

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St. Petersburg port halts ammonium nitrate transshipment due to Ukrainian drone threat
Fearing attacks by Ukrainian strike drones, the Russian maritime port known as the "Big Port of St. Petersburg" has ceased transshipment of ammonium nitrate, as reported by the Russian media outlet Kommersant.

According to Kommersant, authorities in St. Petersburg plan to relocate ammonium nitrate transshipment operations altogether to a location outside the city, likely to Ust-Luga. However, the latter is not yet ready to receive the material, as the port requires infrastructure modernisation.

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Kommersant has learned that the Big Port of St. Petersburg halted its ammonium nitrate operations in February. This is a considerable setback for the port, which is already in a difficult position due to sanctions and the loss of trade with Europe. In 2022, the port's cargo turnover plummeted by 37.5%, marking it as the Russian maritime port most affected by international sanctions. Although cargo turnover increased by 28% in 2023, it still lags 20% behind the 2021 figure.

The news outlet the Insider reports, citing its sources, that operations were suspended due to a directive from the authorities following a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attack on the St. Petersburg oil terminal in January 2024. Since then, St. Petersburg Governor, Alexander Beglov, has been concerned about the potential for attacks that could have catastrophic consequences for the city, given the explosive nature of ammonium nitrate.

Additionally, Russian Railways (RZhD) imposed restrictions until the end of February on loading ammonium nitrate and ammonium nitrate cargo bound for Bronka, Avtovo, Novy Port, affecting all recipients of the cargo. RZhD justified this decision with the limitations due to the ban on cargo transshipment in the Big Port of St. Petersburg.

The ban was extended into March, leaving producers who previously shipped through this port looking for alternative export options. Chemical market experts reckon the situation is further exacerbated by Russia's lack of port capacities for fertilizer transshipment, many of which are already under contract.

The terminal in Ust-Luga appears to be the most obvious choice for redirecting shipments from St. Petersburg, but its infrastructure would need updating to meet new requirements for shipments in reinforced containers.

"In light of this, chemical factories are now partly operating with storage in mind, yet the situation is not critical as there's currently high demand for ammonium nitrate in the domestic market due to the sowing campaign," sources told Kommersant.

However, chemical market experts believe that installing and approving new equipment in Ust-Luga and other ports could take a significant amount of time and investment. One expert cautioned that while relocating to Ust-Luga might not increase logistical expenses, choosing another port further afield could make a substantial difference.

The detonation of ammonium nitrate caused a massive blast in the port of Beirut in August 2020, with over 150 fatalities and 5,000 injuries. The chemical was stored in warehouses, and welding work at the time is cited as the cause of the incident.

Furthermore, Russia's Ministry of Energy has acknowledged a halt in fuel production at several refineries following drone strikes in various regions. The latest Ukrainian drone attacks are the reason for the shutdown of three Russian refineries, resulting in a loss of 12% of Russia's refining capacities. Media reports indicate that since the beginning of 2024, 13 Russian refineries have been targeted.

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Commander: Russia gathers 100,000-strong force, possibly for summer offensive
Russia is creating a force of 100,000 soldiers, possibly to conduct a new offensive in early summer, Ukraine's Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Pavliuk said on national television on March 22.

The Armed Forces withdrew in February from several settlements in Donetsk Oblast, including the key front-line city of Avdiivka, due to severe ammunition shortages exacerbated by delays in U.S. aid.

Heavy battles continue in Kherson, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhizhia oblasts as Russian troops try to continue their advance.

Pavliuk noted that the new force Russia is mustering might also serve another purpose: "Maybe they (Russia) will use them to replenish units that are losing their combat capability."

Russian troops continue their assault attempts in the Bakhmut, Lyman, and Avdiivka directions of the front, according to Pavliuk. In Sumy Oblast, Russian forces are not preparing any new military formations but target civilian infrastructure to threaten citizens, he added.

"I think we will do everything we can to stop them (Russian attacks)," Pavliuk said.

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Russia is preparing for an all-out war with NATO to happen sooner than originally believed: ISW
• Russia is ramping up its preparations for a "large-scale" war with NATO, a US think tank says.
• The ISW says Russian efforts at reviving its economy aren't just about fighting Ukraine.
• Instead, Russia could be readying itself for a war with NATO that may occur sooner than expected.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin's focus on reviving the Russian economy isn't just about funding the country's war on Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War says.

"Several Russian financial, economic, and military indicators suggest that Russia is preparing for a large-scale conventional conflict with NATO, not imminently but likely on a shorter timeline than what some Western analysts have initially posited," the ISW wrote in a report on Wednesday.

The think tank cited a meeting Putin held with the Russian Duma on Tuesday, just days after the Russian leader claimed a landslide victory in his fifth presidential election on Sunday.

During the meeting, Putin discussed the areas he wanted to focus on in his fifth presidential term. The most important thing, Putin told lawmakers, was about "saving people" and "helping out families."

"All this can be done, of course, only on the basis of economic development," Putin said on Tuesday. "This is a key issue for our country's development, on which all other issues of technological sovereignty and social development must be resolved."

Putin also took shots at the nation's wealthy elite, urging lawmakers not to be guided by "corporate or even party interests."

The ISW said Putin's remarks suggested he was willing to risk his ties with the "siloviki," the wealthy ex-security officials who have been a part of his political base. The think tank said this was perhaps Putin's signal to Russia's elite that they'd have to feel "some pain" for Russia's financial stability.

"Putin's attempts to set conditions to stabilize Russia's economy and finances are most likely part of Russian financial and domestic preparations for a potential future large-scale conflict with NATO and not just for a protracted war in Ukraine," the ISW added in its report.

This isn't the first time analysts have said a war between Russia and NATO could be imminent.

Estonia's foreign-intelligence service said in a report last month that Russia was preparing for a "confrontation with the West."

"Russia has chosen a path which is a long-term confrontation," the agency's chief, Kaupo Rosin, told journalists at the report's launch, according to Reuters. "The Kremlin is probably anticipating a possible conflict with NATO within the next decade or so."

Representatives for Russia's defense ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

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Reporters Without Borders launch satellite to reach Russian-speaking territories
Restricted media in areas under the Kremlin's influence and control have suffered further since the invasion of Ukraine.

Reporters Without Borders have launched a satellite that will provide coverage to 13 territories where Russian speakers suffer restricted access to free media.

The satellite allows nine Russian-language TV and radio channels to be broadcast on Eutelsat’s popular Hotbird satellite to territories including Russia, occupied territories of Ukraine and Baltic countries.

The launch comes ahead of Belarus' Freedom Day, an anniversary marking the foundation of the Belarusian Democratic Republic in 1918 that is widely celebrated by the Belarusian diaspora and supporters of the country's democratic opposition.

Poland will host a celebration to mark the day on 25 March, starting at Plac Trzech Krzyzy square in Warsaw.

Belarusian, Polish, and Ukrainian officials will attend a rally ahead of the event, before marching towards the monument of Nicolaus Copernicus.

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FSB scales up arrests amid incursions by Ukraine-based Russian fighters
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has thwarted “multiple terrorist attacks” in Russia and occupied Ukraine by pro-Ukraine fighters over the course of the week, it said in a press release on Friday.

The message comes amid recent incursions into Russian regions bordering Ukraine by fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion, paramilitary groups of Russian fighters based in Ukraine.

The FSB said its officers had detained seven men in Moscow on Friday for attempting to form a cell of the RVC, which is outlawed in Russia. The officers seized a machete, a battle axe, an air gun, eight knives and communications equipment, on which they said they found evidence of “active correspondence” between the suspects and RVC leaders.

Another message said the FSB had prevented a “terrorist attack” in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine. The suspect in the case, who was allegedly involved in the murder of a Russian military officer and had passed details of Russian military positions to Ukraine, resisted arrest, according to the FSB, and was killed in an exchange of fire.

The FSB also announced several other arrests this week, including a woman arrested in annexed Crimea on Monday for planning to set fire to railway infrastructure “at the behest of the Ukrainian secret services” and a man detained in the Russian border region of Belgorod on Thursday for “adhering to Ukrainian nationalist ideology”.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:42 schreef oheng het volgende:
OH FFS waarom moeten de terroristen nou uitgerekend vluchten in een fucking Renault.

Clown world.

Naja 1 positief puntje: er is eindelijk een 2e front geopend.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:45 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:
Wat een tt weer.

Altijd treurig dit terrorisme, moet je ten alle tijde afkeuren.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:49 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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Ik keur deze terroristische aanval zeker af. Maar het feit blijft dat Russen terroristen zijn (zag je ook vandaag met die aanval op de dam, maar hebben we sowieso al de hele oorlog kunnen zien). En dat er nu op hun grondgebied een terroristische aanval plaats heeft gevonden.

Dus feitelijk klopt de titel gewoon.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:53 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

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Nee, want de titel scheert alle Russen over 1 kam. Ja het leger is verantwoordelijk voor vuiligheden die je eventueel als terroristisch kan bestempelen. Maar je weet ook dat een Rus hier niet teveel commentaar op kan hebben.
Al met al waren dit gewoon burgers die door laffe honden zijn afgeschoten. Dat kun je niet goedpraten door de slachtoffers af te doen als terroristen.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:47 schreef oheng het volgende:
Ok. Even opletten allemaal, want deze is ronduit hilarisch. Afgezien van de menselijke tragedie, uiteraard.

RIA, 19 maart, putin zegt:
“Let me remind you of the recent, frankly speaking, provocative statements by a number of official Western structures about the possibility of terrorist attacks in Russia. All this resembles outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society,” Putin said at an extended meeting of the board of the Federal Security Service.

Deze man is een 4D chess player.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:56 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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Inderdaad, en het is zeker niet 100 procent uit te sluiten dat de Kremlin zelf achter deze aanval zit. Daar zijn een aantal goede redenen voor te bedenken. Dus door bij voorbaat al de schuld bij het westen neer te leggen is dan een slimme zet.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:53 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

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Nee, want de titel scheert alle Russen over 1 kam. Ja het leger is verantwoordelijk voor vuiligheden die je eventueel als terroristisch kan bestempelen. Maar je weet ook dat een Rus hier niet teveel commentaar op kan hebben.
Al met al waren dit gewoon burgers die door laffe honden zijn afgeschoten. Dat kun je niet goedpraten door de slachtoffers af te doen als terroristen.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:53 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Nee, want de titel scheert alle Russen over 1 kam. Ja het leger is verantwoordelijk voor vuiligheden die je eventueel als terroristisch kan bestempelen. Maar je weet ook dat een Rus hier niet teveel commentaar op kan hebben.
Al met al waren dit gewoon burgers die door laffe honden zijn afgeschoten. Dat kun je niet goedpraten door de slachtoffers af te doen als terroristen.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:04 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

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Voel je je persoonlijk aangevallen ofzo? Dat je voor zo iets op de barricade springt terwijl er na 2 jaar wel duidelijk is dat de TT toch wel aardig hout snijdt? Dat suffe westerse slachtoffer geneuzel elke keer (ja maar hunnie zijn ook zielig!! )... Kan nu niet zeggen dat deze TT over het randje gaat .

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:53 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Nee, want de titel scheert alle Russen over 1 kam. Ja het leger is verantwoordelijk voor vuiligheden die je eventueel als terroristisch kan bestempelen. Maar je weet ook dat een Rus hier niet teveel commentaar op kan hebben.
Al met al waren dit gewoon burgers die door laffe honden zijn afgeschoten. Dat kun je niet goedpraten door de slachtoffers af te doen als terroristen.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:16 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Aaah, ik zie dat mijn TT is aangepast lol. Dus deze discussie is verder nutteloos over de titel.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:10 schreef De_Hertog het volgende:

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Mwa.. ik kan het toch wel met hem eens zijn hoor. Ik ben volkomen anti-Rusland en pro-Oekra�ne in dit conflict, maar dat wil nog niet zeggen dat iedere Russische burger dan maar vogelvrij verklaard moet worden. Dit was gewoon een laffe aanslag op onschuldige mensen en die kun je prima veroordelen zonder ook maar een millimeter goed te praten wat Rusland in Oekra�ne doet.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:05 schreef Inbox het volgende:
De meest scherpe beelden die ik heb gezien van een Rus die gaat hemelen door een drone.

https://www.reddit.com/r/(...)_with_shades_but_no/

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:16 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Aaah, ik zie dat mijn TT is aangepast lol. Dus deze discussie is verder nutteloos over de titel.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:08 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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In de Nuremberg Trials na WW2 werd ook de schuld, of in elk geval een deel van de schuld, op de gehele bevolking gelegd voor alles wat het nazi regime geflikt had. Ik zie het nu niet anders. Onwetendheid is geen excuus. Zij houden het regime tot op zeker hoogte in stand tenslotte.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:20 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

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Nog steeds vind ik dat je Russen best als terroristen mag benoemen. Grootste deel van dat volk staat er faliekant achter of gaat stilzwijgend akkoord. Dat gezeik altijd om te verzachten ..

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:08 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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De Russische burgers staan grotendeels achter Putin en het gehele gebeuren in Oekra�ne. En met terroristen bedoelde ik Rusland in het algemeen. Niet individuele burgers maar de politieke leiding en het leger/de fsb/het deel van de burgers die er onvoorwaardelijk achter staan.

In de Nuremberg Trials na WW2 werd ook de schuld, of in elk geval een deel van de schuld, op de gehele bevolking gelegd voor alles wat het nazi regime geflikt had. Ik zie het nu niet anders. Onwetendheid is geen excuus. Zij houden het regime tot op zeker hoogte in stand tenslotte.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:18 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

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Ik heb het puur over dat @:Nebelwerfer, problemen heeft met de topictitel. Ik ben het redelijk met je eens, maar snap niet dat deze topictitel dat geneuzel waard is. Dat geneuzel leidt puur af van de kern. Wat vaak weer de bedoeling is helaas.

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Defense spending bill has some Ukraine aid, multiyear munitions buys
The House and Senate on Thursday released the compromise text of their fiscal 2024 defense spending bill, nearly halfway through the fiscal year that began in October.

Congress is expected to begin votes on the $825 billion defense spending bill on Friday; Pentagon funding via a stopgap measure is slated to expire at the end of that same day. The bipartisan bill adheres to the spending caps imposed by last year’s debt ceiling deal. It funds the procurement of eight battle ships and dozens of new aircraft, provides a small amount of Ukraine military aid and offers multiyear procurement for six critical munitions.

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“As chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, I have prioritized five areas that are reflected in this act: countering China and staying ahead of our adversaries; prioritizing innovation of military superiority, achieving a more efficient and effective Pentagon; enhancing the military’s role in countering efforts and supporting our servicemembers and their families,” Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., said in a statement.

The bill includes $33.5 billion to build eight ships and allocates funds for 86 F-35 and 24 F-15 EX fighter jets as well as 15 KC-46A tankers. There’s also a combined $2.1 billion for the Army’s Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Navy’s Conventional Prompt Strike hypersonic weapons system.

The bill retains $300 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which allows the Pentagon to place contracts for equipment to send Kyiv. House Republican leaders had initially removed the $300 million in Ukraine aid amid opposition from the right flank of their caucus when they narrowly passed their version of the defense spending bill 218-210 in September.

But even with the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative funds back in the bill, the $300 million is far less than the $60 billion in security and economic support for Kyiv provided in the Senate’s foreign aid bill. The Senate passed the aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan 70-29 in February but House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has so far refused to put it on the floor amid opposition from former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

Separately, the compromise defense spending bill includes funding for multiyear contracts to procure six critical munitions: the Naval Strike Missile, the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System, the PATRIOT Advanced Capability-3, the Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and the Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile.

Multiyear contracts are usually reserved for big-ticket purchases like ships and aircraft, but the Pentagon hopes using them for munitions will ensure demand stability to encourage defense contractors to ramp up production capacity. Defense appropriators granted the Pentagon’s request to use multiyear contracts for all but one munition: the Standard Missile-6. The defense-industrial base has struggled to quickly replenish the billions of dollars worth of munitions drawn down from U.S. stockpiles for Ukraine.

The FY24 defense policy bill, which Congress passed in December, authorizes multiyear contracts for six additional munitions outside the Pentagon’s request. But the FY24 defense spending bill does not fund those additional multiyear contracts.

War games hosted by the House China Committee in April found the U.S. would rapidly run out of munitions — including the SM-6, Naval Strike Missile and Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile — in a war with Beijing in the Pacific. That committee endorsed multiyear munitions buys as part of a series of 10 bipartisan recommendations on Taiwan it drafted in May.

Additionally, the bill provides an $800 million boost to the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, for a total budget of $983 million in FY24. It also provides $200 million for Replicator, the Pentagon’s effort to buy and field thousands of drones by next August.

Finally, the legislation cuts funding for the Defense Department civilian workforce by $1 billion.

The compromise bill eliminates many of the amendments Republicans introduced when they passed their version of the bill in September. That includes an amendment from Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene, R-Ga., that would have reduced Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s salary to $1.

