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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 19:38 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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Ik ben er duidelijk over dat het slechts een gerucht is, en dat ik de bronnen verder niet ken. Dus ik zie niet in hoe ik bij draag aan desinformatie. In de kleine kans dat het waar is zou het wel een belangrijke gebeurtenis kunnen zijn in deze oorlog.

Als ik het als desinformatie zou brengen zou ik deze retoriek niet gebruiken en het hier gewoon neerkwakken met en het weergeven als een feit.

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 19:49 schreef stavromulabeta het volgende:

[..]
In de tijd die je nodig had om het van twitter hier naar toe te posten, had je 3x kunnen googlen op die persoon en tot de conclusie kunnen komen dat die een op zijn minst een hele dubieuze reputatie heeft. Enige minimale kwaliteitscontrole voordat je iets op Fok gooit, kan echt geen kwaad. Interessante en enigszins serieuze bronnen: helemaal top. Maar op een vergaarbak van alle ongefilterde poep van internet zit hier volgens mij niemand te wachten. Nog los van dat het enige mate van betrouwbaarheid uitstraalt als iemand het hier post.

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 20:28 schreef Delenlill het volgende:


Wat wel een feit is dat dit nooit als officieel nieuws naar buiten zou komen in een land als China, zelfs als het daadwerkelijk gebeurd is. Dit zou voor het publiek verborgen worden gehouden. Slechts bij zijn dood zouden wij horen dat hij overleden is. Zonder de ware reden erbij te geven ongetwijfeld.

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Russia hitting fields with FPV drones to burn crops
Farmers in the south of Ukraine lose dozens of hectares of crops due to arsons set by Russian troops

With the beginning of the harvest, the Russian army began purposefully hitting the fields with FPV drones to burn the crops. Such cases are recorded, for example, in Kherson Oblast, said Deputy Chairman of the Ukrainian Agri Council Denys Marchuk at a briefing.

"In Kherson Oblast, there are a very large number of cases when the Russians launch FPV drones to purposefully burn crops. And people who demined their areas, small areas of 100 to 200, 400 hectares, lose 20 or 30 hectares at a time. These are colossal volumes, because this is borrowed money, and from what they had to grow, they wanted to repay loans and plan their economic life accordingly," he said.

According to Marchuk, overall, since the beginning of the full-scale war, the agricultural infrastructure of Ukraine has already suffered losses of more than $50 billion.

"The losses are colossal, because in addition to direct and indirect losses that reach tens of billions of dollars, today we can state that more than $50 billion is the loss suffered by the agricultural infrastructure," Marchuk said.

Hot weather with abnormally high temperatures set in on the territory of Ukraine in July. The lack of rains and intense heat worsened the general condition of agricultural crops in Ukraine, especially late ones.

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Governor: Russia intentionally shells forests in Kharkiv region; rescuers can’t put out fires because forests are mined

Russian military deliberately shells forests and forest stands in Kharkiv Oblast, particularly in Kupiansk and Vovchansk directions, said Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the region, on Ukrainian TV on July 16.

Kharkiv Oblast comes under massive Russian artillery shelling and airstrikes often, even more so since Russia launched a new ground offensive north and northeast of the region in the Vovchansk and Lyptsi directions in May. Officials report over 6,500 hectares of forest in the region catching fire or burning down due to Moscow troops’s attacks.

“That creates pretty significant issues because the units of the State’s Emergency Service (SES) can’t put out fires in the forests because forests are mined. We’re putting up checkpoints around populated areas for the fire not to spread onto residential buildings,” Syniehubov said.

Apart from that, emergency services’ work is complicated by the risks of Russian double-tap strikes.

The State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine estimates that the Russian military invasion has damaged almost 30% of Ukraine’s forests. The Kharkiv region suffered damage to 40-45% of its forests.

Read more
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine: The Russian Federation caused environmental damage to Ukraine’s nature worth about $63 billion over the two years of the full-scale invasion.

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Amid brain drain at home, Russian companies are increasingly recruiting in Africa
In light of a significant exodus of educated young professionals from Russia since the war in Ukraine began in 2022, Russian companies have in the first six months of the year been increasingly looking to hire employees from Africa, Russian business daily RBC reported on Tuesday.

Citing data provided by Russia’s largest job hunting platform HH.ru, RBC said that Russian companies had “significantly” expanded their recruitment activities in Africa, with the number of vacancies targeting candidates from countries including Kenya, Zimbabwe, Cameroon, Algeria, Uganda and Mauritius, growing several fold since January.

Seven of the 10 countries to see the biggest increase in recruitment activities by Russian companies so far this year were African, RBC said, while efforts to attract candidates from the US and multiple European countries decreased.

African migrant labourers occupy “diverse niches” in the Russian job market, Vsevolod Sviridov of the Centre for African Studies at Moscow’s Higher School of Economics told RBC, adding that while many take on low-skilled positions in construction or agriculture, others are appointed to “senior managerial positions in large Russian companies”.

While foreign experts in sales, marketing and IT have long been those most sought after by Russian companies, the first half of 2024 also saw demand for foreign scientists and teachers double, RBC found.

Despite the number of Africans coming to work in Russia growing every year, overall, most Russian companies seeking to hire workers from abroad continue to focus their recruitment efforts on Kazakhstan and Belarus, two countries that have similar labour laws to Russia, RBC concluded.

According to data from Russia’s Federal Security Service cited by RBC, foreign citizens entered Russia for work purposes 1.4 million times in the first quarter of 2024, the majority of whom came from Uzbekistan (689,000) and Tajikistan (358,000).

On Tuesday, independent news outlet The Bell reported that over 650,000 Russians had left the country for good since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with Armenia, Kazakhstan and Israel the most popular destinations for Russian emigr�es.

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:12 schreef Momo het volgende:
[ x ]

Ah de Russen hadden ook hun MH17 dienst...

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 19:48 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]
[ x ]
[ x ]

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:12 schreef Momo het volgende:
[ x ]

Ah de Russen hadden ook hun MH17 dienst...

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:14 schreef Starhopper het volgende:

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Geen Nederlandse vlag De haat zit diep

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:18 schreef Shotty het volgende:

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Vraag mij dan toch af: waarom geen NL vlag? Dat waren de meeste slachtoffers, en veel van die landen waar ze met de vlag zwaaien geven ook behoorlijk wat steun aan Oekraine…

Vraag mij af wat de boodschap daarvan is?
[..]
Hoop het, heeft Rutte toch wat goeds gedaan :-)

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:12 schreef Momo het volgende:
[ x ]

Ah de Russen hadden ook hun MH17 dienst...

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:21 schreef Starhopper het volgende:

[..]
Ze zijn boos omdat we F16's gaan leveren?

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Russian Ex-President Warns NATO: Ukraine's Membership Would Be a Declaration of War
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has issued a stark warning regarding Ukraine's potential membership in NATO, describing it as a de facto declaration of war against Moscow.

An Irreversible Path
According to Digi24 Medvedev, now serving as the Vice Chairman of the Russian Security Council, emphasized that only NATO's prudence could prevent a scenario that might lead to global catastrophe, as reported by Kyiv Independent.

During last week's NATO summit, alliance leaders pledged support for Ukraine's "irreversible path towards full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership," though without specifying a timeline. Medvedev, a key figure within the Kremlin, spoke to Argumenty i Fakty, stressing that Ukraine's accession to NATO posed more than a direct threat to Moscow's security.

"It would essentially be a declaration of war – albeit delayed," Medvedev asserted. "The actions taken for years by Russia's opponents, expanding the Alliance... have pushed NATO to a point of no return."

Not a Threat to NATO
He reiterated Russia's stance, echoing sentiments dating back to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, that Russia does not threaten NATO but will respond to its attempts to advance interests.

"The more such attempts multiply, the harsher our responses will become. Whether this fractures the entire planet depends solely on NATO's prudence," Medvedev warned.

He also dismissed any expectation of change with Mark Rutte assuming NATO leadership, asserting, "For Russia, nothing changes, as key decisions are not made by NATO member states but by one country – the United States."

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Russia and Ukraine exchange 190 prisoners of war in deal mediated by UAE

Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 95 prisoners of war on Wednesday in a deal mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Defence Ministry announced.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the exchange on Telegram, announcing that servicemen from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, and border guards have returned to Ukraine as part of the deal.

Zelensky thanked the exchange team and the United Arab Emirates for facilitating the exchange. “No matter how difficult it is, we are looking for everyone who may be in captivity. We have to bring everyone back,” the Ukrainian president wrote.

The Russian Defence Ministry announced that the 95 Russian servicemen “who were in mortal danger in captivity” had been returned “from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime”. The ministry added that the soldiers would be flown to Moscow “for treatment and rehabilitation at the Ministry of Defence’s medical facilities”.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova said on Wednesday that she had met with a representative of the Ukrainian ombudsman’s office to discuss “upcoming joint humanitarian actions, including those related to family reunification”.

The exchange is one in a series of deals mediated by the United Arab Emirates, the most recent being an exchange of 180 prisoners in June. This is the sixth exchange mediated by the UAE this year, totalling 1,400 prisoners swapped, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

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Over the year, payments to Russian military personnel and their relatives amounted to an amount equivalent to 1.5% of GDP
From July 2023 to June 2024, payments to Russian military personnel participating in the war with Ukraine, as well as to the wounded and relatives of dead soldiers, could amount to between 2.75 and 3 trillion rubles, the Re:Russia project calculated .

This amount, the authors of the calculation explain, consists of 1.55-1.8 trillion rubles in monthly payments to military personnel (including one-time payments for signing a contract) and approximately 1.2 trillion in payments for injuries, mutilations, and death.

The total amount of payments corresponds to 1.4-1.6% of Russia's expected GDP in 2024, as well as 7.5-8.2% of all federal budget expenditures for the current year and 3.4-3.7% of all consumer spending of Russians in 2023.

"In the 12-month period under review, the total consumer spending of Russians increased by approximately 8 trillion rubles, while the growth in deposits was about 4.5 trillion. As can be seen from these calculations, the income of Russian citizens (military personnel and their heirs) from the war plays a significant role in maintaining high rates of growth in consumption and savings - along with the growth of wages, which is the main focus of economists," the authors of the study note.

• By the end of 2023, there was significantly more money in Russians' bank accounts - about 18% compared to the end of 2022. In the vast majority of regions, the amount of money in accounts grew at about the same rate as the national average, or even slower. However, in about a dozen regions of Russia, the growth rate was more than 25% (on average compared to the same months of 2022). According to economists , this is due to payments to contract soldiers and mobilized personnel, as well as compensation to the families of the dead and wounded.

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:32 schreef Shotty het volgende:

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Doet Belgi� ook, die hebben wel een vlag, dus dat specifieke dingetje is het niet.

Overigens, de Nieuw Zeelandse vlag mist ook.
De UK krijgt dan wel weer een vlag.

Filmpje bij de NOS: super hallucinant
https://nos.nl/l/2529235

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:31 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]
Tuurlijk Boris.

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Judgment of the Higher Regional Court of Stuttgart
Couple convicted of supplying drone parts to Russia
A man and his partner delivered around 120,000 drone parts to Russia. There, the electrical parts were installed in the Orlan 10 reconnaissance drone. The penalties for the couple are severe.

A German-Russian business couple has been sentenced to prison and suspended sentences by the Stuttgart Higher Regional Court for smuggling drone components to Russia . The main defendant will be imprisoned for six years and nine months, the court announced on Wednesday. His co-defendant received a suspended sentence of one year and nine months.

The Senate considered it proven that the 59-year-old managing director of two companies had delivered a total of 120,000 components to companies in Russia between January 2020 and May 2023 and circumvented EU sanctions. The goods had been used for military purposes, the criminal senate ruled. One of the companies produces, among other things, Orlan 10 reconnaissance drones, which the Russian armed forces use in their war of aggression against Ukraine . According to the indictment, the electrical components supplied are a common part of this type of drone and are covered by the European Union's Russia embargo.

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Drone parts worth 875,000 euros sold
The 59-year-old delivered the material needed to manufacture drones, in part, to bogus companies in Russia via a company in Baden-W�rttemberg run by the co-convicted 53-year-old, but actually also controlled by him. From there, it then reached the end customer. In total, he earned around 875,000 euros from the prohibited trading transactions.

The delivered parts, such as converters, amplifiers and transistors, were purchased in Germany , among other places , as the Senate President announced. False recipients were then specified. This was intended to create the impression that the components remained in Germany. But the items were delivered to a company in Saint Petersburg , among other places . After the Russian attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the EU tightened its sanctions again. The man and woman adapted their business model and then, according to the court's conviction, delivered the components to Russia via Turkey , China or the United Arab Emirates.

According to the verdict, the man was held responsible for the "criminal energy" used to circumvent the sanctions. He had secured a continuous source of income and considered giving up his part-time job at a railway company in Saarland in order to concentrate fully on exports, the judge said in her verdict. The man partially admitted the allegations in court. With the verdict, the court complied with the request of the Federal Prosecutor General. The case had been under trial since May.

The man was arrested in March 2023 and has been in custody since then. His co-defendant was also temporarily held in custody, but was later released. The Federal Prosecutor's Office took over the investigation into the case because of its importance. The office therefore also led the prosecution in the trial.

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Romania plans to place an order for K2 Black Panther tanks

^{K2 Black Panther tank from the Ground Forces of Poland. Photo credits: Matthew Foster}

The Romanian Ministry of National Defence plans to place an order to purchase South Korean K2 Black Panther tanks.

The South Korean publication MBC News reported on this.

According to the publication, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence plans to purchase 300 to 500 K2 Black Panther main battle tanks.

The K2 Black Panther tanks are to be purchased as part of the Romanian Armed Forces modernization program, which runs until 2040 and aims to purchase the latest weapons, aircraft, and ships.

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^{K2 Black Panther tank. The photo is illustrative}

The K2 will be purchased in addition to the 54 M1A2 SEP v3 tanks that Romania plans to order to strengthen its armored forces.

The Romanian Ministry of National Defence is interested in purchasing K2 tanks because the South Korean company Hanwha offers favorable conditions for their purchase by Romania.

The company also seeks to cooperate closely with the Romanian defense industry, which could potentially be involved in the production of certain components for K2 tanks.

In 2022, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence signed a defense cooperation agreement with Hyundai Rotem (now Hanwha), which paved the way for the potential purchase of tanks of this type, as well as for the Romanian defense industry to participate in the creation of a separate modernization.

^{Polish K2 tanks. Photo credits: Daniel Wojcik}

In addition, in 2024, the company conducted demonstration tests of the K2 tank, which, according to the Romanian military, were very successful and fully interested Romania in their purchase.

