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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 20:46 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Ongelofelijk hoe simpel jij kan zijn, je associeert echt alles bij elkaar. Wat is nou precies je punt?

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 20:42 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

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Niemand wil ongedierte in zijn of haar voortuin, dus de Russen hebben daar niets te zoeken. Eens gaat dat continu op proberen te rekken van hun invloedssfeer tot een demonstratief Amerikaans kernbommetje leiden.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 20:41 schreef bleiblei het volgende:
Overigens, als ze die bom gooien, is dat niet op Nederland maar ergens in Oekra�ne. En dan is het conflict ook in 48uur voorbij. In het nadeel van Rusland.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 20:56 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Probeer het nu nog eens maar dan niet met het denkniveau van een kleuter. De VS mag toch ook gewoon troepen in Roemeni� stationeren? Waarom mag Rusland dan niet met marineschepen naar Havana. Waarom mag alleen de VS zoiets als de Monroe doctrine? De VS heeft zeker geen invloedsferen?

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:07 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

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Het is pure escalatie wanneer buitenstaanders als Cuba door de Russen in het conflict betrokken worden. Benieuwd wanneer het eerste bommetje op Havana valt.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:15 schreef dudewhereismycar het volgende:
Voor de mensen die nog steeds menen dat de economie zo goed gaat in Rusland.

https://www.businessinsid(...)arbeidsmarkt-oorlog/

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:12 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Geef eens gewoon antwoord op mijn vragen.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:25 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

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[ afbeelding ]

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:28 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Nog maar een keer dan: De VS mag toch ook gewoon troepen in Roemeni� stationeren? Waarom mag Rusland dan niet met marineschepen naar Havana. Waarom mag alleen de VS zoiets als de Monroe doctrine? De VS heeft zeker geen invloedsferen?

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:28 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Nog maar een keer dan: De VS mag toch ook gewoon troepen in Roemeni� stationeren? Waarom mag Rusland dan niet met marineschepen naar Havana. Waarom mag alleen de VS zoiets als de Monroe doctrine? De VS heeft zeker geen invloedsferen?

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:28 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Nog maar een keer dan: De VS mag toch ook gewoon troepen in Roemeni� stationeren? Waarom mag Rusland dan niet met marineschepen naar Havana. Waarom mag alleen de VS zoiets als de Monroe doctrine? De VS heeft zeker geen invloedsferen?

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 22:50 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

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Alleen de vraag of de US nu die aftandse meuk gaat nuken. Wat een opmerking met een verrekte grote knipoog was, na alle loze dreigementen vanuit dat vreemde land in het Oosten.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:28 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Nog maar een keer dan: De VS mag toch ook gewoon troepen in Roemeni� stationeren? Waarom mag Rusland dan niet met marineschepen naar Havana. Waarom mag alleen de VS zoiets als de Monroe doctrine? De VS heeft zeker geen invloedsferen?

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 23:21 schreef sp3c het volgende:
lekker belangrijk dat ze schepen naar Cuba sturen

hopelijk brengen ze wat te eten mee voor die gasten

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 23:27 schreef MaxMark het volgende:

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Volgens mij zijn de Cubanen beter gevoed dan het Russische volk vandaag de dag.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 21:24 schreef BEFEM het volgende:

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Dat is voor een land beter dan andersom. Burgers hebben het werk voor her uitkiezen.

Niet dat dit eeuwig is vol te houden maar toch.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 23:35 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Nee, dit werkt inflatie in de hand. Waarom denk je dat rusland een basisrente heeft van 16%
Als de roebel instort, dan heeft -import land- rusland een gigantisch probleem. Ze moeten alles inkopen, van vliegtuigwielen tot CNC machines. Oh en die fucking eieren lol.

Inflatie is de absolute dood van rusland. Voor de liefhebbers, zie hier de prijzen in een supermarkt in rusland. Modaal is 75.000 roebel, pensioen is 22.000 roebel. Alles delen door 100 om te converteren naar euro's.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 23:35 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Nee, dit werkt inflatie in de hand. Waarom denk je dat rusland een basisrente heeft van 16%
Als de roebel instort, dan heeft -import land- rusland een gigantisch probleem. Ze moeten alles inkopen, van vliegtuigwielen tot CNC machines. Oh en die fucking eieren lol.

Inflatie is de absolute dood van rusland. Voor de liefhebbers, zie hier de prijzen in een supermarkt in rusland. Modaal is 75.000 roebel, pensioen is 22.000 roebel. Alles delen door 100 om te converteren naar euro's.

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Wat houdt BRICS-landen in?
Hoe de BRICS met nieuwe uitbreiding steeds meer tegenwicht ...
BRICS is de afkorting van de vijf landen die sinds 15 jaar economisch samenwerken: Brazili�, Rusland, India, China en Zuid-Afrika (South Africa).2 jan 2024

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De Russische centrale bank heeft besloten de beleidsrente op 16,00 procent te handhaven. Dit maakte de Russische beleidsmakers vrijdag bekend.
De bank voegde toe dat nieuwe renteverhogingen in de toekomst wellicht nodig zijn.11 uur geleden

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 23:42 schreef BEFEM het volgende:

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Ik weet wat inflatie is.

Maar het is beter dan dat je een werkeloosheid hebt van 20% ofzo. Dan hebben je burgers niks te doen en heb je een probleem. En de offici�le inflatiecijfers vallen nog wel mee, is in het westen veel hoger geweest.

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Ik zeg niet dat dit een ideale situatie is in Rusland maar economisch gaat het beter dan verwacht. Die vrouw van de centrale bank wordt niet voor niks de hemel in geprezen in de westerse media.

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Aangepast: 1 min geleden2 min geledenin BUITENLAND

Na de Russische opmars van de afgelopen maanden lijkt Oekra�ne met hulp van nieuw aangeleverde westerse wapens een krachtig tegenoffensief te zijn begonnen. Volg hier de laatste ontwikkelingen in de Oekra�ne-oorlog.

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 23:58 schreef michaelmoore het volgende:

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omdat de ruble een klote munt is, die wil nienand hebben langer dan twee uur en ruilen hem om naar Dollar of Euro

De Ruble gaat kapot aan de corruptie , voor een stabiele munt heb je ene hele goede Centrale Bank nodig met zelfdiscipline

Zeker met meerdere landen is het extreem moeilijk , daarom heeft de BRICS ook totaal geen enkele kans, stelletje oplichters bij elkaar
Niet een van die landen heeft een succesvolle munt , op China na dan
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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 00:22 schreef michaelmoore het volgende:
https://www.telegraaf.nl/(...)l-sinds-start-oorlog
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Leaked Russian Documents Reveal Deep Concern Over Chinese Aggression
In a fascinating report, Max Seddon and Chris Cook of the Financial Times reveal how Russia might use nuclear weapons to roll back Chinese aggression. Their story, built off of leaked secret documents, confirms Russia’s deep and longstanding concern that a revitalized China might try to annex Russia’s eastern territories.

Given that China and Russia declared a friendship “without limits,” a few years ago, the prospect of a nuclear exchange between the two neighbors may seem unlikely to a casual Western observer. But Russia is acutely aware that border friendships can change quickly. The last time China and the Soviet Union signed a friendship treaty, the two countries were, within twenty years, embroiled in a nasty border conflict.

China’s actions across Asia has shown the country has a long memory for past slights and long-standing territorial losses. Expansion-minded Chinese nationalists, coupled with China’s increasing contempt for Russian military weakness, are quite capable of harnessing China’s resentments over past defeats to turn on their diminished client state to the north.

Moscow knows this, and it is taking great pains to deter Chinese adventurism. Even with Russia’s Army overextending itself in Ukraine, Russia exercised nuclear-capable Iskander missiles twice last year in “regions bordering China.”

Concrete evidence of Russian plans for a nuclear response to Chinese border aggression reveals the extent of Russia’s concerns that China, in time, may begin staking a claim to Russia’s lightly-populated eastern territories, and reaching out to champion Russia’s long-ignored citizens of Asian descent. Interestingly enough, the report seemed to describe Russia’s nuclear response scenarios as a last-ditch self-defense mechanism, largely targeting Chinese forces after they had entered Russian territory. And that’s grim—such a scenario suggests, at best, that Russia’s European-oriented military elites have few qualms about raining nuclear fallout on Russian citizens of Asian descent.

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Tiny Triggers To Deter Surprise Attack
A reporting coup, the two intrepid Financial Times reporters gained access to “29 secret Russian military files drawn up between 2008 and 2014.” The documents included “scenarios for war-gaming and presentations for naval officers, which discuss operating principles for the use of nuclear weapons.”

They discovered that the potential conditions for Russia’s employment of nuclear weapons was very low. Basic response triggers included “the destruction of 20 per cent of Russia’s strategic ballistic missile submarines, 30 per cent of its nuclear-powered attack submarines, three or more cruisers,” or a range of other land-based targets.

These are very low numbers. Today, Russia only fields 11 ballistic missile submarines. The idea that losing two—or twenty percent—puts Russia’s anti-China anxiety in sharp relief. With 17 nuclear powered attack submarines in service, the loss of five would spark a nuclear attack. Compared to the number of nuclear submarines American planners expect to lose in a Taiwan scenario, Russia’s response triggers are very, very low.

Rather than being some indication of a fancy and deliciously complicated strategic posture—something Western non-proliferation experts seem to love exploring—the numbers suggest a far less complex defensive strategy. The documents indicate, more than a decade ago, Russia was doing a lot of hard thinking on how to deter a surprise attack from China.

The strategic documents date back to 2014, and the retaliation-triggering numbers seem to work. In 2015, the U.S. Office of Naval Intelligence thought that Russia was likely only operating two Dolgorukiy class nuclear ballistic missiles submarines in the Pacific, along with about six nuclear-powered attack and cruise missile-shooting submarines. With Russia’s naval bases all within easy reach of China’s then-growing medium-range missile arsenal, spelling out the consequences of a surprise Chinese effort to decapitate Russia’s Pacific Fleet seems sound—and it might be something for America’s strategists to take to heart.

Today, Russia’s nuclear deterrence may prove less effective than it was a decade ago. As I have written before, with Russia weak and distracted by European adventures, China has a real opportunity to effectively annex Russia’s lightly-held Eastern territories without firing a shot.

All the components for an abrupt Chinese land-grab are in place—for years, China has allowed resentments to simmer all along Russia’s long Chinese border. To many Chinese, Vladivostok, Russia’s administrative link to the Pacific, isn’t known by its Russian name—the city’s ancient Chinese name is still widely used. Economic and cultural ties to China are becoming awfully hard to ignore.

The clock for an administrative realignment of Russia’s East is ticking. China is rapidly expanding their nuclear forces, making Russia’s weapons far less of a deterrent. And, as the ethnic and economic balance continues to shift, Russia’s European-focused ruling elite grows weaker by the day. In time, China may simply appropriate Russia’s Crimean playbook, employing similar tactics to sidestep Moscow’s hopes of staking Russia’s territorial integrity on an often-unreliable nuclear deterrent.

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Putin announces Russia's losses: ISW explains accuracy of this data
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the Russian army loses 20,000 combat troops in Ukraine every month. This figure is close to the number of new servicemen mobilized by the Russian Federation for war every month, according to a report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

According to analysts, Putin has suggested that 5,000 Russian soldiers die in combat in Ukraine every month. Considering the standard ratio of wounded to killed as three to one, approximately 15,000 Russian servicemen are wounded every month.

The ISW cannot confirm the losses mentioned by Putin, but this number coincides with the lower limit of reports from Ukraine about the losses of the Russian army.

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Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces Oleksandr Pavliuk stated at the beginning of May that Russian forces lose between 25,000 and 30,000 killed and wounded every month.

In mid-January of this year, the Deputy Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Vadym Skibitskyi, reported that Russia is recruiting about 30,000 people per month.

In April, the head of the Moscow Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a member of the Civil Advisory Council at the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ruslan Pukhov, also stated that the cryptomobilization campaign of the aggressor state is recruiting about 30,000 new servicemen every month.

However, the ISW report notes that Russian officials are concerned about the decrease in recruitment rates ahead of the planned summer offensive in 2024. It is also unknown whether the Russian Ministry of Defense has been able to maintain recruitment levels at around 30,000 people per month.

Additionally, over the past few months, Russian forces have created a more resilient force generation apparatus for current offensive operations and have begun more actively forming reserves at the operational and strategic levels.

During this period, Russian forces used their initiative across the entire theater of operations in Ukraine to dictate the pace of operations, which would result in losses approximately equal to or slightly less than the losses of newly formed forces.

"This has allowed Russian forces to immediately replenish losses along the frontline and sustain their overall offensive tempo in Ukraine but has set limits on the extent to which Russian forces can intensify offensive operations in any given direction," the ISW report said.

According to analysts, the small number of additional newly formed forces that did not immediately deploy to the front as reinforcements allowed Russian forces to gradually form operational reserves.

In early May, Lieutenant General Pavliuk stated that Russian forces intend to prepare another approximately 100,000 servicemen for participation in offensive operations in June and July of this year and to prepare another 300,000 servicemen by the end of 2024.

"ISW continues to assess that likely poorly trained and equipped Russian operational- and strategic-level reserves are unlikely to be ready to act as a first-echelon penetration force or as a second-echelon exploitation force capable of conducting large-scale assaults in 2024 if Ukrainian forces have the wherewithal to resist them," the report said.

Losses of the Russian army
The Russian army command is concealing data on personnel losses in the war in Ukraine. Also unknown or classified are the losses of private military companies and other formations of the enemy army.

According to the latest data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, since February 2022, Russia has lost 515,000 soldiers in the war. In just the past day, Ukrainian defenders have eliminated 1,300 soldiers.

According to the MDI, Russia has concentrated about 550,000 personnel on the border and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. However, this includes not only soldiers but also the FSB and other units.

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US Encourages China to Engage in the Upcoming Summit on Peace for Ukraine
A US State Department spokesperson informed Reuters on Thursday that the United States is urging China to participate in the Summit on Peace for Ukraine this month in Switzerland.

China has indicated its intention to abstain from attending since Russia did not get an invitation.

“We certainly would encourage China to participate in that summit. They’ve attended previous versions of the summit. We thought their presence was helpful. We think their presence would be helpful here,” the State Department spokesperson said in a briefing.

Additionally, the spokesperson emphasized that China should take action against companies aiding Russia’s defense industry, a move deemed “even more helpful” by Washington.

The Office of the President of Ukraine has announced that 107 countries and organizations have confirmed their participation in the upcoming Summit on Peace for Ukraine. The Summit is scheduled to take place on June 15-16, 2024, in B�rgenstock, near the Swiss city of Lucerne.

On June 3, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba listed the ways Russia uses to try to sabotage the upcoming Summit: discrediting its significance; persuading countries not to participate, and urging those who have committed to attend to do so at the lowest possible level.

The Summit on Peace for Ukraine aims to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine, one of the most fundamental principles of international law. The Russian Federation has a long history of disrupting countries’ sovereignty, including Georgia, Moldova, Chechnya, and others. That’s why it is crucial for the world to gather in an attempt to prevent the further violation of countries’ basic right of state unity.

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Drones hit two radar stations in Crimea

^{The territory of the nature reserve, where the radar stations were deployed. Photo credits: Google Maps}

During a night attack by drones on military facilities in the temporarily occupied Crimea, two Russian radar stations were damaged.

Astra reported on this.

According to the newspaper, the stations were damaged as a result of drone strikes.

In addition, one Russian serviceman was reportedly wounded.

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The radars were deployed on the territory of the Kazantyp Nature Reserve, where, according to satellite images from 2020, there are specially prepared positions for their deployment.

In addition, the fire detection service of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows the presence of fire at the positions for radar stations.

The fire was detected by satellite at 3:09 a.m., when the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that all drones targeting military facilities in Crimea had been shot down.

According to officials of the Russian Defense Ministry, 11 drones were destroyed over Crimea, but judging by satellite monitoring, some of them still managed to reach their targets.

^{A fire was detected at the radar position in the Kazantyp Nature Reserve. Photo credits: NASA}

Self-propelled radar stations that were supposed to detect air targets within the Kerch Bridge security and provide early warning for air defense systems in the temporarily occupied Crimea were damaged.

There is also a possibility that radar stations from the S-300/400 surface-to-air missile system could’ve been hit.

Militarnyi previously reported that satellite images capturing the aftermath of a strike on an FSS communications center near the village of Semidviria near Alushta had been posted online.

The strike was carried out on the territory of the military unit on May 23, 2024.

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No peace agreement expected to be signed at Global Peace Summit, says Swiss president
The Global Peace Summit will be held in Switzerland on June 15-16

Swiss President Viola Amherd believes that the Global Peace Summit is only the beginning of further negotiations to end Russia's war against Ukraine, and a peace agreement will not be signed at the end of the conference, she said in an interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The Swiss leader is convinced that in order to achieve peace, "both sides must be at the negotiating table", and emphasized that Russia is not participating in the summit.

"It is clear to us that we will not sign a peace agreement at the end of the conference," she said, adding that Russia could also be present at a possible next conference.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, said earlier that his country will participate in the Global Peace Summit in Switzerland on June 15-16.

On April 24, 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia wants to disrupt the Global Peace Summit and has a plan to do it.

On May 14, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that the end of the war in Ukraine will not be discussed at the event in Switzerland.

On May 21, Zelenskyy named three main points that will be on the agenda at the Global Peace Summit.

On June 2, the president announced that 160 countries of the world have already confirmed their participation in the summit.

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Artillery-Delivered Mine Systems Are Key In Ukrainian Defense

^{Gunners from 43rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine fire at Russian position with a 155 mm self-propelled howitzer on April 21, 2024. (Photo by Anatolii STEPANOV / AFP via Getty Images)}

While drones, electronic warfare, and artillery have played significant roles throughout the Russia-Ukraine war, many battlefield outcomes have been decided by a different technology: mines. As Western-provided ammunition starts to arrive at the Ukrainian frontlines, the 10,000 Remote Anti-Armor Mine Systems (RAAMS) included in the recent American aid package will replenish Ukraine's supply of artillery-delivered mines. These systems arrive at a critical time, with Russian forces making advances in the Kharkiv Oblast, Luhansk Oblast, and the Donetsk Oblast. The RAAMS will provide Ukraine with crucial capabilities as they attempt to push back this renewed Russian offensive.

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^{Open source schematic for a Remote Anti-Armor Mine System (RAAM) round containing 9 mines in a 155mm artillery shell. OPEN SOURCE IMAGE}

Each RAAMS round contains nine M718 or M741 anti-tank mines within a 155mm artillery shell. When fired, the RAAMS disperses these mines over a designated area. With a range of up to 17 kilometers, the system allows for long-distance deployment of a minefield. Upon hitting the ground, the mines activate and are designed to disable armored vehicles by targeting their vulnerable undercarriages. The M718 and M741 mines are equipped with magnetic sensors, such that they can detonate in the presence of a combat vehicle without requiring the vehicle to drive directly over it.

A key feature of these mines is their self-detonation capability. The M718 mines self-detonate after approximately 4 hours, while the M741 mines do so after about 48 hours. This self-detonation mechanism serves several important purposes. First, it minimizes the risk of collateral damage by ensuring that RAAMS-emplaced minefields, which are less precisely placed than traditional minefields, do not pose a prolonged threat. Second, it allows military units to transition rapidly from defensive to offensive operations, as the temporary nature of the minefields means they can advance without the risk of encountering their own mines. This dual benefit enhances both the safety and operational flexibility of Ukrainian forces, especially since the mines will be deployed in Ukrainian territory.

^{Remains of a destroyed Russian military vehicle are seen next to a landmines warning sign displayed on the fence of the cemetery of the town of Svyatogirsk, Donetsk region, on June 22, 2023. (Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)}

Although nine anti-tank mines per round might seem limited, a doctrinal minefield intended to disrupt an enemy advance only has a density of one mine per 200 square meters. As such, one RAAMS round can cover an area of 1,800 square meters. If a minefield is 100 meters deep, 55 RAAMS rounds could produce a minefield that is 1 kilometer long. Additionally, these systems do not include anti-personnel mines. While a variant of the RAAMS uses anti-personnel mines, Ukraine did not receive this system, as it has signed the Ottawa Treaty, which prohibits the use of anti-personnel mines.

As these rounds arrive at the Ukrainian frontlines, they will make an immediate impact on the battlefield. The Ukrainians have previously received 40,000 RAAMS rounds, which they have used extensively over the last two years of conflict. Consequently, they are experienced in using these rounds and can readily integrate them into their defensive maneuvers.

Russia is conducting a number of offensive operations, with their main effort focused on the Kharkiv Oblast in a push towards Kharkiv City. Around the town of Vovchansk, which is northeast of Kharkiv City, Ukraine has launched a successful series of counterattacks to reclaim territory. RAAMS rounds are particularly useful for counterattacks, as they allow the Ukrainians to quickly establish temporary obstacle belts to secure recaptured areas. Additionally, with Russia preparing for a new concentrated effort to push through Ukrainian defenses, Ukraine can swiftly establish new RAAMS-emplaced minefields to disrupt Russian maneuvers. By doing so, they can force Russian forces to take routes that make them more vulnerable to Ukrainian artillery.

^{05 April 2023, Poland, Rzeszow: Crates of artillery ammunition being unloaded from a cargo plane at Rzesz�w-Jasionka airport in Poland. Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa (Photo by Christoph Soeder/picture alliance via Getty Images)}

Meanwhile, in the Luhansk Oblast, the Russian forces are attempting to break through the Ukrainian defenses along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line. Should Russian forces penetrate the Ukrainian lines, a hastily emplaced RAAMS minefield could prevent them from exploiting the breakthrough. Similarly, in the Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces are advancing towards Chasiv Yar in an effort to take this key city. In this dynamic battlefield, a RAAMS-emplaced minefield could be used by the Ukrainians to protect their flanks from a Russian attack.

The war is at a critical juncture, and the current Russian offensive has the potential to make significant gains. Consequently, the Ukrainians must hold off this offensive to avoid losing a substantial portion of their country. The recent aid package from the United States is arriving just in time to support the Ukrainian efforts. In particular, the 10,000 RAAMS rounds will make an immediate impact on the battlefield.