The bill also drops a priority a proposal championed by Calvert that would have moved Mexico from U.S. Northern Command to Southern Command. Calvert argued last year this would “prioritize combatting the trafficking of fentanyl by Mexican drug cartels.”

Although Mexico will remain in Northern Command, the bill includes a $50 million increase to counter illicit fentanyl and synthetic opioids.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:13 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Ok ok rusitg maar met je openbare tentoonstelling van je verontwaardiging.

Vraagje: wat vond jij erger vandaag:
- Dat de russen 100.000-en Oekrainers probeerden te vermoorden door een vloedgolf en/of nucleare uitval
- of de TT

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:05 schreef Inbox het volgende:
De meest scherpe beelden die ik heb gezien van een Rus die gaat hemelen door een drone.

https://www.reddit.com/r/(...)_with_shades_but_no/

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:46 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Achterlijke vraag !

De problemen die ik heb met de tt is de lading van het woord terrorisme. Terrorisme is in alle gevallen verwerpelijk.
Maar ik snap dat jullie weer lichtzinnig willen doen. 75% van de Russen verdient het blijkbaar.

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Op vrijdag 22 maart 2024 23:53 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Nee, want de titel scheert alle Russen over 1 kam. Ja het leger is verantwoordelijk voor vuiligheden die je eventueel als terroristisch kan bestempelen. Maar je weet ook dat een Rus hier niet teveel commentaar op kan hebben.
Al met al waren dit gewoon burgers die door laffe honden zijn afgeschoten. Dat kun je niet goedpraten door de slachtoffers af te doen als terroristen.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:58 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:58 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
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Ukraine develops mine-resistant boots for sappers

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is developing special footwear for sappers.

Militarnyi reported on this with reference to the official website of the Ministry of Defense.

These are protective boots designed to reduce the risk of injuries to the soldiers’ feet during demining. The special footwear is designed to prevent the damaging effect of an anti-personnel explosive device.

Currently, the Central Logistics Development and Support Directorate and the Command of the Support Forces are conducting tests.

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“In fact, these are multilayer boots with Kevlar (ballistic) insoles. The footwear will help to trap the debris in the sole and prevent serious injuries,” said Vitalii Polovenko, Deputy Minister of Defense.

According to him, the main task of such shoes is to preserve limbs.

According to the preliminary requirements, mine-resistant boots must prevent the damaging effect of certain types of anti-personnel explosive devices.

Polovenko explained that specialists from the Central Logistics Development and Support Directorate were currently studying various samples of such footwear. They are also working on improving the specifications.

“Based on the results of positive tests and the approved prototype, such mine-resistant footwear will be supplied to the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” said the Deputy Minister.

Demining is a serious challenge for Ukraine due to the large number of explosive devices in various regions that pose a high risk to the military and civilians.

A private enterprise in Kharkiv produces special mine-resistant shoes for sappers. The shoes have special “legs” that are attached to the sole, which is why they are called “spider” shoes. Thanks to this design, the epicenter of the explosion is moved away from the sapper’s foot, and the energy of the explosion is absorbed by these “paws”. This makes it possible to avoid traumatic amputation of the limb.

3D printers are used to make the “spiders”. It takes about 22 hours to print one part.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:57 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
En ik heb problemen met jouw bewoording! Ik heb een neef die achterlijk is.

Ik ben woedend.

Even een ideetje he. Misschien moeten jullie je eerst eens verdiepen in de definitie van het woord "russen" of "terroristen".
Bedoelen jullie wel hetzelfde met dat woord?

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Macron announced the renewal of Western rhetoric regarding support for Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron said that partner countries and allies in the issue of support for Ukraine will from now on focus on the required intensity of assistance, and not just on its duration.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to Le Monde .

According to the French president on the sidelines of the European Union summit in Brussels, the countries of the conventional West will intensively provide assistance to Ukraine against the background of ongoing Russian strikes and attacks.

"We no longer say that we will simply support Ukraine for as long as it takes. We officially say that we will support it as intensively as it takes," Macron emphasized.

Macron's statements regarding sending troops to Ukraine
It will be recalled that at the end of February, French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out that Western countries could deploy troops to help Ukraine . But, according to him, there is no consensus on this issue.

Later, the French leader specified that his country could transfer its troops to Ukraine if Russia begins to attack Kyiv or Odessa again .

A number of NATO countries opposed this idea, including Germany, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Poland, Spain and Italy. At the same time, there are countries that are ready to consider such a possibility, in particular, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

On March 14, Macron again made a statement about French troops in Ukraine . He emphasized that such an option is not excluded. In addition, on March 16, in an interview with the Ukrainian media, the French president assured that against the background of the ongoing military aggression of the Russian Federation and his initiatives regarding the potential possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, he seeks to avoid escalation .

Read urgent and important messages about Russia's war against Ukraine on the RBC-Ukraine Telegram channel .

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:58 schreef Hathor het volgende:

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Ik scheer alle Russen voor het gemak zeker over een kam, ze doen er geen reet aan om de situatie in hun land te verbeteren, ergo...ze vinden het wel prima zo.

You reap what you sow.

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Russia Reportedly Plans New Wave Of Military Mobilization
The Vyorstka Telegram channel on March 22 cited four sources close to the presidential office and Defense Ministry as saying that Moscow plans to soon announce a new wave of military mobilization that would seek to enlist up to 300,000 people to bolster its troops involved in the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

According to the sources, the idea to announce the mobilization came about because of the decreasing number of people willing to go to the war.

After President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization in September 2022, tens of thousands of Russian men fled the country to avoid enlistment.

Meanwhile, Mark Denisov, the ombudsman in Russia's Krasnoyarsk Krai, said on March 21 that several penitentiaries in the Siberian region will be shut down this year due to the ongoing recruitment of inmates for the war.

Denisov's statement came two days after the Russian parliament's lower chamber, the State Duma, approved in the final reading a bill allowing inmates to change their prison terms to suspended sentences without presidential clemency decrees after they sign contracts with the Defense Ministry.

In November, the Kremlin admitted to recruiting inmates to the war in Ukraine saying they "are atoning for their guilt with blood."

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Moscow shooting a ‘deliberate provocation by Putin’s special services,’ says Ukraine’s military intelligence
Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) has said a deadly shooting on a concert hall in Moscow on March 22 is a “deliberate provocation by Putin's special services.”

The attack – ongoing at the time of writing – saw several gunmen opening fire at the Crocus City Hall ahead of a concert.

Images posted to social media showed them walking unchallenged through the venue and firing indiscriminately at those inside.

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According to various estimates, several dozen or hundreds of people may remain in the concert building.

According to the preliminary data from Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), 40 people were killed and more than 100 wounded following the attack, Russian state-controlled media TASS claimed.

"This is a deliberate provocation by Putin's special services, about which the international community warned,” Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson of Ukraine's military Intelligence, told Ukrainska Pravda.

In a post on its Telegram channel, HUR claimed the shooting is intended to justify "even tougher" attacks on Ukraine and total mobilization in Russia.

"The public execution of people in Moscow should be understood as Putin's threat of an even greater escalation and expansion of the war," HUR wrote.

The terrorist group Islamic State (IS) later claimed responsibility for the attack in a Telegram post, and U.S. intelligence officials confirmed the claim.

On March 7, the U.S. Embassy in Russia issued a warning that "extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow" and urged American citizens to stay away from concentrations of people over the next 48 hours.

"The unimpeded movement of a group of militants with assault rifles through the center of Moscow, as well as a lot of other indisputable evidence, indicate that the shooting in Crocus City Hall was organized by the Russian special services," HUR wrote.

"International embassies also warned about the preparation of a terrorist attack."

In 1999 shortly after Vladimir Putin become president, a series of apartment bombings rocked Russia which were blamed on Chechen separatists, lighting the fuse for the second Chechen war.

Since then, speculation has continued that Putin and Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) orchestrated the bombings to boost his popularity and legitimize the war.

Just hours after the attacks began, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, warned of retaliation against Ukraine if “terrorists of the Kyiv regime” were found to be behind them.

“If it is established that these are terrorists of the Kyiv regime, it is impossible to deal with them and their ideological inspirers differently,” he wrote in a post on Telegram.

“All of them must be found and mercilessly destroyed as terrorists. Including officials of the state that committed such atrocity. Death for death.”

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:50 schreef 3rr0r het volgende:

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Er zijn wel gruwelijkere scherpe langsgekomen maar dat loeren langs z'n zonnebril terwijl hij dood probeert te spelen was wel geinig

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U.S. Warned About Possible Moscow Attack Before Concert Hall Shooting
Pro-Moscow forces had dismissed the alert as an attempt to scare Russians.

The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a security alert on March 7, warning that its personnel were “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts.” The statement warned Americans that an attack could take place in the next 48 hours.

The warning was related to the attack on Friday, according to people briefed on the matter. But it was not related to possible Ukrainian sabotage, American officials said, adding that the State Department would not have used the word “extremists” to warn about actions ordered from Kyiv.

Pro-Kremlin voices immediately seized on the U.S. Embassy’s warning to paint America as trying to scare Russians.

America officials are worried that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could seek to falsely blame Ukraine for the attack, putting pressure on Western governments to identify who they think may be responsible. Mr. Putin frequently twists events, even tragic ones, to fit his public narrative. And he has been quick to accuse Ukraine of acts of terrorism to justify his invasion of the country.

U.S. officials said Mr. Putin could do that again after Friday’s attack, seeking to use the loss of life to undermine support for Ukraine both domestically and around the world.

On March 19, the Russian leader called the U.S. Embassy statement “obvious blackmail” made with “the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society.” But he had yet to comment directly on the attack Friday.

John Kirby, a spokesman for President Biden’s National Security Council, told reporters on Friday that the White House had “no indication at this time that Ukraine or Ukrainians were involved.” He added: “We’re taking a look at it. But I would disabuse you at this early hour of any connection to Ukraine.”

“Our thoughts obviously are going to be with the victims of this terrible, terrible shooting attack,” he also said.

Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said however, according to Reuters, “On what basis do officials in Washington draw any conclusions in the midst of a tragedy about someone’s innocence?” She added that if Washington had information, it should be shared.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Ukraine’s presidential office, said in a video statement that “Ukraine has absolutely nothing to do” with the attack.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 01:18 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Volgens mij hebben ts en ik dat reeds gedaan.

Wat wil jij eigenlijk allemaal zeggen nu dan? Ik moet niet zeiken over woordkeuzes in het topic omdat het maar Russen zijn die af zijn geknald?
En wat vind je van alle users die ,vermeend, moslimterrorisme nu eigenlijk wel prima vinden?

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:05 schreef Inbox het volgende:
De meest scherpe beelden die ik heb gezien van een Rus die gaat hemelen door een drone.

https://www.reddit.com/r/(...)_with_shades_but_no/

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 02:40 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene says she’s "done" with Speaker Johnson after spending deal
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said she was “done” with Speaker Mike Johnson after he negotiated a bipartisan spending package with the White House.

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“We need a Speaker of the House who will fight to secure America’s border at all cost! Not one that passes a trillion dollar Democrat wish list that continues the border invasion, funds the weaponized government, and breaks our own conference rules,” Greene wrote on X. “I’m done with this one.”

While she doesn’t reference a motion to vacate the speaker’s chair, this is the most direct threat yet from Greene, who has been unwilling to go as far as calling for Johnson’s ouster. Greene was a staunch ally of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy but has had little relationship with Johnson.

Earlier today, Johnson downplayed concerns over a potential motion to vacate, telling reporters:

“I don’t operate in fear. We have to do the job. We have to govern. That’s what we are doing. Day by day.”

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Here's what could happen in the absence of a funding deal
Congress passed a first slate of government funding bills ahead of another partial deadline earlier this month, providing funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs.

But funding for the remaining departments and agencies expires at the end of the day March 22. That includes the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Education and Labor. A series of sticking points remain including over funding for DHS.

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Millions of federal workers and military personnel would be affected by the shutdown, including about 60% of civilian federal employees, according to Andrew Lautz, senior policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

At least 625,000 workers, mostly civilian Defense Department employees, could be subject to furlough, he said. At least another 725,000 civilian federal employees, mainly in the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, could have to continue working, but not get paid until the shutdown ends, Lautz said.

And just over 2 million military personnel, including active duty and selected reserve members, could also have work without pay.

The absence of a deal could also cause airport delays, harm border operation, affect civilian workforce and recruiting, have an effect on tax filing season and federal student aid, as well as impact State Department contracts and job offers.

Read more about the impacts should a deal not be reached.

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House GOP leaders floated member pay raises to boost support for funding package, but faced Senate opposition
As House GOP leaders scrambled to shore up support for a government spending package, they floated the idea of adding member pay raises to the bill, according to two GOP sources — but ran into a wall of opposition in the Senate.

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Some senior House Republicans informed the GOP whip team that they were planning to vote against the spending bill because it doesn’t provide lawmakers with a cost-of-living adjustment, sources said.

Lawmakers, who have an annual salary of $174,000, haven’t seen a pay raise since 2009.

House GOP leaders were trying to gauge whether they could get more members on board with the funding bill by adding pay raises, and some senior House Democrats are also for the idea.

But sources say Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is adamantly against it. Taking that step could expose his vulnerable members to taking a potentially tough vote in an election year.

While the funding package is still expected to pass in the House on Friday with hefty support from Democrats, the vote could be close, as it is coming up under an expedited process that requires a two-thirds majority for passage.

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Lawmakers have run up against a funding deadline 5 times since September
This is the fifth time since September that lawmakers have run up against a funding deadline, passing stopgap bills in the nick of time in September, November, January and earlier this month to keep the government running.

In September, President Joe Biden signed the short-term funding bill passed by Congress, averting a government shutdown ahead of a midnight deadline. The bill kept the government open through November 17 and included natural disaster aid but not additional funding for Ukraine or border security.

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Then in November, the Senate passed a stopgap bill to keep the government open that created two new shutdown deadlines in January and February, an unusual two-step approach to funding the government.

The bill extended funding until January 19 for priorities including military construction, veterans’ affairs, transportation, housing and the Energy Department. The rest of the government – anything not covered by the first step – would be funded until February 2. The proposal did not include additional aid for Israel or Ukraine.

In January, lawmakers passed the two-step, short-term funding extension setting up a pair of new deadlines on March 1 and March 8.

The two-step plan passed in January extended funding through March 1 for parts of the federal government including military construction and the departments of Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation and Energy. The rest of the government – anything not covered by the first step – was funded through March 8.

Then earlier this month, Congress passed a first slate of government funding bills ahead of another partial deadline at the end of the day on March 22, providing funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs.

Funding for the remaining departments and agencies expires at the end of the today.

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Schumer warns Congress has 13 hours to avoid a partial shutdown: "That's not going to be easy"
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called on both chambers and both parties in Congress to work together to avert a partial government shutdown, noting they only have about 13 hours to pass the funding package.

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“As of 12:01am tonight, about 70% of the federal government will run out of funding if Congress does not act. Democrats and Republicans have about 13 hours to work together to make sure the government stays open. That's not going to be easy. We will have to work together and avoid unnecessary delays,” he said.

Schumer added that “the Senate will spring into action,” as soon as the House passes the package, and urged his colleagues to avoid “partisanship and stonewalling and dithering.”

“To my colleagues on both sides: Let's finish the job today. Let's avoid even a weekend shutdown. Let's finish the job of funding the government for the remainder of the fiscal year. There is no reason to delay. There is no reason to drag out this process,” he said.

“And if senators cooperate on a time agreement, if we prioritize working together just as we did two weeks ago, I'm optimistic we can succeed. But if individual senators resort to partisanship and stonewalling and dithering, those individuals will almost guarantee that we shut down and the process could drag into Saturday, Sunday and possibly beyond,” he said.

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JUST IN: House approves funding bill ahead of critical shutdown deadline
The House voted to approve the $1.2 trillion funding bill, setting off a sprint in the Senate to take up and pass the legislation ahead of a fast-approaching shutdown deadline at the end of the day.

The final vote was 286-134 with 112 Republicans and 22 Democrats voting against the measure. The bill now heads to the Senate.

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The tight timeline has sparked fears on Capitol Hill of a potential partial shutdown. Top lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say they are pushing to prevent that, but the objection of any single senator could delay a swift vote, pushing the chamber right up against, or past, the deadline.

What's at stake: Lawmakers are confronting a midnight funding deadline for a slate of critical government operations, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State, and the legislative branch.

If the Senate does not pass the legislation before the deadline, a temporary lapse in funding would occur, triggering a partial shutdown. The impact of a partial shutdown would be limited if funding is approved over the weekend before the start of the work week.

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GOP leadership plan is to not recognize Greene to speak, meaning clock won’t start on effort to oust Johnson
A GOP leadership aide tells CNN the plan is not to recognize Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene after this vote series meaning the clock doesn’t start on the two legislative days.