An additional interest is the investment that the Hanwha company will make in the Romanian defense industry, which, according to some sources, will be able to assemble tanks of this type. Additional investments will also be made in the Romanian railroad, which currently does not have the capacity to transport military equipment weighing more than 50 tons.

Romania and South Korea have started very close cooperation, aimed at Romania’s purchase of a large amount of South Korean-designed equipment, including tanks, armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery systems, and aircraft.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Romanian Ministry of National Defence signed a contract for the purchase of South Korean K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers.

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Romania plans to purchase two patrol ships

^{Romanian and Spanish frigate at Sea Breeze 2020. Photo credits: ArmyInform}

Romania plans to purchase two patrol vessels for its own needs.

Monitorul Apararii reported on this.

The procurement budget is estimated at �300 million, or almost 1.5 billion Romanian lei.

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Yesterday, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence hosted an informal meeting between the Minister and Romanian journalists to discuss the outcome of the NATO summit in Washington and current and future programs.

Among them was the intention to purchase two patrol vessels worth �300 million. The kind of project to be ordered and the contract terms were not reported.

It is worth mentioning that last year, the Romanian Ministry of National Defence canceled the contract under which the French company Naval Group was to build four Gowind 2500 corvettes for the Romanian Navy. The contract was canceled because the tender winner did not sign the framework agreement within the customer’s time frame.

^{The Port Said corvette (ENS 976) of the Gowind 2500 project of the Egyptian Navy. January 2021. Photo credits: Alexandria Shipyard}

The tender itself was announced in March 2018. The government allocated about �1.6 billion for its implementation. In 2019, it was announced that the French company Naval Group won the tender, offering four Gowind 2500 corvettes worth �1.2 billion.

In the same year, the contract was suspended, as the Romanian contractor of Naval Group, Santierul Naval Constanta, filed a lawsuit to cancel the procurement procedure.

The main condition of the contract was that the vessels had to be built in Romania and owned by a company registered in the EU or NATO countries. Among the available manufacturers that meet these conditions, Damen is worth mentioning.

In the fall of 2022, Damen Shipyards launched the construction in Romania of two OPV 2600 patrol vessels for Pakistan.

^{The ceremony of launching the construction of OPV 2600 patrol vessels for Pakistan in Romania. October 2022, Romania. Photo credits: Damen Shipyards}

Prior to that, in February and November 2020, Damen delivered two OPV 2300 patrol vessels to the Pakistani Navy.

Romania has its own production capabilities to implement the plans. However, it is unknown when the implementation is planned and other details, as there have been examples of construction in other countries, such as the FCS 4008 Patrol.

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Germany to halve military aid for Ukraine despite possible Trump White House
Germany plans to halve its military aid to Ukraine next year, despite concerns that U.S. support for Kyiv could potentially diminish if Republican candidate Donald Trump returns to the White House.

German aid to Ukraine will be cut to 4 billion euros ($4.35 billion) in 2025 from around 8 billion euros in 2024, according to a draft of the 2025 budget seen by Reuters.

Germany hopes Ukraine will be able to meet the bulk of its military needs with the $50 billion in loans from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets approved by the Group of Seven, and that funds earmarked for armaments will not be fully used.

"Ukraine's financing is secured for the foreseeable future thanks to European instruments and the G7 loans," German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said on Wednesday at a news conference.

Washington pushed to "front load" the loans to give Ukraine a big lump sum now.

Officials say EU leaders agreed to the idea in part because it reduces the chance of Ukraine being short of funds if Trump returns to the White House.

Alarm bells rang across Europe this week after Trump picked Senator J.D. Vance, who opposes military aid for Ukraine and warned Europe will have to rely less on the United States to defend the continent, as his candidate for vice president.

Trump sparked fierce criticism from Western officials for suggesting he would not protect countries that failed to meet the transatlantic military alliance's defence spending targets and would even encourage Russia to attack them.

Germany has faced criticism for repeatedly missing a NATO target of spending 2% of its economic output on defence.

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Depleted military stocks
The stocks of Germany's armed forces, already run down by decades of underinvestment, have been further depleted by arms supplies to Kyiv.

So far, Berlin has donated three Patriot air defence units to Kyiv, more than any other country, bringing down the number of Patriot systems in Germany to nine.

Germany's fractious coalition of left-leaning Social Democrats, pro-business liberals and ecologist Greens has struggled to comply with NATO's spending target due to self-imposed rules that limit the amount of state borrowing they can take on.

Although military aid to Ukraine will be cut, Germany will comply with the NATO target of spending 2% of GDP on defence in 2025, with a total of 75.3 billion euros.

Days after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a "Zeitenwende" – German for historic turning point - with a 100 billion euro special fund to bring the military up to speed.

From this special fund, there will be 22.0 billion euros more for defence, plus 53.3 billion euros in the regular budget, still less than that sought by Defence Minister Boris Pistorius.

The defence budget is set to receive a meagre 1.3 billion euros more than in 2024, far below the 6.7 billion euros requested by Pistorius.

As ever-increasing annual operating costs outpace this rise, the defence ministry is being forced to cut ammunition orders for 2025 by more than half, reduce procurement by 260 million euros and research and development by over 200 million euros.

The budget for 2025 comes with the mid-term financial planning until 2028, the year when the armed forces' special fund to meet NATO's minimum spending goals is due to run out and 80 billion will be needed for defence, as noted in the financial plan.

In 2028, there is a gap of 39 billion euros in the regular budget, of which 28 billion euros are needed to comply with the NATO target without the special fund, sources from the finance ministry said.

Decisions on how the hole will be plugged are not likely to be taken until after the 2025 election.

"The 80 billion euros that have been put on display for 2028 simply do not exist," said Ingo Gaedechens, member of the parliament's budget committee from the conservative opposition party CDU.

"The coalition is not even trying to cover this up but are openly admitting it."

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 20:33 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:
Wat een gezeur om Orban trouwens.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 01:17 schreef sturmpie het volgende:
:kijk, je kan 't zo oplossen, je zegt tegen Putin:

Ga terug in je hok. Trek al je troepen terug. �f:

Wij, uw buurlanden, zullen uw land binnen dringen en alle militaire en overheidsdiensten overnemen.

Als we dat gerealiseerd hebben gaan we Rusland besturen via de grootste multinationals.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 01:22 schreef Perrin het volgende:

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Heel slim. Gewoon net als Rusland een bloederige veroveringsoorlog beginnen, dat men daar niet eerder opkwam.

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 22:46 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.reuters.com/w(...)te-house-2024-07-17/
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SPOILER

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:18 schreef Shotty het volgende:

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Vraag mij dan toch af: waarom geen NL vlag? Dat waren de meeste slachtoffers, en veel van die landen waar ze met de vlag zwaaien geven ook behoorlijk wat steun aan Oekraine…

Vraag mij af wat de boodschap daarvan is?
[..]
Hoop het, heeft Rutte toch wat goeds gedaan :-)

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 22:37 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op woensdag 17 juli 2024 21:31 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]
Tuurlijk Boris.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 08:59 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:

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Mis ik een meme of is mijn gevoel voor humor nog niet actief omdat ik nog maar ��n koffie op heb? Ik zie namelijk geen explosie. FAB 1500 en FAB 2000 hebben al veel slachtoffers veroorzaakt dus als het een grap is dan is het niet mijn soort humor maar ieder zijn ding natuurlijk Ook genoeg mensen die in hun broek plasten van Nijntje eleven!

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 00:02 schreef TheVulture het volgende:

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Nou ja, het is natuurlijk wel een enorme egotrip en zo ontzettend schaamteloos. Nooit gedacht dat Orban me nog eens zou verbazen maar het is toch gelukt

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 09:45 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

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Het is wel zo dat de Hongaarse premier van juli 1914 eerst er alles deed bij keizer Franz Jozef om geenmilitaire actie te ondernemen tegen Servi�. We zijn niet door de Hongaren in een wereldoorlog gerommeld.
Misschien heeft Orban dezelfde drive.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 09:45 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

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Het is wel zo dat de Hongaarse premier van juli 1914 eerst er alles deed bij keizer Franz Jozef om geenmilitaire actie te ondernemen tegen Servi�. We zijn niet door de Hongaren in een wereldoorlog gerommeld.
Misschien heeft Orban dezelfde drive.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 09:45 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

[..]
Het is wel zo dat de Hongaarse premier van juli 1914 eerst er alles deed bij keizer Franz Jozef om geenmilitaire actie te ondernemen tegen Servi�. We zijn niet door de Hongaren in een wereldoorlog gerommeld.
Misschien heeft Orban dezelfde drive.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 09:45 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

[..]
Het is wel zo dat de Hongaarse premier van juli 1914 eerst er alles deed bij keizer Franz Jozef om geenmilitaire actie te ondernemen tegen Servi�. We zijn niet door de Hongaren in een wereldoorlog gerommeld.
Misschien heeft Orban dezelfde drive.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 12:58 schreef oheng het volgende:
Yekaterinenburg is ook geraakt. Artillerie reparatie shop volgens mij.
Google Maps linkje.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 12:59 schreef xpompompomx het volgende:

[..]
Da's een aardig stukje van de Oekra�ense grens wel.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 12:58 schreef oheng het volgende:
Yekaterinenburg is ook geraakt. Artillerie reparatie shop volgens mij.
Google Maps linkje.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 13:14 schreef polderturk het volgende:
[ x ]

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 13:15 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]
Wel opvallend hoe Oekra�ne zulke belangrijke doelen diep in Rusland kan vinden.

Spionnen?
Satellietbeelden?

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 11:40 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Hongarije (met de aanval op Servi�) heeft samen met rusland (mobiliseerde als 1e) de 1e Wereld Oorlog gestart. En ook in de 2e Wereld Oorlog stonden ze beiden aan de verkeerde kant van de geschiedenis.

Als er een 3e Wereld Oorlog komt, dan zullen die 2 wederom ongetwijfeld bij de oorzaak betrokken zijn.
Orban probeert "Groot Hongarije" te herstellen, dat is ook 1 van de redenen voor zijn haat richting Oekra�ne.
Orban wil grondgebied van Oekra�ne inpikken.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 13:44 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

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Zijn standpunt werd overschaduwd door de (Oostenrijkse) oorlogshitsers in het Habsburgse Rijk, en de op dat moment veel te oude keizer Franz Jozef, die al 66 jaar op de troon zat, en niet meer helder kon denken. Een beetje vergelijkbaar met de Biden van nu.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 13:44 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

[..]
Tisza, de premier van Hongarije, wilde absoluut geen gewapend conflict met Servi� in juli 1914. Hij vond al dat er al teveel minderheden in het Habsburgse Rijk waren, waaronder ook al behoorlijk wat Servi�rs. Hij voorzag nog meer interne problemen, als er nog een extra gebied erbij zou komen.

Zijn standpunt werd overschaduwd door de (Oostenrijkse) oorlogshitsers in het Habsburgse Rijk, en de op dat moment veel te oude keizer Franz Jozef, die al 66 jaar op de troon zat, en niet meer helder kon denken. Een beetje vergelijkbaar met de Biden van nu.

PS: dat Orban grondgebied van Oekra�ne wil inpikken, is een fantasie in jouw hoofd.

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At the Council of Joint Ministers meeting of the Crown Council, all involved were in full favour of war except Tisza.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 13:44 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

[..]

PS: dat Orban grondgebied van Oekra�ne wil inpikken, is een fantasie in jouw hoofd.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 17:36 schreef Perrin het volgende:
Bradley autocannon.

[ x ]

quote:

Putin Blames Cryptocurrency Mining's Impact for Russia's Power Shortages
The surge in cryptocurrency mining is contributing to significant power shortages across various regions in Russia, according to President Vladimir Putin.

Spike in Electricity Consumption
This issue has become particularly evident in the Irkutsk region and Buryatia, as highlighted by Putin during a recent economic meeting, reports Lenta.

Putin emphasized the gravity of the situation, warning of serious repercussions for businesses, public utilities, and entire communities.

Local authorities have increasingly voiced concerns about the uncontrolled expansion of cryptocurrency mining and the resulting spike in electricity consumption.

Malfunctions in Turbine Generator
In recent days, southern Russia has experienced rolling blackouts due to power deficits. On July 16, residents in Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog, Krasnodar, Elista, Anapa, Armavir, Crimea, and other cities faced electricity outages.
These disruptions were attributed to malfunctions in a turbine generator and the subsequent shutdown of a reactor at the Rostov Nuclear Power Plant, which supplies power to the entire Southern Federal District. Deputy Minister of Energy Yevgeny Grabchak explained that the combination of extreme heat and record-high energy consumption has heightened the risk of further outages.

The power crisis has prompted the Association of Industrial Mining (AIM) to appeal to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin. The AIM urged the government not to stifle the mining industry by imposing bans in regions already facing energy shortages. They argue that such restrictions could severely damage the sector.

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 10:18 schreef xpompompomx het volgende:

[..]
Maar heeft Orban er in 2021 alles aan gedaan bij Poetin om maar geen actie te ondernemen tegen Oekra�ne?

quote:

Explosions heard in Crimea: Windows shattered and power outages reported in Novoozerne
In occupied Crimea, residents are complaining about loud bangs. According to pro-Russian war correspondents, training exercises are taking place on the peninsula, but local social media channels are reporting enemy attacks, according to Russian Telegram channels.

According to pro-Russian public sources, the Russian Ministry of Defense is conducting training exercises in the Chornomorskyi district until 4:00 AM on July 18.

Meanwhile, local channels report that the explosions are particularly loud in the areas of Myrne and Novoozerne. They note that these locations are not in the Chornomorskyi district, where the training is allegedly taking place, but in Yevpatoria.

Subscribers to Russian channels have stated that the explosions in Novoozerne caused windows to shatter and reportedly led to power outages, although this information requires verification.

Additionally, reports of bangs have come from the Donuzlav area. Public channels also mentioned hearing explosions and gunfire in the area of Kozatska Bay. It was reported that a helicopter was firing in bursts at a target, and some ground impacts were visible.

As of now, there are no official details. However, one Russian propagandist wrote that the loud noises heard in Sevastopol were due to Russian forces repelling an attempted attack by a surface drone, which was allegedly destroyed.

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Sea drone alert ends in Russia's key Black Sea port
July 18 (Reuters) - The mayor of the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiisk issued a sea drone alert on Thursday morning which lasted for more than two hours, while a group of unmanned Ukrainian boats was destroyed near Crimea.

Mayor Andrei Kravchenko urged residents to stay away from the city's shoreline in his initial message on the Telegram app. Ukrainian sea drones have in the past attacked Russian ships near the port, disrupting traffic.

Novorossiisk is Russia's largest Black Sea port and a key outlet for crude oil and oil product exports in the south. It also loads oil from Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan and handles grain, coal, fertilizers, timber as well as food and chemical cargoes.