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Deputy leader of Russian ultranationalist movement stabbed to death in Moscow

Anton Yegovtsev, the deputy chairman of the Russian ultranationalist Zov Naroda movement, was stabbed to death overnight in Moscow, the group announced on its Telegram channel on Friday.

Zov Naroda chairman Sergey Zaytsev told Russian news channel REN-TV that Yegovtsev had been killed by a man who had been obsessed with his wife, and who had been stalking and threatening to kill Yegovstev for some time.

According to Zaytsev, the attack took place in the staircase of Yegovtsev’s building, where the perpetrator had laid in wait for him, turning off the lights when he emerged from his apartment, lunging at him with a knife and killing him.

Breaking news channel 112 reported on Friday that Yegovtsev’s alleged attacker was himself in hospital recovering from injuries inflicted on him by Yegovtsev as he attempted to fight back.

Members of the Zov Naroda — Russian for “Call of the People” — are notorious for their regular denunciations of other Russians. Alisa Gorshenina, a Russian artist from the Urals, said that an event she had been due to appear at was cancelled by the authorities after she was denounced by Zov Naroda earlier this month. “I object to the fact that some citizens have more rights than others just because they are loyal to the current regime,” she added.

Zov Naroda also denounced Belarusian rock group Bi-2 in November, accusing them of treason and sponsoring terrorism after they spoke out against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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Defense spending bill forces Israel arms transfers, nixes Ukraine aid
The House defense spending panel on Wednesday advanced the first draft of its annual Pentagon funding bill over objections from Democrats, who cited a provision that would block the president’s authority to withhold arms transfers to Israel and a lack of security assistance for Ukraine, among other partisan provisions.

The $833 billion defense appropriations bill for fiscal 2025 would bar the Pentagon from using funds “to withhold, halt, reverse or cancel the delivery of defense articles or defense services” for Israel, and force the president to transfer withheld weapons to the Israeli military within 15 days.

The bill also drops an annual $300 million in Ukraine security aid that defense appropriators have provided since 2014; revives an effort to move Mexico from U.S. Northern Command to U.S. Southern Command; and bans the Pentagon from implementing President Joe Biden’s executive orders on climate change.

“Why, after this Congress has repeatedly demonstrated broad bipartisan support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian tyranny, are we considering a bill that fails to fund the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative?” Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said in a statement on Wednesday. “In addition to fighting Russian aggression, USAI helps Ukraine integrate with NATO and Western forces, directly supporting our broader national security and defense objectives.”

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The Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative allows the Pentagon to place contracts for longer-term military aid for Kyiv. The FY24 defense policy bill Congress passed in December authorized $300 million for the initiative through FY25, but that money will not be available next year if appropriators decline to fund it in the spending bill.

Still, $300 million is a small trickle compared to the $13.7 billion in the initiative’s funding Congress passed in April as part of a massive foreign aid bill, which included a total $60 billion in economic and security assistance for Ukraine.

Assistance for Ukraine has divided the GOP caucus, with members admonishing Democrats for waving Ukrainian flags on the floor after the House passed 311-112 the $60 billion assistance package for Kyiv in April.

The defense spending bill marked up Wednesday also funds several more F-35 fighter jets than the Pentagon requested. It does not provide funding for a second Virginia-class attack submarine. The procurement decisions override parts of the FY25 defense authorization bill the House Armed Services Committee advanced 57-1 in May.

While the authorization bill sought to cut F-35 procurement amid growing frustration with manufacturer Lockheed Martin, defense appropriators sought to buy eight more of the fighter jets than the Pentagon requested. Defense appropriators also ignored the Armed Services Committee’s authorization for $1 billion in incremental funding to procure a second attack submarine in FY25.

“A Virginia-class submarine is a big-ticket item, so obviously it’s a much bigger deal than $300 million in Ukraine assistance,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, a Republican from Alabama who supports Ukraine aid, told Defense News on Tuesday.

Israel and Gaza
Democrats also denounced the bill’s new language banning the president from withholding weapons transfers to Israel, as well as the return of several other “harmful policy riders” Republicans unsuccessfully sought to include in the FY24 spending bill, which Congress passed 286-134 in March.

“Instead of building on the bipartisan conclusion to the fiscal year 2024 appropriations process, the fiscal year 2025 defense appropriations bill includes the same outrageous policy riders that were rejected by Congress only two months ago,” Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the defense spending panel, said in a statement Tuesday.

McCollum criticized the provision forcing the president to transfer weapons to Israel in a Democratic summary accompanying the bill. “No other country has carte blanche on the use of their military assistance from the United States,” her office wrote.

The House in May passed a separate bill in a 224-187 vote with more stringent language intended to undo Biden’s hold on a single shipment of roughly 3,500 air-to-ground munitions for Israel. The last president to publicly withhold weapons shipments to Israel was Ronald Reagan in 1982 after seeing pictures of civilians killed in Lebanon.

Biden said he withheld the shipment in April, which includes 500- and 2,000-pound bombs, out of concern Israel would use them in Rafah, where more than half of the Gaza Strip’s population have fled since the Israeli campaign against the militant group Hamas started in October. Nonetheless, he has approved several other arms transfers for Israel.

Despite warnings from the White House, Israel proceeded with its Rafah offensive, displacing roughly 1 million Palestinians and further curtailing humanitarian aid deliveries.

In addition to the bill’s annual $500 million in aid for Israeli missile defenses, the FY25 legislation provides $80 million above the president’s budget request for anti-tunneling cooperation with the U.S. and another $55 million above the budget request for counter-drone development, including “directed energy and laser technology cooperation.”

The State Department spending bill for FY25, which the foreign aid panel advanced Tuesday, also includes Israel’s annual $3.3 billion in foreign military financing. And the foreign aid bill Congress passed in April includes another $14 billion in Israel military aid.

Both the FY25 Pentagon and State Department spending bills ban funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which delivers humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip, drawing further ire from McCollum.

“According to a March report from the World Food Program, nearly half the population — over 1 million people — have completely exhausted their food supplies,” she said Wednesday. “Palestinian civilians, many of them children, are struggling with catastrophic hunger and starvation.”

Other policy riders Democrats oppose include moving jurisdiction of U.S. military operations with Mexico to Southern Command — a bid that failed last year. Calvert and Republicans argue that moving Mexico to Southern Command would better enable counter-fentanyl trafficking operations against Mexican drug cartels.

Additionally, the bill would ban the Pentagon from using funds to implement Biden’s climate executive orders, including one that would prevent the Defense Department — the world’s largest institutional fossil fuel emitter — from disclosing carbon emissions.

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Ukrainian Armed Forces scale down mobilization plans for 2024, says MP
About 120,000 people are expected to be mobilized in the Ukrainian Armed Forces this year, Ruslan Horbenko, MP and deputy chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, De-occupation and Reintegration, said in an interview with the Ukrinform news agency on June 6.

According to Horbenko, the command and the military at the front have determined the need for 100-110,000 soldiers, which is significantly less than the previously announced estimate under former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi. It was planned to mobilize up to 500,000 men for a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive.

However, when Oleksandr Syrskyi became Commander-in-Chief, a new defense plan for 2024 was approved, adjusting the needs of the Armed Forces to actual training, maintenance capabilities, and weapons availability amid delays in Western military aid.

Earlier, on April 3, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine did not need to mobilize “half a million people.” Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also said that Ukraine would not need an additional 500,000 troops as previously anticipated, indicating a shift to a ‘much softer’ approach to conscription.

Last December, Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine's military leadership had requested the conscription of an additional 450,000 to 500,000 people, which would cost UAH 500 billion ($12.7 billion).

The then-Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the military "did not make a specific request for numbers [of troops to be drafted]."

On April 11, the Ukrainian parliament passed a mobilization reform bill that comes into effect on May 18. Among other measures to bolster military recruitment, the legislation lowers conscription age from 27 to 25 years.

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Ukrainian Defense Forces hit Russian military barracks in Luhansk

^{The Russian military barracks in Luhansk were hit. Photo from open sources}

The Ukrainian Defense Forces hit a Russian military barracks in the occupied city of Luhansk that was repairing damaged equipment.

The videos were posted online by local residents.

A building used as a barracks by the Russian military was struck. In addition, military equipment was spotted on the territory.

According to local residents, there was a military equipment repair base on the territory, located at coordinates 48.537600,39.351385.

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^{Military equipment on the territory of the damaged barracks. Photo from the network}

In addition, formation markings can also be seen on the territory, on which soldiers are taught to move with the same length of marching step.

^{Photo of a Russian soldier on the territory of a military barracks. Photo from the network}

According to Russian media, the strike was carried out by eleven ATACMS ballistic missiles.

In Luhansk, Russian troops are setting up barracks for soldiers returning from the front line for rotation.

Damaged equipment is also being repaired in the city, which the enemy places on the territory of former enterprises with large hangars.

Щось гучно прилетіло в окупований Луганськ

At the end of May, the Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the former Higher Military Aviation School of Navigators in Luhansk.

This facility was used by Russians for military purposes after the occupation of the Ukrainian city.

With the arrival of more ATACMS missiles provided by the United States as part of military aid to Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to regularly strike at Russian military targets in Luhansk.

In particular, late in the evening, on May 7, an oil depot used by the Russian invaders was hit.

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Merkel withheld information about Russia's intention to blackmail Europe with gas, German outlet reports
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was aware of Russia's intention to reduce gas supply to blackmail Europe to speed up the Nord Stream 2 pipeline launch but concealed the information, German media outlet Handelsblatt reported on June 6, citing classified documents it had obtained.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea were built to supply natural gas from Russia to Europe.

Russia aimed to accelerate the introduction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline into service without German authorities' certification by causing a gas deficit in Europe, Handelsblatt said, referring to a 2021 document from the German Economy Ministry.

The document also described Russian actions as threatening to cause "dramatic consequences," while the filling of gas storage facilities was called "very slow."

Gazprom filled its European gas storage only halfway by July 2021, according to the document.

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quote:

Peter Altmaier, then-German economy minister, obtained the document and informed the cabinet of ministers, according to Handelsblatt. In October 2023, Merkel told the media that she did not see any signs of Russia cutting its gas supply to Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed Gazprom, the state-owned Russian energy giant, to start ramping up the volume of gas in European storage in October 2021.

The construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline was almost completed at that time, while Russia had been concentrating its forces near the border with Ukraine for the full-scale invasion.

The German government, headed by the newly appointed Chancellor Olaf Scholz, announced on Feb. 22, 2022, that it would suspend the Nord Stream 2 pipeline's certification after Russia recognized occupation proxy authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.

"The gas price crisis took Germany by surprise. Even before Russia's offensive against Ukraine, Berlin suspected that the Kremlin was manipulating the gas market. However, the government did nothing about it," the article read.

In September 2022, the Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater pipelines connecting Russia to Germany were blown up.

Investigations have been ongoing since then but have yet to produce a definitive conclusion regarding the cause of the explosions. Moscow and the West have traded blame for the incident.

Sweden and Denmark have dropped their investigations, while Germany's inquiry is ongoing.

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Former German Chancellor hid Putin's gas blackmail - media
In the fall of 2021, Russia left Germany with half-empty gas storage facilities, but the German government at that time ignored the threat, as confirmed by recently declassified documents. Source: Handelsblatt

The publication notes that the gas price crisis took Germany by surprise, although in Berlin even before the Russian attack on Ukraine they suspected that the Kremlin was manipulating the gas market. However, the government did nothing. In her final months as chancellor, Angela Merkel remained silent about the shortage of natural gas, the dominant supplier of which was Russia, represented by Gazprom.

German underground gas storage facilities are the most powerful in the EU, and in 2015 the coalition government of Angela Merkel, in particular Economics Minister Sigmar Gabriel, gave some of them to Gazprom. Including the largest UGS facility in the European Union, Rehden, directly connected to Nord Stream 1.

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The elections to the Bundestag have already passed, and things are moving towards a change of power and the chancellorship of Olaf Scholz. After the EU summit in Slovenia on October 6, 2021, Merkel tries to present Germany in a favorable light at a press conference. A Handelsblatt correspondent asks her about alarming reports: German underground gas storage facilities are not filled enough and gas is becoming more expensive. Merkel replies that she advises against looking for simple explanations for high gas prices. She claims that Russia exports gas based on specific requests and, according to her information, has not refused them.

However, Merkel did not mention that the government already suspected Russia of deliberately cutting gas supplies to Europe. The declassified documents include an August 2021 memo in which an Economy Ministry official suggests Russia is holding back gas exports to apply pressure to bring Nord Stream 2 online ahead of schedule. The document states that Russia, by creating a gas shortage, may try to force the German authorities to launch the gas pipeline before its certification.

The note also mentions that gas storage facilities owned by Gazprom are not very well filled, and injection is sluggish. This document was presented to the then Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier, who conveyed the information to the Chancellor and the entire cabinet.

But Berlin continued to trust the Russian side, citing various reasons for the reduction in supplies. In October, Putin assured that European gas storage facilities would soon be filled. In December, when Altmaier handed over affairs to the new Minister of Economy Robert Habeck, the filling level of gas storage facilities was only 59%, and the injection promised by Gazprom did not take place. For comparison, at the beginning of the summer of 2024, the filling level of underground gas storage facilities was over 73%.

The media notes that half-empty gas storage facilities could have been avoided if Germany had had a law obliging underground gas storage operators to ensure a certain level of filling by winter. But Merkel's government refused this measure. The new Scholz government passed such a law in the spring of 2022, which allowed Germany to enter the winter of 2022/2023 with gas storage facilities as full as possible, despite the cessation of Gazprom supplies.

The Merkel government's approach to the issue of gas storage facilities was another failure in relations with Russia, along with support for the construction of Nord Stream 2 and approval of the energy security report, which actually opened the way for certification of the gas pipeline, the publication notes.

Let us recall that in 2019, the Western intelligence service accused Merkel of working for Gazprom. The foreign intelligence service of one of the European countries called the German government an accomplice in the Nord Stream 2 case.

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Media: Hungary obstructs decision on Ukraine accession talks among EU members
Hungary is preventing consensus among EU members on the start of Ukraine's accession talks, Interfax Ukraine reported on June 7, citing undisclosed diplomatic sources.

The news came after the European Commission supported the start of accession talks with Ukraine on the same day, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

For talks to begin, the EU needs to unanimously agree that Ukraine has undertaken measures to improve issues like corruption and the protection of minority languages.

Budapest has repeatedly claimed that the Hungarian ethnic minority concentrated in southwestern Ukraine is discriminated against due to Kyiv's language laws.

Ukraine denies the allegations and updated its national minorities law at the end of 2023 in line with the EU's recommendations.

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"Everyone knows that the Commission thinks that Moldova and Ukraine have fulfilled their requirements and that we should hold an intergovernmental conference," a European diplomat told the Ukrainian media outlet.

"Many countries agreed with this, but Hungary reiterated that they have conditions that still need to be fulfilled. Otherwise, they will not be able to accept the Commission's assessment."

Another undisclosed senior diplomatic source said that Hungary had reiterated its previous stance about the lack of progress regarding the ethnic minority issue in Ukraine, mentioning that the EU also needs to "move forward" with Serbia's and Albania's accession talks.

"We are all (apart from Hungary) in favor of holding the intergovernmental conference on June 25," the diplomat said.

Both senior diplomats said that the discussion about Ukraine would continue next week.

Budapest may compromise for progress for the Western Balkan countries, giving the "green light to Ukraine and Moldova as well," the sources told Interfax Ukraine.

EU and Ukrainian officials are reportedly pushing for the talks to start by June 25 before Hungary takes the presidency of the EU Council in July.

Relations between Kyiv and Budapest became particularly tense throughout the full-scale war, as Hungary maintained close ties with Russia and obstructed aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Moscow.

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Europe’s largest rare earth metal deposits discovered in Norway

Europe’s largest deposits of rare earth metals have been discovered in the Telemark region of Norway, the Rare Earths Norway (REN) mining company announced on Thursday.

The company revealed that the new deposits found in the Nome municipality, 150 kilometers southwest of Oslo, contain an estimated 8.78 million tons of rare earth metals, such as neodymium and praseodymium oxide.

These elements are crucial for manufacturing batteries, wind turbine generators, and military equipment. Currently, China dominates the supply of these metals.

REN, which has been conducting drilling operations for the past three years, stated it could commence mining by 2030, aiming to meet 10% of the increasing demand for rare earth metals. REN’s CEO, Alf Reistad, highlighted the significance of this discovery by suggesting that Norwegian metals might become more valuable to Europe than the country’s exported gas.

This Norwegian discovery surpasses a similar find in Kiruna, northern Sweden, made in 2023, which was previously considered the largest in Europe. The Swedish discovery had sparked a debate about speeding up the complex environmental permitting process required to open a new mine and influenced the creation of the EU’s strategy on critical metals.

Rare earth metals comprise a group of 17 elements, including lanthanum, praseodymium, neodymium, and lutetium.

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France Has Confirmed The Deployment of Its Military Trainers to Ukraine
Macron has confirmed that France commits to train a full Ukrainian Armed Forces brigade (4,500 soldiers) and the deployment of its military trainers to Ukraine.

This was announced on June 7, during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to France.

The announcement comes after French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement that France is considering the possibility of deploying French troops to Ukraine.

In an interview with The Economist posted on May 2, Macron said that such a scenario is feasible if “Russia breaches the front line” and Ukraine requests assistance.

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France seeks coalition of instructors for Ukraine, Macron says many countries already involved
French President believes it is more efficient and practical to train Ukrainian forces on Ukrainian territory

France will work on expanding the coalition of countries sending military instructors to Ukraine for training, French President Emmanuel Macron announced during a joint press conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

When asked whether France is ready to send military instructors to Ukraine and the current status of this decision, Macron responded:

"We have decided that we want to have a coalition [to send foreign military instructors to Ukraine], and many of our partners have already agreed," the French president stated.

Macron noted that he will work on expanding this coalition to meet Ukraine's requests, as Ukraine is currently mobilizing significantly more personnel who will need training.

"It is much more efficient and practical in certain conditions to train these people on Ukrainian territory - this is a legitimate request," he said.

Macron emphasized that his country wants to do everything possible to help Ukraine continue defending itself against Russian aggression.

"So when Ukraine asks us for training on its sovereign territory for mobilized soldiers - is that an escalation? No. It is not sending European soldiers to the front lines - it is recognizing Ukrainian sovereignty on its territory," he said.

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Confident Putin warns Europe is ‘defenceless’
Ever since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has been engaged in nuclear sabre-rattling, dropping a series of not-so-subtle hints that trying to defeat a nuclear power like Russia could have disastrous consequences for those who try.

Today President Putin claimed that Russia wouldn’t need to use a nuclear weapon to achieve victory in Ukraine.
He was being interviewed at a panel discussion at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum: the annual event often described as ‘Russia’s Davos’.

There are few occasions when Mr Putin looks dovish compared to the person asking him the questions.

But when the person asking the questions is Sergei Karaganov it would be hard not to. Mr Karaganov is a hawkish Russian foreign policy expert. Last year he called for a pre-emptive nuclear strike. Today he suggested holding a “nuclear pistol” to the temple of the West over Ukraine.

President Putin wasn’t so extreme in his language.

But he is no dove.

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The Kremlin leader said he did not rule out changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine: the document which sets out the conditions under which Russia would use nuclear weapons.

“This doctrine is a living tool and we are carefully watching what is happening in the world around us and do not exclude making changes to this doctrine. This is also related to the testing of nuclear weapons.”

And he delivered a warning to those European countries who’ve been supporting Ukraine: Russia’s has “many more [tactical nuclear weapons] than there are on the European continent, even if the United States brings theirs over.”

“Europe does not have a developed [early warning system],” he added. “In this sense they are more or less defenceless.”

Tactical nuclear weapons are smaller warheads designed to destroy targets without widespread radioactive fallout.

This has been a surreal week in St Petersburg. On the one hand, a huge international economic forum has been taking place , sending the message that Russia is ready for cooperation and that, despite everything, it’s business as usual.

Clearly, though, it is not business as usual. Russia is waging war in Ukraine, a war which is now in its third year; as a result, Russia is the most heavily sanctioned country in the world.

And, right now, tensions are soaring between Russia and the West.

Earlier this week, at a meeting with international news agency chiefs in St Petersburg, President Putin suggested that Russia might supply advanced conventional long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets.

This was his response to Nato allies allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons.

He repeated the idea again today.

“We are not supplying those weapons yet, but we reserve the right to do so to those states or legal entities which are under certain pressure, including military pressure, from the countries that supply weapons to Ukraine and encourage their use on Russian territory.”

There were no details. No names.

So, to which parts of the world might Russia deploy its missiles?

“Wherever we think it is necessary, we’re definitely going to put them. As President Putin made clear, we’ll investigate this question,” Vladimir Solovyov, one of Russian state TV’s most prominent hosts, tells me.

“If you are trying to harm us you have to be pretty sure we have enough opportunities and chances to harm you.”
“In the West some will say we’ve heard this sabre-rattling before,” I respond, “and that it’s a bluff.”

“It’s always a bluff. Until the time when it is not,” Mr Solovyov replies. “You can keep thinking that Russia is bluffing and then, one day, there is no more Great Britain to laugh at. Don’t you ever try to push the Russian bear thinking that ‘Oh, it’s a kitten, we can play with it.”

CEOs from Europe and America used to flock to the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Not any more.

Instead I saw delegations from Asia, Africa, the Middle East and South America. Russia has been using this year’s event to try to show that, despite Western sanctions, there are plenty of countries in the world who are ready to do business with Russia.

And what have we learnt in St Petersburg about Vladimir Putin?

That he sounds increasingly confident and determined not to back down. He seems to believe that in the current standoff between Russia and the West, it is the West that will blink first.

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There should be no restrictions on Ukraine using Western weapons to strike Russia – NATO Military Committee head
Admiral Rob Bauer, the head of the NATO Military Committee, argues that Ukraine should be able to properly defend itself by striking Russia with Western weaponry without having its range limited.