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If she were to be recognized it would have to be considered within 2 legislative days but the House goes on recess for 2 weeks this afternoon.

“Speaker Johnson always listens to the concerns of members, but is focused on governing. He will continue to push conservative legislation that secures our border, strengthens our national defense and demonstrates how we’ll grow our majority,” Johnson spokesman Raj Shah said in a statement.

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Greene files a motion to oust Johnson from speakership, in anger about funding bill that just passed
GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene filed a motion to oust Mike Johnson from the speakership, amid anger about the government funding bill.

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"I filed the motion to vacate today, but it's more of a warning and a pink slip," Taylor Greene said to reporters outside of the Capitol after filing the motion. "I respect our conference. I paid all my dues to my conference. I'm a member in good standing, and I do not wish to inflict pain on our conference and to throw the House into chaos."

She continued, "But this is basically a warning and it's time for us to go through the process, take our time and find a new speaker of the House that will stand with Republicans and our Republican majority instead of standing with the Democrats."

Pressed by CNN’s Manu Raju on when she would call for a vote on the resolution – which would only require a simple majority to pass – Greene would not give a timeline.

“There's not a time limit on this. It doesn't have to be forced and throw the House into chaos. I don't want to put any of our members in a difficult place like we were for three and a half weeks,” she replied, referring to last October when the House was in limbo for weeks after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted.

Greene added that she is “not worried” about the possibility of Democrats voting to save Johnson if the vote happens.

Asked for a reaction by CNN, Johnson didn’t respond, and dismissed it with a wave. Johnson, who won the gavel after McCarthy’s ouster, has faced pushback from his right flank over his handling of the government funding fight.

Greene was swarmed by her Republican colleagues after she filed the motion. A source close to the conversations told CNN that a number of Republican lawmakers were trying to convince Greene not to bring this motion against Johnson. Two of those lawmakers were: GOP Reps. Barry Loudermilk and Kat Cammack. CNN observed both Loudermilk and Cammack in an extended conversation with Greene.

Part of the argument to Greene from her Republican colleagues is that if she goes through with this it could lead to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries inadvertently becoming speaker, per a source who witnessed the conversations.

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Greene doesn't have a timeline and wants to use recess to make a plan, GOP members say
Republican lawmakers who spoke with GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told CNN that her plan is to use the two weeks of recess when the House is not in session to figure out when to bring the motion to vacate against Speaker Mike Johnson.

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This would essentially leave the motion to vacate threat dangling over Johnson.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie said Greene is not in a rush. He said the move "allows the whole conference to adjust and to find a new speaker before it gets called up."

But Massie wouldn't say if he supports ousting Johnson: "There's no benefit to me answering that question."

GOP Rep. Eric Burlison told CNN he was "really disappointed" with Johnson after the government funding vote on Friday and that he has "real questions about the direction that we are going."

Burlison confirmed to CNN that Greene did not say she has a date in mind for when she wants to bring the motion against Johnson forward.

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Greene tells CNN that "quite a few" lawmakers support her motion to vacate the House speaker
In an exclusive interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said there are "quite a few" lawmakers supporting her motion to vacate House Speaker Mike Johnson, though she did not specify exactly how many members are backing her.

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“I have a number that have committed, but there’s also a large number that have already expressed to me a huge sigh of relief," she added.

She said she hasn’t talked to Johnson yet, but said the speaker is “negotiating from weakness” and that she doesn’t see a scenario where she will back off raising the motion to vacate. Still, she argued she is “being very respectful to the members of our conference,” and won’t disrupt investigations or other committee work.

Greene reiterated that she does not have a timeline for when she will bring the motion up, but said she hopes to use the House’s two-week break.

“What I'm hoping for is for all of our Republican members to be able to have time to think and reflect over this break, for us to be able to come back together and start the conversation of who is capable and willing to lead this Republican majority," she said.

Greene said that the government funding bill that passed in the House on Friday was a “complete departure” of “everything we stand for,” referring to the Republican party.

"We cannot move forward having a Republican speaker of the House that is doing the bidding of Democrats, that is allowing Chuck Schumer to drive our legislation, bringing bills to the floor that the White House cannot wait to sign into law, and doesn't stop the border crisis and the invasion that's happening every single day to our country," Greene said.

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Democrats are signaling they’ll save Speaker Mike Johnson — especially if he moves on Ukraine aid
Several House Democrats are signaling they would vote to save House Speaker Mike Johnson from GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s effort to oust him if he agreed to put a Ukraine aid package on the House floor for an up or down vote.

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“If he does the responsible thing which is allowing members of Congress to vote on a bill that will pass and is in our national security interests and then subsequent to that a nonserious actor who does not want to govern brings a motion to vacate, yes, I would motion to table in that circumstance,” moderate Virginia Democratic Rep Abigail Spanberger told CNN’s Manu Raju.

Other House Democrats signaled they would motion to table – kill – Greene’s resolution if it came to that.

New York Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, who was recently reelected in a special election to fill Santos’ seat, said he would vote to keep Johnson as speaker “because it’s absurd he’s being kicked out for doing the right thing, keeping the government open.”

Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, one of the few Democrats running in a Trump district, told CNN’s Dana Bash she wants to keep her options open and “it is a real consideration at this point” that perhaps the politically and policy wise to save Johnson.

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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise says Johnson will not be ousted
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise expressed confidence in Speaker Mike Johnson, saying “no he will not” be ousted by the right flank.

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He also downplayed the tightening majority in the wake of news GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher will be departing early.

“It is tough with a five-seat majority, it is tough with a two seat, one will be the same. We all have to work together,” Scalise told CNN.

“We have to unite if we are going to get things done, we have proven with bills like our energy bill, our border security bill and some of the other big things we have done we can come together and get things done for hard working families,” he added.

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US House Office of Diversity and Inclusion to be disbanded as part of government spending bill
The US House Office of Diversity and Inclusion will be dissolved as part of the government spending bill that passed the chamber on Friday, the office’s director said in a statement Friday. The bill advanced to the Senate ahead of the midnight deadline to avoid a shutdown.

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The office's director, Sesha Joi Moon, said it will be replaced by the Office of Talent Management under the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer.

The change comes as diversity and inclusion programs and initiatives face increased attacks from critics and Republican lawmakers across the country.

The office was first formed in March 2020 with the mission of creating a congressional workforce that reflected the makeup of the nation. According to its website, the office’s key duties have included financial management, candidate services, member services, research and data analytics and professional development.

Moon said while she plans to transition out of her role later this year, some team members will stay on and work for the newly formed Office of Talent Management.

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Several Senate Republicans express hope that the House can avoid another messy speaker fight
Several Senate Republicans expressed their hope that the House can avoid another messy speaker fight, after GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a resolution to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson on Friday morning.

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Greene's resolution has raised concerns that GOP infighting could cause Republicans to lose their House majority, especially after GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher's announcement Friday that he will step down in April, months before the end of his term, which would leave the GOP with an even narrower razor-thin margin.

GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin — a former House member who maintains close ties to his colleagues in the other chamber — warned that they could lose the House majority if Greene called for a vote on Johnson’s ouster.

“I think this causes real issues — real issues — for the incumbents and for our challengers out there, for the Republican Party if this goes through, because chaos in the House is 100% on us at this point, if this thing moves forward and they don't have a speaker,” Mullin said.

On the other hand, GOP Sen. Steve Daines, who chairs the Senate Republican's campaign arm, said the threat to Johnson and the GOP’s slim majority “illustrates the point that the House needs to expand its majority” and will help turn out voters.

GOP Sen. Kevin Cramer slammed Greene's move, saying "I don't get the desire for chaos." The North Dakota Republican also praised the job Johnson has done as speaker and said he hopes Democrats will save Johnson from being ousted.

Meanwhile, GOP Sen. Tommy Tuberville was sympathetic to Greene’s concerns.

“We’re all disappointed with a lot of things that are in this bill. And I know she is, as conservative she is,” Tuberville said. He dismissed concerns that the infighting makes it appear that Republicans can’t govern, adding, “We are fighting for the American people.”

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The Senate is a few hours away from a funding deadline. Here's what will happen if a bill isn't passed
The Senate is approaching a midnight deadline to pass a bill to fund the government and avert a shutdown. The House passed a $1.2 trillion government funding package earlier Friday.

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Earlier this month, Congress passed a first slate of government funding bills ahead of another partial deadline, providing funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs.

Now, funding for the remaining departments and agencies expires at midnight. That includes the departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Education and Labor.

What's at stake: Millions of federal workers and military personnel would be affected by the shutdown, including about 60% of civilian federal employees, according to Andrew Lautz, senior policy analyst at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

At least 625,000 workers, mostly civilian Defense Department employees, could be subject to furlough, he said. At least another 725,000 civilian federal employees, mainly in the departments of Homeland Security and Defense, could have to continue working, but not get paid until the shutdown ends, Lautz said. More than 2 million military personnel, including active duty and selected reserve members, could also have to work without pay.

The absence of a deal could also cause airport delays, harm border operations, affect civilian workforce and recruiting, have an effect on tax filing season and federal student aid, as well as impact State Department contracts and job offers.

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Partial government shutdown anticipated as Senate fails to reach deal
The Senate is falling short of reaching a time agreement to vote on the government funding package before the midnight deadline, according to senators and aides in each party, meaning a partial government shutdown would begin at midnight.

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How we got here: After the House passed the package earlier on Friday, the Senate spent hours negotiating over controversial amendment votes demanded by Republicans in order to put vulnerable Democrats in a tough position this election year.

Senate Minority Whip John Thune argued Friday that Democrats would be to blame if they were unable to pass this funding package before the shutdown deadline at midnight, but Democrats blamed Republicans for preventing passage of the bill by insisting on amendments that they considered unreasonable.

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Here's what happens next as a partial government shutdown is set to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET
A partial government shutdown is set to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET after the Senate was unable to vote on the government funding package. The bill was approved earlier in the day by the House.

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The Senate will not be permitted to take any action Saturday as Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made a motion to break a filibuster on the funding package. The chamber is expected to vote to do so early Sunday afternoon, but there is no exact timing yet.

That vote will be at a 60-vote threshold, and is expected to pass, which will trigger up to 30 hours of additional debate. If all hours are used, the bill could be passed Monday evening. Senators and aides in both parties have signaled that they would try to complete consideration of the package on Sunday, but they could run into the same roadblocks they did on Friday.

The impact of a partial shutdown could become clear if it continues into Monday as most federal employees are off during the weekend.

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ISIS claims responsibility for attack in busy Moscow-area concert venue that left at least 60 dead

ISIS has claimed responsibility for an attack at a popular concert venue complex near Moscow Friday that left at least 60 dead and 145 hospitalized after assailants stormed the venue with guns and incendiary devices.

The terror group took responsibility for the attack in a short statement published by ISIS-affiliated news agency Amaq on Telegram on Friday. The group did not provide evidence to support the claim.

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Video footage from the site of the attack, the Crocus City Hall concert venue, shows the vast complex, which is home to both the music hall and a shopping center, on fire with smoke billowing into the air. State-run RIA Novosti reported the armed individuals “opened fire with automatic weapons” and “threw a grenade or an incendiary bomb, which started a fire.” They then “allegedly fled in a white Renault car,” the news agency said.

State media Russia 24 reported the roof on the venue has partially collapsed.

The attack unfolded before the music group Picnic was set to perform, according to Russia 24. The band’s manager told state media that the performers were unharmed.

The Russia Prosecutor General’s Office said: “Unidentified people in camouflage broke into Crocus City Hall and started shooting before the start of the concert,” according to TASS.

Video footage showed panic as the attack unfolded, with crowds of people huddling together, screaming and ducking behind cushioned seats as gunshots started echoing in the vast hall. One group sheltering next to a large wall of windows outside the concert venue were forced to break them to escape the gunfire, video obtained by CNN shows.

Footage geolocated by CNN shows an armed individual starting at least one fire inside the venue. The individual is seen carrying something in their hand and, as they walk off-screen, a bright flash of light from a large flame is seen in the video.

Regional governor Andrey Vorobyov said everything was being done to save people in what is now the deadliest terror attack on Moscow in decades. A SWAT team was called to the area and more than 70 ambulance teams and doctors were assisting victims.

One hundred and forty-five people have been hospitalized, TASS reported. Sixty people are in a “serious condition.”

According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed about the attack and is being kept updated on measures on the ground.

Putin on Saturday wished those were injured in the attack a speedy recovery, the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency. He also “conveyed his gratitude to the doctors,” RIA added.

On Friday night, Moscow City Duma Chairman Alexey Shaposhnikov called on Moscow residents to donate blood to help treat victims, saying that “this is a matter of life and death for dozens of people.”

Shaposhnikov listed several blood center facilities in the Moscow area that will accept donors throughout the weekend.

Around 100 people were evacuated from the building by firefighters, TASS reported. Rescuers are still working to get people off the roof, according to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation.

Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin called the attack a “terrible tragedy.”

“My condolences to the loved ones of the victims. I gave orders to provide all necessary assistance to everyone who suffered during the incident,” Sobyanin said in a statement.

Sobyanin said on Telegram that he was canceling all sports, cultural and other public events in Moscow this weekend.

Shaman, the singer of the band Picnic which was due to play the venue, said he would pay for the funerals of the victims and treatment for those injured.

“We are all one big family. And in a family there is no such thing as somebody else’s grief”, the singer, known for his nationalistic views, said in a video posted on the Russian social media network Vkontakte to his more than 600,000 followers.

“My people, any troubles and misfortunes have always united our country. They have made Russia tougher and stronger. It will not be possible to frighten and break us this time either”, he said.

US had warned of potential attack
Earlier this month, the US embassy in Russia said it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow,” including concerts. The embassy warned US citizens to avoid large gatherings. On Friday, following what it said were “reports of an ongoing terrorist incident at Crocus City Hall,” it advised US citizens not to travel to Russia.

US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US government had had information about a planned terrorist attack in Moscow – potentially targeting large gatherings, to include concerts – and that this is what prompted the State Department to issue the public advisory.

“The US government also shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy,” Watson said.

In a speech Tuesday, Putin had blasted the American warnings as “provocative,” saying “these actions resemble outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society.”

However, the attack at the concert venue comes near the end of a month in which a string of ISIS related incidents were reported by RIA.

March alone, Russian authorities had thwarted several ISIS related incidents, according to RIA. On March 3, RIA reported that six ISIS members were killed in a counter-terrorist operation in the Ingush Karabulak; on March 7, it said security services had uncovered and “neutralized” a cell of the banned organization Vilayat Khorasan in the Kaluga region, whose members were planning an attack on a synagogue in Moscow; and on March 20, it said the commander of an ISIS combat group had been detained.

A US official said Friday that Washington had no reason to doubt ISIS’ claim that it was responsible for the latest attack.

International response
Ukraine, which has been embroiled in a war with Russia for more than two years, denied having any involvement in the attack.

“Ukraine has never resorted to the use of terrorist methods,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote, in part, in a post on X. He said he believed Russia would use the attack to justify the ongoing conflict and scale up operations as part of “military propaganda” in Ukraine.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres late Friday condemned “in the strongest possible terms today’s terrorist attack” according to a statement released by his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq.

“The Secretary-General conveys his deep condolences to the bereaved families and the people and the Government of the Russian Federation. He wishes those injured a speedy recovery,” the statement said.

In a separate statement, the UN’s Security Council called the attack “heinous and cowardly.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the attack. “France expresses its solidarity with the victims, their loved ones and all the Russian people,” the Elysee Palace said, AFP and Reuters reported.

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Trump is about to get $3 billion richer after deal is approved to take his company public. But it won’t solve his cash crunch
Investors have approved a deal on Friday to make Truth Social owner Trump Media a publicly traded company.

The green light from shareholders clears a major hurdle for a long-delayed merger that will generate a multi-billion dollar windfall for former President Donald Trump at a time when he’s facing immense financial and legal pressure.

According to a preliminary vote total announced during the meeting, a majority of shareholders of Digital World Acquisition Corp. voted in favor of the deal to merge with Trump Media. The companies have indicated the merger could close as soon as early next week.

The new company will be called Trump Media & Technology Group and trade under the ticker DJT, Trump’s initials. It will own Trump’s struggling social media platform Truth Social.

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Shareholders voted to approve Trump Media’s merger with a blank-check company, following years of legal and regulatory obstacles. Trump will own a dominant stake in a public company, with shares worth more than $3 billion at current market prices.

However, experts tell CNN there are numerous practical, financial and legal reasons why this deal is unlikely to solve Trump’s imminent cash crunch.

“President Trump won’t be able to monetize that stake right away,” said Matthew Kennedy, senior initial public offering market strategist at Renaissance Capital.

Trump faces a Monday deadline to post a $464 million bond in New York’s civil fraud case against him or New York’s attorney general could try to seize his golf course and private estate north of Manhattan – or other assets.

The good news for Trump is that there are strong incentives for shareholders to approve the merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp.