Separately, the TASS news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying 10 Ukrainian sea drones had been destroyed as they approached Crimea, and 33 air drones had been destroyed over the peninsula overnight.

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 18:34 schreef sturmpie het volgende:
.:kijk, je kan 't zo oplossen, je zegt tegen Putin:

Ga terug in je hok. Trek al je troepen terug. �f:

Wij, uw buurlanden, zullen uw land binnen dringen en alle militaire en overheidsdiensten overnemen.

Als we dat gerealiseerd hebben gaan we Rusland besturen via de grootste multinationals.

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Russia welcomes Vance’s views on Ukraine after Trump VP announcement
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Wednesday welcomed Sen. JD Vance’s (Ohio) position on U.S. military and economic support for Ukraine following former President Trump’s announcement he tapped the Ohio lawmaker as his running mate.

“He’s in favor of peace, he’s in favor of ending the assistance that’s being provided and we can only welcome that because that’s what we need — to stop pumping Ukraine full of weapons and then the war will end,” Lavrov said in a press conference Wednesday, according to a translation by Reuters.

Vance has repeatedly expressed concerns about continued U.S. military and financial support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia. He once said he doesn’t “care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.”

The Ohio Republican has raised doubt the U.S. can carry on support to Ukraine, arguing the U.S. does not build enough munitions to sustain the level of assistance currently being given to Kyiv.

“We will work with any American leader, we will remain ready to work with any U.S. leader, who the U.S. people elect,” Lavrov said, if the leader is “willing to engage in equitable, mutually respectful dialogue,” per Reuters.

The Biden-Harris campaign said it was “no surprise” Russia was expressing support for Trump and Vance.

SPOILER

quote:

“Of course Vladimir Putin’s regime supports Donald Trump and JD Vance — Trump encouraged Russia to ‘do whatever the hell they want’ to our NATO allies, greenlit Putin’s expansion into Europe, and signaled to other dictators around the world that under a Trump-Vance administration the United States will not protect its allies or stand up for America’s core values in the world,” Biden-Harris campaign spokesperson James Singer said in a statement Wednesday.

Trump’s choice of Vance sparked alarm bells for some Ukraine supporters who are worried about the implications of the pick given his foreign policy viewpoints. It is not yet clear how much influence Vance would have on foreign policy should Trump win reelection in November.

Lavrov on Wednesday said he believes there was more dialogue between Russia and the White House under Trump, in contrast to the Biden administration.

“It was during the Trump presidency that the sanctions war began. It is fair to say that Obama started it, but sanctions increased during Trump’s presidency, both economic and diplomatic ones. But during that period, the dialogue at the highest level between Washington and us was underway. Right now, there is no such dialogue,” he said, per a translation from CNN.

Trump, who has claimed he had more friendly relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly claimed that he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in just 24 hours if he were the president.

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Seventy percent of Poles think situation in Ukraine poses threat to Poland
In Poland, 70% of the population believes that the current situation in Ukraine poses a threat to the country's sovereignty and independence, and 30% believes that the threat is insignificant or absent.
That's according to a study conducted by Statistics Poland (GUS) regarding public sentiment in Poland in July, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

The poll found that 30.1% of Poles consider the threat to the country's security in connection with the current situation in Ukraine to be very great and 39.9% described it as average. At the same time, 23.8% of respondents are convinced that this threat is insignificant, and 6.2% do not see such a threat.

At the same time, 73.4% of Poles are convinced that the current situation in Ukraine poses a threat to the economic situation in Poland. At the same time, for 29.7%, this threat is significant, 43.7% described it as average, and 26.6% consider it insignificant or absent at all.

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 18:57 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:
Rusland is in ieder geval van plan om het tot 2034 te rekken schijnt.

quote:

Kremlin prepares Russians for 10-year war with complete destruction of Ukraine - ISW
Russian state media published comments by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, in a particular interpretation supporting the Kremlin's efforts to prepare Russians for a prolonged war in Ukraine. The goal, as stated, is allegedly to achieve the destruction of Ukrainian statehood within 10 years, reports the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

In an interview with the Russian publication Argumenty i Fakty on July 17, Dmitry Medvedev stated that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's suggestion that Ukraine could join the alliance within the next ten years was not for nothing. Medvedev claimed that Ukraine will never join NATO, citing potential changes in NATO leadership by 2034 and the possibility that the notorious country 404 may also cease to exist.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that Medvedev did not explicitly state that Ukraine would cease to exist by 2034, but Russian media, including the Kremlin's TASS news agency, quickly published articles with headlines such as Medvedev admitted that Ukraine will not exist in 2034 and Medvedev predicted the disappearance of Ukraine by 2034.

Experts believe this interpretation aims to shape public expectations in Russia that the country can win the war and achieve its goal of destroying Ukrainian statehood within ten years.

This Kremlin narrative directly undermines attempts by some Kremlin officials to suggest that Russia is willing to negotiate for peace with Ukraine. It further emphasizes that the only acceptable end to the war for the Kremlin is the destruction of the Ukrainian state and people, the ISW noted.

"Neither Ukraine nor the West can expect to negotiate with Russia on Russia's terms if Russia's terms are premised on the eradication of Ukraine and its people in the next ten years," the Institute stated.

Earlier, the ISW noted that the Kremlin's harsh and uncompromising conditions for peace negotiations are tantamount to Ukraine's capitulation and indicate President Vladimir Putin's lack of interest in honest negotiations on any terms other than Russian ones.

Previously, Putin stated that the condition for ceasing fire against Ukraine is Kyiv's renunciation of four Ukrainian regions and NATO membership.

quote:

Russian media: Medvedchuk sends letter to Trump seeking to blame Ukraine for assassination attempt
Former pro-Russian Ukrainian lawmaker Viktor Medvedchuk allegedly sent a letter to Donald Trump claiming that “Ukraine's trace may appear” in the attempt on the presidential candidate's life, Russian state news agency TASS claimed on July 16.

In the text, which TASS claimed to have obtained, Medvedchuk calls Trump a "personal enemy" of President Volodymyr Zelensky. He did not provide clear evidence for his claims, reiterating the narratives of Russian propaganda.

On the campaign trail, Trump has repeatedly said he could end Russia's war within 24 hours if elected president, without specifying the steps for reaching a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.

Following an assassination attempt at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, Zelensky wished the former U.S. president "a speedy recovery." Ukraine's President said Kyiv is ready to cooperate with the Republican Party if Trump is elected as the U.S. president.

Medvedchuk urged Trump to stop U.S. support of Ukraine, including the weapons deliveries, and impose sanctions on the “most odious and corrupt representatives” of the Ukrainian authorities.

The pro-Kremlin businessman "wished Trump health, resilience and victory in the upcoming U.S. presidential election," TASS claimed.

SPOILER

quote:

Medvedchuk, who was long thought to be Russian President Vladimir Putin's right-hand man in Ukraine, was detained and exchanged with Russia in a prisoner swap in 2022.

The former Ukrainian politician was then reportedly involved in a number of pro-Kremlin disinformation and propaganda operations aimed both against Ukraine and Western countries.

In early June, the Washington Post reported, citing undisclosed officials and documents, that a Russian propaganda operation was meant to present Medvedchuk to the international public as a potential replacement for Zelensky.

Medvedchuk has been sanctioned by Ukraine, the U.K., the U.S., the EU, and other countries. Czechia's crackdown led to investigations of Russian influence across Europe and implicated several politicians, namely in the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, in allegedly receiving money from Russia.

quote:

Resistance movement burns military equipment at an airfield in Russia

^{Burning military equipment at Bolshoe Savino airfield, Perm, Russia, July 2024. Photo credits: Freedom of Russia Legion}

The Freedom of Russia Legion committed sabotage by setting fire to equipment at a military airport with MiG-31 fighter jets.

The Legion’s press service reported these news on its social media page.

The Russian resistance movement announced the destruction of several units of military equipment at the Bolshoye Savino airport, which belongs to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The Freedom of Russia Legion entered the territory of the military facility and burned vehicles. In particular, the video shows the process of setting two KAMAZ trucks on fire.

SPOILER

quote:

Уничтожение военной техники | возле г. Пермь

Bolshoye Savino is a dual-purpose airport used as a civilian facility and a permanent deployment point for tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

It is reported that MiG-31 fighter jets from the Sokol aviation group of the 6980th Aviation Base of the Russian Aerospace Forces (military unit 69806-2) are based at this airport.

According to publicly available data, up to 24 MiG-31DZ and MiG-31BS long-range fighter jets are based at the military facility.

^{Satellite image of Bolshoye Savino airport}

This is not the first such sabotage since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At the end of 2022, unidentified persons infiltrated the Russian Veretye military airfield in the Pskov region, where Ka-52 attack helicopters are based.

According to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, two helicopters exploded and were destroyed at the Veretye military airfield on the night of October 31 as a result of sabotage. Two other combat aircraft were severely damaged.

In September 2023, the saboteurs planted explosives and blew up aircraft and a combat helicopter at the Russian Chkalovsky Air Base in the Moscow region.

Unidentified persons planted explosives at the airfield and blew up An-148 and Il-20 aircraft (both belonging to the 354th Special Forces Aviation Regiment), as well as a Mi-28N helicopter, which had previously been actively involved in shooting down loitering munitions over the Moscow region.

^{Photo of the Chkalovsky Air Base with damaged IL-20, An-128 aircraft, August 18, 2023. Photo credits: DIU}

And at the beginning of 2024, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine released footage of a Russian Su-34 fighter-bomber being set on fire at a military airfield in Chelyabinsk. The fighter-bomber belonged to the aviation regiment of the 21st Mixed Aviation Division of the Russian Aerospace Forces.

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 12:58 schreef oheng het volgende:
Yekaterinenburg is ook geraakt. Artillerie reparatie shop volgens mij.
Google Maps linkje.

quote:

Russian plant that produces self-propelled guns Msta-S and Tulpan catches fire - video, photo

В Єкатеринбурзі палає військовий завод

A fire broke out on the property of the Uraltransmash factory in Yekaterinburg, Russia, which produces military equipment, reported local outlets.

"It seems that there is a fire on the territory of Uraltransmash," reported a reader of the Yekaterinburg portal E1.ru and sent a video of the fire.

A source of E1.ru said that the roof of an empty workshop was on fire on the grounds of the plant, where welding work was being carried out. Three workers evacuated independently, there were no other people in the shop.

He also reported that the area of the fire began to grow and later the fire spread over 420 square meters.

Later, the press service of Uraltransmash reported that the fire had already been extinguished, and the outbreak allegedly occurred during dismantling work on the territory of the old warehouses.

Uraltransmash claims that the area of the fire was less than 200 square meters.

SPOILER

quote:

REFERENCE. Ural Plant of Transport Mechanical Engineering (Uraltransmash) is a Russian (formerly Soviet) plant that produces military equipment, as well as tram cars, rocking machines, and railway products. This is the only enterprise in Russia that produces self-propelled artillery installations, in particular, Msta-S and Tulpan. Since 2023, the plant has been under the sanctions of Ukraine, the USA and the European Union.



Overnight on March 1 in Yekaterinburg in the Urals, an explosion occurred at the Kalininskaya substation, which supplies three defense plants. At that time, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence said that it was caused by "engaged citizens".

On April 1, the Uralmash military plant in Yekaterinburg was already on fire in the Russian Federation. Then the Russian authorities said that the roof collapsed in one of the workshops at the enterprise.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 18:57 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:
Rusland is in ieder geval van plan om het tot 2034 te rekken schijnt.

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 19:36 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

[..]
En dan bestaat Rusland echt niet meer?

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 18:57 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:
Rusland is in ieder geval van plan om het tot 2034 te rekken schijnt.

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 19:41 schreef Joppiez het volgende:

[..]
Ah, gewoon tot de laatste Rus door gaan dus.

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Zelensky enacts new Maritime Security Strategy of Ukraine

^{Return of the ship "Gryhoriy Kuropyatnikov" to Odesa Photo credits: Ukrainian Sea Guard}

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the Maritime Security Strategy.

This was reported on July 17 on the website of the Office of the President.

The document states that the purpose of the Strategy is to ensure preparedness, comprehensive and effective prevention, and response to threats to Ukraine’s maritime security.

In particular, those that arise on the coastal territories, in its maritime spaces, and in other areas of the world ocean, which are covered by our state’s economic and other interests.

The Maritime Security Strategy should increase the capacity of Ukraine’s security and defense sector components to counter aggression and respond to threats effectively.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{The boat transferred by Estonia. Photo credits: Ukrainian Navy}

Ukraine’s maritime security objectives:
• – increasing the capacity of the Navy and the Maritime Guard to effectively counter aggression and respond to or minimize threats;
• de-occupation of the temporarily occupied coast and maritime zones;
• ensuring sovereignty in Ukraine’s maritime spaces;
• sustainable development of the maritime and river industry, trade, tourism, education and science;
• obtaining compensation and rebuilding damaged infrastructure;
• restoring international peace and security in the Azov, Black, Mediterranean and Baltic Seas;
• overcoming the consequences of hostilities, preventing pollution of seas and rivers, and improving their ecological condition.

According to the decree, the Cabinet of Ministers, together with the Security Service and the Foreign Intelligence Service, must develop and approve an action plan to implement this strategy within three months.

It is the basis for developing other planning documents in Ukraine’s maritime security field.

It is important for Ukraine to restore control over the temporarily occupied territories, the sea coast, and its own maritime spaces, as well as to restore and ensure the safety of sea routes.

The maritime security strategy of Ukraine is based on the following principles:
• defense and security – development of maritime defense capabilities to deter and repel aggression and minimize external threats;
• sustainability – the ability of the maritime and river potential to adapt to changes in the security environment, supporting sustainable functioning;
• development – building and strengthening maritime capabilities to ensure national interests and maritime security;
• interaction – strengthening interagency ties and strategic relations with other states to develop cooperation and national security of Ukraine.

^{Hetman Ivan Mazepa (F-211) corvette. July, 2024. Frame from the video of the Ukrainian Navy}

Maritime security plays an important role in Ukraine’s national security system.

The strategy will be financed by the state budget and other sources, including foreign investments.

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Sweden sends reserve power plants to Ukraine
Sweden is to send 13 diesel-powered reserve power plants to Ukraine to help the country with its energy supply, reports Sweden's radio.

The government is expected to make the formal decision on Thursday. Ebba Busch (KD) says that the power plants should help Ukraine supply hospitals with electricity or deal with disturbances in the electricity grid.

In recent months, Russian robot attacks have targeted Ukrainian power plants. The Ukrainian energy company DTEK has warned that Ukrainians risk being left with only six to seven hours of electricity a day this winter.

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UN Refugee Agency allocates $100 million to help Ukrainians prepare for winter
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi announced a new financial contribution of $100 million to help prepare for the winter season for displaced and war-affected people in Ukraine. The High Commissioner reported this during opening remarks at a meeting on the energy situation in Kharkiv.