Source: The Washington Post, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Bauer advocated permission to strike Russia with Western weaponry, saying that it is militarily logical.

Quote: "In the law of armed conflicts there are no limits in terms of the range. So militarily, again, if the target is deeper into Russia, then, military, you’d want to strike that target. If, for example, aircraft that take off from an airfield deeper into Russia," Bauer states.

Bauer noted that the increased range of weapons in Ukraine impacted Russian forces' logistics.

"If you push back the Russians deeper into Russia, that will make the fight more difficult for them," Bauer concluded.

Separately, he stated that the West should not allow Vladimir Putin to threaten him with "red lines", since this would just give Russia time to reinforce its defences and position in Ukraine.

"So we have to be careful not to jump, time and time again, to this idea that everything is a red line, that everything is an escalation. Because, first and foremost, Putin has been lying about basically everything," he believes.

After giving Ukraine limited permission to deploy American weapons to hit Russian territory, US President Joe Biden expressed resistance to potential US military strikes deep into Russian territory.

At the same time, Kyiv wishes to agree on broadening the scope of this permission.

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Media: Explosions reported across occupied Crimea
Explosions were heard across Sevastopol in occupied Crimea overnight on June 8, the Telegram channel Crimean Wind reported.

At around 1:39 a.m. local time, residents of Balaklava, a settlement in the city of Sevastopol, reportedly heard explosions. The first explosion allegedly took place near the Balaklava Thermal Power Plant. Crimean Wind alleges that large-caliber weapons were heard before the explosion, possibly indicating a drone attack.

A second explosion was heard closer to the coastline, near the Sevastopol port.

The Russian proxy leader in Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, Mikhail Razvozhayev, later claimed that the "loud sounds" residents heard in the Striletska Bay were the Russian forces destroying an "unmanned boat."

The Crimean Wind alleged that residents of Sevastopol had their windows blown out by the explosion in the coastal area.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.

Earlier this week, Ukraine's military carried out a naval strike in occupied Crimea overnight on June 6, destroying a Project 498 "Saturn" raiding tugboat.

Ukraine has carried out a number of successful attacks against Russian targets in Crimea and its vicinity, heavily degrading the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

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Polish foreign ministry slams ‘incomprehensible’ Belarusian response to diplomatic protest over murdered soldier
Warsaw will not play Minsk’s “games” over the death of a Polish soldier at the countries’ common border, the Polish foreign ministry has said following an “incomprehensible” and apparently evasive response by Belarusian authorities to a formal protest in the matter.

A Polish soldier died on Thursday after being stabbed at the Poland-Belarus border on May 28 while trying to prevent an illegal border crossing. The frontier has been the site of heavy migratory pressure since 2021 in what Warsaw sees as a “hybrid war” tactic engineered by the country’s Alyaksandr Lukashenka regime in a bid to destabilize Poland and the EU.

Following the soldier’s death, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski described the perpetrator as not being a migrant or refugee but a “common criminal” and said a protest note would be presented immediately to the Belarusian charg� d'affaires demanding action.

“We demand that the Belarusian authorities identify the murderer and hand him over to the Polish authorities as part of the investigation already being conducted by our Ministry of Justice,” Sikorski said.

On Friday, a spokesman for the Belarusian foreign ministry, Anatol Glaz, posted a reply on the ministry’s website to a question on the subject by Russian news agency TASS.

Having acknowledged receipt of the protest note and said it would be considered “in light of all the circumstances,” Glaz went on to express condolences to the soldier’s family and friends.

The remainder of the post drew the ire of Glaz’s Polish counterpart.

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“Of course, it is necessary to restore normal border contacts so that such tragedies do not occur,” the post read. “However, a few years ago, the Polish side proactively and quite loudly broke off cooperation with Belarus in the law enforcement sphere, ceased contacts on legal assistance, and stopped the dialog in the line of border commissioners. All this, I emphasize, was done unilaterally by the Polish leadership.

“Our position is consistent: we are open to mutually respectful dialog,” the statement continued. “Belarus is ready to restore co-operation in the law enforcement sphere, but this is a two-way street. Therefore, it is possible to restore such interaction only in full. Without this, such public notes are not a way to systematically solve the problem, but an excessive politicization of a quite specific issue, an attempt to justify oneself before one's own public opinion and to shift responsibility. Moreover, unfortunately, this is not an isolated case of Polish military deaths on the border, but for some reason the Polish leadership does not remember about it so publicly.”

Polish foreign ministry spokesman Paweł Wroński told PAP on Friday that the response amounted to “incomprehensible propaganda.” He said the ministry’s protest note had been unambiguous and had been a request to “identify and extradite the murderer of the Polish soldier and to cease hybrid attacks.”

“This person is on the territory of Belarus,” Wroński continued, “so either that country intends to extradite the murderer or they do not intend to, while telling various strange stories.”

Wroński reiterated that the Polish request was clear: “Either you extradite that man or you don’t.”

“Everything else is some incomprehensible propagandistic evasions; we will not reply to such communications and play their games,” he said. “The murderer of a Polish soldier either is or is not being protected by the Belarusian state.”

Seeking Justice
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, said later on Friday that he believed the perpetrators of the soldier’s murder would ultimately be brought to justice. He said the Polish public had been shaken by the death of a soldier who had been “killed in the service of the homeland, guarding our border.”

Foreign Minister Sikorski said the attack was no “accidental brawl” but that the circumstances were planned and “these people are being trained.”

Sikorski said the soldier was stabbed using “methods that officers of the Belarusian state teach to these hooligans, these bandits.”

He added that everything currently happening at the Polish-Belarusian border is the responsibility of Lukashenka and his Moscow counterpart, Vladimir Putin, who he described as “a pair of dictators.”

He also said the Belarusian charg� d'affaires had assured him that Minsk wanted good relations with Warsaw, but said this was hard to believe as the Belarusian authorities’ actions contradict their words.

“We received an assurance that our note would get a reply,” he said. “We don’t have it yet.”

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 06:49 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://kyivindependent.c(...)-talks-with-ukraine/
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Wie had dat nou zien aankomen. Wat een verassing, ik ben gechoqueerd.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 08:47 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:

[..]
[ afbeelding ]

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Russian judge notorious for jailing 'traitors' to Kremlin dies after falling from window
A top judge in Russia has died after she reportedly fell from a window in Moscow.

An investigation has been launched after Natalia Larina was found dead from the fall from her apartment block in the capital. The 50-year-old judge had a reputation for doling out sentences for so-called 'traitors' of Moscow authorities, and sat on a number of high profile criminal cases.

Larina reportedly had a young daughter, and investigators are probing claims she had lost a large sum of money to "telephone scammers". It's understood Larina told police about the scam, in which she was told her bank account was under threat from criminals trying to send funds for Ukraine's armed forces.

^{Mashinostroeniya Street, Moscow, where judge Larina fell from a high window}

She transferred her cash to another account and in doing so becoming victim of a scam. The scam has become popular in Russia in recent months, with many having reportedly fallen for it. Sources say she became upset that she was “deceived”, and left a note. However, there is no official confirmation so far of this version of events.
Larina was a criminal judge for more than 15 years, and her death came months after she suddenly quit Tagansky Court. She had acted as a judge in various high profile fraud cases.

In 2015, she remanded in custody artist Pyotr Pavlensky who set fire to a door of the FSB building in Lubyanka Square in a political protest. Earlier she gave a judgement against the hardline National Bolsheviks. In 2011, Larina sentenced Ministry of Transport official Vladimir Makarov, accused of sexually abusing his daughter.

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She was persuaded to transfer one million rubles ($11,200) to a "safe account" and borrow another one million rubles from the bank to be transferred. She notified the police when she realized she had been scammed, Baza said.

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Ukrainian Navy Conducts Exercises in Black Sea with Focus on Amphibious Operations
The Ukrainian Navy recently conducted exercises in the Black Sea, as reported by the Ukrainian Navy press service. The exercises primarily focused on landing operations, maneuvering, and the landing of personnel on unprepared coastlines.

According to the report, an amphibious assault group executed movements from one coast to another, navigating while avoiding simulated enemy fire and potential hazards. The exercises included regrouping, complex maneuvers, and coordinated operations at sea. The final phase involved marines landing on an unprepared coastline to fulfill the exercise objectives.

Additionally, the Ukrainian Navy provided information regarding the presence of Russian vessels in the region. As of 06:30 on June 7, 2024, one Russian vessel was observed in the Black Sea, while 10 were identified in the Sea of Azov. Among the vessels in the Sea of Azov, three were reported to be carriers of Kalibr cruise missiles, with a total of up to 24 missiles onboard.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 10:12 schreef Opnaarutrecht het volgende:
Het wordt tijd de Oekra�ners naplam te geven om de Russische ratten uit te roken.

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19 burgerdoden bij Oekra�ense aanval op Cherson: mogelijk een van de meest verwoestende aanvallen sinds start oorlog

Volgens de door Rusland aangestelde regering van de Zuid-Oekra�ense regio Cherson zijn 19 mensen gedood door Oekra�ense beschietingen van het dorp Sadove. Daar zou een winkel vol mensen zijn getroffen. Ook raakten vijf mensen gewond. Dat meldt het hoofd van de regio, Vladimir Saldo, op Telegram.

Als de cijfers kloppen, zou het een van de meest verwoestende aanvallen zijn van het Oekra�ense leger op eigen grondgebied sinds het begin van de Russische invasie meer dan twee jaar terug. Volgens Saldo gebuikte het Oekra�ense leger meerdere raketwerpers van het westerse Himars-systeem voor de beschietingen.

Sadove ligt aan de zuidelijke oever van de rivier de Dnipro, net voordat deze uitmondt in de Zwarte Zee. Het dorp bevindt zich binnen bereik van artillerie of raketten vanaf de door Oekra�ne gecontroleerde noordelijke oever van de Dnipro.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 06:35 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://kyivindependent.com/handelsblatt-merkel-russia-gas/
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https://ghall.com.ua/2024(...)shantazh-putina-smi/
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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 10:43 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

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Bron: De Telegraaf

Dit soort aanvallen op dorpen tientallen kilometers van het front brengt een vrede echt niet dichterbij.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 10:43 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

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Bron: De Telegraaf

Dit soort aanvallen op dorpen tientallen kilometers van het front brengt een vrede echt niet dichterbij.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 09:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Vervelend voor de Law and Order lui.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 10:12 schreef Opnaarutrecht het volgende:
Het wordt tijd de Oekra�ners naplam te geven om de Russische ratten uit te roken.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 11:23 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Macron heeft trouwens Mirage 2000's toegezegd. Zouden er tegen einde dit jaar moeten zijn. Er worden al een tijdje piloten getraind in Frankrijk dus het zou kunnen dat dat lukt.

https://www.france24.com/(...)ter-pilots-in-france

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 11:45 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Owjee,

Maar de westerse 'lucht verdedigings coalitie', of hoe het precies heet, zag toch af van gripens omdat ze 'prioriteit wilde geven aan de F-16', na 'intensief overleg met bepaalde niet nader te noemen landen'?

En dit kan nu wel?

Misschien heeft het er iets mee te maken dat de gripens een motor uit een bepaald land gebruiken, en dat bepaalde land die levering toch heeft kunnen veto'en, en die mirages 100% frans zijn.

Maar dat is maar een idee van mij, hoor. Kan er zomaar naast zitten, natuurlijk.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 11:56 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Vreemd h�? En dat terwijl Frankrijk tot nu toe zo ontzettend open is geweest over wat ze leveren. Echt alles wat die lui doen wordt direct bekend gemaakt. Heel raar dat ze nu ineens aankomen met een "over een paar maanden zijn piloten klaar met hun training." Dat kan toch niet? Hoe zou dat nou mogelijk zijn?

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 12:14 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Zou ook wat over dat Gripen verhaal kunnen verklaren.

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Zouden Dick Dastardly en Muttley het hebben overleefd?

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 12:22 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Die volg ik om eerlijk te zijn niet?

Zweden draagt die awacs-like over, mag je er vanuit gaan dat training etc afgerond was, wilde daar die gripens bij doen in dezelfde handeling, mag je er vanuit dat de training daar ook van afgerond was.

Zweden wilde immers beide overdragen, was immers niet, 'ze mogen die awacs-like nu hebben, en we gaan beginnen aan de training voor de gripens'.

Dat kun je erbij fantaseren if you feel the need to run interference (doe je anders nooit...), maar dat blijkt simpelweg nergens uit.

En dan heeft dat mysterieus niet genoemde land dus gewoon tijd en resources van oekraine lopen verspillen. Piloten getraind op vliegtuigen die ze nu niet mogen hebben.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 12:27 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Ik heb niets gehoord over afgeronde Gripen training voor Oekra�ense piloten.

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Wel wat over een initi�le kennismaking met het toestel, maar dat is alles. En als de training afgerond zou zijn is er geen probleem om die toestellen te leveren, En dan gaat ook niemand dwarsliggen omdat het het F-16 programma niet in de weg zit.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 12:22 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Zweden draagt die awacs-like over, mag je er vanuit gaan dat training etc afgerond was, wilde daar die gripens bij doen in dezelfde handeling, mag je er vanuit gaan dat de training daar ook van afgerond was.

Zweden wilde immers beide overdragen, was immers niet, 'ze mogen die awacs-like nu hebben, en we gaan beginnen aan de training voor de gripens'.

Dat kun je erbij fantaseren if you feel the need to run interference (doe je anders nooit...), maar dat blijkt simpelweg nergens uit.

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En als de training afgerond zou zijn is er geen probleem om die toestellen te leveren, En dan gaat ook niemand dwarsliggen omdat het het F-16 programma niet in de weg zit.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 06:49 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://kyivindependent.c(...)-talks-with-ukraine/
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

Wie had dat nou zien aankomen. Wat een verassing, ik ben gechoqueerd.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 12:40 schreef Ulx het volgende:
ls er Gripen training afgerond zou zijn en Gripens geleverd zouden gaan worden zou Oekra�ne het weten.

SPOILER

Context:
- 2 days ago, Zelensky complained UKR pilots weren't getting enough U.S. F-16 training slots (a rare public rebuke of U.S. support).
- Yesterday, Macron announced France will send Mirage 2Ks to Ukraine and train their pilots.

Today, Zelensky and Biden will meet in France. I assure you this will be a a key point of discussion.... Here's why:

1. The Biden administration has long pushed an "F-16s only for Ukraine" narrative. The reason was simple. Biden (and Jake Sullivan) could control it.
2. Ukraine has long been supportive of 'F-16s only' for numerous reasons. Capability, Numbers, US Backing, etc. That support is clearly waning.
3. Macron & Zelensky are likely not bluffing. And should M2Ks progress, France will have them in theater far faster than the +2 years it took the US to emplace F-16s in Ukraine. That will place yet another black eye on the Biden administration who claimed they were advancing F-16s 'as fast as they could go.'
4. My guess... Magically, the U.S. will 'find' F-16 training slots, reprioritize ones away from students from peaceful foreign nations to awaiting Ukraine pilots... something they should have done without such petty politics. Such slots, however, will be tied to Jake Sullivan's demand that UKR abandon pursuit of French fighter jets.

If you were Zelensky, what would you do?

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Op vrijdag 7 juni 2024 23:35 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Nee, dit werkt inflatie in de hand. Waarom denk je dat rusland een basisrente heeft van 16%
Als de roebel instort, dan heeft -import land- rusland een gigantisch probleem. Ze moeten alles inkopen, van vliegtuigwielen tot CNC machines. Oh en die fucking eieren lol.

Inflatie is de absolute dood van rusland. Voor de liefhebbers, zie hier de prijzen in een supermarkt in rusland. Modaal is 75.000 roebel, pensioen is 22.000 roebel. Alles delen door 100 om te converteren naar euro's.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 10:43 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

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Bron: De Telegraaf

Dit soort aanvallen op dorpen tientallen kilometers van het front brengt een vrede echt niet dichterbij.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 12:53 schreef AgLarrr het volgende:

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20 Euro voor 250g Kersen

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 13:05 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Huh? dat kan niet kloppen hoor. De prijzen moeten ruwweg gelijk zijn aan de Lidl in Nederland.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 12:49 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Even een herinnering:

Ukraine frustrated with US over F-16 pilot training
Kyiv is increasingly frustrated by the limited training pipeline. The U.S. says it has other customers.

Nee, maar training op gripens kan niet hoor!

Want dat zit de training van die 12! piloten die de VS nu opleid, in de weg.

En mirages? Ja, dat kan wel, want: "........................ ".

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 13:16 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Nu verplaats je de doelpalen.

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Ik heb niets gehoord over afgeronde Gripen training voor Oekra�ense piloten. Wel wat over een initi�le kennismaking met het toestel, maar dat is alles. En als de training afgerond zou zijn is er geen probleem om die toestellen te leveren, En dan gaat ook niemand dwarsliggen omdat het het F-16 programma niet in de weg zit.

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Het zou me niet verbazen als ze wel piloten naast de Alphajet ook zijn gaan trainen op de Mirage. Uiteraard zonder het aan iedereen te vertellen.

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En daarbij zeg ik dat het me niet zou verbazen als de Fransen zonder het aan de grote klok te hebben gehangen sinds vorig jaar piloten zijn gaan trainen op de Mirage.

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Zou ook wat over dat Gripen verhaal kunnen verklaren.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 13:05 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Huh? dat kan niet kloppen hoor. De prijzen moeten ruwweg gelijk zijn aan de Lidl in Nederland.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 13:11 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Komma fout

Omgerekend 2,50 eurodollar voor 250 gram. Is hier duurder.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 13:57 schreef zalkc het volgende:

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Als je maar 800 in de maand hebt is het best stevig, huur van een klein appartement aan de rand van de stad is 500
https://kostenvanlevenson(...)sen-in-rusland-land/

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:02 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Ja, en ik vraag me onwillekeurig af waarom zo'n doosje maar 2,50 eurodollar kost?

Is dat omdat het inheemse productie is, in welke geval PPP het verklaart, omdat ik er eigenlijk vanuit ga dat wij in NL wel de wereldmarkt prijs ervoor betalen, of dat rus het gewoon subsidieert, vanuit het perspectief dat de bevolking zonder aan de geeuwhonger gaat.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 13:11 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Komma fout

Omgerekend 2,50 eurodollar voor 250 gram. Is hier duurder.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:02 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Ja, en ik vraag me onwillekeurig af waarom zo'n doosje maar 2,50 eurodollar kost?

Is dat omdat het inheemse productie is, in welke geval PPP het verklaart, omdat ik er eigenlijk vanuit ga dat wij in NL wel de wereldmarkt prijs ervoor betalen, of dat rus het gewoon subsidieert, vanuit het perspectief dat de bevolking zonder aan de geeuwhonger gaat.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:07 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Lidl: halve kilo kersen � 1,99

Rip russische kersen liefhebbers.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:08 schreef zalkc het volgende:

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Arbeid is duurder in Nederland, en het zijn juist de lokale producten die ik zo snel zag. Speklap zal ook niet veel duurder hoeven zijn. In Nederland is de huidige prijs voor een geslacht varken 2.15 per kilo, kun je nagaan hoeveel waardeopslag er nog is. na de boer.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:07 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Lidl: halve kilo kersen � 1,99

Rip russische kersen liefhebbers.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:00 schreef Cilantro het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:14 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

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Ja, alles wat ge�mporteerd moet worden is of erg duur of simpelweg niet beschikbaar. Ik neem aan dat bijvoorbeeld Europese automerken, zolang ze niet in China geproduceerd worden, ook bijzonder duur moeten zijn. Maar dan vergelijk je dergelijke prijzen beter met Duitsland aangezien auto's in Nederland bijzonder duur zijn.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 13:28 schreef ipa84 het volgende:
Over prijzen in Rusland. Vooral elektronica prijzen zijn extreem. Dit filmpje is al weer 3 a 4 maanden oud, maar je ziet de prijzen in beeld en kan het zelf omrekenen naar Euro's. Een Playstation 5 kost daar omgerekend 827 euro terwijl die hier 400 euro kost.

Russian Electronic Prices That Tucker Carlson Didn't Talk About

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 06:19 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://english.nv.ua/nat(...)imates-50425088.html
[..]

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:27 schreef oheng het volgende:

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Ik ben de exacte cijfers vergeten, maar auto's in rusland zijn 2,5x zo duur geworden (exact cijfer vergeten)? En dan heb je ��k nog eens een Chinese auto ipv een westerse.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:49 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
Nog een teken dat er 3 keer zoveel Tussen sneuvelen als Oekra�ners.

Rusland heeft als doel 30.000 soldaten per maand te recruteren.

Dat is 360,000 per jaar.

Oekra�ne wil 120.000 soldaten per jaar recruteren.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:51 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Uh huh, een chineese auto. Die een levensduur heeft van max 5 jaar.

En een auto die niet aangepast is aan het klimaat aldaar.

En toen een chinese fabrikant daar tijdens een interview mee geconfronteerd werd, stond die gewoon smiling te verkondigen: nee, dat doen we niet hoor, dat aanpassen aan het klimaat. Ik denk niet dat dit enige impact op ons marktaandeel zal hebben (lees: rus kan toch gaan kant op dus ze hebben het er maar mee te doen).

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:51 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Verstandig.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 15:38 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

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Wanneer schaffen wij eindelijk weer eens een fatsoenlijk aantal Leo's aan?

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 15:56 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Klootzak.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:34 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Dat was 1 van de russische YouTubers die ik altijd volgde om de prijzen in de gaten te houden.

2 maanden geleden is hij ook voorgoed rusland ontvlucht. Zit nu in Thailand met zijn vriendin.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 15:56 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Klootzak.

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As Fighting Rages in Ukraine, a Struggle Is On for Artillery Supremacy

Ukrainian forces say U.S. shells are making a difference. Across the border, they say, Russia is trying to get its artillery nearer targets like the city of Kharkiv.

With President Biden in France rallying support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia, ammunition and weaponry from an aid package approved by Congress this spring is arriving at the front in quantities sufficient to help stabilize defenses, soldiers and commanders said in interviews.

Russia, though, still holds an artillery advantage, which has been key in the war in Ukraine.