If it gets the green light from shareholders, Trump stands to be the dominant shareholder, with a stake of at least 58.1%, according to filings.

The merger agreement calls for Trump to own roughly 79 million shares of the new public company – and potentially tens of millions more if certain goals are hit.

At Digital World’s share price of around $43 Thursday, that massive stake would be worth $3.4 billion – at least on paper. But Digital World shares were volatile Friday, and they were closed 14% lower.

The merger could close swiftly.

Regulatory filings indicate the companies expect to close the merger on the second business day after the shareholder vote is approved. That sets the stage for trading to begin under the new name and ticker symbol by Tuesday or Wednesday, although it could take longer, according to Kennedy.

But the deal still faces legal uncertainty. There is ongoing litigation seeking to block the merger from closing.

‘Clearly a bubble’
The bad news for Trump is that this stake is not as liquid as it sounds. Those paper gains would be very difficult for Trump to translate to actual cash.

In fact, Trump’s shares in this company are in many ways even less liquid than his real estate holdings, according to Charles Whitehead, a law professor at Cornell Law School.

First, experts say the market is drastically overvaluing Trump Media based on the company’s fundamentals.

That means Trump would have a hard time dumping the stock or even pledging it as collateral.

“The stock price is clearly a bubble,” Yale law professor Jonathan Macey told CNN. “No rational investor would take the stock at face value, especially if they had to hold it for any length of time.”

SEC filings indicate Trump Media’s revenue amounted to just $1.1 million during the third quarter. The company posted a loss of $26 million that quarter.

Truth Social’s shrinking user base
Not only that, but Truth Social appears to be shrinking.

The number of Truth Social’s US monthly active users on iOS and Android is down 39% year-over-year, according to Similarweb data shared with CNN earlier this month. Truth Social remains much smaller than X (formerly Twitter), which is also shrinking but at a slower pace.

And yet Trump Media is being valued north of $6 billion on a fully diluted basis, which includes all stocks and options that could be converted to common stock, according to Jay Ritter, a finance professor at the University of Florida.

Ritter said the current market price is hard, if not impossible, to justify.

“It is grossly overvalued,” said Ritter. “It qualifies as a meme stock for which the price is divorced from fundamental value…Meme stock investors are usually buying on the basis of the greater fool theory of investing: It is overvalued today, but I hope to make money selling it to an even greater fool tomorrow at an even higher price.”

Insiders can’t sell right away
But even in the unlikely event that Trump found a taker for those shares, experts say he is likely not allowed to sell or pledge that stock – at least not yet.

As is typical in a deal like this, certain shareholders are subject to a lock-up period that prevents insiders from immediately selling.

“No one wants to buy into a company where the largest shareholder – and really the face of the biggest product – is selling,” said Whitehead.

In this case, key shareholders of Trump Media, including its management team, have agreed not to sell their common stock for six months to maintain “important stability to the leadership and governance” of the company, according to SEC filings.

Not only does that lock-up agreement prevent these key shareholders from selling their stock for six months, it says they have agreed not to “lend, offer, pledge…encumber, donate” that stock during the period.

If the share price stays above $12 for a period of time, it’s possible that insiders can sell or pledge their stock 150 days after the deal closes.

“The lock-up is meant to stop insiders from selling immediately after the merger,” said Xavier Kowalski, a former partner at Schulte Roth & Zabel who is now a lecturer in the finance department at the University of Florida. “It also stops them from pledging the stock, like with a margin loan. So it’s going to be difficult to find a way to use those shares to get cash for now.”

Banks may balk
Moreover, there are additional lock-up restrictions contained in an amended charter that experts say appear to include Trump. That lock-up also restricts certain shareholders from immediately selling after the deal closes.

“If his shares are covered by the charter’s lockup provisions then, absent an amendment to the charter, President Trump cannot pledge this stock. Full stop,” Whitehead said.

And amending the charter would be tricky – even for Trump and his outsized sway over the company. That’s the kind of thing that would have to be disclosed ahead of time because it would impact potential buyers of the stock.

“He can’t do this quietly. If President Trump today intends to amend the charter and they are not disclosing this intention, that’s a problem,” Whitehead said. “Presumably, they would need to take the position after the vote approving the merger that President Trump woke up and suddenly said, ‘Hey, let’s amend the charter.’”

Now even if Trump overcame these potentially insurmountable obstacles, there is no guarantee any bank would take this stock as collateral in a loan.

“If I’m a bank, I’m going to be troubled by the idea of a significant shareholder pledging his stake,” Whitehead said. “Any bank doing a proper credit analysis must be sensitive to the fact that this stock may very well tank if it turns out that President Trump is looking to sell down the position.”

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 00:58 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
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Deal reached to avert government shutdown, Senate vote expected shortly

The Senate has reached a last-minute agreement to vote on the government funding package tonight, and avert a shutdown, after an hours-long standoff over amendment votes.

Republicans were demanding votes on controversial amendments that could put some vulnerable Senate Democrats in tough spots. The agreement includes up to 12 amendment votes, followed by final passage.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer began with a quorum call to give members time to get to the floor, and urged members to vote quickly once the vote series begins.

“Some people have very important places to go, and we want to get her there,” he said on the floor, looking to the Senate’s top Republican appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins. Her mother’s funeral is tomorrow morning in Caribou, Maine, and Collins has not missed a vote since she was first elected to the Senate in 1997.

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US government ceases shutdown preparations after Senate reached last-minute deal
The White House Office of Management and Budget has ceased shutdown preparations and President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill Saturday, pending Senate passage, according to a White House official.

"OMB has ceased shutdown preparations because there is a high degree of confidence that Congress will imminently pass the relevant appropriations and the President will sign the bill on Saturday,” the official said.

“Because obligations of federal funds are incurred and tracked on a daily basis, agencies will not shut down and may continue their normal operations,” the official added.

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Senate has passed $1.2 trillion funding bill and averted a government shutdown
The Senate passed the $1.2 trillion funding package early Saturday after a last-minute agreement, averting a partial government shutdown.

The funding legislation was approved by a vote of 74-24 at 2:02 a.m. ET, more than two hours after the midnight ET deadline for passage of the critical legislation that was approved by the House on Friday.

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The package includes funding for a slate of critical government operations, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State, and the legislative branch.

Ahead of the final vote, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said:

"It's no small feat to get a package like this done in divided government. These past few months have shown yet again that when bipartisanship has room to work we can get the job done."
The legislation now goes to President Joe Biden's desk for his signature.

The vote marks a major moment on Capitol Hill as it brings to a close an annual appropriations process that has dragged on far longer than is typical - an effort that has been punctuated by partisan policy disagreements and a historic change of leadership in the House after conservatives ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in an unprecedented vote last year.

While final passage came after the midnight deadline, the Senate's action effectively prevented any lapse in funding or government function and the federal government is now funded through the end of the fiscal year.

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Ukraine's New MacGyvered Kamikaze Drones are a Menace, russians Complain
We say, it's the best design choice ever

Although counterintuitive, an aerial vehicle made out of a water pipe, plywood and plastic bottles is the best solution possible

Recently, russian forces in Ukraine have suffered from a previously unseen type of suicide drone constantly shelling their positions. The new drone is unique in its almost primitive simplicity, all materials used in assembly are improvised and, importantly, accessible and cheap to the extreme.

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In a photo published by a russian soldier on social media, we can see one of them: a fairly large drone assembled from plywood boards, which seems to have been sheathed with dense polyethylene, the fuel tank is made of 5-liter water bottles, the tail is a water pipe, and the avionics are placed inside a plywood box.

It might seem that there is nothing to brag about here because it definitely does not meet any standards, nay concepts of modern weapons. However, this is exactly what the ideal kamikaze drone should look like. Let's say it one more time: the whole point of such a drone is to make a single flight in its "lifetime," which should end with it simply crashing into the target. Thus, the most expensive thing there can be is a small-sized internal combustion engine and a flight control system.

In the conditions of the Ukrainian warzone especially, the cheaper the design is, which ensures this single yet bright flight, the better. If someone can make a flying vehicle out of the assortment of materials they can find at a DIY store, it would be just perfect. Moreover, if this design needs no high-precision machine tools and highly skilled workers to make the product — even better.

The Ukrainian suicide drone in the photos demonstrates exactly this approach to weapon-making. The name of the UAV is unknown but it has one characteristic feature — a sticker with one of the characters from The Simpsons animated series.

The russian soldier also notes that the camera is attached to the drone from below. In other words, it is a classic loitering munition that can be manually controlled at the terminal phase of the strike, so it can hit not only stationary targets. Yet, the existence of an alternative cheaper configuration is not ruled out either.

At the same time, many details remain unspecified, such as the size of the warhead or the flight range. Given the size of the fuel tank, we can assume that the aerial weapon is intended for strikes on targets located about twenty or more kilometers from the launch point.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 01:44 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
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US had warned Russia ISIS was determined to attack
The US warned Moscow that ISIS militants were determined to target Russia in the days before assailants stormed the Crocus City Hall in an attack that killed scores of people, but President Vladimir Putin rejected the advice as “provocative.”

Gunmen stormed the concert hall near Moscow on Friday, opening fire and throwing an incendiary device in the worst terrorist attack on the Russian capital in decades.

Isis has claimed responsibility for the attack.

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Experts said the scale of the carnage – some of which was captured in video footage obtained by CNN showing crowds of people cowering behind cushioned seats as gunshots echoed in the vast hall – would be deeply embarrassing for the Russian leader, who had championed a message of national security just a week earlier when winning the country’s stage-managed election.

Not only had Russian intelligence services failed to prevent the attack, they said, but Putin had failed to heed specific warnings from the United States that extremists were plotting to target Moscow.

Earlier this month, the US embassy in Russia had said it was “monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow,” including concerts, and it warned US citizens to avoid such places.

US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the US government had “shared this information with Russian authorities in accordance with its longstanding ‘duty to warn’ policy.”

But in a speech Tuesday, Putin had blasted the American warnings as “provocative,” saying “these actions resemble outright blackmail and the intention to intimidate and destabilize our society.”

That stance came despite Russian authorities having reported several ISIS-related incidents within the past month.

The state-run RIA Novosti reported on March 3 that six ISIS members were killed in a counter-terrorist operation in the Ingush Karabulak; on March 7, it said security services had uncovered and “neutralized” a cell of the banned organization Vilayat Khorasan in the Kaluga region, whose members were planning an attack on a synagogue in Moscow; and on March 20, it said the commander of an ISIS combat group had been detained.

Two sources familiar with the American information said that since November there had been a steady stream of intelligence that ISIS-K – an affiliate of ISIS that is active in Afghanistan and the surrounding region – was determined to attack Russia.

Moscow has intervened tellingly in Syria’s civil war, to the support of President Bashar al-Assad and against ISIS.

ISIS-K “sees Russia as being complicit in activities that regularly oppress Muslims,” Michael Kugelman of the Washington-based Wilson Center said, as quoted by Reuters.

He added that the group also counts as members a number of Central Asian militants, who hold their own grievances against Moscow.

A US official said Friday that Washington had no reason to doubt ISIS’ claim that it was responsible for the latest attack.

On Friday, following reports of the Crocus City Hall attack, the US embassy advised US citizens not to travel to Russia.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 08:41 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Wat zie ik hier?

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 01:22 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.rbc.ua/rus/ne(...)hodu-1711122854.html
[..]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 09:47 schreef vosss het volgende:
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Russia
According to the United States State Department's Global Engagement Center (GEC) several outlets that publish or republish work by Escobar are used by Russia for propaganda and disinformation.[30][31][non-primary source needed] In 2020, the GEC stated that both the Strategic Culture Foundation (SCF) and Global Research, two online journals where Escobar's work has appeared, acted as Russian propaganda sites.[32] According to the GEC, "Pepe Escobar began writing articles for Global Research in 2005 and ten years later became an SCF author.[30]

Escobar has also been a commentator for RT and Sputnik News. According to the GEC, both outlets are members of "Russia's disinformation and propaganda ecosystem."[31][non-primary source needed] In an report published by the European Council on Foreign Relations, Volodymyr Yermolenko, described Escobar as an example of "anti-Western intellectuals" hosted by RT, adding that Escobar suggested in 2014 "dividing Ukraine between Poland and Russia."[33][non-primary source needed]

In 2012, Jesse Zwick at The New Republic asked Escobar why he was willing to work with RT; Escobar replied, "I knew the Kremlin involvement, but I said, why not use it? After a few months, I was very impressed by the American audience. There are dozens of thousands of viewers. A very simple story can get 20,000 hits on YouTube. The feedback was huge.”[34]

During the 2017 Catalan independence crisis, Escobar wrote that Spain lived in a state of permanent fascism. In 2022, Escobar said that US president Biden was a puppet of Hillary Clinton and the US establishment, who are motivated by Russophobia and aim to sever the link between Russia and the European economy. The Spanish newspaper ABC wrote that some of Escobar's writings were "the usual ones of Russian disinformation: 'Yankee' imperialism, NATO excesses, Russian victimization".[35]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 09:47 schreef vosss het volgende:
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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 09:47 schreef vosss het volgende:
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https://dissident.one/beg(...)en-van-kiev-gestuurd
Begonnen: NAVO-troepen werden per luchtbrug naar de stad Cherkasy ten zuiden van Kiev gestuurd
Een grote militaire macht bestaande uit westerse militairen is aangekomen in de Oekra�ense stad Cherkasy, ten zuiden van Kiev !

Deze kracht werd vervoerd door de lucht en per spoor.

Volgens Russische informatie vestigen ze zich op de begane grond van scholen en kleuterscholen, meldt Pronews.

Στρατεύματα του ΝΑΤΟ μεταφέρθηκαν αεροπορικώς και σιδηροδρομικώς στην πόλη Τσερκάζι νότια του Κιέβου

Dit zijn Duitse, Franse en Poolse troepen van de 5.000 man sterke Duits-Poolse snelle interventiemacht en een Frans bataljon van ongeveer 700 man, die worden gezien als de voorlopers van een grotere NAVO-troepenmacht die betrokken zal zijn bij de oorlog in Oekra�ne om te proberen de Russische opmars te stoppen.

Patriot PAC 2 en NASAMS luchtverdedigingssystemen zijn rond Tsjerkasy ingezet in een poging een luchtafweerkoepel te cre�ren om hen te beschermen tegen Russische lucht- en raketaanvallen.

Het komt erop neer dat de NAVO, hoewel er discussies zijn over het al dan niet binnenvallen van Oekra�ne, er al is en in ieder geval aanvankelijk is ingezet in een stad diep genoeg in het Oekra�ense achterland met het duidelijke doel Kiev te verdedigen.

Cherkasy ligt ten zuiden van Kiev en ten noorden van Odessa.

Het is niet precies gespecificeerd hoeveel NAVO-militairen er zijn, maar het lijkt erop dat zij de eerste expeditiemacht vormen.

Het valt nog te bezien wat hun bedoelingen zijn, of ze in de stad Cherkassy zullen blijven, of dat ze verder naar het zuiden zullen trekken naar Odessa, want alles wijst erop dat de Russen zich veel eerder voorbereiden op een aanval op de stad aan de Zwarte Zee dan geschat.

De oprichting van een guerrillabeweging door Russischsprekende inwoners van de stad is immers niet zomaar toeval.

Een actie die succesvol is gebleken bij recente Russische precisieaanvallen op productiefaciliteiten voor drones van de marine, radars en woon- en operationele locaties van NAVO-troepen.

De NAVO is begonnen haar aanwezigheid te onthullen en de planeet komt steeds dichter bij de mogelijkheid van een Derde Wereldoorlog.

Het is de eerste grote en offici�le inzet van NAVO-troepen op Oekra�ens grondgebied en de eerste directe confrontatie van de NAVO-troepen met Russische troepen in de geschiedenis.

Over een tijdje meer.

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https://www.pronews.gr/am(...)zi-notia-tou-kievou/
Started: NATO troops airlifted and railed to Cherkasy town south of Kiev
Is he tasked with protecting the Ukrainian capital or will he move south towards Odessa?
A large military force consisting of Western military has arrived in the Ukrainian city of Cherkasy, south of Kiev!

This force was transported by air and rail.

According to Russian information, they settle on the ground floors of schools and kindergartens.

Στρατεύματα του ΝΑΤΟ μεταφέρθηκαν αεροπορικώς και σιδηροδρομικώς στην πόλη Τσερκάζι νότια του Κιέβου

These are German, French and Polish troops of the 5,000-strong German-Polish rapid intervention force and a French battalion of about 700 men who are seen as the forerunners of a larger NATO force that will be involved in the Ukraine war to try to stop the Russian advance.

Patriot PAC 2 and NASAMS air defense systems have been deployed around Cherkasy in an attempt to create an anti-aircraft "dome" to protect them from Russian air and missile attacks.

The bottom line is that NATO, while there are discussions about whether or not to go into Ukraine, is already there and at least initially deployed in a city deep enough inside the Ukrainian hinterland with the obvious purpose of defending Kiev.