In the spring of 2024, the Russian army attacked Ukrainian energy facilities with missiles and drone strikes. On May 8, the Prime Minister reported that they had destroyed or damaged 800 heating facilities in the country.

In particular, the March attacks destroyed the power and heating infrastructure supplying Kharkiv and its region. Currently, local power plants are unable to generate enough electricity to cover all consumer needs, so Kharkiv supplies it from other regions.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, reported that it is concerned that, with the upcoming winter, conditions in Kharkiv could become even more complicated, forcing many people to leave for safety and survival, seeking protection elsewhere.

To prevent further displacement and ensure people remain safe and warm in their homes, UNHCR has launched a comprehensive winter response plan as a part of a broader UN appeal to provide people with cash, help them repair homes or insulate them before the winter season, and pay energy bills.

During his visit, Grandi and the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine handed over ten generators to local governments as an initial contribution to the government-led effort to provide alternative energy sources and keep critical services operational.

Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that the Kharkiv region has already received a state subvention of $239 million to prepare for the heating season. Of this amount, $191 million was allocated for Kharkiv and $47 million for Pisochyn, Solonytsivka, and Slobozhanske in Kharkiv Oblast.

Read more
On July 14, Ga�l Veyssi�re, French Ambassador to Ukraine, arrived in Kharkiv. During a meeting with journalists, he said that France had handed over 13 generators to Kharkiv to keep the city’s heating networks operating during blackouts.

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A Russian man was sentenced in the USA for smuggling electronics to Russia
A Russian man was sentenced to three years in prison in the United States for smuggling dual-purpose American electronics to the Russian Federation.

The US Attorney’s Office reported on this.

It is noted that Russian citizen Maksim Marchenko, together with two accomplices, participated in a foreign illegal procurement network, which, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, purchased a large number of military-grade OLED microdisplays for end users in Russia.

According to the investigation, Marchenko is a Russian national who resides in Hong Kong and operates several Hong Kong-based shell companies, including Alice Components Co. Ltd., Neway Technologies Limited, and RG Solutions Limited.

To conceal the fact that the products were intended for customers from Russia, the end users were named China, Hong Kong, and other countries.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{OLED microdisplay. Photos from open sources}

Marchenko was detained in the United States in September 2023. In February 2024, the Russian pleaded guilty to money laundering and smuggling of American microelectronics.

He admitted that he and his accomplices were smuggling technology to Russia through a network of shell companies.

In addition to the prison term, 52-year-old Marchenko was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

The US Department of Justice explained that Marchenko and his accomplices fraudulently acquired electronics from US distributors that could be used in scopes, night vision goggles, thermal imagers, and other weapons systems.

The day before, a married couple with German and Russian citizenship who were involved in exporting components for UAVs to Russia have been jailed in Germany.

The convicted couple was involved in producing military materials and components, including for Orlan-10 drones.

Production and exports took place in violation of the European embargo, and when sending the components, they indicated false recipients to make it appear as if the components remained in Germany.

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Ukraine might get new 400 km range munitions ERAM soon
Ukraine may get a new air-launched munition currently called ERAM (Extended Range Attack Munition). It is likely a hybrid between a gliding bomb and a cruise missile, which will be characterized by a longer operating range, and exceptional accuracy. Ukraine desperately needs longer-range weapons to deliver deeper blows against Russian military positions in occupied territories.

The US Air Force has announced that Ukraine may receive a new high-precision air-launched weapon called ERAM (Extended Range Attack Munition). It is a gliding bomb with an extended range of about 400 km, which should increase the ability of the Ukrainian Air Force to destroy Russian ground targets from a greater distance. The range is key here as it could allow Ukrainian planes to stay away from the Russian air defences.

According to the current concept, ERAM should be relatively cheap and easy to manufacture. It needs to be made ready soon if it will be delivered to Ukraine. It is easy to think it might be somewhat similar to the JDAM kits. The JDAM is a wing and guidance system kit that turns a conventional bomb into a gliding precision-guided bomb. The ERAM will likely be something similar, but with a range extender of some sort to go much further. According to the US authorities, it is now very important to expand Ukraine’s weapons capabilities.

SPOILER

quote:

Some of the requirements for ERAM are not public, but it is known that this munition should have:
• range of at least 250 miles (400 km);
• maximum speed above Mach 0.6;
• navigation system that must be able to work in conditions of GPS jamming;
• accurate to about 10 metres.

The US wants 1,000 ERAM bombs to be produced within two years after the contract is signed. And this is actually possible because manufacturers already have designs. For example, Boeing’s PJDAM munition, which is a JDAM with a TDI J85 turbojet engine and a SABR-M anti-jamming module, seems to fit the requirements. Raytheon, meanwhile, has a JSOW that also seems to fit the description.

Munitions of this type, it seems, would need a new type name, a separate category. Yes, these are extended-range gliding bombs. But guidance modules and turbojet engines make them quite close to cruise missiles. True, the ERAM should be much cheaper than the JASSM-ER cruise missile and cruise missiles can travel further, but calling it just a bomb with an extended range seems like an oversimplification at this point.

While Ukraine desperately needs longer range weapons like the ERAM, they will certainly be useful to the US as well. Especially if it is proven in Ukraine that even such precise weapons that rely on GPS navigation can be resistant to Russian electronic warfare systems.

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Lithuanian Seimas votes to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions

^{Cluster artillery ammunition. Image: Mark Renders/Getty Images}

On Thursday, July 18, the Lithuanian Seimas voted to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Delfi reported on this.

103 MPs voted in favor of denouncing the international treaty, one was against, and four abstained.

Lithuania’s withdrawal from this convention removes restrictions on the acquisition, stockpiling, and use of cluster munitions in the event of war.

Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurynas Kasčiūnas, who was one of the initiators of the withdrawal from the treaty, said that this step was motivated by the changing geopolitical situation in which the country is.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{DPICM rounds of the US army, during exercises in South Korea. Photo credits: US Army}

“Such conventions are valid when all countries adhere to them. The problem is that the Russian Federation, which is carrying out aggression against Ukraine and has imperialistic ambitions, does not adhere to these rules,” Kasčiūnas said in the Seimas.

He also assured the parliamentarians that modern cluster munitions are much safer and the consequences of their use can be controlled.

At the same time, government officials argue that withdrawal from the convention, which Lithuania joined in 2011, does not cancel the country’s obligations under the principles of international humanitarian law.

After withdrawing from this agreement, Lithuania plans to replenish its arsenal with cluster munitions, which it will purchase together with its allies.

Cluster ammunition
Cluster munitions contain submunitions that are designed to destroy manpower and equipment. They usually explode on contact with a solid base.

^{M438A1 155mm cluster projectile and its design}

However, a certain percentage of such submunitions remain unexploded and pose a danger to people. Such munitions can detonate if touched or picked up.

For this reason, cluster munitions are considered extremely dangerous for civilians, and their use is regulated by a convention signed by individual countries.

quote:

Drones hit Russian coast guard base in occupied Crimea

^{Attack of Ukrainian drones on the Russian coast guard base in the occupied Crimea. July 18, 2024. Footage from the SSU video}

Black Sea Crimea Fleet Occupants elimination Security Service of Ukraine UAV Ukraine War with Russia
A combined attack by Ukrainian naval and aerial drones hit the Russian coast guard base on Lake Donuzlav.

Suspilne reported on this, citing sources in law enforcement. They also released a video from a naval drone.

A combined drone attack by the Security Service of Ukraine was reportedly carried out last night.

According to the sources, this strike damaged and disabled the headquarters, which included a control post, a depot of ammunition and equipment, an electrical substation, technical facilities, and firing positions.

"Last night, the Russian navy conducted exercises to protect the waters of Lake Donuzlav in Crimea. Thanks to the SSU drones, these exercises were a failure, as the Russians were unable to defend even their base, not to mention the lake area," the sources said.

SPOILER

quote:

Українські дрони уразили російську базу берегової охорони в Криму [18 липня]

The released video shows a Ukrainian naval drone landing on a target in Lake Donuzlav while Russians fire at it with small arms and other powerful weapons.

^{A Russian boat in the sights of a naval drone, July 2024. Frame from the SSU video}

A naval drone camera captures several powerful explosions on the shore or near the pier, where the invaders' boats could be located.

In the last seconds of the video, a Russian boat, which was probably hit by a naval drone, is spotted in the camera lens.

^{Boat KS-701 Tuna of the Russian Coast Guard}

Presumably, it was a KS-701 Tuna type boat, which Ukrainian Magura V5 naval drones had previously attacked in temporarily occupied Crimea.

Пожежа в районі озера Донузлав у Криму [18 липня 2024]

On the morning of July 18, the Crimean Wind Telegram channel published a video of a fire near Lake Donuzlav, where eyewitnesses heard explosions at night.

^{Fire near Novoozerne in the temporarily occupied Crimea. July 18, 2024. Photo credits: NASA}

On the morning of July 18, NASA's Firms space-based fire monitoring system also detected a fire near the village of Novoozerne, which is located on the shore of the lake. The Russian invaders' military facilities are there.

^{Fire near Lake Donuzlav and the Black Sea coast in the temporarily occupied Crimea. July 18, 2024. Photo credits: NASA}

Also, the fires were recorded at a greater distance from the lake. This may indicate strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles.

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 14:58 schreef oheng het volgende:

[..]
Afgezien van Tisza was vrijwel iedereen voor oorlog met Servi�. Dus waarom je die opvoert is mij een raadsel. Er zal vast ook een nazi of jap te vinden zijn die tegen oorlog was, maar who the hell cares.

quote:

Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 20:13 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://mil.in.ua/en/news(...)n-cluster-munitions/
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

Weer een stap dichterbij. Nu het ook door het parlement is gekomen is het alleen nog maar een kwestie van een offici�le melding hiervan doen bij de UN? Al zou het kunnen dat daar ook een procedure aan verbonden is natuurlijk.

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Such conventions are valid when all countries adhere to them. The problem is that the Russian Federation, which is carrying out aggression against Ukraine and has imperialistic ambitions, does not adhere to these rules,” Kasčiūnas said in the Seimas.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 20:20 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Laten we wel eerlijk zijn, het zijn niet alleen de Russen die dat verdrag niet ondertekend hebben.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 19:40 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Ik denk dat Rusland de komende 50 jaar nog gewoon bestaat en we daar mee moeten dealen. Het is echt onzin dat het land uiteenvalt.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 20:20 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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[..]
Laten we wel eerlijk zijn, het zijn niet alleen de Russen die dat verdrag niet ondertekend hebben.

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Ukraine signs security agreements with the Czech Republic and Slovenia

^{Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo credits: president.gov.ua}

Ukraine signed security agreements with the Czech Republic and Slovenia during Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the UK.

This was announced on the website of the President of Ukraine on Thursday, July 18.

The two agreements were signed in Woodstock, where Zelenskyy spoke at the European Political Community Summit.

Prime Minister Petr Fiala of the Czech Republic and Prime Minister Robert Golob of Slovenia signed the documents. Both documents are designed for 10 years.

SPOILER

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Agreement with the Czech Republic
The document envisages enhanced cooperation in the military-technical field, primarily in the areas of small and large caliber ammunition, small arms and light weapons production, as well as UAVs, electronic warfare, and heavy equipment.

^{Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. July 18, United Kingdom. Photo from the Czech Prime Minister’s page on X}

The agreement stipulates that Ukraine and the Czech Republic will strengthen their ammunition production capacities and establish joint ventures.

It is also noted that Prague has already provided Kyiv with military assistance worth almost �400 million and will continue to support it with the same dynamics over the 10 years of the document’s validity. The Czech Republic will also explore options for the supply of additional military equipment, taking into account Ukrainian needs.

The Czech Republic will continue to assist Ukraine as part of its initiative to supply 155 mm and 122 mm artillery shells with the support of partner countries. The countries will also continue to jointly train about 4,000 Ukrainian defenders annually within the framework of the EU Military Assistance Mission to Ukraine (EUMAM).

Agreement with Slovenia

^{Prime Minister of Slovenia Robert Golob and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. July 18, United Kingdom. Photo credits: Office of the President of Ukraine}

The President’s Office noted that Slovenia has already provided Ukraine with 13 military assistance packages and plans to maintain this level of support throughout the ten-year term of the agreement.

Slovenia will also assist in the training of the Ukrainian military within the framework of the EU Mission EUMAM. In addition, the countries will cooperate in finding sources of funding for the Ukrainian defense industry.

The security agreement provides for deepening cooperation in the areas of information and cybersecurity, fighting organized crime, intelligence and counterintelligence, and humanitarian demining.

Ukraine has now signed a total of 25 bilateral security agreements with various countries.

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Ukraine will not renew transit agreement with Russian Gazprom company
Ukraine’s state oil and gas company Naftogaz will not renew the agreement on the transit of Russian gas. The Ukrainian government is looking for alternative decisions to support the operation of the Ukrainian gas transportation system.

Source: Oleksii Chernyshov, the chairman of the board of Naftogaz, in an interview for the Liga.net media outlet

Quote: "I can say with certainty that Naftogaz will not renew the transit agreement with the Gazprom company. We are not holding negotiations and are not planning to do it."

Chernyshov stated that at the moment only 4% of the total need of European countries for gas is being transported through Ukraine by transit.

"In fact, we are looking for alternatives. For instance, businesses from Azerbaijan contacted us. Specifically, the Socar company. But so far there has been no final decision. And it’s early to talk about that," Chernyshov added.

Background:
• Ukraine negotiates supplying natural gas to the EU with Azerbaijan, as it is determined to preserve its role as a transit country.
• The agreement on the supply of Russian gas to the EU through Ukraine is coming to an end, which provokes discussions in Europe regarding the possible renewal of the Russian supply or looking for an alternative.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 20:26 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

Dat is zo. Maar het was wel Rusland die begon ze te gebruiken in deze oorlog, en dan ook nog eens vooral op steden en zo, waarop Oekra�ne volgde (die ook niet getekend heeft). Oekra�ne is in elk geval wel verstandiger in waar en hoe zij deze wapens gebruiken.

Maar zoals Litouwen aangaf, zolang niet iedereen hiervoor getekend heeft, en zolang er een kans is dat Rusland dit soort wapens ook in hun land zou kunnen gebruiken is het hebben van dit verdrag alleen maar een obstakel. Wij als Nederland zitten ver buiten eventuele conflict zones. Dus wij kunnen prima in het verdrag blijven. Zelfs als de NAVO in oorlog komt. Maar voor landen die dan aan de frontline zitten is dat niet handig.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 20:32 schreef Joppiez het volgende:

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Misschien kunnen landen ook wel gelijk afstand nemen van het verdrag van Geneneve. Is ook wel min of meer duidelijk geworden dat het op luchtkastelen gebouwd is.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 20:41 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Het gaat mij niet eens om Rusland of Oekraiene. Ook bv. de VS heeft dat verdrag niet ondertekend.