Lt. Denys Yaroslavsky, a commander in northeastern Ukraine, where Russian forces attacked across the border last month and threatened to advance toward Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, said on Thursday that Ukrainian artillery crews could now fire more frequently at Russian forces.

The Russian advance has largely stalled. But to the south of Kharkiv, in Ukraine’s Donbas region, Russia has renewed assaults on Ukrainian lines.

Overall, the front line has not shifted significantly in more than two weeks, despite fierce and bloody fighting, according to soldiers on the front, military reports and satellite maps of the battlefield compiled by independent monitoring groups.

Here is a look at the state of the battlefield.

Kharkiv Region

Russia attacked across the border into northeastern Ukraine on May 10, raising fears that its forces might advance to Kharkiv, or at least within artillery range of the city. Bringing artillery pieces like howitzers closer to Kharkiv would allow Russian forces to bombard the city more intensely and effectively. At present, Russia has to rely on longer-range aerial bombs and missiles, which are more expensive than artillery shells.

But to get within artillery range, the Russian Army would need to push at least as far again as it has in the past three weeks.

Russian troops advanced about six miles into Ukraine before getting bogged down when they confronted more heavily fortified Ukrainian positions, according to Ukrainian commanders. The commanders also said that more Ukrainian troops had arrived to blunt the Russian advance, and that more American ammunition was reaching frontline positions.

By last week, Ukrainian forces had enough ammunition to hold Russia at its current position, Lieutenant Yaroslavsky said in an interview. “Our artillery is hitting concentrations” of Russian troops, he said.

Fighting is most fierce in the streets of Vovchansk, a town about four miles south of the Russian border that is divided between the two armies, according to the Kharkiv regional military administration. After four weeks of fighting, the town is deserted and mostly destroyed.

Still, Ukraine may be able to retain positions its soldiers hold in the town, where they are fighting from basements and in the ruins of buildings, by disrupting Russian logistics nearby with strikes inside Russia, Lieutenant Yaroslavsky said. In a policy shift last week, the Biden administration, along with half a dozen other Western allies of Ukraine, allowed such strikes using the weaponry they have supplied to Ukrainian forces.

“Before, our artillery batteries were being very cautious with the number of shells they could use and would not try to fire at just a few Russian soldiers,” Lieutenant Yaroslavsky said. He said that the artillery had changed tactics, and was now again targeting attacks on the Ukrainian lines by small Russian units.

Lt. Col. Oleksandr Bukatar of Ukraine’s National Guard, who is fighting near the village of Lyptsi, said he was awakened on Wednesday around 7 a.m. by a radio message: A unit of seven Russians had reached a Ukrainian trench, and a gun battle was raging. In an interview, he described such battles as common. “We have two or three infantry attacks daily,” he said.

Colonel Bukatar said he responded with a practiced procedure, highlighting the importance of artillery ammunition. He ordered a drone to fly over the trench, and then ordered his artillery to hit the area just in front of the Ukrainian trenches, where the Russians were advancing. “We use everything we have,” he said of the artillery ammunition.

Donbas Region

Russia’s strategy of opening a new front north of Kharkiv, according to Ukrainian and Western military analysts, was aimed at stretching Ukraine’s limited forces and weakening defenses to the south, in the industrial and farming region of the Donbas.

Russian forces have been pressing forward in the region in small and slow-moving but bloody steps.

After capturing the Donbas city of Bakhmut a year ago, Russia advanced about three miles over open fields to reach the eastern edge of the town of Chasiv Yar, but then stalled near an irrigation canal.

The defense of Chasiv Yar is seen as strategically significant, because the town is on high ground and its loss would open the door to further Russian advances into larger communities to the west and north. The last Russian ground movements toward Chasiv Yar came last week, according to satellite maps of the battlefield.

That lull was a sign, according to Rob Lee, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia program, that Russian forces “haven’t capitalized on the Kharkiv offensive, even though they managed to get Ukraine to move a number of forces from the Donbas.

”The southern Donbas has been the scene of the most intensive fighting in recent weeks, according to the satellite maps.

By capturing the city of Avdiivka in February, the Russians broke through a first defensive line, and they have battered their way forward since, taking village after village. They have yet to reach a second line of Ukrainian defenses, near the village of Karlivka.

Overnight Wednesday to Thursday, the Russian Army made another small advance in that direction near the village of Sokil, according to Ukrainian soldiers.

In that engagement, the Russians attacked the Ukrainian rear-guard near Sokil in an armored personnel carrier. Troops in Ukraine’s 47th Brigade tried to counterattack with an American-provided Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, according to a sergeant in the brigade who asked to be identified by his call sign, Sapsan. But the Bradley’s gun malfunctioned, and the Russians dismounted and attacked a position.

It was an example, Sapsan said, of Russia’s tactic of staging probing attacks to find weaknesses. Usually such attacks were “a one-way ticket for the soldiers” involved, he said. But, he added, they gave the Russians intelligence to prepare for attacks by larger forces.

“They are always doing this, poking our positions, and willing to destroy an armored personnel carrier and personnel to do so,” he said, referring to Russian losses. In contrast to the fighting north of Kharkiv, Sapsan said that in its Donbas campaign Russia had also staged larger, battalion-strength attacks with up to 500 men.

“The enemy does not stop advancing and continually shells our positions,” Col. Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern military command, said in an interview.

The Russians are now pushing toward two midsize towns, Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, and a highway between Pokrovsk and the town of Kostiantynivka that links the southern Donbas with towns in the north, he said.

Analysts said the arrival of Western aid had made it easier for Ukraine to defend its positions but had not yet had a decisive effect. “Biden’s decision made the main change not on the battlefield but among all other countries that followed the example,” said Ben Barry, senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute of Strategic Studies.

Mr. Lee said Russia retained a significant manpower and firepower advantage and was likely to remain on the offensive for most of the year. “But at some point,” he said, it could face a shortage of tanks and armored vehicles. “We’ve seen a really significant number of tanks and armored vehicles fighting on the Avdiivka front since October. And those rates of losses are probably not sustainable long term.”

A correction was made on June 7, 2024:

An earlier version of this article misstated the rank of a member of Ukraine’s National Guard fighting near the village of Lyptsi. He is Lt. Col. Oleksandr Bukatar, not lieutenant.But to get within artillery range, the Russian Army would need to push at least as far again as it has in the past three weeks.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 17:45 schreef Mortaxx het volgende:

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hoe kun je iemand hiervoor nou veroordelen tot het betalen van 1.5 miljard wat een shithole dat land

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 19:32 schreef oheng het volgende:
Verfrissende mening van een rus, voor de afwisseling. Zeker qua geopolitiek ben ik het roerend met hem eens. putin verdient een standbeeld voor het NAVO hoofdkwartier.

Russian Politician Foresees Revolution: War with Ukraine Catalyst?

En nu we het toch over geniale ide�en hebben: dankzij het Kharkiv offensief moet rusland nu permanent vele honderden kilometers frontlinie extra verdedigen tegen westerse wapens.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 19:45 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Doei!

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 19:39 schreef Ulx het volgende:

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Omdat Jones goed verdiende over de ruggen van die ouders en de rechter en jury vonden dat niet goed, en hij is persoonlijk aansprakelijk gesteld, dus met een beetje geluk crepeert de klootzak de rest van zijn leven ergens onder een brug met als enige bezit een winkelwagentje met daarin wat rotzooi.

Acties hebben consequenties en het was leuk voor hem zolang het duurde.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 21:45 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:

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Hopelijk voor hem dan wel zo een mooi Ruzzisch winkelwagentje

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 22:41 schreef Cilantro het volgende:
[ x ]

De machtige Amerikaanse productiecapaciteit komt op stoom.

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 21:52 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
russische winkelwagentjes zijn veel beter dan westerse winkelwagentjes, want in de russische moet je een muntje doen, zodat je een "incentive" hebt om hem terug te brengen.

- Cucker Tarlson

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Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 21:52 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
russische winkelwagentjes zijn veel beter dan westerse winkelwagentjes, want in de russische moet je een muntje doen, zodat je een "incentive" hebt om hem terug te brengen.

- Cucker Tarlson

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 00:04 schreef polderturk het volgende:
De snelste Rus ter wereld.

[ x ]

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 00:08 schreef TLC het volgende:

[..]
Run Forest Run !

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 01:39 schreef oheng het volgende:
Goed, aangezien Delenlil hem niet wil posten doe ik het wel.

Perpetua's BMP holocaust:

[ x ]

Inclusief de rus die werd overreden door de tank op een dieplader.

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In the bay of Sevastopol, a naval drone attacked the facilities of the invaders

On the night of June 8, explosions rang out in the bay of occupied Sevastopol, the invaders reported an allegedly destroyed naval drone.

In the Crimean Telegram channel “Crimean wind” stated that the unmanned surface vessel had exploded in the area of the Striletska Bay of the city.

In Sevastopol, from an explosion of a naval drone in the area of Striletska Bay, windows were knocked out.

In front of it, shots were heard from large-caliber weapons, probably from combat helicopters.

The so-called Russian head of occupied Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, claims that the city was attacked by a naval drone, which was allegedly destroyed by the Russian military.

SPOILER

quote:

“The loud sounds that were heard in the area of Striletska Bay, this is our fleet on the external raid that destroyed the USV. According to the Sevastopol rescue service, no damage to civil infrastructure was recorded,” Razvozhaev wrote.

The Krymsky Wind Telegram channel reported that explosions had also been heard in Kerch on the other side of the strait – in the Temryuk district of the Krasnodar Krai.

The attacks on June 8 were also confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Russian ministry claims that five drones were allegedly destroyed and four intercepted over Crimea.

“In addition, two USVs headed towards the Crimean Peninsula were destroyed in the Black Sea,” the report said.

The day before, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the attack of three Ukrainian naval drones on the Crimea from the southwestern part of the Black Sea, which were allegedly destroyed by Russian naval and army aviation.

Eyewitnesses noted that as a result of the explosions, houses located near the bay “had been shaking.” In some, the blast wave knocked out the windows and balconies.

As previously reported, on the night of Thursday, June 6, the Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian naval vessel off the coast of the temporarily occupied Crimea.

quote:

Putin Jugend 2.0: How Russia Recruits Ukrainian Children and Prepares Them for War

Since the beginning of this year, the occupiers have initiated a new form of “military-patriotic” work with children in the southeastern regions of Ukraine, violating the Geneva Convention, which explicitly prohibits such actions with the population of occupied territories.

The Kremlin regime is providing military training to thousands of Ukrainian children through the activities of local branches of the so-called “Warrior” (Voyin in Russian) center, positioning itself as a “center for military-sports training and patriotic education of youth.” Simultaneously, Putin’s “Youth Army” initiative is unfolding. Yuriy Yuzich, a retired Major from the Ukrainian Armed Forces and an expert in youth policy, explains the essence and activities of the “Warrior” center.

After the attempt of full-scale capture of Ukraine failed, high-ranking Putin officials decided to “revive in Russia the system of voluntary military-sports training and patriotic education for youth.” The initiative came from the co-chairs of the Russian Union of Martial Arts, specifically from the first deputy head of Putin’s administration, Sergey Kirienko—a well-known specialist in informational-psychological operations against Ukraine, as well as from the deputy head of the Russian government and plenipotentiary representative of the president in the Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, who actively supports Putin’s war in Ukraine and illegally visited the Donetsk region.

SPOILER

quote:

In September 2022, the concept proposed by Kirienko-Trutnev to establish a network of military-patriotic centers for youth garnered personal endorsement from the Russian president. Daniil Martynov, a former FSB Alpha Special Forces operative turned “advisor to the minister for emergencies” and known in recent years as “Kadyrov’s assistant,” was appointed as the overseer of this new project aimed at children and adolescents, drawing attention due to his involvement in conflicts in Ukraine on behalf of Kadyrov.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) claims that in the first weeks of the invasion, today’s curator of the “Warrior” project, military criminal Martynov, led Chechen units of the Russian National Guard (Rogvardia) participating in the war against the Ukrainian people. In August 2022, the SSU officially accused Martynov under the Criminal Code of Ukraine of violating the laws and customs of war and of cruel treatment of prisoners of war or civilians.

Initially, Admiral Sergey Avakyants, who had commanded the Pacific Fleet for over 10 years, served as the chairman of the board of the “Warrior” center. Following his departure, Viktor Vodolatsky, a State Duma deputy, “Hero of the LNR,” and “Cossack general,” assumed the position. Vodolatsky, however, is implicated as another war criminal, and he has been placed on both national and international wanted lists by the Security Service of Ukraine under Article 110, Part 3 of the Criminal Code. In May 2023, Vodolatsky narrowly escaped a missile strike launched by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Luhansk, sustaining injuries but surviving the attack.

The grand opening of 11 regional branches of the “Warrior” Center took place on May 11, 2023. The launch included announcing the recruitment of children and teenagers aged 14-17 for 3-week summer school camps later that year, with 300 participants per camp. Field sessions were planned to be held in the republics of Buryatia, Kalmykia, Tatarstan, Chechnya, Khabarovsk Krai, as well as in the Belgorod, Kemerovo, Pskov, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen oblasts, and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. In the Belgorod oblast, the center was established almost on the border with Ukraine – in Valuyki settlement, which had once been part of the Ukrainian People’s Republic and was defended by Petro Bolbochan against Moscow’s invasion.

By the end of the summer of 2023, the plan was to train more than 9,000 teenagers, with each camp hosting three sessions. In the first decade of June, all planned camps started operating based on summer health camps. These were military-patriotic camp sessions called “Time of Heroes” (Vremya Geroyev in Russian). The main goal of these schools was to conduct theoretical and practical training sessions aimed at “patriotic education of youth, formation of knowledge and skills in the field of military-sports and moral-psychological training.”

In October 2023, another center appeared in Crimea, based on the children’s health camp “Gagarin” in Yevpatoria. The Russian authorities opened it as the “Avangard” military-patriotic education and training center for children. According to the Russian invaders administration, the first session hosted 100 high school students from Yevpatoria. The invaders claimed that this “branch was established by the State Committee for Youth Policy of the Republic of Crimea at the instruction of the President of Russia.” However, no direct affiliation with the “Warrior” center was officially declared.

Even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in 2021, information regarding the establishment of “Avangard” in Crimea was widely circulated in the media. A land plot of 6 hectares (approximately 14.83 acres) was allocated for construction in Saky town. This was intended to be one of the 37 centers announced by Russian Defense Minister Shoigu at that time. Indeed, such branches began to be established in Saratov, Kaliningrad, Perm, Kemerovo, and other regions, with some opening as early as 2022. The first one, near Moscow, served as a model. However, something went awry. Instead of a grand opening of a new complex last year, the Crimean authorities quietly announced the establishment of the “Avangard” center at the “Gagarin” camp in Yevpatoria.

In all regions except Crimea, the organizers of the military-sports camps “Time of Heroes” were local branches of the “Warrior” center. By the beginning of 2023, these branches were already operational in 12 regions. It is possible that the Crimean “Avangard” was included in this list. It was reported that in the first year of the “Warrior” center’s operation, 20,000 children were trained, although initially, the goal was half that number. Due to the successful launch, new training centers were established. Organizers emphasized that “from the outset, the hallmark of the Center has been its mentors. They are the best in their field, experts in both pedagogy and combat experience. Every day, they impart their skills to the younger generation.”

In August 2023, Sergey Svetov, the executive director of the “Warrior” center, announced on the sidelines of the “Army-2023” forum that the plan was to “establish branches in all regions of Russia, with efforts to increase their number beginning in 2024… the list of regions is being finalized, and I believe it will encompass all federal districts.” Local newspapers in Donetsk and Sevastopol promptly reported that similar centers would soon be established there. Additionally, Svetov confirmed that the “Warrior” center was developing advanced training programs in drone operation and tactical medicine. While activists in Ukraine were still publicly discussing the role of drones on the battlefield, Svetov stated:

“We are currently developing an advanced program for drone operation, which will cover topics such as drone structure and types, their use in various fields. Cadets will be trained in night flying, terrain reconnaissance, and operating in groups of three or four drones. Furthermore, the program on tactical medicine will be expanded, as it has generated significant interest among cadets.”

For the Putin regime, the expansion of the “Warrior” network became more important than the personnel involved in this process. By early 2024, Svetov had already been dismissed. The new director of the center became Igor Kazarev from Rostov-on-Don, holding a Ph.D. in Political Science and the rank of Cossack Colonel. Kazarev is known for his dissertation titled “Technologies of Public-State Management by the Activities of Cossack Communities in Implementing Educational Tasks.” Prior to this appointment, Kazarev served as the Director of the Department for Cossack Affairs and Cadet Schools of the Government of the Rostov oblast. Additionally, within the “Cossack troops,” he holds the position of “first deputy Military Ataman” for the same region, is a member of the permanent commission at the Moscow Kremlin “on Cossack affairs,” and serves as the deputy ataman of the “All-Russian Cossack Society.”

As of early 2024, the network of “Warrior” centers officially extended into the occupied territories of Ukraine. Three branches began to be established here – in the Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia (in Berdyansk), and Kherson (in Henichesk) regions. There is limited information available regarding the operations of these new centers. Propaganda from the invaders only highlighted Kirienko’s personal visit to Berdyansk to inaugurate the center.

Nevertheless, the aggressor is not hesitant to reveal details about similar centers in its regions, offering a general overview of their operational framework. For instance, last month, a “Warrior” center was inaugurated in Sakhalin. Classes and training sessions are held in 10 schools across the region, and new infrastructure for a military-sports children’s camp is under development at the Korsakov airfield. By July 1, 2024, plans are in place to construct a dormitory capable of accommodating 100 cadets, complete with facilities for instructors and a dining hall.

In distant Sakhalin, it is anticipated that only 1800 individuals will participate in the “educational program of the center” this year. Among them, 1200 children will receive training in schools through evening classes, while another 600 cadets will undergo training during two summer camp sessions. All instructors at the Sakhalin “Warrior” center have received relevant training organized and provided by the “central” Moscow center, with each possessing pedagogical education. In total, 20 experts will be involved.

In the first year of operation, the “Warrior” center trained 225 instructors for the initial 12 regions. Half of them are combat participants, and 74 instructors hold the title of Master of Sports or Candidate for Master of Sports. Every fourth instructor has been awarded state honors.

The training of this first batch of instructors lasted two months from March to April 2023. It was conducted with the participation of the Tactical Medicine Training Center and the Practical Shooting Federation in Russia. Training also took place with the support and at the educational base of the Moscow Pedagogical State University.

All initial instructors of the “Warrior” program, totaling more than 160 individuals, underwent training at the Russian Special Forces University in Chechnya, named after Putin. The subsequent stage of instructor training occurred at the “state budgetary institution of additional education,” known as the Youth Multifunctional Patriotic Center “Mashuk.” This facility, essentially established “from scratch,” is situated in the resort town of Pyatigorsk in Stavropol Krai and has the capacity to accommodate up to 600 people simultaneously.

In addition to the first group of instructors, another 47 people additionally underwent the same training as future children’s “mentors.” In August-September 2023, they completed the program “Military-Sports Technologies in Training Citizens in the Basics of Defense and Security.” After completing the training, all these charges of the “Warrior” center received the qualification of “Instructor-Methodologist in Technical and Applied Types of Sports,” which will also allow them to solve professional tasks in the pedagogical, project, and methodological spheres.

In addition to the three occupied regions of Ukraine and Sakhalin, the “Warrior” program intends to establish 7 more branches this year, effectively doubling its network to cover a total of 20 regions. Branch deployment is currently underway in the Volgograd and Murmansk regions, Kamchatka Krai, the Chuvash Republic, and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

The list of new regions for the deployment of “Warrior” branches is quite illustrative: these territories once had a high percentage of ethnic Ukrainians in their population structure. Additionally, among the regions where branches are already operational, national republics are highlighted, known for their significant contributions of recruits for the conflict in Ukraine.

The establishment of new branches of the “Warrior” center is closely linked to the ability to train new children’s “mentors.” Since last summer, the preparation of the second batch of instructors has begun. And at the end of January 2024, a three-month course started for another 100 candidates, who were supposed to spread out across 10 regions to create new branches (including the aforementioned occupied territories in Ukraine). 20% of these personnel are combat participants. The beginning of the new course was personally welcomed by Sergey Kirienko:

“I am confident that as a result, you will gain the knowledge and skills that, together with your professional experience, will allow you to create conditions for raising true patriots, ready to prove their love for Russia not only in words but, first of all, in deeds, preserving and safeguarding the traditional values of our society.”

The training of instructors this time occurred at the Tyumen regional branch of the “Warrior.” The course was designed to last for 620 hours (according to other sources – 520) and was scheduled to conclude by the end of March. Practical classes in military-applied disciplines were conducted at local Tyumen venues, including the “Avanpost” center, the sports and shooting complex “Stalnoy Azart,” and the children’s health and educational center “Alye Parusa.” In addition to the main program, instructors were required to complete courses in off-road motorcycle handling and initial training to obtain a license to purchase smoothbore firearms.

The partner of this second training stream was Tyumen State University. Each graduate was supposed to receive a diploma of professional retraining with the assignment of the qualification “Instructor in a sports discipline (military-applied sports), a teacher of additional education.” As of mid-May 2024, more than 300 instructors are involved in all branches of the “Warrior” center. Another hundred or so are undergoing training and will “soon” start working in new regional branches.

The alignment of personnel efforts by the “Warrior” center with the training system for educational personnel is also apparent in other instances. Since May 2024, the “Warrior” has initiated pilot testing of student military-patriotic centers based at pedagogical universities in the southern regions of Russia. Notably, an agreement on cooperation was signed with the Dagestan State Pedagogical University named after Rasul Gamzatov as part of the launch of the educational program “Modern Approaches to Organizing Pedagogical Activities in the System of Military-Patriotic Education.