Cherkasy is located south of Kiev and north of Odessa.

It is not specified exactly how many NATO military personnel there are, but it appears that they are the initial expeditionary force.

It remains to be seen what their intentions are, whether they will remain in the city of Cherkassy, ​​or whether they will move further south to Odessa, because everything indicates that the Russians are preparing for the Black Sea city much earlier than the West estimated.

After all, the creation of a guerrilla movement by Russian-speaking residents of the city is not just by chance.

A move that has proven successful in recent Russian precision strikes against naval drone production facilities, radars, and NATO troop living and operational locations.

NATO has begun to reveal its presence and the planet is getting closer and closer to the possibility of a Third World War.

It is the first major and official deployment of NATO troops on Ukrainian soil and is the first direct confrontation of NATO forces with Russian troops in history.

More in a while.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 10:33 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:
Goeie bronnen weer.

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Death toll in Crocus City attack rises to 93, and is expected to rise further
The death toll from the attack on the Crocus City complex has risen to 93, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.

“The death toll will rise further. According to preliminary data, the causes of death were gunshot wounds and poisoning by combustion products,” the committee said Saturday.
“Preliminary results of the inspection of the premises of the concert hall indicate that the terrorists used automatic weapons during the attack, which, along with the ammunition they left behind, were discovered and seized by (investigators).”

“Based on this material evidence, ballistic, genetic and fingerprint examinations are currently being carried out,” it added.

“It was also established that the terrorists used a flammable liquid to set fire to the premises of the concert hall.”

Earlier Saturday, the governor of the Moscow region, Andrey Vorobyov, said there were still 115 injured people, including five children, in hospitals in Moscow and Moscow Oblast.

The Investigative Committee said inspection of the concert hall was continuing. Emergency services were still clearing the rubble, CCTV footage was being studied and "work has begun with the victims.”

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Kremlin says 'all four terrorists directly involved' in Crocus attack have been detained
The head of the Russian Security Service (FSB), Alexander Bortnikov, has told President Vladimir Putin that 11 people have been detained in connection with the attack on the Crocus complex near Moscow on Friday, according to Russian state media.

The Kremlin reported that those detained included “all four terrorists directly involved in the terrorist attack in Crocus,” according to TASS and other state media outlets.

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Russian president wishes speedy recovery to injured people in the concert venue attack, RIA reports
Russian President Vladimir Putin wished a speedy recovery to all those injured people in the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall that killed at least 60 people, the state-run RIA-Novosti news agency said on Saturday.

Putin has also "conveyed his gratitude to the doctors," RIA added.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 10:57 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
93 doden nu volgens CNN en 115 gewonden.
https://edition.cnn.com/e(...)-03-xx-24/index.html
[..]
Volgens het Kremlin zijn alle 4 terroristen aangehouden die direct verantwoordelijk gehouden worden. En in totaal 11 mensen.
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Putin is eindelijk ook uit zijn bed gerold. Gisteren was hij angstvallig stil over dit gehele gebeuren. Al het nieuws komt op dit ogenblik van offici�le Russische bronnen. Wat natuurlijk niet gek is. Maar na de afgelopen jaren is mijn vertrouwen in dat nieuws flink laag geworden.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:06 schreef polderturk het volgende:
Waarom kan ik van sommige accounts geen tweets plaatsen?

https://twitter.com/clash(...)ST4b9cB27naS2oQ&s=19

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 09:47 schreef vosss het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:14 schreef AchJa het volgende:

[..]
Ze weten het wel weer te verzinnen he?

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Arena attack suspects detained trying to cross Ukrainian border, Russian Security Service says
The four men suspected of carrying out the attack on the Crocus City complex near Moscow on Friday were arrested while trying to cross Russia's border with Ukraine, the Russian Investigative Committee has said.

“Special services and law enforcement agencies in the Bryansk region, near the border with Ukraine, detained four suspects from among those who committed a terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall concert hall,” the Committee said.

According to state media RIA Novosti, "the weapons used by the terrorists were prepared in advance in a cache, the FSB [Security Service] reported.”

“After the terrorist attack, the criminals intended to cross the border of the Russian Federation and Ukraine and had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side, the FSB said,” according to RIA.

State-owned Russian news agency TASS also reported that the assailants had “contacts on the Ukrainian side. The terrorist attack in Crocus City Hall was carefully planned.”

Neither agency specified the nature of the alleged contacts.

Ukraine has strenuously denied any connection with the attack. One official, Mykhailo Podolyak said in a post on X on Friday that Ukraine “has never resorted to the use of terrorist methods. It is always pointless.”

Earlier, unofficial sources had published images of a white Renault car - similar to that caught on video outside the hall on Friday - that had been stopped on a highway south of the city of Bryansk in the early hours of Saturday. The images showed it had been extensively damaged.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:19 schreef Toby56 het volgende:
Linksom of rechtsom, de kans is vrij groot dat het Kremlin hier Oekra�ne/het Westen mede de schuld van gaat geven.

Op de ouderwetse Teletekst lees ik momenteel dit:

[ afbeelding ]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:28 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

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Klopt, en iedereen die er ook maar iets van geloofd is mokerdom/zit met z'n hoofd in Poetins kontgat.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:28 schreef quirina het volgende:
Isis heeft geen klote ermee te maken Oekra�ne ook niet , Wagner en anti Rusland beweging ook niet want die pakken geen burgers alleen militaire doelen en raffinaderijen.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:31 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:

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IS heeft er niks te maken, want?

IS heeft recent nog een aanslag op een synagoge gepleegd, in Moskou.

Ze zijn gelukkig nog maar een een schim van wat ze waren, maar nog zeker actief in sommige delen van de wereld.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:34 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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De FSB had die aanval toch juist gestopt? Of heb ik iets gemist:
[ x ]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 10:29 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]

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Toll rises to 115 from Crocus City attack, Russia's Investigative Committee says
The Russian Investigative Committee has updated the death toll in the Crocus City attack to 115.

A list of the 121 people injured in the attack on Friday evening has been published by the Health Ministry of the Moscow region.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 12:09 schreef Barbusse het volgende:
Het feit dat de 4 terroristen die volgens zeggen lid zijn van doodscultus IS na een van de grootste aanslagen in Rusland allemaal levend zijn opgepakt zegt mij dat ze geen lid zijn van doodscultus IS.

Just my 2 cents.

En IS zelf claimt nog verantwoordelijkheid als je moeder uitglijdt in de douche, dus dat zegt niks.

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Russian TV airs fake video alleging Ukrainian involvement in terrorist attack, featuring Ukrainian official

Russian propagandists from the NTV TV channel have released a deepfake featuring Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, attempting to convince audiences that "Ukraine was involved in the 22 March terrorist attack."

Source: Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation (CCD)

Details: The CCD stated that footage from the national joint 24/7 newscast on 16 March had been used to create this fake.

In the video, the face of Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (DIU), was replaced with Danilov's face. The centre also believes that Russia is intending to blame Ukraine for the terrorist attack to improve its mobilisation efforts.

Meanwhile, the FSB declared that the suspects in the terrorist attack "had connections to Ukraine."

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Russia Attacked Kharkiv With Double-Tap Drone Strike, Injuring Four, Including First Responders
KHARKIV, UKRAINE, Mar 23 — At 0:10 a.m., Russia attacked Kharkiv with a drone strike, causing a three-story building of a municipal facility to catch fire. After first responders came to the hit site, Russia attacked the area with another drone strike, injuring three of them, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported on their Telegram channel.

The fire caused by the first UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle — ed.] spread over 150 m2. The police and SES workers arrived at the hit site immediately. The second strike injured a 19-year-old man, a police officer, and two emergency workers. It also damaged two SES cars.

Kharkiv region prosecutors report they’ve found the debris from at least three UAVs at the hit site. The investigation is ongoing.

A double-tap strike is a well-known Russian tactic they’ve often employed in Syria and Ukraine. On March 15, Russians hit Odesa with a double-tap attack, killing 21 and injuring 74 people, including rescuers and volunteers who came to help in the aftermath of the first strike.

On March 22, the Russian army hit Ukraine with a combined missile attack on primarily critical energy infrastructure, damaging around 20 power stations and substations, in particular, the Dnipro Hydroelectric Power Plant in Zaporizhzhia, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of Kharkiv Oblast, reported Russia hit the region with up to 21 missiles, causing blackouts, heating and water outages. The region’s energy grid is currently being recovered, with at least 275,000 households still without electricity.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 12:12 schreef Knipoogje het volgende:

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Zelfs als IS er wel achter zit gebruikt Poetin het alsnog lijkt me. Maak van de nood een deugd. Deze aanslag is uiteindelijk een prachtig buitenkansje om algehele mobilisatie af te dwingen en het Russische volk achter de oorlog te krijgen.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 12:12 schreef Knipoogje het volgende:

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Zelfs als IS er wel achter zit gebruikt Poetin het alsnog lijkt me. Maak van de nood een deugd. Deze aanslag is uiteindelijk een prachtig buitenkansje om algehele mobilisatie af te dwingen en het Russische volk achter de oorlog te krijgen.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 12:17 schreef Barbusse het volgende:

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Uiteraard. De timing is gewoon niet toevallig te noemen, zo vlak na de 'verkiezingen' en voor de geruchten dat er een nieuwe mobilisatie aan zit te komen.

Ook dat het ruim een uur duurde voordat politie arriveerde in een staf die in verhoogde paraatheid verkeert vanwege eerdere drone aanvallen en het risico op protesten zegt genoeg.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 12:38 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Wat ook nog een optie is, is dat Putin de echte verkiezingscijfers te horen heeft gekregen.

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Russian officials suggest without evidence that Ukraine may have been involved in terror attack
A handful of Russian officials have suggested without evidence that Ukraine may have been involved in Friday's attack on the Crocus City complex near Moscow.

Following the announcement that the four men alleged to have carried out the attack were apprehended near Russia's border with Ukraine, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Telegram: “Now we know in which country these bloody bastards planned to hide from persecution – Ukraine.”

The head of the Russian State Duma Defense Committee, Andrey Kartapolov, told state news agency RIA Novosti that “Ukraine and its patrons are the main stakeholders in the terrorist attack at Crocus," adding that “if information about the Ukrainian trace in the terrorist attack is confirmed, there must be a clear answer on the battlefield."

Several Ukrainian agencies have categorically denied any connection with the attack.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said Friday: “We consider such accusations to be a planned provocation by the Kremlin to further fuel anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society, create conditions for increased mobilization of Russian citizens to participate in the criminal aggression against our country and discredit Ukraine in the eyes of the international community.”

Ukrainian Defense Intelligence alleged Friday – without giving evidence that the attack was planned by Russian special services to justify increased strikes on Ukraine.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:27 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Het hele plaatje is gewoon te perfect.

Die terroristen lopen gewoon zwaar bewapend die hal binnen, de beveiliging is nergens te bekennen. Ook de detectiepoorten werken niet.

Het duurt bijna een uur voordat de politie arriveert. En op beelden is te zien dat ze eerst uitgebreid de pers/mensen met camera's wegduwen. Dat de gewone agenten dat doen kan ik begrijpen. Maar niet de speciale eenheden, die hebben wel wat beters te doen.

Bij de city hall wordt een busje gevonden met een oud sovjet nummerplaat, van 1981-1991 erop van Oekraine. Die in perfecte staat is. Al werd deze als verdacht opgemerkt. dus zou er niets mee te maken kunnen hebben.

De terroristen vluchten richting de grens van Oekra�ne in een Renault met een kenteken van Tver Oblast (69) (ervan uit gaande dat beide Renaults dezelfde waren)
[ afbeelding ]
Wat dus bij de Baltische staten/Wit-Rusland ligt.

Ze zijn aangehouden nabij de grens in Bryansk. Wat dus ook aan de grens van Wit-Rusland (en Oekra�ne) ligt.
[ afbeelding ]
Ze weten nu gelijk al dat ze Oekra�ense contacten hebben, en dat de wapens al voor hun klaargelegd/verstopt waren. En dat dit allemaal goed gepland was.

https://edition.cnn.com/e(...)-03-xx-24/index.html
[..]
Misschien ben ik wel gewoon te moe en zie ik spoken. Maar zoals ik al zei in het nieuws van offici�le Russische bronnen heb ik weinig vertrouwen op het ogenblik.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 12:52 schreef Stupidisco het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 13:21 schreef polderturk het volgende:
Hier heb je honderden kilo's aan explosieven voor nodig.

Dat hadden de terroristen niet bij zich.

Waarschijnlijk een bom die uit een vliegtuig is gedropt.

[ afbeelding ]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 11:27 schreef quirina het volgende:
Is gewoon fsb werk

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The Islamic State Has a New Target: Russia
The group’s Afghanistan branch is capitalizing on the Russia-Ukraine war to recruit, fundraise, and incite violence.

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JUST IN: Putin expresses deep condolences following Moscow attack
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed deep condolences following Friday's attack at a concert venue near Moscow, calling it a "barbaric terrorist act" in a video statement released Saturday.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 13:53 schreef Cherni het volgende:
Sterk argument. Gaat het om Rusland is het een inside job. Die aanslag in de VS een inside job noemen ben je een wappie.

IS pleegt wereldwijd aanslagen. Zeker aangezien Rusland in Syri� IS lastig valt is het dus niet zo gek om te geloven dat IS deze aanslag heeft gepleegd.

Om Oekra�ne en of Rusland gelijk te verdenken is op dit moment nog te ver gezocht.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:15 schreef -XOR- het volgende:

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Als het een fikse flag zou zijn had Poetin wel direct een paar Oekra�nse 'daders' opgepakt.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:15 schreef BEFEM het volgende:

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Dat hoeft natuurlijk niet. Zolang er maar een link is met Oekraine.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:16 schreef -XOR- het volgende:

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Die is er alleen niet.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:17 schreef BEFEM het volgende:

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Dat weet ik. Maar ze hoeven dan niet een paar Oekra�ners op te pakken om wat te verzinnen. Ze verzinnen nu gewoon dat ze uit Oekra�ne kwamen en er weer op weg naar terug waren.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:21 schreef -XOR- het volgende:

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Het zou overigens gaan om Tadjieken die voor een half miljoen roebel (5000euro) via telegram als huurterrorist zijn ingehuurd, ze zeggen zelf niet te weten door wie.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:15 schreef -XOR- het volgende:

[..]
Als het een false flag zou zijn had Poetin wel direct een paar Oekra�nse 'daders' opgepakt. Aan IS aanslagen heeft hij niets.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:24 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Dat is het russische verhaaltje. Iedere keer als er iemand wordt opgepakt voor het plegen van logistieke aanslagen. En altijd worden ze betaald door iemand uit Oekra�ne.

Hier is het hele verhaal op RIA. Zoals altijd, weten de russische autoriteiten binnen een paar uurtjes alles, en is alles overduidelijk.

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Putin wishes injured at terrorist attack recovery
The president also conveyed compliments to medical staff, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said
MOSCOW, March 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has wished all those injured in the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack a recovery and conveyed compliments to medical staff, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said.

"We together with [Russian Health Minister] Mikhail A. [Murashko] reported to the president on the state of health of patients, the president wished all a recovery and conveyed compliments to doctors," she told reporters.

A terrorist attack was carried out at the Crocus City Hall music venue in the city of Krasnogorsk near Moscow on Friday evening. Unidentified gunmen armed with assault rifles went on a shooting spree. An explosion rocked the building, starting a fire. The special services are conducting a search operation. Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin canceled all mass events in the capital in the next two days, and a number of other Russian regions followed suit.

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FSB Director reported to President about detention of terrorists who participated in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall
Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov reported to the President about the detention of 11 persons, including four terrorists who directly participated in the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall.

Alexander Bortnikov also updated Vladimir Putin on the FSB's work to identify the accomplice base of those who committed the terrorist attack.

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Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko
The President of the Republic of Belarus expressed his heartfelt condolences on the monstrous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, conveyed words of sympathy and support to the victims’ families and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured, emphasising that the people of Belarus stand together with the people of Russia in this time of sorrow.

Alexander Lukashenko offered any assistance that may be needed, and expressed his confidence that the organisers and perpetrators of this heinous crime will face inevitable punishment.

For his part, Vladimir Putin informed his counterpart about the detention of the terrorists directly involved in the attack, as well as about the ongoing investigation.

Both leaders expressed mutual readiness to continue close cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

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Telephone conversation with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev
Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev

Shavkat Mirziyoyev strongly condemned the heinous terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, expressed his sincere condolences in connection with the tragedy, and asked to convey words of support to the victims’ families and wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured.

Both sides reaffirmed their intention to continue close cooperation to counter terrorism.

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Putin declares March 24 day of nationwide mourning
NOVO-OGARYOVO, March 23. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has declared March 24 a day of nationwide mourning after the terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall mall.

"I declare March 24 a day of nationwide mourning," he said in a televised address to the nation.