Aan het begin van dit conflict hebben we hier al hele discussies over gevoerd en ook de mogelijkheden om dat verdrag te omzeilen zijn voorbij gekomen. Het hele verdrag was per definitie een wassen neus.

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Moskou dreigt kernraketten op 'stand-by' te zetten
Rusland overweegt om zijn eigen kernraketten op stand-by te zetten in reactie op de geplande stationering van Amerikaanse langeafstandsraketten in Duitsland. De Russische vice-minister van Buitenlandse Zaken Sergej Rjabkov sprak met journalisten in Moskou. “Door de schuld van de Bondsrepubliek Duitsland, maar vooral van de VS, die aan het hoofd staan van de NAVO, zijn de afspraken op het gebied van wapenbeheersing volledig van tafel”, aldus de diplomaat.

Onder deze omstandigheden moet Rusland zijn reactie ‘helder en duidelijk' formuleren, “Dit is voor niemand een bedreiging, dit is een kans om het meest effectieve algoritme te vinden om te reageren op uitdagingen, ook vanuit kostenperspectief”, aldus Ryabkov.

In de marge van de NAVO-top in Washington vorige week werd bekend dat de VS vanaf 2026 weer wapensystemen met een groot bereik in Duitsland gaat stationeren. Het gaat onder meer om kruisraketten van het Tomahawk-type met een bereik tot 2.500 kilometer, die ook kunnen worden uitgerust met kernwapens. SM-6 luchtafweerraketten en nieuw ontwikkelde hypersonische wapens staan ook in de planning om in Duitsland geplaatst te worden.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 20:43 schreef AchJa het volgende:

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Gezien de beelden die voorbij komen trekken beide landen zich daar geen reet van aan.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 20:19 schreef BlaZ het volgende:

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Maar goed, de Servische veiligsheidsdiensten waren ook gewoon betrokken bij de moordaanslag en er waren duidelijke politieke connecties; er was een geldige casus belli. De reactie van Servische premier na de aanslag was ook niet gericht om de boel te sussen, maar eerder om het vuurtje verder op te stoken.

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US rock band manager Travis Leake sentenced to 13 years in Russian penal colony, following drug charges

^{US citizen Travis Leake has been sentenced to 13 years in a Russian penal colony by a court in Moscow, after drug charges relating to last year. REN TV}

American citizen Travis Leake has been sentenced to 13 years in a penal colony in Russia, state media RIA Novosti reported Thursday, after he was detained on drug charges last year.

A Moscow court had accused the “former paratrooper and musician” of engaging in a narcotics business, according to RIA. Leake pleaded not guilty to the charges, Russian state media TASS said.

“I don’t understand why I’m here. I don’t admit guilt, I don’t believe I could have done what I’m accused of because I don’t know what I’m accused of,” Leake reportedly said in his statement to police when he was arrested in June 2023, per tabloid outlet Ren TV.

SPOILER

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His sentencing comes as diplomatic relations between Washington and Moscow are at a historic low, with Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine raging on. Leake is one of at least a dozen US citizens and dual nationals currently being detained in Russia, including Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in the country since the Cold War.

Leake is a frontman in Lovi Noch, which translates to “Catch the Night,” and was also a producer for other music groups in Moscow. In 2014, he expressed his frustrations with censorship as part of an interview with CNN. Host Anthony Bourdain personally chose Leake for the episode of Parts Unknown in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

From January to June 2023, Leake allegedly purchased narcotic drugs from an accomplice in another criminal case, Russian state media reported, citing Moscow’s prosecutor’s office.

Leake packaged the narcotics for sale, prosecutors said, after which he transferred the drugs to an accomplice to hide. He and the accomplice made four attempts to sell over 40 grams of mephedrone (also known as “meow-meow”), according to the court.

According to investigators, Leake also kept more than 1.6 grams of the narcotic substance at his home, as well as tablets containing MDMA, all of which were confiscated during operational activities.

A second person involved in the case was also found guilty and sentenced to time in a penal colony, Russian state media reported Thursday.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 21:23 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Moskou dreigt kernraketten op 'stand-by' te zetten
[..]

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 21:23 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Moskou dreigt kernraketten op 'stand-by' te zetten
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How Russia’s ECONOMY Is Already BANKRUPT

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 22:35 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Actie reactie

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 22:35 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Actie reactie

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 22:56 schreef bleiblei het volgende:

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Jep. Als de Fransen hun nukes op Moskou flikkeren. Typ je dan hetzelfde?

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Daughters of Russian tycoon worth $18B want off Canada’s sanctions list, but minister says no

The Canadian government has denied a request to lift economic sanctions imposed on the daughters of a Russian billionaire and alleged “close associate” of President Vladimir Putin.

Records obtained by Global News show that Foreign Affairs Minister M�lanie Joly rejected the appeals of Larisa and Ekaterina Fridman, whose father is banking tycoon Mikhail Fridman.

Wanted by the Security Service of Ukraine, Fridman is described in Global Affairs Canada documents as a “top Russian financier,” and associate of Putin who “acquired state assets through government connections.”

A native of Ukraine with Israeli citizenship, he is the founder and main shareholder of Alfa Group, which owns Alfa Bank, a major Russian financial institution. Forbes put his net worth at more than $18 billion.

Canada sanctioned Fridman in April 2022. His family was added the following month. The daughters applied to be taken off the list in December 2022, but were rejected by Joly on Nov. 24, 2023, records show.

Although the women, who live in New York and Tel Aviv, said they opposed the war in Ukraine and were financially independent, Joly wrote in letters rejecting their pleas that sanctioning families of Russian elites was justified.

SPOILER

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^{Canada’s Foreign Minister Melanie Joly with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka).}

Moving money through relatives and close associates is the most popular method used to dodge sanctions imposed in response to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the minister wrote.

“Maintaining limited financial ties or dependence on your father does not preclude him from attempting to use you to maintain access to his funds or circumvent sanctions prohibitions,” the letter signed by Joly said.

“Maintaining your listing helps Canada achieve its goal of preventing sanctions evasion by eliminating options for those supporting or facilitating the Russian regime.”

She said the decision was consistent with Canada’s goal of denouncing Putin’s attack on Ukraine and pressuring his regime “by imposing economic costs on Russia for its unlawful actions.”

The minister’s letter was among several documents filed in the Federal Court by the government after the Fridman sisters filed a case seeking to have the sanctions against them thrown out.

Their legal team wanted the court to seal the documents, arguing the women could face prosecution under Russian law, but on Friday a judge found they had not “demonstrated a serious risk.”

The court has not yet ruled on their appeal.

Canada has sanctioned more than 2,000 Russian individuals and entities to pressure the Putin regime over its war on Ukraine, suppression of dissent and global disinformation campaign.

The Fridman case is the latest appeal by those subject to the restrictions on their finances. Similarly, Joly denied a request for delisting made by Igor Makarov.

An oil and gas magnate worth $2 billion, Makarov argued he had denounced Putin, but Joly responded that he had only done so privately.

Both Fridman daughters were born in Paris and hold French and Russian citizenship. Larisa, a dancer, painter, and digital artist who sells t-shirts with cat and dog designs, is also an Israeli citizen.

Katerina has an MBA from Columbia Business School, and was a research manager at Commission for Art Recovery Inc., which “works towards the identification and restitution of Holocaust-era looted art.”

The departmental report that recommended keeping them under sanction said their father was a “top Russian financier,” and the measures prevented him from trying to “evade sanctions via a close family member.”

^{Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, left, and Alfa Group head, billionaire Mikhail Fridman, at the Kremlin in Moscow, March 17, 2009. (AP Photo/RIA-Novosti, Mikhail Klimentyev, Presidential Press Service).}

Canada is a member of a group of countries that launched the Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force to seal gaps in sanctions, the Global Affairs Canada report said.

“The top evasion tactic identified by the REPO Task Force was the use of family members and close associates to maintain continued access and control of assets,” it said.

“The Task Force identified various instances in which Russian elites transferred their assets to their children or spouses, either in the period immediately leading up to a sanctions listing, or closely thereafter.”

The Global Affairs Canada Memorandum for Action on Fridman’s daughters noted that neither had lived in Russia since 1999, and that they maintained they were mostly financially independent.

But the Canadian officials argued that if sanctions against them were dropped, there was an “elevated risk” their father could use them to skirt the financial controls he faced.

Larisa Fridman received US$100,000 from her father in 2021 and 2022 because she was unable to work as a ballerina due to pandemic restrictions, according to the memo signed by Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison.

Her sister, meanwhile, also received US$100,000 during the same period, and she “continues to receive occasional monetary gifts from her father,” Morrison wrote.

The four Ottawa lawyers representing the sisters declined to comment. But they wrote in letters to the government that the women were strongly opposed to the Russian war, and were proud of their Jewish Ukrainian culture.

Their grandparents are Ukrainian citizens, and their grandfather was still working in Lviv when the Russian invasion commenced, the lawyers wrote.

Global Affairs Canada ignored evidence showing the Fridman women were not being used by their father to evade sanctions, and that he had “provided very limited financial support to his children throughout their adult life,” the lawyers argued.

In their court appeal, they argued the government was punishing the women solely because of their “parental lineage,” and there was not a “sufficient nexus” between them and Russia to justify sanctions.

“Where adult children provide objective and credible evidence that they are not being used to circumvent sanctions, there are reasonable grounds for their immediate delisting from Canada’s Sanctions List.”

Ottawa lifted sanctions against Fridman’s ex-wife Olga Ayziman in February. The couple divorced in 2005. The government said only that “the Minister determined that the individual does not meet the criteria to be listed.”

Global Affairs Canada declined to comment on the case.

“We are committed to effective implementation of sanctions against foreign states, individuals and entities whose actions lead to grave breaches of international peace and security,” a spokesperson said.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 22:34 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Lekker handig. Kan je terug naar de tekentafel. Letterlijk.

[ x ]

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Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky have a phone call scheduled on Friday, sources say
Former President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have scheduled a phone call on Friday, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

The call would mark their first conversation since Trump left the White House, and comes amid concerns in Europe about what Trump’s policy towards the Ukraine war would be if Trump were to win the presidential election in November.

One of the sources warned that schedules shift frequently. There have been discussions for some time about the appropriate time for a call between the GOP nominee and the Ukrainian president, sources said.

Trump has repeatedly said he could settle the Ukraine war in a day, but it remains unclear how he would pursue peace.

In last month’s CNN debate with President Joe Biden, Trump said that Putin’s terms for an agreement – which would include Ukraine ceding the four territories currently occupied by Russia – are “not acceptable.”

But the former president and his allies have also criticized US military aid to Kyiv.

Last week, when Zelensky was in the US, he said that “everyone is waiting for November,” including Putin. He also said that Biden and Trump are “very different” but both support democracy which is why he claimed: “I think Putin will hate both of them.”

Last week, Trump met Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for the second time in less than six months. The visit came less than two weeks after Orban met with Putin in Moscow. Following the meeting, Orban told European leaders that Trump is “ready to act as a peace broker” between Russia and Ukraine.

RUSSIAN Payments Disaster as Chinese Banks Refuse Payments & Russia Forced to use Crypto & Barter

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7.245 weergaven 17 uur geleden
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held bilateral talks with his counterparts from Hungary, Switzerland, Iran, Libya and Kuwait on the sidelines of the U.N. Security Council session on Tuesday

Pundit on state TV argues that Putin's regime is coming to an end

Russia's Lavrov holds talks in US with counterparts from Europe and Middle East on UNSC sidelines

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 22:35 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Actie reactie

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 09:16 schreef Zwoerd het volgende:

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Wanneer komt die nou? Je hoopt er sinds 2022 al op.

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 09:49 schreef Papierversnipperaar het volgende:

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Ja, het word tijd dat Rusland gaat escaleren. Die halfzachte aanpak van Ukraine en die lauwe reactie op sancties is een beetje teleurstellend.

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 22:35 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Actie reactie

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Op donderdag 18 juli 2024 22:35 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

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Actie reactie

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 12:26 schreef polderturk het volgende:
Stekelvarken armored vehicle.

Hedgehog armored vehicle.

[ x ]

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 12:17 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:

SURPRISE Russian flag raised 3 KM deep!!! | Ukraine War Frontline Changes Report

Update van het front. Beetje lange intro maar vanaf een paar minuten zie je de veranderingen.

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 12:31 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:

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De ontwerper:

[ afbeelding ]
😱

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 14:52 schreef polderturk het volgende:

[..]


Welke film was dat ook alweer?

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 16:22 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:
Met scheppen en wasmachines komt het gevaar uit het oosten ;-)

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WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich sentenced to 16 years for espionage by Russian court in case denounced by US as a sham
Evan Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, has been found guilty of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison by a Russian court, in a case that the US government, his newspaper and supporters have denounced as a sham.

The court in Yekaterinburg announced the guilty verdict and sentencing on Friday shortly after 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET).

The court heard closing arguments and 32-year-old Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, delivered his closing remarks behind closed doors on Friday morning.

The case’s rapid conclusion comes just weeks after Gershkovich first appeared in a glass cage with his head recently shaved at the start of his trial on June 26. On that day, Gershkovich stood cross-armed, occasionally smiling and waving to the crowd of reporters.

The speed of the trial has raised questions over whether the Kremlin is intending to use him as part of a prisoner swap deal with the United States, suggestions which spokesman Dmitry Peskov left without comment when asked about them on a Friday conference call ahead of the verdict announcement.

SPOILER

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In June, Moscow confirmed again that contacts are ongoing regarding a potential prisoner exchange deal for Gershkovich, but Peskov repeatedly insisted that those conversations were to be carried out in “absolute silence” to prevent complications.

Gershkovich was arrested while reporting for the WSJ, during a trip to Yekaterinburg in March 2023, and later accused of spying for the CIA. Russian authorities have never offered any public evidence to support their claims.

Within two weeks of his arrest in March 2023, the US State Department designated him as wrongfully detained and called for his immediate release.

In a statement following Friday’s sentencing, Gershkovich’s employer said: “This disgraceful, sham conviction comes after Evan has spent 478 days in prison, wrongfully detained, away from his family and friends, prevented from reporting, all for doing his job as a journalist.

“We will continue to do everything possible to press for Evan’s release and to support his family,” the statement from Dow Jones CEO and Wall Street Journal Publisher Almar Latour and Wall Street Journal Editor in Chief Emma Tucker continued.

“Journalism is not a crime, and we will not rest until he’s released. This must end now,” it added.