If Kirienko’s role in the “Warrior” program is evident in overseeing overall coordination and support, his partner Trutnev focuses more on the educational aspect. In February 2024, Trutnev stated that the “Warrior” centers would be responsible for training teachers in initial military training and patriotic education. This announcement was made during his visit to the UAV management training complex established at the branch of the center in Buryatia. Trutnev, who serves as the deputy head of the Putin government and the plenipotentiary representative of the “president” in the Far Eastern Federal District, remarked:

“Now we are entering the next stage of development, where the ‘Warrior’ centers will evolve into centers of expertise for training teachers in patriotic education and initial military training in schools, ensuring comprehensive coverage of all children. The current circumstances, with the country at war, underscore the deficiencies in patriotic education and the training of schoolchildren. Every individual should be capable of defending the Motherland… We will spare no effort to fulfill the President’s directives… We will enhance the functionality of the centers… and integrate them closely with schools to ensure a comprehensive system of patriotic education and initial military training.”

The complex for training UAV operators in Buryatia, the local branch of “Warrior,” opened on January 27, 2024 at an army training ground near Ulan-Ude. This is a completely new infrastructure. It includes a modular building where a training class equipped with modern equipment is located. Cadets practice controlling virtual drones on special simulators. After that, they hone piloting skills on a real track. The training ground also features special targets for FPV drones, similar to metal hoops on special racks.

“Instructors who have undergone training and have combat experience work here. They have been trained in a special center in Gudermes and in Moscow: military medicine, tactics, mine-explosive affairs, marksmanship, drone management, and other necessary areas. Everyone who returns… [from the frontlines in Ukraine] can also work here, and we are ready to accept them additionally,” said the head of Buryatia, Alexey Tsydenov, practically talking about the graduates of the first stream of “Warrior” instructors, who now operate in the republic.

The “Warrior” branch in Buryatia was among the first to be established, inaugurated in May 2023. In less than a year of operation, training has been completed by approximately 1,700 individuals, including students from educational institutions of the republic, as well as employees of republican and municipal authorities. The training curriculum also incorporated UAV management. All participants, irrespective of age, are referred to as “cadets.”

If the “Warrior” center has established a specialized UAV base in Buryatia, then in the Belgorod Oblast – bordering with Ukraine – the center is deploying its first engineer-sapper range. Last summer, a designated land plot was allocated for this purpose. This range will facilitate practical training in sapper affairs and engineering preparation, including exercises in digging trenches and shelters for personnel, dugouts, methods of equipping them, and camouflage techniques. Additionally, instructors from the “Warrior” center will undergo training at the range to enhance their professional qualifications.

Operationally, all branches of the “Warrior” center implement two school courses for children aged 14-17. One is a three-month intensive course during the academic year, with classes held three times a week. The second is a three-week camp during the summer holidays called “Time of Heroes.” Last year, each branch managed to hold 2-4 sessions of the camp, with some branches not fulfilling the quota while others maximizing it. During the incomplete academic year, 6.6 thousand children underwent the first program, while up to 20,000 children participated in the second one. The program utilizes interactive forms appealing to children, including virtual reality technologies, modern medical simulators, and laser tag equipment.

The director of the “Warrior” center, Igor Kazarezov, boasts: “We have several programs for both teenagers and citizens over 18. The first program is “Military-sports training and patriotic education.” It is designed for young people aged 14 to 18 and aims to strengthen their physical and moral qualities. Classes are held three times a week after school. In three months, teenagers master the basics of tactical medicine, engineering, tactical and firearms training, organization of communication and UAV piloting, study the basics of national security, and consolidate the results within the framework of sports-tactical games.”

The summer sessions of the “Time of Heroes” camp are held at children’s health camps and other specialized educational institutions. Each morning starts with raising the flag. Then, the center’s instructors introduce the children to military-applied disciplines. Teenagers are taught how to handle weapons, organize communication, control quadcopters, and provide first aid to the wounded. Concurrently, ideological indoctrination is carried out in the camps: through lessons of courage, meetings with veterans of the war in Ukraine, and famous athletes. Approximately 60 such camps (sessions) were held last summer, with an average of 300 children in each.

Among the instructors of the “Warrior” center, many are noted to be veterans of the war in Ukraine. In the branch of the center in the Khabarovsk Krai, instructors include not only veterans but also official “Heroes of Russia,” whose names are not disclosed. Tactical and firearms training sessions here are led by reserve Colonel Evgeny Pletnev, a sportsman and special forces veteran with combat experience in the Second Chechen War. After retiring from active service, he acquired pedagogical skills and now imparts his experience and skills to children aged 14-17. Evidently, he recognizes the importance of his personal example for the students, some of whom are orphans.

Nikolay Chumudov serves as the head of the “tactical training” department in the Kalmyk branch of the “Warrior” center. Chumudov is a combat veteran and participated in the war in Ukraine as a volunteer. He completed his compulsory service in the Baltic Fleet as part of the crew of the ship “Kalmykia.” Following demobilization, he earned the “black beret” and continued his service under contract in one of the marine infantry units in Sevastopol. Chumudov gained combat experience in Syria and later served as a contract sniper. He sustained injuries on the front lines in Ukraine and was awarded the “For Courage” medal. Chumudov joined the “Warrior” center by invitation.

It wasn’t until a year of active operation that “Warrior” formalized its relationship with the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs (Rosmolodezh). An agreement on cooperation and interaction was signed In Moscow, on May 12, 2024. The press service of the federal agency highlighted the significance of training instructors for the further expansion of the network: “Participants in the All-Russian service project ‘Your Hero’ are also contributing to the work at training centers as part of our program, RosPatriot. Returning fighters from the front lines acquire instructor skills to impart their knowledge and experience to the younger generation.”

The “Warrior’s” expansion into the occupied territories of Ukraine was spearheaded by the first deputy head of the Putin administration, Sergei Kiriyenko, during his unauthorized visit to the Zaporizhzhia region in early February 2024. Kiriyenko personally assessed the plan for construction and installation work at the local branch of “Warrior,” which the invaders are preparing to establish on the premises of the children’s health camp “Iskra” near Melitopol town. A comprehensive reconstruction of the camp, involving major repairs and replacement of engineering networks, has been announced.

In other words, the Russians have publicly declared their plans to conduct military training for Ukrainian children aged 14 and older. From the age of 16, they are being primed for immediate mobilization. This represents a blatant violation of Article 51 of the Geneva Conventions.

In May 2024, the planned opening of a local branch of the “Warrior” center was announced in Luhansk. The location is being arranged within a five-story building formerly serving as a student dormitory of the Luhansk College of Automotive Service. The facility will accommodate 60 cadets for continuous study, with educational classrooms, a hostel, a library, and a museum being established for them. According to Ivan Kusov, the so-called Minister of Education and Science of the LPR, the center will offer training in UAV management, robotics, and cyber-technologies.

In the occupied territory of the Kherson region, the branch of the “Warrior” center is overseen by Andrey Sabinov, a deputy of the “Regional Duma” (Regional Parliament). Sabinov, who previously served as part of another Moscow-Cossack formation, volunteered to fight on the front lines against Ukraine last year. Before his election to the Duma from Putin’s party, Sabinov had served as part of a volunteer assault corps. It’s notable that during World War II, a similar Cossack corps fought as part of the Waffen-SS.

According to Sabinov, in April 2024, 58 children from Kherson enrolled in the first training course at “Warrior” and immediately embarked on military field exercises. The training took place at the Henichesk Construction College. To facilitate the operation of this “Warrior” branch, equipment for UAV management training was purchased initially. Surprisingly, this initial course was completed on May 18 by 70 young men, who were students of the same construction college. This summer, no changes are planned for the camp sessions in the Kherson region; however, starting from September, Sabinov intends to continue shaping the minds of Ukrainian children with a new recruitment drive for the local “Warrior” program.

In addition to establishing the “Warrior” center and deploying its branch network, Kiriyenko and Trutnev furthered their involvement in late 2022 by independently creating a special combat unit called “Union” to participate in the war against Ukraine. This unit comprised approximately two hundred fighters from their martial arts alliance, described as “the best of the best” in their respective sports disciplines. Selected candidates also underwent training at the special forces university in Chechnya. The funding for the Union fighters was primarily provided by Rosatom, an organization previously headed by Kiriyenko for many years.

The financing structure of “Warrior” remains undisclosed, but it appears that funds are collected following a similar scheme to Kiriyenko-Trutnev’s initiative for the Union combat unit. Apart from Rosatom, contributions to this initiative were also made by Sberbank, RusHydro, Lukoil, VTB, as well as smaller “businesses” from the Far Eastern and North Caucasian districts of the Russian Federation, where the initiators of “Warrior” hold financial interests and political influence.

“Our objective is to cultivate a spiritual armor for the younger generation, shielding them from any attempts to ‘reorient’ their views and actions towards values and traditions alien to our own. The skills and competencies provided to young people by the ‘Warrior’ center constitute a potent component of this armor,” remarks Viktor Vodolatsky, the head of the “Warrior” management board, who is wanted by the SBU for war crimes. He specifically addresses Ukrainian children in the territories of Ukraine occupied by Russian invaders.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 01:44 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Ben je toch echt net te laat. Maar zeker een leuk rijtje van verliezen.

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The Five-Headed Snake of Russia's Genocidal Propaganda Machine

Imagine yourself in a place where there are no consequences for going on live television and calling for the death of your competitors or just ordinary people. Where no one will bat an eye about the crazy stuff you say because the people tasked with oversight are also the ones paying your salary.

For many active online, the use of social media by prominent Russian propagandists to spread hate against Ukrainians—and others—is nothing new. But now, human rights groups are trying to hold them accountable. They have called on the International Criminal Court, which has earlier issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, to also investigate five Russian propagandists for hate crimes. For those not familiar with these personalities and some of their infamous rhetoric, we’ll introduce you to them here.

SPOILER

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Vladimir Solovyov

Vladimir Solovyov is one of Russia’s most prominent television hosts and a key figure in the Kremlin’s propaganda web. He hosts several programs on the state-run channel Russia 1, where he promotes his authoritarian government’s ideology and discredits the opposition.

Known for his aggressive and confrontational style, Solovyov often targets Western countries, many of which he owns homes and parks his yachts in. He portrays them as existential threats to the Russian way of life.

Many in the world wouldn’t necessarily know who he is, but his international prominence comes from his outlandish support for Putin and fervent support for Russian foreign policy. So in order for Solovyov to break out of his Kremlin echo chamber, he is forced to push the limits of propaganda—with his messages bordering on absurdism. “Satan” and “Satanists” have made several appearances in his justifications for invading Ukraine. He has also encouraged Russians not to fear death, claiming that "life is highly overrated.”

Margarita Simonyan

Margarita Simonyan is the editor-in-chief of RT (Russia Today) and Sputnik, two of the most influential state-funded propaganda outlets in Russia. RT has had major success reaching an international audience and specializes in spreading Russian lies to Western audiences.

Simonyan is instrumental in slipping Russian narratives into international discourse or sewing discord through the amplification of RT’s reach on platforms like X and Facebook. She can be considered the tip of the spear in Russia’s information war with the West.

Dmitry Kiselyov

If Simonyan is the tip of the spear, then Dmitry Kiselyov is the whole shaft. Kiselyov is the head of Rossiya Segondya, a state-owned media group, and the deputy director of All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company—essentially running the show when it comes to state media.

Kiselyov’s work goes beyond managing news agencies; he is called “Putin’s mouthpiece” for his work as a television presenter and is known for his controversial statements on homosexuality being grounds for non-resuscitation and nuking of the United Kingdom.

He has openly supported Russian military actions and has been a vocal critic of Ukraine and Western countries. His shows often feature biased reporting and conspiracy theories aimed at bolstering the Kremlin’s narratives and increasing Putin’s approval ratings.

Sergey Mardan

Sergey Mardan is a prominent Russian propagandist known for his extreme views (shocker), mainly focusing on Ukraine (another shocker). As a leading blogger for Komsomolskaya Pravda and a frequent participant on the Solovyov LIVE TV channel, Mardan has consistently supported Russia’s world-famous foreign policy of “peace.”

His statements, both online and on television, often advocate for violence, and when he’s feeling cheeky—he calls for the genocide of Ukrainians. Mardan has celebrated deadly missile strikes on Ukrainian cities. He has been charged by Ukraine's SBU security service for his genocide talk and public support of the Russian invasion. When addressing the destruction of Ukraine’s third largest city, Dnipro, Mardan said, “Am I pleased? I'll be honest: I am!”

Mardan's bravado doesn't end with calling for the death of Ukrainians; he has also called for the assassination of Russian opposition figures. During a live broadcast, he suggested starting a fundraiser to hire hitmen that would eliminate critics of the Kremlin, including well-known figures like Garry Kasparov and Ilya Ponomarev.

His remarks, which were freely broadcasted on state media and various online platforms, and the lack of consequences he faced for calling for the death of Russian citizens perfectly encapsulate their society.

Dmitry Medvedev

The former president and Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, is one of the loudest voices in the Kremlin media space. We have already lost count of how many times the man who once carried the nuclear football has threatened the world with a global nuclear holocaust.

As Putin’s close associate, Medvedev has always had the highest levels of access and used it to his own benefit. During his presidency, the orchestration of state media was instrumental in building his image as a “liberal alternative to Putin” while quietly maintaining the status quo for Putin, who ruled from his role as the Prime Minister from 2008 to 2012.

Now, as the Deputy Chair of the Security Council, Medvedev actively appears on Russian state television to bolster support for the war against Ukraine and the “Perverted West” and legitimize Kremlin narratives. He is also very active on social media, specifically on X, where he lets off a bit of steam and showcases his creative writing skills. Akin to someone like Trump during his 2016 presidency, Medvedev does not back down from a Twitter beef.

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Defenders of Verkhnokamianske defeated the armored group of the Russian Federation

In the Donetsk region, the Defense Forces defeated the armor of Russian assault men trying to break through to Verkhnokamianske.

Soldiers of the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade showed footage with a small “cemetery” of Russian armor in their sector.

On one section of the road, the invaders lost two MT-LB armored personnel carriers, on one of which a turret from the BTR-70 and protective “grilles” were installed.

Also during the attack, the Russians lost an armored vehicle BMP-1 and a “tank shed,” which they tried to protect with a mass of grilles from all sides.

SPOILER

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The “K-2” Battalion said that then the invaders had sent two soldiers on motorcycles to the defeated armor.

“The desperate invaders must have been very guilty of the leadership, otherwise it is very difficult to understand the motivation of such actions,” the military said.

Захисники Верхньокам'янського розбили штурмову бронегрупу � Ф

Ukrainian positions immediately opened fire on the Russians. Drones that dropped explosives were also used.

They decided to eliminate the invaders with an anti-tank mine, which the Ukrainian military dropped from a drone on the MT-LB, near which the Russians were hiding.

“After rifle attacks, drops from drones and artillery, it was decided not to waste precious ammunition and put an anti-tank mine on MT-LB,” the military said.

From a powerful explosion on the invaders, clothes and equipment caught fire.

The village of Verkhnokamianske of the Bakhmut district of the Donetsk region is located eight kilometers north of Belohorivka, which is in the Luhansk region. For the invaders, the capture of this village will open the way to the city of Siversk.

As previously reported, recently in the Bakhmut direction near Andriivka, the Russian armored group conducted an unsuccessful assault and suffered losses.

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One of the amphibious warfare ships from Novorossiysk spotted in Sevastopol

^{Illustrative photo with a landing ship. Source: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation}

One of the amphibious warfare ships that had been withdrawn from Novorossiysk arrived in occupied Sevastopol.

The Crimean Wind Telegram channel showed a photo of a ship in the city’s bay.

“Our eyes can see everything: a Project 775 amphibious warfare ship in Sevastopol Bay,” the Crimean Wind group said.

According to the Crimean Telegram channel, the Russian amphibious warfare ship arrived in the bay on June 7.

It is possible that the Ukrainian attack with naval drones on the night of June 8 was intended to destroy the ship.

SPOILER

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^{A Russian amphibious assault ship in Sevastopol Bay. June 2024. Ukraine. Photo credits: Crimean Wind Telegram channel}

The Russian Black Sea Fleet has only two large Project 775 amphibious warfare ships left, the Azov and Yamal.

There are also ships from other fleets: Georgy Pobedonosets, Korolev, Olenegorskiy Gornyak and Minsk. Some of them have already been put out of commission after the Ukrainian attacks.

As previously reported, on June 5, Russian amphibious warfare ships, as part of a powerful escort, left the port of Novorossiysk, where they had been hiding from Ukrainian attacks for a long time.

The following ships had left Novorossiysk:
• Two Project 22160 patrol ships;
• Two Buyan-class corvettes;
• Two Ropucha-class landing ships;
• One Ivan Gren-class landing ship;
• One Tapir-class landing ship;
• Two Kilo-class submarines.

Together with them, two Project 266M Aquamarine-M minesweepers and one Project 12700 Alexandrite minesweeper also set off in an unknown direction.

^{Landing from the amphibious warfare ship Ivan Gren of Project 11711. 2021. Photo credits: Mil.ru}

The reasons and end point for the deployment of such a large grouping of Russian Navy ships are currently unknown.

One explanation could be the use of surviving Russian amphibious warfare ships to perform logistical tasks in place of the recently damaged ferry vessels in Crimea. Heavily armed patrol and missile ships, as well as minesweepers, were sent along with the landing craft as escorts.

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A Chinese agency working with Russia has been trying to source drone jammers

^{A handheld drone detection jammer is displayed during a security exhibition in Villepinte, a suburb of Paris, France, on November 14, 2023. Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images/File}

A Chinese government agency established to promote trade with Russia has been trying to source drone detectors and jammers, adding to concerns that Beijing may be supplying dual-use technology to Moscow.

Foreign companies were seeking “unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) equipment,” including drone detectors and jammers, according to a procurement notice posted on May 22 on the official WeChat account of the Guangdong Provincial Association for Promotion of Trade with Russia.

The association, overseen by the province’s Commerce Department, said buyers wanted “interference generators, drone detectors (trade names BorisTone, Assel Labs and Bulat) or other similar technology solutions, drone suppressors, and communication band jammers.

Bulat drone detectors were developed by 3MX, a Russian company. They are known for being used by the Russian army during its 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

The procurement document has been removed from the association’s WeChat social media account, but it still exists on the account of another government body in the same province.

The Yunfu City’s Association for the Promotion of International Trade posted the same notice on WeChat last week, asking any “interested company” with the products to submit their information.

SPOILER

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Drone jammers emit signals at frequencies that drones use to operate and transmit information, overwhelming their ability to communicate.

Ukraine has relied heavily on drones since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion and has piled resources into advancing technology and domestic manufacturing. It has been using them to target Russia’s oil and gas industry, still the biggest source of cash for Moscow’s war effort despite Western sanctions.

The posting of the Chinese notices comes as Beijing faces significant pressure from Western governments to ensure that dual-use products with military applications are not finding their way to Russia’s defense sector or its forces on Ukraine’s battlefield.

The United States has accused Beijing of covertly supporting Moscow’s war by selling such dual-use goods. They include things like semiconductor chips, navigation equipment and jet parts.

Beijing says it is neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and has repeatedly said that it does not provide weapons to either side and “strictly controls” the export of dual-use items.

Notice removed
A person who answered the phone at the Guangdong association denied that the document was intended to secure orders for Russian customers. He told CNN that it was removed because it was “improper.” When asked for further detail, he said that the request was made on behalf of buyers in Kazakhstan, before abruptly ending the call.

CNN has also reached out to the Yunfu trade association for comment.

According to its official WeChat account, the Guangdong association’s main responsibilities include supporting the province’s global trade work, connecting with Russian buyers or sellers, organizing exchanges, coordinating trade settlement with Russia and providing Russia-related legal consultation for Chinese traders.

China has forged deeper ties with Russia since its invasion of Ukraine and become a vital economic and diplomatic lifeline for the country. Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Beijing and met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, both men praising the close relations between their countries.

Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a meeting of defense chiefs in Singapore that China’s support to Russia would extend the war in Ukraine, adding Ukraine’s voice to concerns raised by the US and European leaders in recent months.

“Beijing does provide a lot of different ways of direct support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, whether it is either the purchase of oil to help fuel its economy or helping them reconstitute the defense industrial base,” said Oriana Skylar Mastro, a fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

Mastro said she is “not particularly surprised” that local Chinese governments would help Russian companies seek drone equipment. But, she doesn’t believe Beijing will have more “direct” involvement in the war.

Last week, the US warned it could act against Chinese firms and financial institutions in response to Beijing’s alleged backing of Russian war efforts.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in April that Washington had already imposed sanctions on more than 100 Chinese entities and individuals for allegedly helping support Russia’s war effort.

“Beijing is trying to walk a very thin line between adhering to what the United States is asking them and, specifically, to their foreign policy principle of not selling weapons and equipment and [engaging in] foreign military interference,” said Mastro.

“What they would say is that they are doing their best to prevent the selling of military material to Russia, but things are always [going to] get through,” she said.

quote:

Meta Shuts Fugitive Moldovan Oligarch’s Facebook, Instagram Accounts: Report
Meta has shut down accounts belonging to pro-Russian fugitive Ilan Shor and his closest associates, branding them “dangerous”, Moldova’s Ziarul di Garda reported.

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta has shut down a number of accounts run by pro-Russian fugitive oligarch Ilan Shor and his closest associates, including MP Marina Tauber, Gagauzia region governor Evghenia Gutul and the leader of the banned Sansa Party, Alexei Lungu, Moldovan newspaper Ziarul de Garda reported.

The newspaper quoted Meta as saying the accounts belonged to “dangerous” organisations and individuals.

“We evaluate these entities based on their online and offline behaviour,” Meta told the paper.

Shor is wanted in Moldova to serve a 15-year sentence imposed in April last year after he was convicted of masterminding the theft of $1 billion from the Moldovan banking system between 2012 and 2014. He was sanctioned by the United States in late 2022 for allegedly working with the Kremlin to undermine the pro-European government and president in Moldova. Shor currently lives in Russia.

A lawyer for Shor said he planned to sue Meta and accused Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg of meddling in Moldovan elections and helping the pro-European government suppress its opponents.

SPOILER

quote:

“Our case seeks to defend the fundamental right of each individual to free expression and challenge the cooperation between these companies and authoritarian governments,” said lawyer Aureliu Colenco.