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Vladimir Putin's address to Russians
Vladimir Putin: Dear citizens of Russia!
I am writing to you in connection with a bloody, barbaric terrorist act, the victims of which were dozens of peaceful, innocent people - our compatriots, including children, teenagers, and women. Doctors are now fighting for the lives of the victims, those who are in serious condition. I am sure they will do everything possible and even impossible to preserve the life and health of all the wounded. Special words of gratitude to the ambulance and air ambulance crews, special forces soldiers, firefighters, rescuers who did everything to save people's lives, bring them out from under the fire, from the epicenter of fire and smoke, and to avoid even greater losses.

I cannot ignore the help of ordinary citizens who, in the first minutes after the tragedy, did not remain indifferent and indifferent and, along with doctors and security officers, provided first aid and delivered the victims to hospitals.

We will provide the necessary assistance to all families whose lives have been affected by terrible misfortune, the wounded and the injured. I express my deep, sincere condolences to everyone who lost their loved ones. The whole country, our whole people, mourns with you. I declare March 24 a day of national mourning.

In Moscow and the Moscow region, in all regions of the country, additional anti-terrorist and anti-sabotage measures have been introduced. The main thing now is to prevent those who are behind this bloodbath from committing a new crime.

As for the investigation of this crime and the results of operational investigative actions, at present we can say the following. All four direct perpetrators of the terrorist attack, all those who shot and killed people, were found and detained. They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border. A total of 11 people were detained. The Federal Security Service of Russia and other law enforcement agencies are working to identify and uncover the entire accomplice base of terrorists: those who provided them with transport, outlined escape routes from the crime scene, prepared caches, caches of weapons and ammunition.

I repeat: investigative and law enforcement agencies will do everything to establish all the details of the crime. But it is already obvious that we are faced not just with a carefully, cynically planned terrorist attack, but with a prepared and organized mass murder of peaceful, defenseless people. The criminals calmly and purposefully set out to kill, to shoot at point-blank range our citizens, our children. Just like the Nazis once carried out massacres in the occupied territories, they decided to stage a show execution, a bloody act of intimidation.

All perpetrators, organizers and customers of this crime will suffer fair and inevitable punishment. Whoever they are, whoever guides them. I repeat: we will identify and punish everyone who stands behind the terrorists, who prepared this atrocity, this attack on Russia, on our people.

We know what the threat of terrorism is. Here we count on interaction with all states that sincerely share our pain and are ready to actually join forces in the fight against a common enemy, international terrorism, with all its manifestations.

Terrorists, murderers, non-humans who do not and cannot have a nationality face one unenviable fate - retribution and oblivion. They have no future. Our common duty now, our comrades at the front, all citizens of the country is to be together in one formation. I believe it will be so, because no one and nothing can shake our unity and will, our determination and courage, the strength of the united people of Russia. No one will be able to sow poisonous seeds of discord, panic and discord in our multi-ethnic society.
Russia has repeatedly gone through difficult, sometimes unbearable trials, but has become even stronger. It will be so now.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 13:53 schreef Cherni het volgende:
Sterk argument. Gaat het om Rusland is het een inside job. Die aanslag in de VS een inside job noemen ben je een wappie.

IS pleegt wereldwijd aanslagen. Zeker aangezien Rusland in Syri� IS lastig valt is het dus niet zo gek om te geloven dat IS deze aanslag heeft gepleegd.

Om Oekra�ne en of Rusland gelijk te verdenken is op dit moment nog te ver gezocht.

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Death toll in Moscow attack rises to at least 133, Russian officials say
The death toll in the Friday Moscow attack has risen to at least 133, the Russian Investigative Committee said.

“During the clearing of the rubble in the Crocus City Hall concert hall, the death toll as a result of the terrorist attack increased to 133 people. Search work continues,” the Committee said in a brief posting on Telegram.

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ISIS calls attack "fiercest in years" and publishes purported image of 4 Moscow attackers
The Islamic State group, also known as ISIS, published an image Saturday purporting to show the four men who attacked the Crocus City complex near Moscow on Friday.

None of the men are identifiable in the image, which was published by the ISIS-affiliated Amaq agency. All of them are wearing balaclavas and the rest of their faces are blurred.

ISIS described the attack as the "fiercest in years," according to a translation of the message by the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors terror groups’ propaganda.

Amaq provided details of the attack, saying three fighters attacked the gathered crowd at the venue with guns and knives while the fourth threw incendiary devices. It said the attack was preceded by an intensive surveillance operation of the venue.

It added that “the attack comes within the normal context of the raging war between the Islamic State and countries fighting Islam,” according to the translation by SITE.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:55 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

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Deze aanslag past prima bij de talloze eerdere aanslagen die we van IS en andere islamitische terroristen gezien hebben. Bovendien heeft IS een motief.

En daarbij, als het een inside job van het Kremlin was, hadden ze de link naar Oekra�ne wel echt duidelijk gemaakt. Nu is het dat de terroristen zich in de richting van Oekra�ne bewogen.

Overigens heeft de aanslagen in de VS een inside job noemen wel een hoog wappie-gehalte.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:05 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Even serieus: de russen gaan ook nog het gebruik van Westerse wapens aantonen. Ze melken alles uit deze aanslag wat maar mogelijk is.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:11 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

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Bijna elk nadeel, heeft zo zijn voordeel
Vooral als het gaat om een vrijwel volledige bevolking in een Stockholm syndroom te houden.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:17 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Voor de russen is dit een gouden kans die ze met beide handen zullen aangrijpen. Mobilisatie, repressie, haat tegen NAVO, haat tegen Oekra�ne, etc, etc. Dit is misschien wel het beste wat het Kremlin dit jaar is overkomen. En het was ook nog eens gericht tegen het "progressieve/verwesterde" gedeelte van de bevolking.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:17 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Ja, ik vermoed dat ze op een of andere manier met name de VS erin proberen te luizen, bijvoorbeeld door de terroristen M-16's te laten gebruiken.

Voor de russen is dit een gouden kans die ze met beide handen zullen aangrijpen. Mobilisatie, repressie, haat tegen NAVO, haat tegen Oekra�ne, etc, etc. Dit is misschien wel het beste wat het Kremlin dit jaar is overkomen. En het was ook nog eens gericht tegen het "progressieve/verwesterde" gedeelte van de bevolking.

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Belarus helped prevent escape of "terrorists" across border, says country's ambassador in Moscow
Belarusian special services helped Russia prevent the "terrorists" who allegedly carried out the deadly Friday night attack on a concert venue complex from escaping across the border Friday night, the country's ambassador in Moscow said.

“Since yesterday, active interaction has been carried out through special services. The head of the State Security Committee is in direct contact with his colleague,” Ambassador Dmitry Krutoy said Saturday, according to Belarus’ official news agency BELTA.

"And in fact, the main task of last night was to prevent terrorists from escaping across our common border. This task has been completed."

Some background: Russian authorities said the four men who allegedly carried out the attack on the Crocus City complex on Friday evening near Moscow were apprehended early Saturday in the region of Bryansk, a large region of southwest Russia which borders Ukraine and Belarus, without giving the exact location. The capital city of the region is some five hours drive from Moscow.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:17 schreef oheng het volgende:
Ja, ik vermoed dat ze op een of andere manier met name de VS erin proberen te luizen, bijvoorbeeld door de terroristen M-16's te laten gebruiken.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:40 schreef dudewhereismycar het volgende:
Eigenlijk ook wel ironisch he.. Putin jaagt iedere dag 1000+ mensen de dood in in Oekra�ne, ook vaak onschuldige en verplicht gemobiliseerden.. en al die onschuldige burgers in Oekra�ne.. en janken over 100+ doden in Moskou... beetje gek niet?

quote:

Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:40 schreef dudewhereismycar het volgende:
Eigenlijk ook wel ironisch he.. Putin jaagt iedere dag 1000+ mensen de dood in in Oekra�ne, ook vaak onschuldige en verplicht gemobiliseerden.. en al die onschuldige burgers in Oekra�ne.. en janken over 100+ doden in Moskou... beetje gek niet?

SPOILER

is niet mijn mening

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:55 schreef uitkeringsgenieter het volgende:

[..]
Ja maar deze mensen zijn onschuldig hoor. En Russen willen helemaal geen oorlog.

SPOILER

is niet mijn mening

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:31 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]
[ x ]
[ x ]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:47 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Dan alleen nog even op een vliegveld, en dan hebben we 100% life imitating art.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:47 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Dat is textbook No Russian

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:27 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

...backlavas...

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 17:26 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:

[..]
- balaklava/balaclava = bivakmuts

- baklava = dessert

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 14:55 schreef luxerobots het volgende:

[..]
Deze aanslag past prima bij de talloze eerdere aanslagen die we van IS en andere islamitische terroristen gezien hebben. Bovendien heeft IS een motief.

En daarbij, als het een inside job van het Kremlin was, hadden ze de link naar Oekra�ne wel echt duidelijk gemaakt. Nu is het dat de terroristen zich in de richting van Oekra�ne bewogen.

Overigens heeft de aanslagen in de VS een inside job noemen wel een hoog wappie-gehalte.

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Crocus City Hall attackers are not Russian citizens, interior ministry says
Russian state media is reporting that, according to the interior ministry, “all terrorists detained in the Bryansk region are foreign citizens.”

Russian authorities earlier said that four people suspected of being directly involved in the attack on Crocus City were apprehended in Bryansk in southwestern Russia and were being brought to Moscow.

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Russian state media publishes purported confession of one alleged attacker at concert hall
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published on Telegram the purported confession of one of the men apprehended in connection with the attack on the Crocus City Hall complex.

In the brief video, a man with a bloodied bandaged head speaks in halting Russian. He gives his name and says he is 30 years old.

His interrogator asks him where the weapons used in the attack were dropped off, whether near Moscow or closer to the venue site. He replies, “I don’t know the city, ask my friends, they know.”

RIA also posted images of three of the alleged attackers after they were detained, images that match videos uploaded on unofficial channels earlier Saturday showing the men being apprehended in Bryansk region. No image or video of the fourth alleged attacker has been published on Russian state media.

In an accompanying commentary, RIA Novosti said the alleged attackers all speak Russian "extremely poorly," with one of the men speaking "in Tajik through an interpreter."

It added that one of the men said he’d been promised by an unnamed person who called himself “an assistant to the preacher” a half-million rubles (about $5,000) to carry out the attack. He later gave a different figure.

RIA Novosti said one of the alleged attackers had mentioned returning to Russia from Turkey earlier this month. The men lived together in a hostel in the north of Moscow, and two of them met only “10-12 days ago," according to RIA. The car they drove to Crocus City Hall and then used to escape had been bought through a family connection, it reported.

According to RIA, "a coherent picture does not emerge from the interrogation fragments. It is not entirely clear what exactly connected these people, what motives they were guided by, organizing one of the bloodiest terrorist attacks in the history of Russia."
CNN cannot independently verify the veracity of the RIA Novosti report or the statements made by the alleged attacker, which may have been made under duress.

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Exclusive: Satellite image shows extent of damage on Crocus City Hall complex

A new satellite image, taken by Umbra Space's synthetic aperture radar (SAR), shows just how badly the fire that started during the terror attack on Friday night damaged the Crocus City Hall complex.

In the image, taken at 9:26 a.m. local time Saturday, a large hole that is over 150 feet wide in diameter is seen in the roof of the complex directly over where the concert venue is located.

About SAR images: They are not like normal satellite images. The SAR images are created by a satellite transmitting radar beams capable of passing through clouds, like the ones currently preventing satellites from imaging the area. Those radar beams bounce off objects on the ground and echo back to the satellite. What they bounce off of is then mapped out by the satellite, which is then translated into the image.

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Ukraine's military intelligence agency firmly denies any Ukrainian connection to Russian concert attack
Defense Intelligence of Ukraine spokesperson Andrii Yusov firmly denied his country had anything to do with the terror attacks at a concert hall in Russia's Moscow region.

"There are official statements from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Presidential Office, and the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine. Of course, Ukraine had nothing to do with it," Yusov said on Ukrainian national TV Saturday.

Earlier Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Russian people that the perpetrators had “tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the border." A handful of Russian officials have suggested without evidence that Ukraine may have been involved in the attack as well.

Yusov called Putin's comments "completely false and absurd."

"A full-scale war has been going on for more than two years. The border areas are saturated with enemy troops, special agents, and security forces. The border line is heavily mined. It is being monitored by all means, including aerial reconnaissance on both sides," Yusov said. "Such regions as Belgorod and Kursk are now a zone of active hostilities. Of course, this claim does not stand up to criticism."

He said that Russia had disregarded warnings, such as those from the US Embassy under its "duty to warn" policy, that terrorist attacks could be possible in large crowds. Putin had told Russia's Federal Security Service on Tuesday that warnings from the US were "provocative" and "outright blackmail."

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Biden signs government funding bill
President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law the $1.2 trillion legislation that completes the funding of federal agencies through the fiscal year, which ends September 30.

The House passed the package on Friday, and the Senate passed it early Saturday morning.

The bill addresses a slate of critical government operations, including the departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, State and the legislative branch.

Biden — who had the bill delivered to him in Wilmington, Delaware, Saturday — said in a statement that while the package is a “compromise,” it is “good news for the American people.”

“This agreement represents a compromise, which means neither side got everything it wanted,” Biden said in the statement, adding that “it rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans” while investing in child care, cancer research and mental health.

The president also touted how the final package included “resources to secure the border that my Administration successfully fought to include.”

Biden used the statement to urge Congress to pass additional legislation, saying its their “work isn’t finished.” He called on the House to “pass the bipartisan national security supplemental to advance our national security interests” and urged both chambers to pass the bipartisan border security bill his administration has negotiated, calling it “the toughest and fairest reforms in decades.”

“It’s time to get this done,” Biden added.

The signing of the legislation marks a major moment on Capitol Hill as it brings to a close an annual appropriations process that has dragged on far longer than is typical – an effort that has been punctuated by partisan policy disagreements and a historic change of leadership in the House after conservatives ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in an unprecedented vote last year.

This legislation is the second part of a two-tiered government funding process. A separate six-bill funding package, which was signed into law earlier this month, included funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs.

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Russia delays delivery of S-400 air defense systems to India due to its own needs
Russia delays the delivery of S-400 air defense systems to India due to its own needs.

The Economic Times reported on this.

Deliveries of two squadrons of S-400 air defense systems to India will be delayed until 2026, as Russia’s own needs are linked to the war in Ukraine.

It should be noted that the delays are primarily due to the losses of Russian air defense systems, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine periodically destroy.

As previously reported, in 2021, India began deploying the first regimental set of S-400 air defense systems in the Punjab sector to counter Pakistan Air Force.

Russia and India had signed a deal to buy five squadrons of the S-400 air defense system.

According to the initial plan, the last air defense system was to be handed over by April 2023.

In March 2021, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh of sanctions over India’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems.

The Secretary of Defense emphasized that Washington was asking all its partners to refrain from buying Russian weapons to avoid sanctions.

As Militarnyi previously reported, the supply of Russian weapons to India has been interrupted due to the inability of the parties to agree on payment methods.

First of all, the process was interrupted due to New Delhi’s refusal to pay for Russian weapons in dollars, as this could lead to the imposition of secondary sanctions against India.

India does not want to conclude the deal in rubles, fearing that it will not be able to purchase weapons at real market prices.

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With 20 Leopard 2s Promised to Ukraine Spain Becomes the Biggest Donor, How Many More Left in Store
The deadlines of transfer of the new batch of Leopard 2A4 tanks from Spain to Ukraine were announced
The Armed Forces of Ukraine will receive a new batch of 20 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks from Spain. These vehicles are in the list of weapons destined for Ukraine published by the Inter-Ministerial Regulatory Board on Foreign Trade in Defence and Dual-Use Material (JIMDDU), along with 90 other export permits for other weapons.

This is reported by a number of Spanish media, with La Vanguardia specifying that the transfer of combat vehicles will be divided into two equal batches. The first batch will be delivered by the end of June and the second one in September. The media outlet, however, states that there will be 19 tanks, not 20.

Thus, Spain, which has already delivered 10 Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks, will increase this number to almost or all 30 units. This fact makes Spain the leader of the "Leopard 2 tank coalition." According to publicly available information, the largest donors of Leopard 2 are currently Germany with 18 Leopard 2A6s and also Poland with 14 Leopard 2A4 tanks committed, with the Netherlands and Denmark jointly providing another 14 in 2024.

Although Spain does not have a strong tank-building industry, it was able to organize a stable restoration of the Leopard 2A4 tanks for Ukraine at its own facilities. This process is organized by Santa Barbara Sistemas defense contractor which is part of General Dynamics Land Systems. Thanks to this fact Spain has managed to reach a 60% local production of Leopard 2E tanks (Leopard 2A6 version). For contrast, Sweden localized its Strv 122 main battle tank (Leopard 2A5 version) only at 30%.