The verdict has yet to enter into force, and the defense can appeal the conviction within 15 days, judge Andrey Mineyev said while delivering his verdict. The court also ordered Gershkovich to pay procedural costs of 6,708 rubles ($77), and for some of his personal items, including an iPhone and a notepad, to be destroyed.

According to the judge, the time Gershkovich has already spent in detention since last March will count towards his sentence.

Following his arrest, Gershkovich was held in Moscow’s notorious Lefortovo prison, spending almost every hour of the day in a small cell, before being transferred to the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals more than 1,100 miles east of the capital. He passed the time by writing letters to his friends and family, his parents said in an interview with the WSJ, adding that he was allowed just one hour of walking per day.

Gershkovich, the US government, and the WSJ have vehemently denied the charges against him.

US and Western officials have accused Russia of using Gershkovich and other jailed foreigners as bargaining chips for possible prisoner exchanges.

A high-profile swap in 2022 saw US basketball star Brittney Griner exchanged for arms dealer Viktor Bout. But Russia refused to release another jailed US citizen, Paul Whelan, as it was seeking a former colonel from Russia’s domestic spy organization in return.

In an interview with right-wing US media personality Tucker Carlson in February, Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested “an agreement can be reached” with the United States to release Gershkovich and alluded to the case of a Russian national convicted of carrying out an assassination in Berlin in 2019.

The trial of Gershkovich, the American-born son of Soviet-era emigres to the US, has highlighted the extent to which Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has harmed relations between Moscow and Washington.

In their indictment, Russian prosecutors said that “under instructions from the CIA” and “using painstaking conspiratorial methods,” Gershkovich “was collecting secret information” about a Russian tank factory.

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Top Russian general fired amid bribery allegations

A top Russian general has been formally dismissed from his post after being arrested on bribery charges in May, according to Russian state media.

Lt Gen Vadim Shamarin was arrested amid a wider crackdown on corruption in the defence ministry and was accused of taking "a particularly large bribe" from a telecommunications company.

Prior to his arrest he had served as deputy chief of the army’s general staff overseeing the signals corps and military communications.

Prosecutors have accused him of taking bribes between April 2016 and October 2023 to ensure an increase in orders from the company's factory.

A military court in Moscow will decide later on Thursday whether to extend his pre-trial detention until October.
His lawyer, Igor Dyukin, told the RIA Novosti outlet that authorities had seized his client's car - a Mercedes - and frozen his salary card.

SPOILER

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Lt Gen Shamarin was arrested amid a wider crackdown on senior military officials. A host of senior defence ministry staff has been detained in recent months, including Deputy Defence Minister Timur Ivanov and Lt Gen Yuri Kuznetsov, head of the defence ministry’s personnel directorate.

It comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed his long-term Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu in May. He was replaced by Andrei Belousov, an economist with little military experience.

Experts have suggested that the crackdown marks an attempt by the Kremlin to boost efficiency in the Russian military and tackle corruption.

The anti-corruption drive has coincided with Russia making some incremental gains in eastern Ukraine. Intense fighting has focused on the Donbas region, where Moscow's troops are seeking to break through Ukraine's defensive lines.

Meanwhile, in Moscow, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that efforts to force the country into peace talks would fail.

Ms Zakharova rejected what she called ultimatums based on any formula proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

President Putin has set out hardline demands for any potential peace talks, demanding that Kyiv recognise Russia's claim over four Ukrainian territories in the south and east of the country.

For his part, Mr Zelensky has repeatedly said he will not speak to Mr Putin or any Russian representative until Moscow's forces leave Ukrainian territory.

Addressing a gathering of European leaders at the UK's Blenheim Palace on Thursday, Mr Zelensky condemned attempts to strike deals with Russia behind Ukraine's back.

The comments come after Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban visited Moscow where he met with Mr Putin.

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 11:19 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Dus tijd voor nukes in Polen.

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Russians attack the car of the international organization World Central Kitchen

^{Russians hit the vehicle of the international organization World Central Kitchen in Ukraine. July 18, 2024. Photo provided by the organization}

Russian invaders attacked the vehicle of the international charity organization World Central Kitchen (WCK), which provides food to people in frontline communities.

On Thursday, July 18, the Russian invaders dropped a munition from a drone on a humanitarian aid vehicle.

The WCK press service reported on this.

A car with clear identification marks of the organization was returning from delivering food near Oleksandrivka.

The organization noted that, fortunately, there had not been any casualties as a result of the Russian attack.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{Russians hit the vehicle of the international organization World Central Kitchen in Ukraine. July 18, 2024. Photo provided by the organization}

The driver was not injured, and there were no passengers at the time of the impact.

World Central Kitchen clarified that it was not yet known whether their car had been the target of the Russians.

The press service of the charitable organization also reported that it had already provided more than 260 million meals to families in frontline communities and to Ukrainian emergency services.

During the full-scale war, seven WCK volunteers were killed by Russian army strikes in Ukraine.

As previously reported, the Association of Municipalities donated two fire engines to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

^{Austria handed over two fire engines for the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. July, 2024. Photo credits: Embassy of Austria in Ukraine}

The donated fire engines are already fully equipped with all the necessary means for extinguishing fires.

The Austrian fire engines will perform tasks in the Kharkiv region.

quote:

Ukraine and the UK sign a loan agreement to finance Ukraine’s defense needs

^{The flag of Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Photo from open sources}

Ukraine and the UK sign a loan agreement to finance Ukraine’s defense needs.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported on this.

As part of the agreement, Ukraine will receive �2 billion in loans to help it strengthen its defense capabilities.

The funds will be used to purchase weapons, military equipment and other defense equipment in accordance with NATO standards.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during a meeting with Secretary of State for Defense of the United Kingdom John Healey. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom}

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umierov and the Secretary of State for Defense of the United Kingdom John Healey.

“Under the terms of the framework agreement, the loan will be used for large-scale projects to develop Ukraine’s defense capabilities, which will reduce the burden on the state budget and allow us to obtain the necessary weapons to protect our country in the short term, primarily in the field of air defense,” said Rustem Umierov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

According to the agreement, the loan is granted for 15 years with an option to extend and at a favorable interest rate.

“This agreement is one of the key elements of our strategy to strengthen the country’s defense capabilities. We are grateful to our British partners for their support and are confident that this partnership will help us ensure security and peace in Ukraine,” Umierov added.

They also discussed the issue of control over the targeted use of loan funds, which will be carried out by a joint commission. It will include representatives of both governments to ensure transparency and efficient use of funds.

^{Ukrainian gunners during exercises on AS-90 self-propelled howitzers in Great Britain, March 2023. Photo credits: Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom}

The loan funds will be used to purchase equipment and weapons and will not be used to pay for the weapons announced by the UK government.

Militarnyi previously reported that the UK would provide Ukraine with new barrels for AS-90 self-propelled howitzers as part of military aid.

Spare parts will also be provided to keep the tracked self-propelled howitzers in combat condition.

Also, as part of the new military aid package, the UK will provide Ukraine with 10 more AS-90 self-propelled howitzers.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 15:19 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:
Hellraiser idd.

Waren tevens legendarische hardcore feesten in de jaren negentig.
Sporthallen-Zuid

quote:

Ukraine reduces russian artillery superiority
Media reports indicate that, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, defenders have managed to reduce Russia's artillery advantage in this conflict.

The source cited by the media states that previously, for every 10,000 artillery shells fired by Ukraine, the Russians were able to use as many as 70,000. This meant a superiority ratio of 7:1 for the Russian army as recently as the beginning of this year.

Currently, it is reported that the Ukrainian side is using approximately 15,000 shells against 45,000 Russian ones. On the one hand, this indicates an increase in Ukrainian capabilities, while on the other hand, it shows a significant decrease in Russian firepower. The current ratio of ammunition used stands at 1:3 in favor of Russia. According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, further eliminating this gap will allow Ukraine to prepare counteroffensives in certain sections of the front.

Certainly, the change in circumstances has been aided by the Czech ammunition initiative, which has begun to yield gradual results. Prime Minister Shmyhal reported that 50,000 shells have been delivered so far.

SPOILER

quote:

Hungary Cut Off from Oil? Ukraine Turns Off the Tap: Here’s Why
Supplies of oil to Hungary from the Russian giant Lukoil have been halted. Ukraine has turned off the tap due to sanctions. Has Orban been cut off from oil? Not entirely. What does the shutdown of the Druzhba oil pipeline mean for Hungary? The key factor is what reserves they have.

Russian oil has ceased to flow to Hungary through Ukrainian territory. Kyiv has turned off Viktor Orban’s access to cheap "Putin oil", thus tightening sanctions against the Russian Lukoil.

As reminded by Ukrainska Pravda, Lukoil has been subject to sanctions in Ukraine since 2018, although of a limited nature. The restrictions previously included only the requirement to withdraw capital, trade limitations, and bans on engaging in the privatization or leasing of state assets.

However, in June 2024, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) significantly expanded these sanctions by adding a ban on transit through its territory. As a result, Russian oil delivered via the southern branch of the Druzhba (Friendship) pipeline can no longer be delivered to Hungary. Importantly, these supplies were exempt from Western sanctions and accounted for two-thirds of all deliveries to that country.

The head of Hungary’s diplomacy, Peter Szijjarto, quoted by Bloomberg, described the interruption of Russian oil supplies as "certain legal complications" that are currently being worked on.

Hungary Without Russian Oil
The cut-off of transit through Ukraine should not come as a surprise to Hungary. Kyiv had previously signaled this step, and Peter Szijjarto himself discussed this issue during the UN General Assembly with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He emphasized at that time that, from Hungary's perspective, Russian oil is crucial for the energy security of his country.

Moscow and Budapest are connected by numerous interests. In 2023, Russia supplied Hungary with 3.3 million tons of oil and 4.2 billion cubic meters of natural gas. The volume of Russian oil supplied through Transneft the previous year was 4.9 million tons.

Lukoil is the largest supplier of oil to the Hungarian company MOL, and according to Bloomberg data, only in January 2024, Budapest paid the Russian supplier $343 million for oil.

quote:

80% of Russians cancel Crimean tours over air defense fears
Eighty percent of Russian tourists canceled their trips to the occupied city of Sevastopol in Crimea due to unreliable Russian air defenses and the vulnerability of the Crimean Bridge to Ukrainian attacks, Ukrainian intelligence (HUR) reported on July 19.

Over one-third of all booked trips to Crimea were canceled in June 2024.

This rate is significantly higher in Sevastopol, where nearly 80% of organized tours scheduled for June were abandoned by Russian tourists.

“Primarily, Russians who have reconsidered vacationing on the occupied Crimean coast are alarmed by the complex security situation caused by the occupation,” HUR said.

“In particular, the unreliable and deadly operation of the invaders’ air defense system has led to a mass withdrawal of Russian tourists from Crimea.”

Ukrainian intelligence also highlighted another risk factor: the vulnerable and illegally constructed Crimean Bridge, which remains a crucial route for tourism from Russia and is utilized by Moscow for military logistics.

Following a June 23 attack on a Russian military site in occupied Sevastopol, during which missile debris fell on Uchkuevka beach, tourism sales for the occupied peninsula plummeted.

Official data shows that demand for trips to Crimea decreased by 20%.

The Crimean Bridge, illegally built by Russian occupying forces, must be destroyed, Ukrainian intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with NV on July 13.

Ukrainian forces could potentially use Magura drones to strike the illegally constructed Crimean Bridge, HUR representative Yevhen Yerin said on July 16.

quote:

In Russia it has been announced the loss of Ka-52 due to Uragan rocket hit

^{Russian Uragan MRL fire. Ukraine. Frame from the video of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation (illustrative photo)}

Russia reported the loss of a Ka-52 combat helicopter, which was hit by a projectile from the Uragan rocket launcher.

This was told by the Russian pilot Alexey Voevoda in his telegram channel “Voevoda Veshchaet.”

“There is at least one known case of the hit of the “Kashka” (Ka-52 – ed.) by Uragan rocket”, said Alexey Voevoda.

He added that the crew of the Russian combat helicopter had been killed. The Ka-52 crew consists of two people.

Also in his telegram channel, he published a photo from another episode, in which Ka-52 dodged the salvo of the MRL.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{A Russian Ka-52 helicopter dodges a salvo from a Russian MRL. 2024 year. Ukraine. Photo: Voevoda Veschaet Telegram channel}

“Type of inconsistency. We evaded that time successfully,” added Alexey Voevoda’s description to the photo.

Dates and places of incidents the Russian pilot did not report.

It should be noted that Ka-52 helicopters in the Russian-Ukrainian war were shot down by various weapons. Some of these weapons were not designed to hit helicopters.

In 2022, the Ukrainian military managed to hit the combat helicopters of the invaders with the help of the Stugna-P anti-tank missile system.

^{Ka-52 attack helicopter on the sight of the Stugna-P operator from the 95th Brigade. April 2022. Footage from the video}

Also known cases of Ka-52 “friendly fire.” In 2022, in the Zaporizhzhia region, a Ka-52 was shot down with the help of the Russian Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile and gun system.

^{Russian Ka-52 (RF-91335; 43 yellow, formerly 43 white) helicopter destroyed in Zaporizhzhia. December, 2022. Ukraine. Photo from social media}

As previously reported, Russian telegram bloggers are not the first to report the loss of their own aircraft, which were not previously known. In May of this year, Russia reported the death of pilots of a Su-34 two-seat fighter-bomber.

In September 2023, bloggers talked about the loss of a combat aircraft and the death of a Russian pilot

quote:

Ukrainian forces down Russian Su-25 attack aircraft near Pokrovsk
"It's already burning in the steppes of Donbas," says Khortytsia Operational-Strategic Group

Ukrainian defense forces have shot down a Russian Su-25 combat aircraft that was attempting to attack Ukrainian positions near Pokrovsk, Nazar Voloshyn, spokesperson for the Khortytsia Operational-Strategic Group, told LIGA.net.

Voloshyn reported that the successful operation was carried out by air defense soldiers from the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Marko Bezruchko.

He said that thanks to the accuracy, skill, and professionalism of Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners, the Russian air force has been reduced by one Su-25 attack aircraft today.

The Pokrovsk sector has recently been one of the most difficult on the frontline.

As of the morning of July 19, the General Staff reported that the Defense Forces repelled 27 attacks in the areas of Vozdvyzhenka, Novoselivka Persha, Novooleksandrivka, Prohres, Umanske, and Yasnobrodivka, where the invaders, with air support, attempted to push Ukrainian units from their positions.

quote:

Russia Announces Vital Scientific Breakthrough – Flushable Toilet Paper Rolls
After being deprived of the essential domestic product for more than two years Russia was proud to announce via TASS on Thursday, July 18 this important scientific breakthrough.