Shor’s political bloc, Victorie, said in a statement: “We will oppose any attempts to control freedom of expression and will continue to defend the rights of our citizens to free and fair elections.”

Moldova has accused Shor of active involvement in a Russian hybrid war against the country, including via his social media accounts, which regularly amplify Kremlin-backed narratives about Moldova, the West and the war in Ukraine.

A spokeswoman for Moldova’s Intelligence and Security Service, SIS, said it had regularly complained to Meta about Russian disinformation and propaganda being promoted on its platforms.

“The information concerned a list of anonymous pages that promoted advertising paid for by illegal funds, particularly during the general local elections of 2023,” Daniela Minzat told BIRN.

quote:

Polish firm opens production line for Patriot missile launch tubes

A Polish defense contractor inaugurated a production line on Thursday for the manufacture of launch tubes for the PAC-3 MSE (Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement) rockets used by the Patriot air-defense system.

Military Aviation Works 1 (WZL1), a unit of state-owned defense conglomerate Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) based in Dęblin in the eastern Lubelskie province, said production had already started and that the first order was in an advanced stage of completion while the company awaited export approval.

The factory has certification from the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin entitling it to produce the components commercially as part of an offset arrangement for Poland’s procurement of the Patriot system. Poland announced last year the completion of the second phase of a procurement process involving the purchase from the U.S. of up to 48 Patriot PAC-3 launchers and up to 644 PAC-3 MSE missiles in a deal valued at up to $15 billion. The contract includes offset arrangements under which service, repair and production facilities will be established in Poland to support the country’s ‘Wisła’ medium-range air defense program.

The director of WZL1’s Dęblin plant said demand for the launch tubes was brisk.

“Demand is so great that we can safely think about increasing production,” Bartłomiej Kacperczyk said, adding that while current production capacity was still being established, an output of 150 launch tubes per year was “realistic.”

The firm has invested in construction of a 2,500-square-meter production hall as part of its offset absorption costs and taken on over a dozen additional staff with a view to employing at least 40 to 50 more to add to the facility’s current headcount of 250.

quote:

Security Service wants Kremlin fanboy and former MEP Mamikins prosecuted

On June 7, Latvia's State Security Service (VDD) said it had made a decision to urge the prosecutor's office to initiate criminal prosecution against a former member of the European Parliament "for possible glorification and justification of war crimes committed by the aggressor Russia in Ukraine."
A statement published by VDD did not name the individual, but it is understood to be former Member of the European parliament Andrejs Mamikins, who was elected to the European Parliament in 2014 for the Harmony (Saskaņa) party, but later switched his allegiance to the Latvian Russian Union.

According to the VDD: "Criminal proceedings against this person were initiated by the State Security Service on September 29, 2023, in accordance with Article 74.1 of the Criminal Law after evaluating the person's statements in the broadcasts of several Russian television channels loyal to the Kremlin, as well as on social networking sites. In the "Evening with Vladimir Solovyov" program of the Russian TV channel "Rossia 1" on September 21 of last year, the person expressed that Russia "does a mighty, holy work in Ukraine."

Mamikins appeared on the notorious show mentioned above.

VDD declared that the suspect was "a wanted person" though he is believed to be resident in Russia, the land of his birth.

Mamikins, who worked as a journalist and television presenter before embarking on a political career, has a long history as a Kremlin cheerleader.

quote:

Ukrainian Defense Forces scramble Yak-52 to shoot down Zala UAV

^{Yak-52 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force in the camera of the Russian ZALA reconnaissance drone. June 2024. Ukraine. Frame from the video @vysokygovorit}

The Defense Forces used the Yak-52 aircraft to intercept the Russian Zala reconnaissance drone.

Footage from the drone that recorded the Ukrainian Yak-52 was released on the Tysk Telegram channel.

The aircraft, which played the role of air defense, intercepted a Russian reconnaissance drone over the Mykolaiv region.

The Ukrainian piston aircraft itself did not have weapons, the role of the shooter was performed by the co-pilot from the place for the instructor in the plane.

The two-seat single-engine trainer aircraft was mass-produced from 1979 to 1998.

SPOILER

quote:

Сили оборони підняли літак Як-52 для збиття БПЛА Zala

It has a low stall speed of 100-140 kilometers per hour.

This allows him to chase drones and at the same time maneuver at relatively low speeds.

The aircraft has a maximum permissible speed of 470 kilometers per hour, a range of up to 500 kilometers and a flight duration of 2.5 hours.

This is not the first time that this aircraft has been engaged for air defense. At the end of April in the Odesa region, a piston plane was shot down by a Russian reconnaissance drone.

^{Yak-52. Photo from open sources}

Presumably, the idea of engaging these aircraft in Ukraine is already being scaled. The video shows that Yak-52 received military camouflage.

It is worth noting that the defense industrial complex was engaged in aircraft Yak-52 back in 2020.

^{UTL-450 training aircraft. Photo credits: Motor-Sich}

Motor-Sich developed an upgraded version of this aircraft, which received a AІ-450S turboprop engine with 5-blade variable-pitch propeller MTV-5, as well as a number of other new systems. Also, the upgraded version received a new instrument panel with liquid crystal indicators.

quote:

Bloomberg: Stoltenberg abandons plan to set up $100 billion fund for Ukraine aid after pushback
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is scrapping plans to set up a $100 billion fund to aid Ukraine over five years after facing rejection from alliance members, Bloomberg reported on June 7 citing people familiar with the matter.

Stoltenberg's new proposal reportedly suggests that allies spend at least 40 billion euros ($43 billion) per year on lethal and non-lethal aid for Kyiv.

This would match the average annual contributions since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, Bloomberg's sources said.

NATO will reportedly determine the sums of donations for each country based on a percentage of their gross domestic product. The U.S. is expected to contribute about a half of the assistance, according to Bloomberg.

Stoltenberg's new plan does not include new funds, but NATO expects it to provide Kyiv with more predictability about the level of support for the coming years, Bloomberg wrote.

While being united as a bloc against Russia’s full-scale invasion, levels of support between NATO member states, as well as their public statements on the threat to European security that the Kremlin poses, vary.

Ukraine is not expected to advance further towards NATO membership at this year’s annual summit in Washington. Julianne Smith, U.S. Ambassador to NATO, said that alliance members will offer Kyiv a security package as a "bridge" to membership.

Despite setbacks to Ukraine's NATO aspirations, partners assured Kyiv that the Washington summit would define a specific position for Ukraine's membership in NATO, namely its irreversibility and the roadmap toward it, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said.

SPOILER

quote:

D-Day veteran tried to send Russian medal back over Ukraine
Alec Penstone, who is 99, says his friends would not let him return the Ushakov award, which is signed by Vladimir Putin

^{Mr Penstone in Normandy on Thursday, seen with singer Emma Brown CREDIT: Paul Grover for The Telegraph}

A D-Day veteran who protected troops during the Normandy landings has revealed he tried to send his Russian medal for bravery back to Moscow after Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

Alec Penstone, 99, who was a sailor with the Arctic Convoy during the Second World War, said Putin should be “taken off this earth” because of atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people.

Mr Penstone made the comments to The Telegraph before a parade on Thursday at Gold Beach in Normandy, one of five stormed by Allied troops 80 years ago in the June 6 1944 landings.

His efforts on board HMS Campania, an escort aircraft carrier which took part in the Arctic Convoys to Russia, earned him the Russian Medal of Ushakov for bravery, which is even signed by Putin.

Mr Penstone said: “I would willingly give [the medal] back but they stopped me from doing it. A bravery award signed by Putin of all people. I’m disgusted and disappointed.

“He wants taken off this earth and the sooner the better. I’ve never said anything like that before but it will be a pleasure when I know that he’s dead. And all his tribe as well.”

SPOILER

quote:

‘We were fighting for our way of life’
The war hero said Putin’s behaviour threatened the way of life he, and so many others, fought and died for in the Second World War.

Mr Penstone said: “We were fighting for our country, our way of life, we didn’t want Hitler over everything. We lost Europe, we were determined to get it back. I lost too many friends to see that happen again.”

Today, Mr Penstone still wears the Ushakov medal on his lapel, much to his disdain. He explained his friends would not let him return it, which he tried to do in February 2022, when Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Earlier this year, Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukraine’s President, said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion began. The number of civilian casualties is believed to be around 30,457.

A crucial role
On D-Day, the teenaged Penstone played a crucial role as his ship’s crew searched for U-boats, swept the seabed for mines and listened out for torpedoes.

Mr Penstone, who operated below deck, spoke with pride as he remembered his involvement in the Normandy landings. Operation Overlord is regarded as the largest amphibious invasion in military history and resulted in the deaths of more than 4,000 Allied troops.

For Mr Penstone, who despite his old age was seen dancing and singing Auld Lang Syne at Thursday’s celebrations, returning to Normandy to commemorate this momentous day is of vital importance.

“It is important to me because I lost so many friends,” he said. “I will come back for as long as I can.”

quote:

Russian Tu-22M3 damaged in North Ossetia

^{photo: Russian aircraft Tu-22M3 (RosSMI)}

Ukrainian drones attacked the Mozdok airfield in North Ossetia, according to Russian media. Previously, three drones flew to the airfield, one of which fell 200 meters from a military facility, another was shot down by air defense.

“According to our sources, one of the drones flew to the airfield and hit a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber. Experts have hopes that it can be restored, but note that repairs will take at least 6 months, and maybe even more. Interlocutors say that at the time of the attack, the Mozdok airfield was not protected by serious air defense systems.”

“Now all the air defense is working at the front, some have been taken to Moscow, some have covered oil refining facilities,” said a source in the Ministry of Defense.

quote:

Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 12:18 schreef Ulx het volgende:
Berichten over een droneaanval op de vliegbasis in Akhtubinsk in Rusland.

Daar zijn Su-57's gestationeerd.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 04:00 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 08:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
[ x ]

Onehundredaaaaaaaaaandeightyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 09:11 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Dat wordt wachten totdat de eerste vluchtelingen afgeschoten worden.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 09:18 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:

[..]
Dat is een duur grapje

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 04:00 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 10:37 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

[..]
"Vluchtelingen"

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 10:56 schreef theunderdog het volgende:

[..]
Klopt. Maar zelfs die moeten niet worden afgeschoten. Althans, mag toch hopen dat je het daar mee eens bent.

quote:

Op zaterdag 8 juni 2024 14:27 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Ik ben de exacte cijfers vergeten, maar auto's in rusland zijn 2,5x zo duur geworden (exact cijfer vergeten)? En dan heb je ��k nog eens een Chinese auto ipv een westerse.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 10:40 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Vast. Maar dat is het minst belangrijke. Die toestellen zijn de trots van Poetin. Rusland staat hierdoor wel voor joker. Zo'n toestel verliezen aan een luchtdoelraket is al een ramp, maar dat kan. Maar als zo'n toestel op de grond verliezen aan wat lullige drones die met honderd kilometer per uur aan kwamen tuffen is wat anders.....

Poetin zal wel lopen schuimbekken. 5% van de Russische Su-57's nu is uitgeschakeld. Door wat lullige drones.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:06 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Het is wel lullig voor de pro-Rusland anti-vluchteling partijen in Europa. Wat moeten die nu zeggen?

keuzes keuzes.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 08:54 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
[ x ]

Onehundredaaaaaaaaaandeightyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:00 schreef byah het volgende:
https://www.volkskrant.nl(...)maistopdeeplink=true

het lijkt erop dat Rusland steeds meer haar ware gezicht laat zien. Ook de aankondiging dat de US een vijand is geeft mij het gevoel dat ze niet meer vertrouwen op een winst van Trump

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 09:11 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Dat wordt wachten totdat de eerste vluchtelingen afgeschoten worden.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:24 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Het is wel interessant wat er allemaal mogelijk blijkt binnen de Europese wetgeving die het toelaten van minder asielzoekers in Nederland schijnbaar onmogelijk zou moeten maken. Of de Europese wetten zijn simpelweg niet zo strict of de Oost-Europese landen lappen die simpelweg aan hun laars.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 10:56 schreef theunderdog het volgende:

[..]
Klopt. Maar zelfs die moeten niet worden afgeschoten. Althans, mag toch hopen dat je het daar mee eens bent.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:19 schreef Joppiez het volgende:

[..]
Ziet er niet echt overtuigend uit. Is die su 57 niet geschilderd op het asfalt? Lijkt er wel op maar mijn mening

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:00 schreef byah het volgende:
https://www.volkskrant.nl(...)maistopdeeplink=true

het lijkt erop dat Rusland steeds meer haar ware gezicht laat zien. Ook de aankondiging dat de US een vijand is geeft mij het gevoel dat ze niet meer vertrouwen op een winst van Trump

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:24 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Het is wel interessant wat er allemaal mogelijk blijkt binnen de Europese wetgeving die het toelaten van minder asielzoekers in Nederland schijnbaar onmogelijk zou moeten maken. Of de Europese wetten zijn simpelweg niet zo strict of de Oost-Europese landen lappen die simpelweg aan hun laars.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:15 schreef capricia het volgende:
Russisch econoom Igor Lipsits:
[ x ]

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:32 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
Ik denk niet dat je Rusland kan vergelijken met NK. Het heeft veel meer eigen grondstoffen en niet te vergeten aardolie en aardgas. Daarnaast een enorme agrarische sector. Hongersnood zoals in NK gaan ze daar niet snel krijgen. Rusland is feitelijk autark, evenals de VS, mits die landen zich ertoe zouden zetten. De VS doet dat niet echt en er is voor hen geen noodzaak toe omdat het de inflatie sterk aanjaagt, wat we in Rusland dan ook duidelijk kunnen zien.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:45 schreef stavromulabeta het volgende:

[..]
Aardolie en aardgas moet je wel kwijt kunnen, wil je er iets aan hebben (anders dan goedkope verwarming voor jezelf). Naast dat je voor winning van de moeilijker bereikbare voorraden technologie nodig heb.

En die grote agrarische sector is mede vanwege moderne technologie. Als alles weer handmatig moet a la Noord-Korea, is de omvang 1:1 afhankelijk van het aantal handjes. Dan kun je enorme oppervlaktes aan akkers hebben maar als je onvoldoende mensen heb om ze te bewerken, heb je er helemaal niets aan.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:32 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
Ik denk niet dat je Rusland kan vergelijken met NK. Het heeft veel meer eigen grondstoffen en niet te vergeten aardolie en aardgas. Daarnaast een enorme agrarische sector. Hongersnood zoals in NK gaan ze daar niet snel krijgen. Rusland is feitelijk autark, evenals de VS, mits die landen zich ertoe zouden zetten. De VS doet dat niet echt en er is voor hen geen noodzaak toe omdat het de inflatie sterk aanjaagt, wat we in Rusland dan ook duidelijk kunnen zien.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:32 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
Ik denk niet dat je Rusland kan vergelijken met NK. Het heeft veel meer eigen grondstoffen en niet te vergeten aardolie en aardgas. Daarnaast een enorme agrarische sector. Hongersnood zoals in NK gaan ze daar niet snel krijgen. Rusland is feitelijk autark, evenals de VS, mits die landen zich ertoe zouden zetten. De VS doet dat niet echt en er is voor hen geen noodzaak toe omdat het de inflatie sterk aanjaagt, wat we in Rusland dan ook duidelijk kunnen zien.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:50 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
Het gaat erom of ze autark kunnen zijn, en dat kunnen ze. Tractoren kunnen ze ook zelf produceren met staal van eigen bodem. Beruchte slag om Stalingrad speelde ook rond een tractorenfabriek die was omgerust naar productie van tanks.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:54 schreef capricia het volgende:

[..]
Rusland verliest in rap tempo haar bevolking.
Nog even en de Chinezen nemen het over daar. Die hebben genoeg mensen.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 13:01 schreef zalkc het volgende:

[..]
Dat is niet genoeg als je competitie hebt met de rest van de wereld. Een stam in de Amazone is in basis ook autarkisch, maar niet in een mate dat ze de competitie aan kunnen gaan met de rest van de wereld. Rusland kan ook autarkisch te werk gaan, maar de vraag is of ze een levensstandaard van na 1975 kunnen bereiken daarmee.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:58 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Vergis je niet in de kans op schaarste. Doordat Oekra�ne systematisch de Russische raffinaderijen opblaast stijgt de benzine en dieselprijs. En daarmee de prijs van transport. En daardoor de prijs van voedsel in de grote steden. De kans dat voedsel peperduur gaat worden is zeker aanwezig. Je zult misschien geen Ethiopi� 1984 situaties krijgen, maar als het kwartje de verkeerde kant opvalt, ontstaan er wel echt problemen.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 13:11 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
De levensstandaard gaat drastisch dalen vanwege de inflatie die optreedt, met name looninflatie, die dan ook nog kan overslaan in hyperinflatie vanwege een loon/prijsspiraal die nauwelijks beteugeld kan worden.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:50 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
Het gaat erom of ze autark kunnen zijn, en dat kunnen ze. Tractoren kunnen ze ook zelf produceren met staal van eigen bodem. Beruchte slag om Stalingrad speelde ook rond een tractorenfabriek die was omgerust naar productie van tanks.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:19 schreef Joppiez het volgende:

[..]
Ziet er niet echt overtuigend uit. Is die su 57 niet geschilderd op het asfalt? Lijkt er wel op maar mijn mening

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 05:18 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

Russian Blocking Units

Love in the Superhumans rehabilitation center ❤️ #warinukraine #united24news

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:19 schreef Joppiez het volgende:

[..]
Ziet er niet echt overtuigend uit. Is die su 57 niet geschilderd op het asfalt? Lijkt er wel op maar mijn mening

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 13:33 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
De efficientie keldert wel, en ook de opbrengst, door het wegvallen van superieure zaadlingen uit o.a. Nederland. En ook een russische tractor kan niet wat een westerse tractor kan, bijv. GPS besturing.
rusland is al bezig met het opstarten van eigen zaad productie, maarja die concurreert met het opstarten van de hun eigen autonome gameconsole, auto industrie, etc, etc.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 13:33 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
De efficientie keldert wel, en ook de opbrengst, door het wegvallen van superieure zaadlingen uit o.a. Nederland. En ook een russische tractor kan niet wat een westerse tractor kan, bijv. GPS besturing.
rusland is al bezig met het opstarten van eigen zaad productie, maarja die concurreert met het opstarten van de hun eigen autonome gameconsole, auto industrie, etc, etc.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:32 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
Ik denk niet dat je Rusland kan vergelijken met NK. Het heeft veel meer eigen grondstoffen en niet te vergeten aardolie en aardgas. Daarnaast een enorme agrarische sector. Hongersnood zoals in NK gaan ze daar niet snel krijgen. Rusland is feitelijk autark, evenals de VS, mits die landen zich ertoe zouden zetten. De VS doet dat niet echt en er is voor hen geen noodzaak toe omdat het de inflatie sterk aanjaagt, wat we in Rusland dan ook duidelijk kunnen zien.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 13:51 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Als je goed kijkt, dan zie je dat de punt van de SU-57 2 meter naar voren is geschoven t.o.v. de witte lijnen op de grond.

Nou kan het een decoy zijn, maar dan verwacht je dat hij helemaal afgebrand is.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 14:21 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Of is ie al een rondje wezen vliegen?

Beetje makkelijk claimen. Alle hits staan in het asfalt naast de dronenetten. Was het doel Oekra�ens geweest hadden we het gehad over het gebrek aan schade.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 15:09 schreef Cilantro het volgende:
[ x ]

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 14:17 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

[..]
Die agrarische sector draait echter op westerse technologie en die valt (momenteel nog) niet door Chinese te vervangen. Momenteel wordt enkel de export van "dual use" technologie naar Rusland door de sancties verhinderd. Worden de sancties uitgebreid naar �lle vormen van technologie dan gaan de Russen problemen krijgen met het voeden van hun bevolking.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 15:40 schreef Hyperdude het volgende:

[..]
Zijn ze nou zo blij omdat ze op de foto komen, of omdat ze duikboot-expert worden?

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 15:45 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
De russen kunnen echt wel hun eigen tractoren, vrachtwagens etc produceren. Ze zijn dan minder geavanceerd maar aangezien ze nu hun overschotten exporteren zal de opbrengst minder zijn, maar verhongeren zullen ze niet. De export kan wel flink teruglopen.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 15:53 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

[..]
Aan alleen die tractor heb je niets; je hebt combines nodig, fabrieken en machines die het graan verwerken enz.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 15:45 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

[..]
Ik zie maar weinig blije blikken in de ogen van de dames.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 03:53 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://tvpworld.com/7793(...)f-patriot-components
[..]

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 15:56 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
Oogsten kan ook zonder complexe combines, minder effici�nt maar niet onmogelijk. Nogmaals de productie zal afnemen en de export terug of wegvallen, maar heb niet de illusie dat er hongersnood gaat ontstaan.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 16:55 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Hoe krijg je de oogst naar de steden?

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 17:06 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Met deze toestellen mag het toch wel? Dan komen er geen noeks?

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 17:17 schreef Digi2 het volgende:

[..]
vrachtwagens

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 12:58 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Vergis je niet in de kans op schaarste. Doordat Oekra�ne systematisch de Russische raffinaderijen opblaast stijgt de benzine en dieselprijs. En daarmee de prijs van transport. En daardoor de prijs van voedsel in de grote steden. De kans dat voedsel peperduur gaat worden is zeker aanwezig. Je zult misschien geen Ethiopi� 1984 situaties krijgen, maar als het kwartje de verkeerde kant opvalt, ontstaan er wel echt problemen.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 17:36 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Maar de brandstofprijs schiet omhoog en dus worden die producten nog veel duurder. Als de oogst ook nog een keer tegenvalt.....Misschien komt er wel iets in de winkel, maar als niemand het kan betalen hebben ze er ook niets aan.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 10:56 schreef theunderdog het volgende:

[..]
Klopt. Maar zelfs die moeten niet worden afgeschoten. Althans, mag toch hopen dat je het daar mee eens bent.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 17:36 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Maar de brandstofprijs schiet omhoog en dus worden die producten nog veel duurder. Als de oogst ook nog een keer tegenvalt.....Misschien komt er wel iets in de winkel, maar als niemand het kan betalen hebben ze er ook niets aan.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 14:21 schreef Nebelwerfer het volgende:

[..]
Of is ie al een rondje wezen vliegen?