Such a robust industrial foundation allows Madrid to be less dependent on German KWM and Rheinmetall manufacturers in receiving components for Leopard 2 tanks.

It should be noted that the total number of Spanish Leopard 2A4 tanks in storage that could be transferred to Ukraine was previously announced by the Minister of Defense of Spain, Margarita Robles. Back in the winter of 2023, it was reported that tanks for the Armed Forces of Ukraine were being selected from the 50 available vehicles (although Spanish media reported about 53) that were mothballed at the Casetas base near Zaragoza.

Thus, after the transfer of the first batch of tanks in the spring of 2023, 40 units remained, half of which have just been announced for transfer.

As earlier announced by the Spanish Secretary of State for Commerce, Madrid had carried out state arms exports to Ukraine from March 2022 to February 2024 for a total of 190 million euros. The transferred weapons include TOA (M113) armored personnel carriers, artillery weapons, missiles for MIM-23 HAWK and Aspid SAM systems, Mistral air defense systems, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, drones, communications equipment, ammunition, etc.

Earlier Defense Express reported that the Netherlands had provided a �350 million aid package to Ukraine, including weapons for F-16 aircraft.

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Military intelligence: Partisans attack Russian soldiers, equipment in occupied Melitopol
The explosions in occupied Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast killed Russian soldiers and destroyed their military equipment, according to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR).

HUR claimed to have orchestrated a joint attack with local resistance against a group of Russian serviceman in the city on March 22.

Melitopol, a city with a pre-war population of about 150,000 people, has been occupied since March 2022. The Ukrainian resistance has been active here since then, targeting Russian military personnel and facilities.

"According to preliminary data, about 20 Russian soldiers, two Kamaz trucks and a UAZ Patriot pickup truck were at the epicenter of the explosions," the agency wrote on Telegram, saying that the losses are being clarified.

The Kyiv Independent couldn't verify these claims.

Military intelligence occasionally reports on resistance forces' operations in the occupied territories of Ukraine. Several cases of explosions at Melitopol's railway infrastructure have been reported since Russia occupied the city.

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In Russian Crises, Putin Often Vanishes From Public Eye
When Russia’s nuclear submarine the Kursk sank above the Arctic Circle in August 2000 during President Vladimir Putin’s first year in office, it took four days for the new Russian leader to make a public statement on a tragedy that killed 118 sailors.

Two decades later and fresh off a stage-managed reelection to his fifth presidential term, Putin continues to show a reticent public approach to national crises.

It took Putin more than 18 hours after a March 22 terrorist attack on a Moscow-region concert hall that killed scores to make a public statement.

SPOILER

quote:

When he finally spoke about the attack, Russia’s deadliest terrorist attack in years, on March 23, Putin appeared to suggest Ukrainian involvement but provided no evidence to back up the claim, saying in a recorded address that four suspected gunmen who were detained had “tried to hide and were moving toward Ukraine.”

The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, and Ukrainian officials denied any involvement even before Putin’s statement.

Putin’s initial public silence echoes his earlier vanishing acts in the immediate aftermath of major terrorist attacks during his nearly 24 years in power.

When a packed Moscow theater was attacked by terrorists in October 2002, Putin made his first public comment on the siege only the following day.

After terrorists seized a school in the southern Russian town of Beslan on September 1, 2004, Putin made his first public statement only a day later during a meeting in Moscow with Jordan's King Abdullah.

On the day that standoff at the school came to a violent end that left more than 300 dead, more than half of them children, Putin did not make a public statement. Putin finally made an early morning visit to Beslan and visited victims in the hospital the day after the tragedy, and made a televised address later that day.

Silence Is 'Putin's Style'
“Silence is generally Putin’s style,” Kirill Martynov, editor in chief of the independent Russian-language news outlet Novaya Gazeta Europe, said in a March 23 interview with Current Time.

“He tends to shift responsibility to local authorities and then declare that he took care of everything. But it seems to me the main reason is ideological,” Martynov said. “This terrorist attack, in fact, refutes the entire picture of propaganda that they have been trying to feed Russians over the past years.”

Martynov added that in the nearly 24 hours before Putin finally addressed the attack publicly, even his supporters might have been asking themselves: “Where is our president who just won an election with 87 percent of the votes? What, he has nothing to say about what happened, he can’t find any words?”

The independent Russian-language news site The Insider cited multiple unidentified sources in Russian state television as saying that government networks in the immediate hours after the attack had prepared several times to air a statement from Putin but never received it.

Following the March 22 attack, Putin’s government initially left it to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova to relay publicly that Putin wished a quick recovery to the injured victims and expressed gratitude to medical responders.

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Kremlin tells pro-government media to emphasize possible ‘traces’ of ‘Ukrainian involvement’ in reporting on Moscow terrorist attack
Russian state-funded and pro-government media have been instructed by the Putin administration to emphasize possible “traces” of Ukrainian involvement in their reporting on Friday’s Crocus City Hall terrorist attack, Meduza has learned from a state media employee. A second source from a pro-Kremlin outlet confirmed the report.

Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that the four main suspects in the attack had planned to flee to Ukraine, where they allegedly had “appropriate contacts,” after the shooting. The agency said the suspects were detained in Russia’s Bryansk region on their way to the Ukrainian border.

The Ukrainian authorities have categorically denied any involvement in the terrorist attack, accusing the Russian authorities of attempting to fuel “anti-Ukrainian hysteria in Russian society.”

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 22:00 schreef Perrin het volgende:
RIP Sevastopol.

[ x ]

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 22:17 schreef MissButterflyy het volgende:
Drones?

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 22:21 schreef MissButterflyy het volgende:
Hoort die stad nog bij Oekra�ne of Rusland?

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 22:21 schreef MissButterflyy het volgende:
Hoort die stad nog bij Oekra�ne of Rusland?

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 22:10 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
[ x ]
Ze hebben er nog een filmpje bij geplaatst zie ik.

SPOILER

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1771556890381599066

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Russian police have cut the ear off a suspect and made him eat it, on camera and posted it online...because, this is the stuff that Russians do.

These are the people that are coming to reestablish USSR 2.0 in Europe.

Get ready or just arm Ukraine.

SPOILER

https://english.nv.ua/nat(...)wn-ear-50403788.html

quote:

Alleged suspect in Crocus City Hall shooting forced to eat own ear by Russian law enforcement
Russian law enforcement officers have reportedly forced an alleged suspect of the Moscow mass shooting to eat his own ear, according to videos posted by Russian media channels on Telegram on March 23.

In the video, the supposed suspect is lying on the floor with his hands tied, surrounded by security forces, his head is bloody, and part of his right ear is missing.

One of the officers in the video puts the severed ear in the man's mouth and demands the suspect eat it.

When the detainee spits out the ear, the officer punches him in the face.

Russian propagandist media outlet Mediazona notes that prior to the publication of the video, the Telegram channel Shot published a video of a similar-looking man wearing the same clothes being taken out of the Bryansk forest by security forces. The right side of the man's face is bloody, and his ears are not visible.

Another recording published by SHOT shows the same man sitting with his head wrapped in a bandage.

"He is being interrogated by a man whose voice sounds like the security officer from the video of the ear being cut off," the publication reads.

Warning: The video contains profanity

"You have one ear left!" an officer shouts at the beginning of the recording.

Earlier it was reported that Russian security services had allegedly detained 11 suspects in the mass shooting, including all four attackers.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 23:33 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Deze al voorbij gekomen?

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 23:43 schreef RipCity het volgende:
‘Islamic State releases footage it says shows concert attack
The Islamic State has released a video of what it says is the attack on a concert hall near Moscow.
The one-minute, 31-second video shows a close-up view of one of the gunmen opening fire on several people as he enters what appears to be the venue.
Islamic State yesterday claimed responsibility for the attack, and the US has said there is no reason to doubt their claims.’

Waar kan ik deze vinden? Mag ook via dm

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 23:48 schreef skysherrif het volgende:
Is waarschijnlijk een bunker geweest voor communicatie voor de zuidelijke troepen die geraakt is.

Dubbele hit met 2 storm shadows, 1 om de bunker te doorbreken en de ander om alles te verwoesten. Prima target.

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Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 23:51 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
E�n is voldoende. De Stormshadow/SCALP-EG gebruikt twee explosies. De eerste om in het beton door te dringen en dan een tweede voor het echte werk.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:10 schreef polderturk het volgende:
NSFW !!!

WAARSCHUWING

GRUWELIJKE BEELDEN IN DE TWEETS

GoPro beelden van de terreuraanval.

[ x ]

[ x ]

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:10 schreef polderturk het volgende:
NSFW !!!

WAARSCHUWING

GRUWELIJKE BEELDEN IN DE TWEETS

GoPro beelden van de terreuraanval.

[ x ]

[ x ]

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:27 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Die beelden zijn inderdaad het meest overtuigend bewijs tot nu toe dat de ISIS erachter zit. Wat een gruwelijke beelden zeg.

quote:

Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:27 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Die beelden zijn inderdaad het meest overtuigend bewijs tot nu toe dat de ISIS erachter zit. Wat een gruwelijke beelden zeg.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:29 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Waarom denk je dat, nav deze beelden?

Ik denk dat gevoelsmatig ook, maar is dat meer dan een gevoel.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:37 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Aan de manier waarop ze handelen (keel doorsnijden van diegene die nog niet dood was) kan je zien wat voor soort mensen het zijn. En dit valt inderdaad in lijn met eerdere gruweldaden van de IS.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:43 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
En dat is ook precies mijn gevoel.

Maar dat sluit een aantal dingen niet uit, namelijk dat er in opdracht van de FSB gewoon wat complete losers uit lage milieu's zijn gerecruteerd, of bv dat we het wel over een IS cel hebben, maar dat die het noodzakelijke zetje hebben gehad van de FSB infiltrant.

Leuke discussie, low stakes, cause nothing of value was lost to begin with.

En: zijn nu ongeveer 10 TU-95 bombers in de lucht, dus morgen hebben we het weer over energie centrales of appartementen in oekraine die in puin zijn gelegd.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:37 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Deze terroristen waren heel goed getrained. Dat bleek wel uit de beelden

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:49 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Ehmmmm, nee.

Heb je die beelden wel bekeken? Complete clowns, die er geen blijk van gaven vuurwapen training gehad te hebben.

Niet richten zoals het hoort, maar gewoon het wapen omhoog brengen zonder de richtmiddelen te gebruiken, op de filmpjes hoe ze door de hal bewogen, allemaal tegelijkertijd naar dezelde kant kijken, ipv dat iedereen een kant op kijkt en elkaar dekt, te weinig afstand tussen posities.

SPOILER

quote:

Op zondag 24 maart 2024 00:49 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Ehmmmm, nee.

Heb je die beelden wel bekeken? Complete clowns, die er geen blijk van gaven vuurwapen training gehad te hebben.

Niet richten zoals het hoort, maar gewoon het wapen omhoog brengen zonder de richtmiddelen te gebruiken, op de filmpjes hoe ze door de hal bewogen, allemaal tegelijkertijd naar dezelde kant kijken, ipv dat iedereen een kant op kijkt en elkaar dekt, te weinig afstand tussen posities.

quote:

The United States has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to protect the Baltic countries from the Russian Federation
The US Congress has decided to allocate military and defense assistance to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the amount of $228 million in 2024 as part of the Baltic Security Initiative program. Source: Estonian Ministry of Defense

This bill provides financial support for the three Baltic countries that are NATO members and share a border with Russia. The law was passed by lawmakers on March 22.

Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur noted that assistance from the United States has significantly accelerated the implementation of military projects in the Baltic countries.

He also stressed that financial support this year is greater than last year, which demonstrates the American commitment to ensuring security in the region.

The Estonian Ministry of Defense noted that the Baltic Security Initiative, launched in 2020, promotes the development of military capabilities and interoperability of the armed forces of the three Baltic countries.

Last year, $225 million was allocated to support the initiative, and this year the amount increased to $169 million.

On March 22, the US permanent representative to NATO, Julian Smith, said that the US does not believe that a possible Russian attack on the Baltic states is imminent. He emphasized that the United States will cover the Baltic countries and take care of their security, since the threat of expanding Russian military actions is taken very seriously.

The Baltic countries recently agreed to jointly build a powerful defense line . The plans of Lithuania and Latvia have not been disclosed, but it is reported that Estonia plans to build about 600 concrete bunkers on its borders, which can accommodate 10 people.

quote:

“No to Russian propaganda”: ​​​​a protest took place in Poland against blocking the border
An action called “The Border is the Line of Life” took place in Warsaw: about a hundred Polish and Ukrainian activists near the government building protested against the border blockade. Source: Radio Liberty

Participants chanted “stop the border blockade” and “no to Russian propaganda.” They also held posters with the inscriptions “Free border”, “Help Ukraine Today – Keep Russia Away”, “The blockade harms both countries”.

One of the organizers of the protest, Karol Karpinski, emphasized that about a million jobs in Poland depend on trade with Ukraine and now this trade is “standing” due to the border blockade.

According to the activist, more than a quarter of Polish enterprises engaged in international trade with Ukraine, while at the same time Poland exports much more food products to Ukraine than it imports from the country.

What is happening now is the tyranny of the minority, because the majority wants normal, friendly relations between Poland and Ukraine. The majority is against this blockade, which destroys our economy, our entrepreneurs and helps Putin, the Polish activist noted.

According to those present at the rally in Warsaw, the border blockade has worsened relations between Ukrainians and Poles, and this only benefits Russia.

The protesters emphasized that drivers live at the border for three weeks, have nowhere to wash, cannot eat properly, and are in fact hostages of the situation.

Previously, on the poster that Polish farmers hung on their tractors, there was a scandalous inscription about Russian President Vladimir Putin, because of which the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was forced to react.

As part of an investigation by the Guildhall news agency, it was established that Polish carriers who blocked checkpoints on the Polish-Ukrainian border demanding “fair competition” interact with persons with connections to the Russian Federation . In addition, Russian influence was also recorded in similar events in Slovakia.

quote:

Op zondag 24 maart 2024 01:05 schreef over_hedge het volgende:

[..]
Ze "vochten" tegen mensen zonder wapens Heb je geen squad tactics voor nodig..

quote:

Op zaterdag 23 maart 2024 15:25 schreef grrrrg het volgende:

[..]
Door het Westen en Oekra�ne de schuld te geven, gaat het probleem van IS niet weg.

quote:

Op zondag 24 maart 2024 02:28 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Het ISIS "probleem" is op dit moment compleet irrelevant voor rusland.
Het enige wat telt is hoe rusland zoveel mogelijk van Oekra�ne kan annexeren.

Bron:
[ x ]

quote:

UPDATE:
The enemy used: — Kh-101/555 cruise missiles.
Kyiv, Lviv Region, and Dnipropetrovsk Region were under attack.
X-101/555 missiles covered the longest distance of ~2440 km before reaching Lviv region.
The strikes were also aimed at the energy complex of Ukraine.
Ukraine airspace now clear.

quote:

Op zondag 24 maart 2024 06:00 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.reddit.com/r/(...)_bulava_of_the_72nd/
(UA) Drone Strike Company "Bulava" of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade Destroyed Two Abandoned Russian T-80BV Equipped With KMT-7 Mine Rollers Using FPV Kamikaze Drones South of Novomykhailivka. (Published on March, 23 2024)

https://www.reddit.com/r/(...)siles_flying_in_the/
The sound of Kh-101 cruise missiles flying in the Rivne region

[ afbeelding ]
[ afbeelding ]
[..]

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 05:21 schreef Nyamuk het volgende:
Nie bes nie

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Rasskazov Yevgeny Eduardovich (11.05.1995) is the current commander of "Rusich" on the territory of Ukraine, participates in nationalist trends. Call sign "Topaz". He was born in Makiivka, Donetsk region. He studied at the road safety faculty of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. In 2014, he left for Moscow, and then returned and joined the "Somalia" assault battalion. He is going to donate to the humanitarian aid to the soldiers. He stated that in December 2022 he opened the "Topaz Center" for the legal protection of soldiers.

Negative:
• In 2022, he wished Hitler a happy birthday;
• admits that he gets sexual excitement from killing Ukrainians;
• approves the torture of the Ukrainian military;
• offers to hand over Ukrainians to the Russians as slaves;
• uses drugs;
• the deceased father Starykov Andrii Oleksandrovych was a soldier of the so-called DPR.

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Ukrainian military denies Russia's claims that Ivanivske was captured
On 23 March, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that the Russian troops had captured the village of Ivanivske , located southwest of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has not confirmed the information put forth by the Russian command.

The Russians reported the allegedly "successful" actions of their "South" group units, which they claimed had gained an advantage in "Krasnoye", the term the Russians use for Ivanivske. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian armed forces had "improved the tactical situation at the front line" in this sector.

Stanislav Bunyatov, a volunteer from the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the call sign "Osman", responded to the Russian Defense Ministry's statement. On the Telegram channel "Govorit Snayper +" (The sniper is speaking), he clarified that the Russians had failed to make any advancements in Ivanivske.