^{Illustrative image of a flushable toilet roll center. Photo: reddit}

When the Swedish hygiene products manufacturer Essity decided to withdraw from Russia in April 2022 following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine the Russian public was deprived of Libero diapers, Libress pads and Zewa toilet paper – the only brand with a flushable toilet roll core. At the same time the US company Johnson & Johnson also suspended supplies of its personal hygiene products in Russia.

The Russian state news agency TASS reported on Thursday that, after two years of intensive development, the Arkhbum Tissue Group had produced Russia’s first flushable toilet paper tube.

The impact the absence of flushable toilet paper rolls was having on the population was underlined in June 2023 when the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Mikhail Yurin announced during a St. Petersburg Economic Forum that the issue of producing flushable toilet paper tubes was in the process of being resolved.

SPOILER

quote:

The company’s press service gave more technical information on the new product. The raw material for the production is primarily made from bleached mixed coniferous and deciduous wood pulp produced by the Arkhangelsk Pulp and Paper Mill.

In August 2022, former Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev picked up on a report that was published by RIA Novosti and Vesti of a trial by the Canadian company Net Zero on reusable toilet paper.

In one of his infamous diatribes Medvedev suggested that removing flushable toilet roll centers was part of a European conspiracy to “punish Russia” and a plan to replace conventional toilet paper to prevent deforestation.

He claimed that all stocks of the reusable toilet paper were quickly sold out, when in fact it had been withdrawn from sale over health concerns and the need to use strong chemicals to ensure proper cleansing – which were harmful to the environment. Other attempts to produce environmentally friendly reuseable toilet paper continue despite the reluctance of the public to make the switch.

For Russians the days of having to dispose the center of their toilet rolls in the garbage or recycling bins will soon be over.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 18:45 schreef Kukelecucktsju10 het volgende:

[..]
[ afbeelding ]

Approved.

quote:

Ukraine sends Palestine 1,000 tons of flour in first tranche of food aid

^{A screenshot of a video from Ukraine's Foreign Ministry on July 18, 2024, showing Ukrainian wheat flour delivered to Palestine. (Ukraine's Foreign Ministry/X)}

Ukraine delivered 1,000 tons of wheat flour to Palestine, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on July 18.

The delivery was the first tranche of three food aid packages to be sent under a humanitarian program entitled "Grain from Ukraine."

The first package will be enough to feed more than 100,000 Palestinian families for a month, the foreign ministry said.

Hunger has become a persistent problem in Gaza against the backdrop of the ongoing incursion by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

International aid groups and foreign powers have been delivering food aid and other humanitarian supplies, but the U.N. estimated that Gaza needs more than 500 truckloads of daily assistance to help support the local population.

Kyiv voiced support for Israel after it came under a deadly attack by the Hamas militant organization in October 2023.

Tel Aviv's subsequent shelling and ground invasion of Gaza attracted harsh criticism from much of the international community, with the U.N. estimating the Gaza death toll to be over 35,000.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in June that Ukraine recognizes both Israel and Palestine as states.

quote:

Belarus sentences German man to death for 'terrorism'
A court in Minsk ordered the execution of Rico Krieger after he was found guilty of terrorism and mercenary activities, a Belarusian rights group said. Belarus is the last country in Europe to apply the death penalty.

A German man has been sentenced to death in Belarus over alleged crimes including "terrorism" and "mercenary activity", the Viasna human rights group said Friday.

Rico Krieger, aged 30, was convicted by a court in Minsk in a secretive trial at the end of June, the group reported.

What do we know so far?
AFP news agency reported that the conviction was said to be related to the Kastus Kalinouski Regiment, a military unit made up of Belarusian citizens fighting alongside Ukraine against Russia.

The regiment is named after the Belarusian-Polish writer, journalist, lawyer and revolutionary, who was executed in 1864 for leading a revolt against Russia.

Viasna said Krieger was found guilty of six articles of the country's criminal code, including those around mercenary acts, spy agency activity, acts of terrorism, creating an extremist group, deliberately rendering a vehicle or communications device unusable and illegal actions relating to firearms, ammunition and explosives.

Krieger was also accused of organizing "explosions" in Belarus, according to the rights group.

Viasna said Krieger has been in custody since November 2023.

He is employed as a military doctor for the German Red Cross, according to his LinkedIn page. Previously, he worked for the US State Department in Berlin as an armed special security officer.

Belsat, a Warsaw-based media outlet targeting Belarusians, cited the "Motolko.Help" Telegram channel as saying it was unclear whether the verdict has been appealed.

SPOILER

quote:

Berlin confirms case, says working with Minsk
Germany's Foreign Ministry said in a statement: "The case is known to the Foreign Ministry. The Foreign Ministry and the embassy in Minsk are providing consular support to the person concerned and are working hard on his behalf with the Belarusian authorities."

"The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment that Germany rejects under all circumstances. We are working worldwide for its abolition and are working hard against its implementation with all those affected," the statement continued.

Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who lives in exile in Lithuania, posted on X, formerly Twitter, that she was "concerned by news that German citizen Rico Krieger was sentenced to death by Lukashenka’s regime in #Belarus."

"We are collecting more information on his case at the moment. From what we know, he was accused of several so-called 'extremism' related crimes," she added.

Last nation in Europe to use death penalty
Belarus is the only European country where the death penalty is still carried out — exclusively against men.

In the last two years, the country has approved execution as punishment for high treason and "attempted terrorism."

Those convicted are put to death with firearms. The dates of the executions are not published. The dead bodies are not returned to their families. They are also not informed of the burial location.

Belarus is a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The country's economy relies largely on oil and relatively cheap natural gas imports from Russia.

Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko allowed Russian troops to be stationed in the country to aid Moscow's war in Ukraine.

A contingent of fighters from Russia's private Wagner Group army were also stationed in Belarus.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 19:12 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
[ x ]
Ik ben benieuwd waar dit om gaat. Misschien toestemming om de F-16s door hun luchtruim te mogen vliegen naar Oekra�ne toe?

quote:

Ukrainian troops destroyed Russian Uragan MLRS in the Kharkiv sector

^{A destroyed Russian Kamaz truck in the Kharkiv sector. Summer, 2024. Photo credits: Telegram channel @russianocontext}

The Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian Uragan multiple launch rocket system in the Kharkiv sector.

A photo of the destroyed MLRS was published by the Telegram channel @russianocontext.

The photo was allegedly sent by a Russian invader who survived an attack by the Ukrainian army.

The destroyed BM-27 Uragan MLRS allegedly belonged to the 18th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the Russian invasion army.

It is claimed that it, as well as a nearby Kamaz army truck, had been hit by an American M142 HIMARS rocket system, which was in service with the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{A destroyed Russian Uragan MLRS in the Kharkiv sector. Summer, 2024. Photo credits: Telegram channel @russianocontext}

It is likely that this strike destroyed not only the equipment, but also the personnel who were nearby.

The photo shows that the Russian Uragan MLRS was equipped with a munition that exploded after being hit.

It is possible that the truck that was destroyed was carrying ammunition for Russian MLRSs.

^{A destroyed Russian Kamaz truck in the Kharkiv sector. Summer, 2024. Photo credits: Telegram channel @russianocontext}

Probably, after the Russian position was detected by a reconnaissance drone, it was attacked by the Ukrainian Defense Forces.

The subsequent detonation of the rockets and the burning of their engines led to the complete destruction of the multiple launch rocket system and the Kamaz.

FPV-дрон уразив "Ураган" на відстані 25 км [Травень 2024]

The Uragan MLRS can use HE-FRAG, chemical, explosive or scatterable mine submunition equipped rockets and can engage targets within a range of 35 kilometers, so the destruction of such systems is a priority for the Ukrainian military.

For this purpose, they use high-precision shells from tubed artillery and rocket artillery, as well as attack drones of various types. In particular, a Russian Uragan system was recently hit by an FPV drone at a distance of 25 kilometers from the front line.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 19:40 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:

[..]
Of dat er vanuit Polen ook luchtafweerraketten worden afgeschoten om Russische raketten neer te halen.

Zoiets ging vorige week rond staat me iets van bij.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 19:40 schreef StateOfMind het volgende:

[..]
Of dat er vanuit Polen ook luchtafweerraketten worden afgeschoten om Russische raketten neer te halen.

Zoiets ging vorige week rond staat me iets van bij.

quote:

Ukrainian troops repelled 27 attacks in the Pokrovsk sector

^{A Bradley infantry fighting vehicle of the Ukrainian military hits Russian infantry near the village of Yevhenivka. July 2024. Ukraine. Frame from the video of the 47th Brigade}

Ukrainian troops repelled 27 Russian attacks in the Pokrovsk sector, Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian General Staff said that in this sector, the invaders were conducting assaults towards the settlements of Vozdvyzhenka, Novoselivka Persha, Novooleksandrivka, Progress, Umanske and Yasnobrodivka.

“The invaders, with the support of aviation, tried to force our units out of their positions,” the General Staff said.

The Pokrovsk sector remains one of the most active today.

Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Khortytsia operational-strategic group, added that the enemy had somewhat reduced its offensive emphasis and potential.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{Directions of the Russian offensive in the Kropyvnytskyi sector on the DeepState map as of July 18, 2024}

“This sector remains the same as it was – the hottest, but the enemy has somewhat reduced its offensive emphasis and potential, as the Defense Forces are suspending it and giving an adequate response to the enemy,” said Nazar Voloshyn.

Voloshyn also said that the enemy’s losses in the sector were considerable. Over 200 Russian invaders, several armored vehicles, artillery systems and more were neutralized over the last day alone.

According to the spokesperson, up to 50 attacks per day have been recorded in the Pokrovsk sector over the past weeks.

At the same time, the invaders have recently finally captured the village of Yevhenivka. The 47th Mechanized Brigade is holding the defense in the area, and recently demonstrated the operation of Bradly armored vehicles, which destroyed Russian infantry on the outskirts of Yevhenivka.

БМП Bradly уражає російську піхоту біля села Євгенівка [Липень 2024]

Attack drones of the 110th Mechanized Brigade are also actively working on the front lines.

“This year’s summer was surprisingly hot, and for the Russian invaders it will be hellish. Their vehicles are burning,” the brigade said.

Дрони 110 ОМБр уражають російську техніку [Липень 2024]

As previously reported, Shkval unit of ex-prisoners covered by Bradley infantry fighting vehicles prevented the invaders from gaining a foothold in the village of Novoselivka Persha, the Donetsk region.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 18:21 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Men doet maar, maar dan moet je ook niet huilie huilie doen als het ondenkbare wel ineens gebeurd. Het kan, want tijdens de Cuba crisis was het ook bijna zover.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 19:58 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Het is jouw stelling.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 20:06 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Mijn stelling was simpelweg actie reactie. Wat ik daar van vind doet er niet toen. Jullie beginnen er allemaal op te happen, vandaar de huilie huilie opmerking.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 19:45 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Dat zou niet bijdragen aan een snellere levering van de F-16 in Oekra�ne,

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 19:43 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Volgens mij niet hoor.

quote:

Enerzijds zou dit kunnen door het Poolse luchtruim actiever in te zetten om Russische aanvallen te weren, anderzijds door dat landen in het westen van Oekra�ne eenheden gaan plaatsen om te helpen bij de luchtverdediging.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 20:07 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Op het bericht van Russische nukes.

Dus ik neem aan dat je daar iets mee bedoelt.

Anders had je ook kunnen zeggen:

Het raam staat open dus is de fiets groen.

quote:

In addition they stated that the planes were being transported inside trucks. And posted pictures without any trucks.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 20:18 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
You can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time.

Door de absolute bullshit heenprikken die over de wereld uitgestrooid wordt omdat de deescalatie factie in het witte huis het veto'd, maar daar publiekelijk geen verantwoordelijkheid voor wil nemen wil nog steeds niet lukken bij jou, is het niet?

Kun je ook maar beginnen dit inhoudelijk uit te leggen?

Als polen wel raketten van rus af gaat schieten, dan loopt de levering van NL en NO ( ) F-16s vertraging, op omdat.......?

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 20:34 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Ik geef aan dat dat de levering van F-16s niet zal versnellen.

quote:

Jij maakt ervan dat de levering vertraging zou oplopen als Polen deze neer gaat schieten, en haal je gelijk een Amerikaanse veto erbij die helemaal niet van toepassing is in dit verhaal.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 20:42 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Maar het zal het ook niet vertragen.
[..]
Niet? Dan mag je mij uitleggen waarom polen hier eerst zeer enthousiast mee komt, en het daarna, wederom om zeer vage redenen, niet gaat gebeuren.

Ow:

[ x ]

De eerste voorzichtige hintjes, speldeprikjes zijn er al weer.

En als de VS media niet te druk is met hun politieke circus, en hier de komende weken vragen over gaan stellen gaan we weer een fantastisch BS excuus te horen krijgen.

En de usual suspects will run with it.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 20:50 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Polen heeft een beslissing gemaakt waardoor de levering van deze F-16s sneller zullen gaan. Waarbij ik dan mijn mening gaf over wat dat dan zou kunnen zijn (F-16s door hun luchtruim laten vliegen naar Oekra�ne toe).

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 20:50 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
De toezegging van de laatste maanden was dat de eerste F-16s deze zomer in Oekra�ne aan zouden komen. Daar de zomer net een maand geleden begonnen is kan je niet spreken van een vertraging, voor zover wij weten ligt de levering nog op schema. De zomer duurt tenslotte nog 2 maanden.

Polen heeft een beslissing gemaakt waardoor de levering van deze F-16s sneller zullen gaan. Waarbij ik dan mijn mening gaf over wat dat dan zou kunnen zijn (F-16s door hun luchtruim laten vliegen naar Oekra�ne toe).

Dat Zelenski klaagt over een trage levering is zijn goed recht. Hij had ze liever in het begin van 2022 al gehad natuurlijk. De levering van materieel en ammunitie en zo kan voor hem niet snel genoeg gebeuren. En daar ben ik het met hem over eens.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:07 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Doe eens een bierviltjes berekening; hoelang het duurt om de vleugels eraf te halen, op een dieplader, dan van NL/NO naar de poolse grens?

Waar blijven ze? Wat is het oponthoud?

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:08 schreef BEFEM het volgende:

[..]
Die f16s zijn toch al in Roemeni�? De meeste tenminste. Waarom zouden ze dan door Polen vliegen. En sowieso, als ze bijvoorbeeld vanuit Denemarken naar Oekra�ne vliegen via Polen, hoe moeten ze er anders komen? Ze gaan ze vast niet uit elkaar halen en de grens over sturen, lijkt mij.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:16 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Maar het zou best kunnen dat hiervoor officieel toestemming moet zijn vanuit de regering.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:16 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Die F-16s in Roemeni� worden gebruikt voor het opleiden van de piloten en waarschijnlijk ook de technische staf. Volgens mij gaan die nog niet naar Oekra�ne toe. Maar dat kan ik mis hebben.