Beetje makkelijk claimen. Alle hits staan in het asfalt naast de dronenetten. Was het doel Oekra�ens geweest hadden we het gehad over het gebrek aan schade.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 16:55 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
Hoe krijg je de oogst naar de steden?

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 14:40 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

[..]
[ afbeelding ]

Er wordt volgens mij bar weinig geclaimd . Behalve dan dat er drones geploft zijn naast een SU-57

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:07 schreef ludovico het volgende:
[ x ]

quote:

Ik wil ook vrede, maar met vrede win je niet de oorlog.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:15 schreef ludovico het volgende:

[..]

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:18 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Met het winnen van de oorlog win je wel vrede. En hoe better ze de oorlog tegen Rusland winnen, hoe langer deze vrede zal zijn. Niet alleen in Oekra�ne, maar in de gehele regio.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:25 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Een vredesakkoord brengt vrede. En daar zijn totaal nog geen aanstalten toe, dus nee.

quote:

Biden warns that Putin is 'not going to stop at Ukraine'
U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed his strong support for Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron on June 8.

Biden cautioned that the Kremlin's aggression would continue beyond Ukraine if successful: "Putin is not going to stop at Ukraine.... All of Europe will be threatened. We are not going to let that happen." Standing alongside Macron, he emphasized: "The United States is standing strong with Ukraine. We will not — I say it again — walk away."

Macron hosted Biden for a state visit aimed at underscoring their strong partnership on global security issues.

President Joe Biden arrived in France on June 5 and, along with President Emmanuel Macron, attended the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings on June 6 in Normandy. He then met with President Volodymyr Zelensky on June 7.

In his D-Day address on June 7, Biden emphasized the importance of defending democracy both at home and abroad. "As we gather here today, it’s not just to honor those who showed such remarkable bravery on June 6, 1944," Biden said. "It’s to listen to the echo of their voices, to hear them, because they are summoning us. They’re asking us what we will do. They’re not asking us to scale these cliffs; they’re asking us to stay true to what America stands for."

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New hangars for Russian Iskanders are being built in Belarus
In Belarus, in the military town of Osipovichi, construction is underway of two new hangars, which are supposed to be intended for storing Iskander missile systems that Belarus received from Russia. Source: Radio Liberty, Belarusski Gayun

The Belarusian service of Radio Liberty published satellite photographs showing the construction of two storage facilities on the territory of military camp No. 2 “Yuzhny” in Osipovichi.

The hangars are similar in size and appearance to the storage facility for the Iskander-M OTRK, built in the same town in 2022-2023.

One such hangar can accommodate up to 13 units of equipment, which corresponds to the size of a standard division of Iskander missile systems in the Russian army.

Previously, Belarus received from Russia at least 18 units of the Iskander-M OTRK, for the storage of which the already built hangars are not enough.

Analysts of the monitoring group “Belarusski Gayun” believe that the construction of new hangars may indicate Russia’s plans to transfer to Belarus a brigade set of Iskander-M OTRK, which includes a larger amount of equipment than a division.

quote:

Thales to supply Ukraine with a second air defense system

^{Air defense system from the company Thales}

Ukraine signed a contract with France’s Thales for the supply of a second air defense system.

The company reported that the contract was signed under the aegis of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces.

“This second air defense system will strengthen the protection of Ukrainian territory, enabling early detection of existing threats,” the company noted.

The Thales air defense system consists of the ControlMaster 200 (CM200), which provides complete airspace surveillance.

The CM200 includes the Ground Master 200 air surveillance radar, a radio communication system, and a ControlView air defense command and control system.

SPOILER

quote:

^{President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky at the Thales plant. June 2024, France. Photo credits: Thales website}

Ground Master 200 can detect helicopters, airplanes, drones, cruise missiles, surface targets, and even enemy artillery systems.

The radar detects air targets at a distance of up to 250 kilometers and at an altitude of up to 24 kilometers.

The GM200 can operate as an independent air surveillance radar or as a radar component of an air defense system.

The ControlView command and control system assesses threats while simultaneously allocating appropriate fire units to engage air targets.

Ukraine ordered the first such air defense system in 2023.

^{Ground Master 200 radar. Photo from open sources}

It can be integrated into the SAMP/T air defense system, which is also being provided to Ukraine.

SAMP/T is an air defense system with an Aster 30 missile developed by MBDA, with a range of 40 km.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 10:37 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

[..]
"Vluchtelingen"

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Russian former POW arrested after giving two interviews to Ukrainian journalist
A Russian soldier who was held as a prisoner of war in Ukraine was arrested in Moscow on Friday and charged with “collaboration” while he was in Ukrainian captivity, a Moscow military court told independent news outlet Mediazona.

Pavel Guguev had been given early release from a Russian prison where he had been serving a 12-year sentence for murder to go and fight with the Russian military in Ukraine. While serving, he was captured by Ukrainians troops and became a POW.

While in a Ukrainian POW camp, Guguev gave an interview to Ukrainian journalist Dmytro Karpenko in which he criticised Russia’s military leadership and described the enormous losses being suffered by the Russian army. The interview, which was posted online in May 2023, has been viewed nearly 1.8 million times.

SPOILER

quote:

"КО� ОЧЕ, � АССКАЖУ КАК ВСУ НАС СИЛЬНО НАКАЗАЛО! ЛЮДИ ДОЛЖНЫ ЗНАТЬ П� АВДУ"/ @dmytrokarpenko

Guguev subsequently returned to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange programme, after which he granted Karpenko a second interview in which he continued to openly discuss Russian war crimes and the military’s tactical mistakes. That interview has had 2.9 million views to date.

ЗВОНОК ПОСЛЕ ОБМЕНА. ЖЕСТКАЯ П� АВДА / @dmytrokarpenko

In the second interview, Guguev said there were no circumstances under which he would return to fight against Ukraine. “How can I go and kill you after you spared my life?” he asked. “I won’t go anywhere. I simply won’t go on principle.”

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 10:37 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

[..]
"Vluchtelingen"

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:24 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

[..]
Het is wel interessant wat er allemaal mogelijk blijkt binnen de Europese wetgeving die het toelaten van minder asielzoekers in Nederland schijnbaar onmogelijk zou moeten maken. Of de Europese wetten zijn simpelweg niet zo strict of de Oost-Europese landen lappen die simpelweg aan hun laars.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:42 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://mil.in.ua/en/news(...)-air-defense-system/
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:59 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Zijn die niet in Nederland ontwikkeld?

quote:

Ukrainian troops have a secret battle: to stop themselves gambling
Despite poverty and Putin’s onslaught, soldiers are losing hundreds of pounds a month in casinos and even the trenches

^{One soldier estimated that 60 per cent of his comrades gambled from the front line and military bases}

A white neon sign and gold string lights draw in passers-by on the edge of a war zone. Down a set of stairs and past a small entryway with wall of a mirrors lies the Slot Games casino.

It is dimly lit, windowless and has an open floor plan and the lights of more than 20 slot machines and an electronic roulette table glint glinting off the mirror tiles on the ceiling.

Here about twenty men aged 30 to 50 sit silent and alone, three of them at slot machines marked “VIP” — for guests who visit and lose frequently, but have a monthly 2,206 hryvnia (�39) voucher for food, drinks and cigarettes. Others drink alcohol, slurping through a straw but never looking away from the game.

SPOILER

quote:

^{One patron of Slot Games casino in Kharkiv estimated that one in ten of its customers were refugees}

Slot Games is one of four casinos in Kharkiv and is open from 8am to 9.30pm.

The man stationed at the host stand asks for my passport and for me to sign waivers for insurance purposes, all of which are in Ukrainian. “Am I signing away my soul to the devil?” I ask. “No, only God,” the man says with a laugh. “But most of the men here have already sold their souls to the devil.”

In 2009 casinos were made illegal in Ukraine and Russia in an attempt to control gambling addiction. However, illegal casinos still operated in Ukraine and in 2020 President Zelensky lifted the ban to reduce illegal gambling that still plagued the country. The new law legalised online gambling and allowed casinos to open in hotels to drive tourism.

^{President Zelensky’s gambling policies shifted with the outbreak of war}

Now, for some in wartime Ukraine, they are answering a desperate need.

The unemployment rate in April was 16.8 per cent, and 17.9 per cent of Ukrainians are living below the poverty line, according to a report by the Centre for Economic Strategy, a Ukrainian non-governmental research body.

Still, men in the eastern city are frequenting casinos such as Slot Games, where a former administration worked. One, who asked only to be referred to by the name Artem, said that between 100 and 200 people visit every day now. Artem joined Slot Games at the end of 2021 and quit in March.

‘It’s gotten to the point of death threats’
Before the war most patrons were “intelligent guests”, Artem said. “Big players, calm, quiet, and peaceful. The people had money.” But many of those players have since moved to other areas of Ukraine or abroad.

“The quality of players started to fall gradually,” he said. “The number of players on the contrary somehow increased during the war. But at the same time there were fewer big players and it became, so to speak, a worse contingent.”

Most of these players, according to Artem, do not have a lot of money and are losing an average of 50,000 hryvnias (�971) a month. Their frustration can cause them to lash out at staff.

“There have been situations where it’s gotten to the point of death threats. We ask him to leave; if he doesn’t react well, we call the security button, that’s it. But mostly people just throw their emotions out and that’s it, leave,” Artem said.

He said that 5 to 10 per cent of those who attended Slot Games were internally displaced people coming from Kupyansk, Luhansk, Donetsk or Bakhmut. At times while checking their documents, Artem saw their addresses were homeless shelters in Kharkiv.

Throughout the war, soldiers fighting on Ukraine’s front lines have turned to online gambling and casinos, and some have developed addictions.

In recent months Zelensky has tried to block online gambling. On April 20 he signed a decree that restricted online gambling and banned it from the military while martial law is enforced. He barred members of the armed forces from visiting gambling institutions.

In the trenches and �10,000 down
Soldiers, though, do visit Slot Games. Some are so stressed that they use online betting services and casinos as a way to decompress.

Denis, 28, a former soldier who asked to be referred to only by his first name, said that he had been gambling for ten years and visiting casinos such as Slot Games. “Establishments just opened up in the city like that. I went in once, liked it, and that’s it, got hooked. There was some excitement. I wouldn’t say [the win] was a lot, but it was enough to get hooked,” he said.

Denis joined Ukraine’s military in 2016 and rose through the ranks to become commander of his company. After Russia invaded, he was sent to various front line positions in Kharkiv, the eastern Donbas and Luhansk regions, as well as southern Kherson and Mykolaiv.

^{Ukrainians fire a shell from a M777 howitzer on the front line of the Kharkiv region, 2022}

“Many soldiers play online very often. It’s really addictive now, every second person does it, it’s massively done,” said Denis, who estimates that 60 per cent of his company used online gambling on the front lines and at military bases.

After intense battles, Denis said his battalion would often get an additional payment for their work, and frequently they would spend that on gambling. At times Denis would think that he might earn from the games he played, but then the money would be gone in a matter of minutes. At the beginning of 2024, Denis was discharged from the military after being struck by mortar shelling for a fourth time, but while in the army, he was gambling away large sums of money.

“It seemed to me that I was even in profit. But in the end I was constantly in the negative. At that time I didn’t really think about it, but now, if you think about it, [you think] damn, idiot,” he said.

He estimates that he lost 526,000 hryvnias (�10,230) during his time in the military, money that he desperately needs now because he has no work in Kharkiv or government payments for his time as a soldier. Now Denis is trying to stop gambling.

“There’s regret that in any case, I’m a fool to have lost such a sum. Now it would have been very helpful to me if I had invested in real estate, clothes, bought a car. I’m looking for work, but even if I had a part-time job, it would have helped, now I would have been better off,” he said. “I’m a hopeless player.”

quote:

In a few weeks, testing of Ukrainian smart bombs will begin

^{JDAM-ER bomb under the wing of the MiG-29 9-13 fighter. Photo credits: Ukrainian Air Force}

Ukraine is preparing to test a Ukrainian-made analog of the US JDAM-ER.

This was outlined during an interview with Serhii Holubotsov, Chief of Aviation of the Ukrainian Air Force Command.

According to him, Ukraine is currently developing high-precision kits for Soviet-era bombs, which, in addition to high accuracy, should also provide an increased range due to the presence of two consoles.

In addition, he noted that testing of the Ukrainian-made kit is to begin in a few weeks.

SPOILER

quote:

^{A bomb with a JDAM-ER kit is suspended from the hardpoint of a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter. Photo credits: Ukrainian Air Force}

If the tests are successful and mass production begins, Ukrainian-made high-precision bombs will increase the intensity of their use on the front line.

Currently, the main problem facing the specialists is the correct selection of transmitters, a GPS module, and a wing.

The equipment must have a high level of protection against enemy electronic warfare systems to ensure high accuracy when used against enemy rear targets.

In addition to the kit itself, the aircraft that will carry such weapons must be modernized in some way to partially integrate the bombs into the weapon control system.

^{A JDAM-ER bomb kit with open wings in flight. Photo from open sources}

Holubtsov also noted that Ukraine has now placed a large order for American precision-guided weapons systems for aviation.

This is due to the larger number of aircraft in the Ukrainian Air Force that have undergone the appropriate process of integrating Western weapons, which will increase the intensity of their use in the future.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Ukrainian Air Force adapted Soviet combat aircraft to use American GBU-39 bombs.

GBU-39/B Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) is an American light high-precision aircraft bomb that weighs 130 kilograms and has a diameter of about 190 mm and a length of about 1.8 m. The maximum range is up to 110 km, provided that it is dropped from a high altitude.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 11:19 schreef theunderdog het volgende:

[..]
Wel heel vreemd. Want Trump staat er goed voor.

quote:

Ukraine’s Defense Forces Halt Russian Mechanized Attack in Donetsk Region

Soldiers of the 55th, 59th, and 72nd Brigades, supported by adjacent units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, halted a mechanized assault near Krasnohorivka, Donetsk region.

The Inquisition of the 59th Legion Telegram channel reported on this.

The published footage shows two enemy tanks and three infantry fighting vehicles; all Russian armored vehicles were protected by anti-drone “grills.”

It can be seen that the Russians used thermal smoke equipment to disguise their actions.

SPOILER

quote:

To stop the assault, the Ukrainian Defense Forces used FPV drones, a multicopter bomber, mines and artillery.

As a result of the fire damage, the Russian assault was stopped, and the Russian armored vehicles were destroyed or abandoned.

It is worth noting that fragments of the video show the use of FPV drones, which probably have the function of capturing a target.

Fighting in the Donetsk region
On June 8, 2024, Militarnyi reported that the Defense Forces defeated the armor of Russian assault men trying to break through to Verkhnokamianske, Donetsk region.

On one section of the road, the invaders lost two MT-LB armored personnel carriers, on one of which a turret from the BTR-70 and protective “grilles” were installed.

During the attack, the Russians also lost an armored vehicle BMP-1 and a “tank shed,” which they tried to protect with a mass of grilles from all sides.

On June 6, it was reported that the Russian armored group conducted an unsuccessful assault and suffered losses in the Bakhmut direction, near Andriivka.

However, the defense forces quickly detected the invaders’ armor and struck them preemptively.

The operation involved a unit from the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade and the ‘Phoenix’ rapid response border detachment.

quote:

Bloomberg: Russia sends students from Africa to fight in its war against Ukraine
Russia has added extra manpower for its offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, forcing "thousands of migrants and foreign students" to fight alongside its troops in its war against Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on June 9, citing unnamed European officials.

Moscow launched a new offensive on May 10 in Kharkiv Oblast, where it reportedly managed to advance as far as 10 kilometers (6 miles) before Ukraine halted the advance near the first line of defense. On June 8, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian troops had failed their Kharkiv Oblast offensive.

According to the Bloomberg report, Russian officials have been threatening African students and young workers not to extend their visas unless "they agree to join the military." Such a tactic was first deployed by the Russian Wagner mercenary group, Bloomberg reported.

While Russia has also been enlisting convicts, some Africans on work visas "have been detained and forced to decide between deportation or fighting," Bloomberg cited an anonymous European official.

"Some of those people had been able to bribe officials to stay in the country and still avoid military service," the report reads.

This is not the first time the Russian military is reported to have started bringing prisoners, migrants, and foreign nationals into its ranks.

Last September, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported that Russia was stepping up its campaign to recruit foreigners in neighboring countries and exploited migrant workers for its war against Ukraine.

The push to recruit foreigners and migrant workers "allows the Kremlin to acquire additional personnel for its war effort in the face of mounting casualties," the ministry said.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 19:29 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]
Lol, goede trol actie.

quote:

France Will Transfer Mirage 2000 Fighter Jets to Ukraine. But How Will They Help?
While the world’s attention has been focused on F-16 fighter jets, France has given Ukraine something different. By the end of 2024, France will transfer its Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Ukraine and will also conduct pilot training.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced that his country is ready to transfer Mirage 2000 fighter jets to Ukraine. Discussions about this have been ongoing for the past year, but the world’s attention was primarily focused on the transfer of F-16s. Yesterday, Macron put an end to these discussions, demonstrating his unwavering commitment to supporting Ukraine. The jets are expected to arrive in Ukraine by the end of 2024. As Ukraine waits, pilot training and infrastructure preparation will take place. But how exactly will the Mirage 2000 help Ukraine?

SPOILER

quote:

Mirage 2000-5
The Mirage 2000 is a 4th-generation fighter jet that began its history in 1978. Since then, the aircraft has undergone numerous modernizations. Ukraine will receive a modernized version of this jet, the Mirage 2000-5. One of the improvements is its capability to strike ground targets with the latest weaponry.

Preliminary data suggests that Ukraine may receive 27 Mirage 2000-5 jets from France and an additional 7 Mirage 2000B—a two-seat version.

This information is unconfirmed, but conclusions can be drawn from statements by French officials who promised that all equipment set for decommissioning would be transferred to Ukraine. As France transitions to more modern Rafale fighters, the Mirages could be transferred to Ukraine in the quantity stated by officials. It is possible that some of the transferred jets may be used as donors for spare parts.

How can Ukraine utilize the Mirage 2000-5?
Experts indicate that the Mirage 2000 has one drawback: it is not suitable for modern aerial combat. Its enemy detection systems work at a relatively short distance of about 50-80 km, making engaging in combat against Russian 5th-generation aircraft with French fighters impractical.

The strength of the Mirage-2000 lies in its function as a bomber.

• The aircraft can launch Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles. Currently, this function is performed by the Su-24 in Ukraine, but only a few such aircraft are in service, and their durability is unknown. Even one squadron of Mirage 2000s (12 aircraft) would be sufficient to perform combat missions.
• Additionally, the Mirage 2000 can drop guided AASM/HAMMER bombs, which France is also transferring to Ukraine at a rate of up to 50 units per month. It's still unknown if Ukraine will risk using these aircraft to strike enemy positions near the front lines (these bombs work at distances up to 70 km), but the capability to do that exists. Currently, this type of weaponry is used by Soviet-era MiG-29s.
• Another suitable task for the Mirage 2000 is air defense. While the aircraft cannot engage a hypothetical Su-35, it can intercept enemy cruise missiles or Shahed drones.

What else?
F-16 and Mirage 2000 jets are very different, so their preparation for operation in Ukraine is also different.

Ukraine needs to create separate infrastructure for Mirage 2000 jets, gather a stockpile of spare parts for repairs, and find engines and other equipment. This also means preparing maintenance teams and training them to work with these aircraft.

Another challenge is pilot training. Training for F-16s and Mirage 2000s differs, and pilots are not interchangeable. Since the jets are planned to be transferred by the end of 2024, it can be concluded that pilot training for the French fighters will take about six months. France is determined to put maximum effort into meeting these deadlines.

The Mirage 2000 jets will complement the F-16s being transferred by Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, and Belgium. For example, F-16s are not equipped to carry Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles but are better suited for air combat. Thus, the synergy of different types of aircraft will be a significant advantage for Ukraine. Having various aircraft will allow the use of a broader range of weaponry and reduce dependency on any single country.

Currently, Ukraine’s partners have agreed to transfer about 88 F-16 jets. The exact number of Mirage 2000 jets that France will provide is still unknown, but it's likely to be dozens. Thus, Ukraine could receive more than 100 aircraft from its partners in the coming years.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 19:56 schreef polderturk het volgende:
Oekra�ne heeft met de Patriots met een SAMbush de A-50 AWACS van Rusland uit de lucht geschoten.

[ x ]

quote:

Colonel Rosanna 'Ro' M. Clemente
Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations
U.S. Army
Colonel Rosanna (Ro) M. Clemente is a first generation Filipino-American born and raised in New Jersey. She graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2002 with a Bachelor's degree in U.S. History, and holds a Master's of Military Science Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies, and a Master's Degree in Strategic Studies. Ro has held unit leadership and command assignments from the platoon to the battalion level, including battalion command of US PATRIOT in Okinawa Japan. She has advised DARPA project managers on emerging C-IED, virtual reality, command and control, radar, and missile technologies. Ro currently serves as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations - G3 at the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:44 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Nouja die Afrikanen die onder bedreiging die grens over gestuurd worden zijn niet te benijden.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:14 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Arme jongen. En allemaal de schuld van Putin en zijn expansiedrift. Hopelijk zal de oorlog snel stoppen en zal Rusland verslagen worden, terug gedrongen worden en zal Putin en zijn trawanten hiervoor verantwoordelijk worden gehouden.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 21:14 schreef koffiekoekjes het volgende:
Nieuwe verkiezingen in Frankrijk

Adieu steun aan Oekra�ne

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 21:14 schreef koffiekoekjes het volgende:
Nieuwe verkiezingen in Frankrijk

Adieu steun aan Oekra�ne

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 21:14 schreef koffiekoekjes het volgende:
Nieuwe verkiezingen in Frankrijk

Adieu steun aan Oekra�ne

quote:

De eerste ronde van de verkiezingen moet aan het einde van de maand plaatsvinden, op 30 juni. De tweede ronde zal op 7 juli zijn. Hij noemt de uitslag van de Europese verkiezingen “geen goed resultaat voor partijen die Europa verdedigen”.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 21:33 schreef zalkc het volgende:

[..]
Dat is niet direct een zekerheid natuurlijk. Hoer won PVV ook, maar is de steun er ook nog steeds,

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 20:50 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Zij heeft het toch alleen maar over de A-50 die in januari was neer geschoten in dit verhaal over het gebruik van de Patriot in een hinderlaag.