Experts from the DeepState, in an update published on 22 March, specifically mentioned the fighting around Ivanivske, stating that "heavy combat" was ongoing there. The latest changes on an online combat map were marked on 20 March, indicating that the "gray zone" had extended by 100 meters to the north of a road leading from Bakhmut to Ivanivske and Chasiv Yar.

The situation on the Bakhmut front was also discussed in the Ukrainian General Staff's morning report on 23 March. Ukrainian command noted that there had been five Russian attacks in this segment over the preceding 12 hours. The points of attack were located south of Bakhmut and included the villages of Ivanivske, Andriivka, and Klishchiivka. In addition, the Ukrainian command provided details on other fronts, with the most intense activity reported near Novopavlivsk (28 assault attempts) and around Avdiivka (10 assualts).

By 23 March, almost a year had passed since the spring of 2023, when Ukrainian forces had to abandon Bakhmut due to pressure from the Russian armed forces. As of this date, the Russian troops are exerting pressure northwest near Bohdanivka, according to Ukrainian military. Another Russian direction of attack is southwest, near Ivanivske.

On 22 March, Aleksey Tarasenko, deputy commander of the assault battalion of the 5th Separate Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, mentioned that fighting for every house continued in Ivanivske. The week before, another Ukrainian soldier confirmed that streets and houses in the settlement were constantly changing hands, making it unclear if the Russian armed forces were successful.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 07:23 schreef trein2000 het volgende:

[..]
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Ik neem aan dat al die WO3 onheislprofeten, Putin voorop, deze onverantwoorde escalatie sterk veroordelen?

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Ukrainian defense forces destroy 18 cruise missiles, 25 Shahed UAVs overnight
The Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed 18 enemy Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles and 25 Shahed-136/131 combat UAVs overnight Sunday.
According to Ukrinform, this was reported by Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykola Oleshchuk on Telegram.

In the early hours of March 24, the Russian invaders attacked Ukraine with 29 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles from 14 Tu-95MS strategic aircraft (launched from the Engels area, Russia) and 28 Shahed-type combat UAVs (launched form Russia’s Primorsko-Akhtarsk and Cape Chauda in temporary occupied Crimea).

Anti-aircraft missile units of the Air Force, mobile fire groups of the Ukrainian Defense Forces and EW equipment were involved in repelling the air attack.

As a result of combat operations, 43 aerial targets were destroyed: 18 Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles and 25 Shahed-136/131 combat UAVs in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Sumy, Kyiv, Volyn, and Lviv regions.

As Ukrinform reported, on the night of March 24, Russian strategic bombers launched cruise missiles at Ukraine. The air alert was declared throughout the country.

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Galushchenko suggests that Russian Federation may attack Dnipro HPP again.
Debris removal after the Russian strike is underway at the Dnieper hydroelectric power plant.

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko has said that the Russians may hit the Dnipro hydroelectric dam again and there is a risk of repeated missile strikes. The minister said this on air during a telethon.

Here we need to understand: it was a deliberate strike on the dam, or it's just that they did not hit the HPP. If it's a deliberate strike and they aim to destroy the dam itself, then, of course, these attacks will be repeated and they will attack the dam," he said.

He recalled that the invaders hit the Kakhovskaya HPP and pointed out that the Russians could repeat such a disaster.

Also Galushchenko informed that the defecting of equipment at Dnipro HPP is still in progress and only then it will be possible to estimate what time is needed to resume operation of the HPP.

The Minister added that it is still impossible to predict how much time is needed to restore the power generation indicators, which were at the HPP before the attack.

It is only when we remove all the rubble, when we can defect the equipment, it will be possible to determine the timeframe," Galushchenko stressed.

According to German Galushchenko, Ukraine's partners said that they were ready to immediately allocate 47m euros for the restoration of the energy system. These funds will make it possible to purchase the necessary equipment and materials.

We shall remind you that Russian occupation troops launched a massive missile strike on critical infrastructure facilities in Ukraine on the night of 21-22 March. In particular, the Dnieper hydropower plant in Zaporizhzhya was attacked.

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Ukraine Once Again Awoken by Massive Missile Strikes and Explosions
Preliminary data shows that multiple regions experienced heating disruptions and blackouts as a result of the Russian attack on Sunday morning, with dozens of drones and missiles reportedly shot down.

Multiple cities in Ukraine have reported heating disruptions and power outages as a result of the Russian air strikes that took place in the early hours of Sunday, March 24.

Today’s strike is the latest in a series of intense Russian air strikes that resumed on Thursday after weeks of pause, following another strike on Friday against energy infrastructure that was the largest of its kind to date.

Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram that Russia launched 20 missiles and 7 Shaheds drones to attack energy infrastructure in the Lviv region, and another official reported that a “critical infrastructure object” in the region was hit, but there was no information on the number of victims at the time of writing.

In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said missile fragments fell on a forest in the Desnyan district and started a fire. Social media reported that 10 missiles were recorded over Kyiv, and air defense could be heard operating around 5:10 a.m.

Kyiv Military Administration reported that “about a dozen” missiles were shot down, adding that debris also fell on the Shevchenkivs'kyi district and damaged a residential building but did not start a fire.

In the Dnipropetrovsk region, local administration head Serhiy Lysak said the attack damaged power lines and led to heating and power outages in Kryvyi Rih, including hospitals.

“Due to falling debris in Kryvyi Rih, heating networks and power lines were damaged. Due to a voltage drop, several boiler plants in the city were disconnected. 6 hospitals, over one and a half hundred educational institutions were left without heat. And another 3,000 houses where a total of 76,000 people live,” said Lysak.

Missile and drone fragments also damaged an energy facility in the Nikopol region, leaving close to 10,000 locals without electricity temporarily.

“The aggressor targeted critical infrastructure and Nikopol region. Debris of the downed drone damaged the energy facility. More than 3,000 subscribers in Nikopol and more than 6,400 in the district remained without electricity. Electricity has already been restored,” Lysak added.

At around 1:45 a.m., 14 Tu-95 bombers were reported to be airborne and launched 29 missiles at Ukraine, which were accompanied by 28 Shahed kamikaze drones. Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down 18 of the missiles and 25 of the drones.

Poland scrambled its F-16 fighter jets during the missile strike to secure its airspace.

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Explosions heard in Crimea: Oil depot ablaze in Hvardiiske
A series of explosions occurred in Crimea during the night of March 24. Russians have closed the Crimean Bridge, according to Telegram channels Krymskyi Veter and Krymskyi Most.

SPOILER

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According to the Krymskyi Veter channel, the explosions occurred in the Simferopol district and the outskirts of Simferopol.

"Our subscribers report four explosions in the Simferopol district. And another three explosions somewhere in the outskirts of Simferopol," the channel reported.

The channel also reported smoke coming from the village of Hvardiiske and about 20 explosions.


The Russians also reported the closure of the Crimean Bridge.

"The movement of vehicles across the Crimean Bridge is temporarily closed. Those who are on the bridge and in the inspection zone are asked to remain calm and follow the instructions of the transport security staff," the channel reported.

The channel Krymskyi Veter, citing subscribers, reports that a fuel depot in Hvardiiske was hit, and it is heavily on fire.
https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/static/ckef2/img/111_68.jpg
Subscribers of the channel report that there may also be hits in the garrison of Hvardiiske.

"The oil depot was attacked by drones," reported the channel Krymskyi Veter.

Explosions in occupied Crimea
Earlier, we reported that on March 23, an air raid alert was declared in the temporarily occupied Sevastopol. There were six explosions and the hit on ships in the port. Emergency services were dispatched to Kozacha Bay.

Additionally, we reported that the probable location of one of the hits in Sevastopol was named in the network.

By the way, Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykola Oleshchuk, thanked the pilots and sailors for their combat work in occupied Crimea.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 09:41 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
x

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 09:35 schreef Frezer het volgende:

[..]
Waarom hebben we de Poolse en Roemeense grenzen nog steeds niet vol met Patriots op scherp staan die alles uit de lucht knallen dat maar enigzins in de buurt (lees 100km) komt?

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Poland informs allies of Russian missile violating NATO border
Poland has informed NATO Allies of another incident of a Russian missile violating the Alliance's border.

Source: Jacek Siewiera, the head of the Polish National Security Bureau, as reported by European Pravda.

Details: On Sunday morning (24 March), Siewiera posted on his Twitter (X) account that after 05:00, he discussed the intrusion of a Russian missile into Polish airspace with Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence of Poland.

Polish President Andrzej Duda and his allies were informed of the incident.

Quote: "The Allies were also informed about another incident of a violation of NATO's border by Russian Federation military assets," Siewiera said.

On the night of 23-24 March, at 04:23, a manoeuvrable missile launched by Russia's long-range aircraft violated Polish airspace.

The missile entered Polish airspace near the village of Oserd�w in the Lublin Voivodeship. It stayed there for 39 seconds.

The Polish Armed Forces stated that they knew the trajectory of the missile, and it was clear that the object would not head inland. Polish and Allied aircraft were scrambled.

The previous violation of Polish airspace by a Russian missile launched towards Ukraine took place on 29 December 2023, also in the Lublin Voivodeship. The missile was on Polish territory for less than three minutes.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:01 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Iets meer details. Ook zijn er drie Flankers beschadigd die op Belbek stonden.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:11 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/03/24/7447872/
[..]
Dat is inderdaad al de zoveelste keer dat Russisch oorlogstuig NATO grondgebied binnenkomt. Dat het om een kort moment gaat maakt hierbij niet uit. De tweede keer dat een raket Pools grondgebied binnen vliegt.. Een erg kwalijke zaak.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:08 schreef AchJa het volgende:

[..]
Tot je moet herladen...

Het ziet er natuurlijk peppie uit op Tiktok maar niet heel effectief natuurlijk.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:17 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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De tweede of de zoveelste keer?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 09:35 schreef Frezer het volgende:

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Waarom hebben we de Poolse en Roemeense grenzen nog steeds niet vol met Patriots op scherp staan die alles uit de lucht knallen dat maar enigzins in de buurt (lees 100km) komt?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:20 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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Twee keer een raket op Pools grondgebied. Ook al een paar keer een drone (Roemeni�/Bulgarije)

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Putin agrees closer cooperation in fighting terrorism with Turkey and Syria following attack
Russian President Vladimir Putin held separate calls with his Turkish and Syrian counterparts, Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Bashar al-Assad, on Saturday and promised closer cooperation in fighting terrorism following the deadly concert attack in Moscow, according to a Kremlin readout.

The readout said Erdogan offered “his deep and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims” and “stressed the urgent need for closer bilateral cooperation in the fight against the terrorist threat.”

In a conversation with Putin, Assad “wished fortitude to the victims’ families and friends,” and the leaders “agreed to intensify contacts. . . in addressing counterterrorism,” according to the Kremlin.

Russia is the strongest foreign power operating in Syria, and Putin has long allied himself with Assad, throwing the full weight of the Russian military behind the Syrian Army.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:19 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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Dat is inderdaad een probleem. Maar het is wel een stuk mobieler dan met van die metalen kisten met ammunitie te moeten sjouwen. En er zit meer ammunitie op dan de normale ammunitie riemen? (geen idee hoe het heet) die ik wel eens zie voorbij komen. Dus voor de bestorming van een loopgraaf zou het helemaal nog zo gek niet zijn. Of om een positie ergens in te nemen. Dan kan iemand anders wel achter hem aan komen met wat extra rugzakjes lol.

En het is slechts een prototype natuurlijk.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:23 schreef Opnaarutrecht het volgende:

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Dit dus. We moeten ons als NAVO doodschamen hoe we Oekra�ne sinds vorig jaar in de kou laten staan. De Russische ratten maken daar ondanks hun krankzinnige verliezen optimaal gebruik van.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:32 schreef AchJa het volgende:

[..]
Oekraiene is geen NATO lid.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:20 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

Twee keer een raket op Pools grondgebied. Ook al een paar keer een drone (Roemeni�/Bulgarije)

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:08 schreef AchJa het volgende:

[..]
Tot je moet herladen...

Het ziet er natuurlijk peppie uit op Tiktok maar niet heel effectief natuurlijk.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:11 schreef AchJa het volgende:

[..]
Omdat we daar niet heel veel van hebben?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:34 schreef Opnaarutrecht het volgende:
Dat zegt niks. Nederland was oorspronkelijk neutraal in Tweede Wereldoorlog.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:36 schreef Joppiez het volgende:

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Het Roemeense en Poolse luchtruim is nu al een aantal keer geschonden dus deze landen kunnen prima in het kader van artikel 4 de nodige (Amerikaanse) Patriots bij de grens installeren? Maar in dit geval wordt er afgewogen dat gezien “de intentie” het simpelweg de escalatie niet waard is, toch?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:34 schreef Opnaarutrecht het volgende:

[..]
Dat zegt niks. Nederland was oorspronkelijk neutraal in Tweede Wereldoorlog.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:36 schreef Ulx het volgende:

Het enige voordeel -gezien de lengte- lijkt me dat het iets makkelijker rondlopen en schieten is.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:30 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Het is allemaal al eerder geprobeerd...

https://www.reddit.com/r/(...)_400_round_backpack/

https://www.reddit.com/r/(...)unition_system_3000/

500 Patronen... Dat zijn ongeveer twee MAG kistjes (230 per kist) of 2.5 M60 kistjes (200 per kist)... Het levert je bijna geen winst op in aantallen. Met losse kistjes is herladen een kwestie van seconden.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:38 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Je denkt dat er nu niks staat?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:29 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://edition.cnn.com/e(...)-03-24-24/index.html
[..]
Ach, heeft hij eindelijk de belachelijke frame dat Oekra�ne er wel achter moest zitten laten varen?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:39 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Belgi� is een beter voorbeeld. Dat land was tot 1936 in een alliantie met Frankrijk en besloot toen -gezien de oplopende spanningen- neutraal te worden.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:11 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

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Daar waren de Fransen de Belgen dan ook enorm dankbaar voor; meteen hun hele Maginot Linie onschadelijk gemaakt zonder ook maar ��n schot te lossen.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 09:41 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]
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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:25 schreef polderturk het volgende:
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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:25 schreef polderturk het volgende:
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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:25 schreef polderturk het volgende:
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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:35 schreef grrrrg het volgende:

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De Oekrainers hebben echt een hekel aan Russen, krijg ik het idee

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:35 schreef grrrrg het volgende:

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De Oekrainers hebben echt een hekel aan Russen, krijg ik het idee

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:35 schreef grrrrg het volgende:

[..]
De Oekrainers hebben echt een hekel aan Russen, krijg ik het idee

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:32 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Oekraiene is geen NATO lid.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 10:32 schreef AchJa het volgende:

[..]
Oekraiene is geen NATO lid.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:42 schreef Starhopper het volgende:

En daarom mogen Russische raketten over Polen en Roemeni� vliegen?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:41 schreef Frezer het volgende:
Boeien. Als zon raket richting de grens vliegt heb je geen idee of en wanneer die afbuigt terug richting Oekra�ne.

Als ergens "escalatie!" Over te schreeuwen valt zijn het wel dit soort acties van de Russen. Dat Lviv eo dan ook gelijk beschermd is, is dan maar collateral damage voor de Russen.

Dat we weinig Patriots hebben binnen de NAVO is ook maar een kutsmoes. Beter 1 of 2 aan de gang zetten dan helemaal niks.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:45 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Waar zeg ik dat?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:48 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Polen heeft zelf aardig wat Patriots he. Ze zijn mans genoeg om dat zelf in te zetten.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:50 schreef Cilantro het volgende:

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Waarom doen ze dat dan niet?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:49 schreef Starhopper het volgende:

Fijn dat we het eens zijn dat we luchtafweer in Oekra�ne moeten plaatsen om de NAVO grens te beschermen

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:47 schreef Ulx het volgende:
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Goede reclame.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Voor omdat. Redenen.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 11:50 schreef Cilantro het volgende:

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Waarom doen ze dat dan niet?

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 12:02 schreef Cilantro het volgende:

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Nog steeds bang voor EsCaLaTiE.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 12:14 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Nee.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 12:02 schreef Cilantro het volgende:

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Nog steeds bang voor EsCaLaTiE.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 12:27 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Lijkt me sterk. Ik denk eerder praktische issues. De Poolse systemen zullen zo zijn opgesteld dat ze primair het eigen grondgebied verdedigen. Of het dan zin heeft een raket te lanceren is de vraag.

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 12:38 schreef Joppiez het volgende:

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En de intentie moet Polen schade toebrengen zijn. Anders is het (volgens de Russen) directe bemoeienis of interventie tegen de militaire operatie. I guess

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Op zondag 24 maart 2024 12:46 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Neuh, schending van het luchtruim is voldoende reden. Maar boven Wit-Rusland zo'n ding neerschieten is zelf het luchtruim van dat land schenden.