Bij de tweede A-50 in februari was er sprake van de S-200.

Maar zij bevestigd wel dat Oekra�ne een (Duitse) Patriot heeft gebruikt in een meer mobiele setting. Door deze veel heen en weer te bewegen, en dus ook dichter bij het front te gebruiken. Zij bevestigd dus de hinderlaag/shoot en scoot tactiek.

Verder geen idee wie die vrouw is.

https://www.defenceiq.com(...)osanna-ro-m-clemente
[..]
ex Bataljon commander van de Amerikaanse Patriot gestationeerd in Japan. Ze heeft meer dan 20 jaar militaire ervaring zo te zien in leiderschapsposities.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 18:25 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Een vredesakkoord brengt vrede. En daar zijn totaal nog geen aanstalten toe, dus nee.

quote:

Op zondag 9 juni 2024 22:11 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
Ze zouden deze tactiek ook kunnen gebruiken tegen vliegtuigen die glidebommen droppen.

Misschien was het niet zo handig van haar om dit te vertellen.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 20:59 schreef spicymchaggis het volgende:

[..]
Je zou toch mogen verwachten dat de VN de Russen daarvoor op de vingers te tikken, maar daarvoor is die organisatie anno 2024 te anti-westers geworden.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 22:07 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Er is gelukkig 1 trend die wel in het voordeel kan werken. En dat is bij interne verkiezingen er meestal veel meer mensen zijn die gaan stemmen. Terwijl bij de Europese verkiezingen veel mensen verstek laten gaan. En volgens mij zijn het juiste de gemiddelde kiezers die verstek hebben laten gaan.

Hier in Nederland was dat volgens mij 80 procent tegenover 50 procent.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 22:11 schreef zalkc het volgende:
En in Duitsland lijkt de winst van de AFD beperkt

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 21:47 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Triest hoe massaal (in grote mate pro Russische) rechtse partijen nu de Europese verkiezingen aan het winnen zijn. En Macron die nieuwe verkiezingen uitroept.

Putin/Het Kremlins desinformatie campagne en verkiezings beinvloedings campagne heeft blijkbaar een groter effect gehad dan wij hadden kunnen denken.

Laten we hopen dat het volk nog gewoon achter Macron staat en op hem zullen stemmen.

https://www.ad.nl/buitenl(...)van-le-pen~a620702d/
[..]
Dat is al heel snel.

Hij zou nog president tot 2027 zijn geweest.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 22:27 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Die zijn ook uitgebreid in het nieuws geweest vanwege hun bewezen banden met Rusland (en China) natuurlijk. Inclusief alle onderzoeken en zo.

En toch heeft de AfD zo'n 16 procent van de stemmen gekregen, en is hij de 2de grootste partij in de Europese verkiezingen van Duitsland.

Hier in Nederland was dat FvD, die nu geen zetels meer hebben.

Al heeft de PVV deze banden ook, maar dat is al weer ouder nieuws, en zij zijn ook niet (of in elk geval nauwelijks) genoemd bij de onderzoeken dit jaar.

Net zoals Front National zwaar in het nieuws is geweest over hun (en Le pen's) banden met Rusland, en hun extreem rechtse kijk. Dat is ook ��n van de redenen waarom ze nu RN heten. Om dat van hun af te schudden.

Daarom verbaasd het mij ook dat zij zo groot geworden zijn nu.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 22:25 schreef BEFEM het volgende:

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Nee, andersom. Normaal gesproken komen mensen die een hekel aan de EU hebben niet opdagen bij Europese verkiezingen.

https://app.nos.nl/nieuws/ep2024/

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 22:31 schreef BEFEM het volgende:

[..]
Mensen willen gewoon minder migratie.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 21:47 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Triest hoe massaal (in grote mate pro Russische) rechtse partijen nu de Europese verkiezingen aan het winnen zijn. En Macron die nieuwe verkiezingen uitroept.

Putin/Het Kremlins desinformatie campagne en verkiezings beinvloedings campagne heeft blijkbaar een groter effect gehad dan wij hadden kunnen denken.

Laten we hopen dat het volk nog gewoon achter Macron staat en op hem zullen stemmen.

https://www.ad.nl/buitenl(...)van-le-pen~a620702d/
[..]
Dat is al heel snel.

Hij zou nog president tot 2027 zijn geweest.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 22:40 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Niet het merendeel, maar wel inderdaad een steeds grotere en luidere deel van de bevolking. En daar heeft Rusland ook handig gebruik van gemaakt.

En dat doen zij nog steeds, door immigranten uit Afrika/het Midden Oosten te halen en deze richting hun (en de Wit-Russische) grens met de EU te drukken. Waardoor ze rechtse partijen weer munitie geven om de onrust nog verder op te stoken.

Ik ben persoonlijk niet tegen immigratie, omdat ons land er belang bij heeft (bijna alle landen) Zolang ze maar wat te bieden hebben, en zich aan willen passen aan hun nieuwe leefomgeving/cultuur/etc. (in grote mate, ze mogen hun eigen cultuur ook houden, maar zij moeten deze en hun religie niet gaan proberen op te dringen aan ons).

En dan heb ik het niet over asielzoekers. Want die moeten gewoon een plaats kunnen krijgen als zij hun land ontvluchten voor bijvoorbeeld oorlog. Maar ook hun moeten gaan bijdragen aan ons land. Wij zijn geen filantropische instelling tenslotte.

Alleen als iemand echt niet kan bijdragen dan moet dat gerespecteerd worden (denk aan zwaar gehandicapten, of mensen met andere beperkingen).

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 22:56 schreef archito het volgende:
In Frankrijk zijn Parlementsverkiezingen afgekondigd, geen Presidentsverkiezingen. Macron blijft gewoon zitten tot 2027.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 21:47 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Triest hoe massaal (in grote mate pro Russische) rechtse partijen nu de Europese verkiezingen aan het winnen zijn. En Macron die nieuwe verkiezingen uitroept.

Putin/Het Kremlins desinformatie campagne en verkiezings beinvloedings campagne heeft blijkbaar een groter effect gehad dan wij hadden kunnen denken.

Laten we hopen dat het volk nog gewoon achter Macron staat en op hem zullen stemmen.

https://www.ad.nl/buitenl(...)van-le-pen~a620702d/
[..]
Dat is al heel snel.

Hij zou nog president tot 2027 zijn geweest.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 23:17 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Is gewoon democratie.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 23:34 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Niet wanneer deze verkiezingen worden be�nvloedt en gemanipuleerd vanuit buiten af door (ondemocratische) landen zoals Rusland bijvoorbeeld. (desinformatie campagne, nep nieuws etc.)
Niet wanneer de deelnemende partijen en politici vanuit buiten af worden gefinancierd door bijvoorbeeld Rusland.
Niet wanneer landen zoals Rusland express onrust cre�ren zodat de door hun gewenste (en ondersteunde) partijen meer stemmen krijgen.

Wanneer de verkiezingen 100 procent eerlijk zijn dan zal de uitslag ook 100 procent eerlijk en democratisch zijn. Als dan een partij zoals RN, PVV of AfD de grootste wordt dan kun je niets anders doen dan dit te accepteren, of je er nu blij mee bent of niet. (en ja dit is een voorbeeld, ik weet dat de PVV en AfD niet de grootste geworden zijn in deze Europese verkiezingen)

Maar het is al duidelijk dat landen zoals Rusland en China zich in deze verkiezingen en in de deelnemende partijen (en politici) gemengd hebben. Sterker nog in bepaalde gevallen is dit al bewezen.

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Op zondag 9 juni 2024 21:47 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Triest hoe massaal (in grote mate pro Russische) rechtse partijen nu de Europese verkiezingen aan het winnen zijn. En Macron die nieuwe verkiezingen uitroept.

Putin/Het Kremlins desinformatie campagne en verkiezings beinvloedings campagne heeft blijkbaar een groter effect gehad dan wij hadden kunnen denken.

Laten we hopen dat het volk nog gewoon achter Macron staat en op hem zullen stemmen.

https://www.ad.nl/buitenl(...)van-le-pen~a620702d/
[..]
Dat is al heel snel.

Hij zou nog president tot 2027 zijn geweest.

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Op maandag 10 juni 2024 00:01 schreef capricia het volgende:

[..]
Rechts radicaal is niet perse pro Putin of anti hulp aan Oekra�ne.
Kijk naar Itali�. Meloni staat er heel anders in dan een Le Pen.

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Op maandag 10 juni 2024 00:01 schreef capricia het volgende:

[..]
Rechts radicaal is niet perse pro Putin of anti hulp aan Oekra�ne.
Kijk naar Itali�. Meloni staat er heel anders in dan een Le Pen.

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Op maandag 10 juni 2024 00:01 schreef capricia het volgende:

[..]
Rechts radicaal is niet perse pro Putin of anti hulp aan Oekra�ne.
Kijk naar Itali�. Meloni staat er heel anders in dan een Le Pen.

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Op maandag 10 juni 2024 00:26 schreef Joppiez het volgende:

[..]
Niet perse heeft Oekra�ne weinig aan. Hard stelling nemen en in grote getallen wapens enz naar Oekra�ne sturen, dat hebben ze nodig.
Geen slap gelul en geouwehoer, die periode ligt hopelijk toch wel achter ons onderhand.

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Op maandag 10 juni 2024 00:29 schreef ipa84 het volgende:

[..]
Ik vraag me sowieso af of Le Pen de steun voor Oekra�ne zal intrekken. De wapenindustrie in Frankrijk levert het namelijk behoorlijk wat op en is ook aan het groeien. Las daar een tijdje terug een artikel over dat het heeft gezorgd voor flink wat werkgelegenheid.

https://nos.nl/artikel/24(...)door-oorlog-oekraine
https://www.parool.nl/wer(...)ter-wereld~b422baa6/

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Op maandag 10 juni 2024 00:33 schreef capricia het volgende:

[..]
Ik ben ook altijd benieuwd hoe de Russische media deze verkiezingen weer gaan spinnen. De Solovyevs van deze aarde.

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Ukrainian fighter jet hits target in Russia for first time
On Sunday, June 9, a Ukrainian military aircraft struck a Russian command post near Belgorod
This was reported by a Ukrainian military source in an interview with Sky News.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the military source told: "A Ukrainian Air Force (UAF) mission has struck a Russian command node in Belgorod.

It was not immediately known what type of munition was used in the attack, including whether it had been a Western weapon.

"Whilst damage assessment is still occurring, it is confirmed as a direct hit. This is the first UAF munition delivered against a target within Russia."

The Russian defense ministry said its air defenses had shot down a number of Ukrainian drones in the Belgorod region. It was not clear whether this was part of the same attack.

• On June 8, a Russian Su-57 multirole fighter jet was hit at the Akhtubinsk airfield in the Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation, located 589 kilometers from the contact line.

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French President Advocates for Western Instructors in Ukraine
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to establish an “instructor coalition” to send Western instructors to Ukraine.

The Welt am Sonntag reported on this, citing diplomatic sources in Brussels.

According to the publication, last week, French Chief of Defence, Thierry Burkhard, sent letters to the missions of the United States and several European countries inviting them to join the multinational training coalition.

The Netherlands, Poland, the Baltic States, Denmark, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have reportedly received such an invitation. However, according to the publication, Germany has not received an invitation.

SPOILER

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Macron plans to implement the initiative under the auspices of the existing EU training mission in Ukraine (EUMAM). This will require a change in the mission’s mandate, but, as Welt points out, this is quite possible: the mission will still be reviewed this summer, and it will have to be extended in November.

It is noted that there is resistance to Paris’s ideas in Brussels: most EU countries would be against participating in a mission on the territory of Ukraine.

The governments of Italy, Germany, and Spain fear that training Ukrainian troops in a country where hostilities are taking place could create a significant risk of escalation and draw Western countries into the war.

However, according to Welt am Sonntag, there is also a widespread opinion in EU diplomatic circles that there are certainly good reasons from a military point of view to train Ukrainian soldiers on their soil.

In this case, the exercises will be tailored to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the military will not have to leave Ukraine for training.

Militarnyi reported on May 30, 2024, that France may soon deploy military trainers to Ukraine, despite the concerns of some allies.

France would initially send a limited number of personnel to assess the modalities of a mission before dispatching several hundred trainers, two of the diplomats said.

Training would center around demining, keeping equipment operational, and technical expertise for warplanes. Paris would also finance, arm, and train a Ukrainian mechanized brigade.

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Ukrainian Troops Evacuate Comrade Spotted by Drone Reconnaissance

The soldiers of the 47th Mechanized Brigade showcased the process of evacuating their wounded comrade in a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.

The press service of the brigade released the video.

It is reported that the soldier, whose name is Dmytro, was found in a forest during aerial reconnaissance.

The wounded soldier did not know whose drone was watching him, but he started signaling that he needed help anyway.

He pointed to the tourniquet and the clock, saying that time was running out, and then pulled out his military ID, proving that he was not an enemy.

SPOILER

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Евакуація на БМП Bradley пораненого з 5-ю кульовими

After waiting for favorable conditions for evacuation, the medics of the 47th Brigade moved to evacuate the wounded soldier on a Bradley IFV.

“We thank the aerial reconnaissance men for their vigilance, the crew for their maneuverability, and the medics for saving lives,” the Brigade summarized.

Dmytro was ambushed while leaving his position. Engaged in a firefight with the enemy, he sustained five bullet wounds but managed to crawl to safety and administer medical assistance to himself.

The rescued soldier is currently in the hospital undergoing treatment.

Rescue drones
Militarnyi has repeatedly reported on the rescue of Ukrainian soldiers using drones.

On January 20, 2024, it was reported that drone operators of the Jaeger Brigade found and rescued a wounded Ukrainian soldier.

На фронті оператори дронів врятували пораненого бійця ЗСУ

Initially, drone operators could not understand whether the soldier was Ukrainian or Russian and whether he was alive. However, the wounded soldier himself realized that Ukrainian drones were above him and left an inscription with his call sign and the number “300” (designation of the wounded – ed.).

The drone operators immediately flew back, prepared a bottle of hot tea, a lighter, and a flashlight.

The bottle had an inscription on it: “My friend, <…> raise your hand if you can crawl behind the drone.” The bottle was dropped from a drone right under the feet of a wounded Ukrainian soldier.

Then, despite the high risk in the dark, the soldier was taken out of his position and rescued.

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Moscow issues protest note to Yerevan after Armenian delegation visits Bucha

^{Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan, the head of the Nor Nork district of Yerevan, with Bucha Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk in Bucha on June 2, 2024. (Armenian Embassy in Ukraine / Facebook)}

Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a note of protest to Yerevan after an Armenian delegation visited Bucha earlier in June, Russian state-controlled news agency Russian state-run media outlet TASS reported on June 9.

Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv, was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

After the city was liberated at the end of March 2022, mass graves with civilians were discovered, and thousands of war crimes were documented, making Bucha a symbol of Russian atrocities in Ukraine.

Armenian Ambassador to Ukraine Vladimir Karapetyan and Tigran Ter-Margaryan, the head of the Nor Nork district of Yerevan, met with Bucha Mayor Anatolii Fedoruk on June 2.

SPOILER

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"During the meeting, the possibilities of establishing cooperation between the Bucha community and the Nor Nork administrative district of Yerevan were discussed," the Armenian Embassy in Ukraine said on social media.

The Armenian delegation laid "flowers and honored innocently killed residents of Bucha near the memorial complex" and "handed over humanitarian aid in the form of medicines."

"We are proud of the courage of the Ukrainian people and are always ready to support Bucha and other communities affected by hostilities," the Embassy quoted Ter-Margaryan saying.

Russia considers the visit "to be an unfriendly step," Tass said, citing Russia's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

Zakharova claimed that the protest note was issued "in connection with the transfer of assistance to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the unacceptable statements made there against Russia."

Recent months have seen a growing rift between Yerevan and Moscow, exacerbated after Russian "peacekeepers" in Nagorno-Karabakh did not prevent Azerbaijan's armed seizure of the region in September 2023.

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Op maandag 10 juni 2024 00:38 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]

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Pro-Ukrainian EPP leads in elections to European Parliament, exit polls state
The pro-Ukrainian European People's Party (EPP), the biggest group in the European Parliament, is winning the elections to the European Parliament, which end on 9 June.

Source: exit polls on the elections results, published by German TV channels ARD and ZDF at approximately 18:00 on 9 June, as reported by European Pravda with reference to DW

Details: The EPP, which has the biggest fraction in the European Parliament, is receiving about 180 out of 720 seats in the new convocation of the parliament. Ursula von der Leyen is a candidate for the position of President of the European Commission from the EPP.

The Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats remains the second-largest faction, the exit poll says. It may win 135 seats.

It is followed by the Renew Europe liberal group, which can count on a number of 81 to 87 representatives in the parliament.

European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) may win 80 mandates, while a far-right nationalistic groupIdentity and Democracy may win 70 seats. Thus, these two far-right groups will receive 150 mandates in total.

The representation of The Greens-European Free Alliance in the European Parliament is likely to decrease considerably with fewer than 60 seats.

In total, early reports say that right-wing parties will likely have the most significant growth among all the forces compared to the previous elections in 2019.

Background:
• The exit poll for the European Parliament election in Germany predicts a landslide victory for the CDU/CSU opposition bloc, while the party of Chancellor Olaf Scholz is only third after far-rights.
• In Austria, the far-right pro-Russian Freedom Party is a likely winner of the European Parliament elections.
• In Slovakia, the Slovak opposition party Progressive Slovakia won first place, while the party of PM Robert Fico was second.

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Parliament representative accused of escaping to Russia
Suspected Kremlin propaganda efforts?

Parliament representative accused of escaping to Russia
Hamburg's AfD wants to expel a city council member, Olga Petersen, due to her strong connections to Russia. She has been linked to the country for years. Recently, a Russian media outlet shared that she had fled Germany. Several questions still need to be answered.

The Hamburg AfD initiated a removal process against Olga Petersen, a city council member, due to her relations with Russia. A short while ago, the Russian state news agency TASS, one of the Kremlin's many mouthpieces, mentioned that Petersen was compelled to depart from Germany and resettle in Russia.

In the Russian report, a member of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Alexander Brod, engaged in a conversation with TASS. He said that "youth activists were involved in taking three underage children from her family, causing a media frenzy. Consequently, they, as well as their children, were compelled to leave Germany and settle in Russia."

SPOILER

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Brod also trumpeted well-known Kremlin myths about several Western countries. He mentioned that the incidents would evoke memories of "the atmosphere in Nazi Germany" and that there were "intolerable conditions" in the country. He asserted that they would offer Petersen with legal advice, necessary documents, and a job.

Petersen declined to provide any additional comments to the "Hamburger Morgenpost" on the "safety of her family". The social welfare office in the Hanseatic city also did not share any additional information for "data protection reasons." The narrative appears to be the next propaganda victory for the Kremlin. Even so, there are numerous unanswered queries - some of which may never be resolved.

Petersen has faced severe criticisms this year since she attended the Russian presidential election as an observer. She described the evidently manipulated vote count as "open, democratic, and free." The AfD faction remarked that they were "misled"; Petersen had previously stated that she traveled to Russia as a private individual.

"The significant divergences in viewpoints that have emerged make further collaboration unfeasible," it was also stated. Petersen also played a "prominent role in the momentary disintegration of the Harburg district faction."

As per NDR, the AfD member had already been in Russia in 2021 as an "election observer" for the Duma elections. Petersen has been featured on Russian state propaganda program "60 Minutes" in the past. There, she spoke with Evgeny Popov, a familiar Kremlin loudspeaker who is on the sanctions lists of many nations. Popov is also a member of Putin's party, "United Russia."

The most recent entry on Petersen's X-profile shows her in mid-May at a Hamburg City Council meeting. Petersen stated that she was "non-factional" at the time. The AfD faction had announced the exclusion a week prior. There's no recent scheduling on Petersen's website, which is also available in Russian. In her X-profile picture, she says she's a "proud German from Russia."

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Op maandag 10 juni 2024 01:18 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]

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Belgian prime minister resigns after his party suffers huge loss in national and European elections
Belgium’s Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has resigned after his party suffered a disastrous defeat in national and European parliamentary elections on Sunday.

The 48-year-old struggled to hold back tears when announcing the decision on Sunday evening in Brussels.

“I was the figurehead of this campaign. This is not the result I had hoped for, and I therefore take responsibility for this result, it was not meant to be,” de Croo told journalists. “As of tomorrow, I will be resigning as prime minister and I will fully concentrate on current affairs,” he added.

As far as the European Parliament is concerned, De Croo’s Open VLD party also performed poorly, only gaining 5.8% of the vote, according to RTBF polling. The far-right Vlaams Belang party and Flemish nationalist N-VA party were neck and neck, with 14.8% and 14.2% of the vote share respectively, according to the RTBF poll.

In his resignation speech, De Croo promised to allow for a “proper transfer” of power to his successor, stressing that he remains convinced that Belgium “needs a new government with full powers that can take on its tasks.”

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Hungarian PM Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party comes out on top, exit poll shows
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party, in coalition with the country’s Christian Democratic People’s Party (KDNP), has come out on top with 43.7% of the vote, according to an exit poll.

However, this is a roughly 10% drop in support since 2019. In second place, the Tisza party, led by political newcomer Peter Magyar, gained 30.7%.

It’s important to note that Orban’s party is politically homeless in Brussels after Italy’s Giorgia Meloni resisted the authoritarian leader’s request to join the right-wing European Conservatives and Reformists Group (ECR).

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, Orban has been criticized for obstructing the EU’s attempts to send aid to Kyiv.

In 2019, his party was also suspended by the center-right European People’s Party (EPP) amid controversy over democracy and the rule of law in his country.