En het zou kunnen dat het altijd al de bedoeling geweest is om ze over Polen te vliegen. Maar dan moet daar wel toestemming voor zijn, en dan is er mogelijk ook nog sprake van het moeten landen in Polen voor het bijtanken.

Ik weet niet hoe het politiek gezien is in Polen. Maar het zou best kunnen dat hiervoor officieel toestemming moet zijn vanuit de regering. En er dus over gedebatteerd en vergaderd moet worden.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:08 schreef BEFEM het volgende:
Ze gaan ze vast niet uit elkaar halen en de grens over sturen, lijkt mij.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:23 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Dat is overigens met de sovjet unie vliegtuigen die in het begin gedoneerd zijn wel gebeurt

Niet helemaal uit elkaar, maar de vleugels eraf, romp op een dieplader met zeil erover, en gaan.

Latere donaties zijn gewoon gevlogen.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:22 schreef BEFEM het volgende:

[..]
Dit klinkt echt heel raar. Waarom zouden ze �berhaupt niet over Polen vliegen, er vanuitgaanxe dat ze niet vanuit Roemeni� komen. Ze gaan die dingen niet uit elkaar halen en weer in Oekra�ne in elkaar zetten. Hoewel dat een leuk3 oefening is, is dat natuurlijk hartstikke dom. En niet te vergelijken met die MIGs die zo door Polen zijn gegeven.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:23 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Dat is overigens met de sovjet unie vliegtuigen die in het begin gedoneerd zijn wel gebeurt

Niet helemaal uit elkaar, maar de vleugels eraf, romp op een dieplader met zeil erover, en gaan.

Latere donaties zijn gewoon gevlogen.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:27 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Maar als jij een beter idee hebt over wat die beslissing van Polen zou kunnen zijn waarmee de levering van F-16s aan Oekra�ne versneld zou kunnen worden hoor ik het graag.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 21:35 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Polen kan toegezegd hebben nog een keer te gaan proberen die schijtlaarzen in het witte huis het licht te laten zien.

Want alle andere dingen waar je mee komt zijn bedroevend onrealistisch.

Polen komt eerst notabene met het voorstel om zelf maar raketten neer te gaan schieten. Dan mag je toch gevoeglijk er vanuit gaan dat daar in de PL politiek genoeg draagvlak voor is. Daarbij hebben ze net een regeringwisseling achter de rug, maar de rode draad blijft: FEL pro-oekraine, FEL anti-rus. Dus ook de oppositie, is on board.

Maar, wat, F-16's over laten vliegen? Nee, poeh poeh, kan niet hoor, moeilijk, moeilijk, moeilijk, gevoelig!

Moeten ze lang over vergaderen.



Dat is niet erg waarschijnlijk.

quote:

20. The participants agree on the need to continue the bilateral dialogue and dialogues with other partners, aimed at studying the justification and feasibility of possible interception in the airspace of Ukraine of missiles and drones launched in the direction of the territory of Poland, following the necessary procedures agreed by the states and the organizations involved.

quote:

21. Recognizing the significant support provided to date by Poland to the Air Force of Ukraine, in particular the MiG-29 fighters, the Participants will continue in 2024 and beyond the bilateral dialogue on further cooperation regarding this air platform and will consider the possibility of transferring the MiG-29 squadron without compromising the security of Poland and operational capabilities of the Polish Air Force.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 20:23 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Ja, actie reactie toch. Wat probeer je nou te zeggen dan.

quote:

Russian Base in Luhansk Struck by ATACMS

^{The M142 HIMARS launches the ATACMS missile. Autumn 2023. Ukraine. Frame from the video of the General Staff of Ukraine}

ATACMS missiles hit the invaders, who set up a base in the former Aviation School in Luhansk.

The Head of the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, Artem Lysohor, stated that about a dozen explosions occured.

After these explosions, the former Luhansk Aviation School, which the Russians use as a base for various tasks, caught fire.

Artem Lysohor added that the Russian army also uses this area of the city for the storage and repair of military equipment.

“They store and repair armored vehicles there. By the way, the helipad is also used for its intended purpose,” said Artem Lysohor.

SPOILER

quote:

ATACMS уразили базу окупантів у Луганську

It is worth noting that this is an industrial area of the city. Here, along the railway tracks, are located dozens of hangars and warehouses that are not used for their intended purpose.

The occupation authorities reported that ATACMS long-range missiles were used for strikes.

According to the invaders, allegedly ATACMS missiles were shot down by air defense systems.

^{Part of the ATACMS missile, which the invaders allegedly showed near Luhansk. July 2024. Ukraine. Photo: Kp.ru}

Nevertheless, a fire in the area of the Luhansk Aviation School indicates a successful defeat of the Russian base.

Previously, ATACMS missiles with a range of 165 km were transferred to Ukraine, now, the United States is transferring missiles to Ukraine that can hit 300 km.

Before the war, the Luhansk Higher Military Aviation School was used to train pilots of the USSR and then Ukraine.

^{The likely site of the attack on the Russian base on the territory of the former Aviation School in Luhansk}

Recently AFU struck ATACMS ballistic missiles on the Russian S-300 anti-aircraft system in the Donetsk region.

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Putin's Big Naval Parade Loses Warships, Subs: Local Media
Aportion of Russia's annual naval parade in St. Petersburg has been canceled for the first time in eight years, local media reported.

President Vladimir Putin in 2017 signed a decree reestablishing the tradition of holding the Main Naval Parade in St. Petersburg. Since then, he has paraded his warships in honor of the Day of the Russian Navy. Annual celebrations are held on the last Sunday in July. This year's celebrations fall on July 28.

This year, the main parade in Kronstadt has been canceled, while a smaller event will take place in St. Petersburg in the Neva River, newspapers Fontanka and Novye Izvestia reported on Wednesday.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{Russian President Vladimir Putin, accompanied by Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, attends the Navy Day parade in St. Petersburg on July 30, 2023. Russia has canceled a portion of its annual naval parade for the first time in eight years, local media reported.}

It would mark the first partial cancellation of the event since 2017, Novye Izvestia reported, but there has been no official announcement about the Kronstadt portion of the parade. Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Kronstadt city administration informed local officials about the cancellation via text message, Novye Izvestia reported, citing an unnamed source.

"Dear leaders, good afternoon. I inform you that there will be no naval parade in Kronstadt. The rest of the festive events will take place according to plan," the message said.

Just 12 small Russian Navy ships and vessels will be paraded down the Neva this year, while combat ships and small submarines will be anchored and moored in the center of St. Petersburg.

There will also be no nuclear submarines in the event this year, the source said.

Last year, 45 ships, vessels and submarines and about 3,000 military personnel took part in the parade, Russian media reported.

The first training session for the parade took place along the Neva on Tuesday, and military vessels are moored along the embankments, Fontanka reported.

In 2017, another naval parade at Kronstadt to mark Russia's Victory Day was disrupted when an unannounced visit by the USS Carney destroyer to a Baltic Sea port spooked Russia's Northern Fleet commanders, Fontanka reported at the time.

Russia's navy has been targeted by Ukrainian forces throughout the war with Ukraine after Putin's invasion on February 24, 2022. Kyiv's forces have taken out some of Russia's prized vessels, claiming responsibility for the sinking of the flagship Moskva.

Amid the attacks, Russia relocated much of its fleet from annexed Crimea to Novorossiysk in Russia's Krasnodar region and its naval port in Feodosia further east on the annexed peninsula in October 2023, satellite images showed.

Ukraine also has disabled one-third of Putin's prized Black Sea Fleet, according to Dmytro Pletenchuk, former Ukrainian Navy spokesperson.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 22:22 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Maar ook de volgende vraag aan jou dan ExTec:

Wat zou het besluit van Polen wel kunnen zijn, waardoor de levering van de F-16s aan Oekra�ne versneld zou kunnen worden. Want ik sta open voor betere suggesties dan het door mij geopperde suggestie van het door Pools luchtruim vliegen en het landen op Pools grondgebied om bij te tanken.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 22:47 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Het zal wel een formulier zijn, want de reden, die je ondertussen al 10000000000 keer tussen de regels door, en heel, heel soms direct kunt lezen, wil je niet horen.

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 22:22 schreef icecreamfarmer_NL het volgende:

[..]
Ja dat vraag mij bij jou af.
Wat wilde je er mee zeggen?

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:05 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Het gaat om iets wat al gebeurd is waardoor de levering versneld zal worden. Niet iets wat er toe zou kunnen leiden.

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:21 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Dan mag je me wederom proberen uit te leggen waarom zelenski klaagt dat ze er niet zijn.

Ik val in herhaling he; via de lucht ben je vanaf de poolse grens in 40 mins in oekraine. Via dieplader langer, maar via de weg zie ik ook niet hoe polen iets kan gaan leveren om het te versnellen - een mannetje met een oliekannetje ofzo, dat de vrachtwagen nog gesmeerder loopt?

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:33 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Dat heb ik je uitgelegd.

quote:

Dus toestemming om ze te laten vliegen, en om ze te laten landen om bij te vullen (als zij niet uitgerust zijn voor langere

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:40 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Dus hij kletst maar wat? Er wordt helemaal niet getreuzeld?
[..]
Precies, en daar moeten ze maanden over 'vergaderen'. Want moeilijk, moeilijk, moeilijk. En Scholz, die nog bang is van z'n eigen schaduw, die doet daar ogenschijnlijk volstrekt niet moeilijk over, want uit die hoek hoor je niks.

Lekker geloofwaardig.

Beetje ockhams scheermes in reverse he?

Meeste vergezochte scenario, wat maximaal aantal aannames vereist, dat zal het zijn.

quote:

Zelenskyi also noted that Ukraine still has not seen the F-16 aircraft promised by allies this summer.

"It's been 18 months, and the planes haven't reached us," he said and added that he was grateful for the help already provided to Ukraine.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:16 schreef quirina het volgende:

Russians PANIC Over Possible Nuclear Accident In Rostov; Putin SILENT | Breaking News With Enforcer

Hier al wat meer over bekend?

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:41 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
[..]

quote:

Ja, maar het einde van de zomer is ook de zomer!

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:52 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Ja, en over 2 maanden zeg je:
[..]
En daarna komt er vanzelf een ander excuus, wat jij dan ook weer "volstrekt logisch!" vind, en dan kunnen we deze discussie weer overdoen

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:56 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Wanneer ze dan nog niet geleverd zijn ga ik dat zeker niet goed praten.

quote:

Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 22:14 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Er was blijkbaar dus geen politieke wil om het neerhalen van deze raketten en drones daadwerkelijk toe te zeggen vanuit Polen. Niet zonder bijval van de NAVO in elk geval.

quote:

Nationalist campaigner for the Ukrainian language is shot dead in Lviv

Iryna Farion, 60, a former MP known for her opposition to officials speaking in Russian, was attacked on the street

A nationalist former member of Ukraine’s parliament known for her vociferous campaigns to defend the Ukrainian language has died after being shot in Lviv.

Police launched a wide search for the gunman alleged to have shot Iryna Farion, 60, on a street in the western city.

The regional governor, Maksym Kozytskyi, said on Telegram that Farion had died after being taken to hospital. The interior minister, Ihor Klymenko, had earlier said that the shooting was being treated as an attempted assassination.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was receiving regular reports on efforts to capture the gunman. He said any act of violence was to be condemned.

Farion, a linguist, became a member of the nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party in 2005 and was elected to parliament in 2012, but failed in subsequent attempts to win a seat. She had also served on Lviv regional council.

[..]

quote:

Russian IL-76 Aircraft Out of Service Due to Defective Components

^{Il-76 of the Russian Aerospace Forces. Illustration image}

In Russia, the supply of poor-quality bearings led to the failure of five IL-76 transport aircraft.

The supply of low-quality parts was confirmed by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

An investigation is being conducted against unidentified persons from among the management of the Balashikha Casting and Mechanical Plant (JSC “BLMZ”) , located in the industrial zone on the Enthusiasts highway in Moscow.

According to investigators, representatives of the enterprise, in order not to disrupt the defense order, bought bearings of unknown origin from 2017 to 2022 and supplied them as part of the wheels of the aircraft to the branch of the enterprise “IL” – “Aviastar.”

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{Balashikha casting and mechanical plant (JSC “BLMZ”). Photo from the company’s website}

The products were accompanied by forged documents,stating that the parts were purchased from the “Saratov bearing plant” and were accepted by the military mission of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

As a result, the use of poor-quality components in the wheels led to the failure and cessation of operation of five IL-76MD-90A aircraft.

“Significant damage was caused to the interests of the state represented by the Russian Ministry of Defense, as well as damage to the defense capability and security of the state,” the report reads.

The investigation has already seized documents from the JSC “BLMZ” and interrogated its leaders.

^{Balashikha casting and mechanical plant (JSC “BLMZ”). Photo from the company’s website}

At the same time, in mid-June, the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade threatened to take away military factories from their owners for disrupting the defense order.

This is not the first time Russian IL-76 have faced technical problems. Last year, a Russian military transport plane IL-76MD burned down in Tajikistan.

Russian IL-76MD that burned in Tajikistan, October 2023. Photo from social media
This year, in March, a Russian military IL-76 transport aircraft took off in the air and crashed in the Ivanovo region of the Russian Federation.

quote:

Zelensky, Trump hold call, discuss future of US support
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump, former U.S. president and Republican presidential nominee, held a phone call on July 19, five years after a fateful 2019 phone call between the two led to Trump’s first impeachment.

President Zelensky announced on Twitter that the two discussed the "vital importance of bipartisan and bicameral" U.S. support for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian leader also noted that the leaders agreed to a future "personal" meeting to discuss peace with Russia.

"Ukraine will always be grateful to the United States for its help in strengthening our ability to resist Russian terror," Zelensky said. "Russian attacks on our cities and villages continue every day. We agreed with President Trump to discuss at a personal meeting what steps can make peace fair and truly lasting."

Zelensky also reportedly congratulated Trump on the Republican nomination and condemned the assassination attempt against the former President earlier this week.

Politico later reported that President Trump called it a "very good call" and will work to negotiate a peace deal. An anonymous source close to Zelensky also told Politico that the conversation went "exceedingly well."

SPOILER

quote:

In the backdrop of this most recent phone call is the July 2019 phone exchange during which Trump asked Zelensky to investigate his political rivals one week after withholding U.S. military aid to Kyiv.

According to transcripts released of the call, Zelensky told Trump that Ukraine wanted to buy more U.S.-made Javelins to fight Russia’s war in the east that had been ongoing since 2014.

In response, Trump said to Zelensky: "I would like you to do us a favor, though.”

Trump then told Zelensky he wanted Ukraine to investigate U.S. President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and work with Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, to investigate Ukraine’s alleged involvement in the 2016 presidential election, specifically an unfounded claim that Ukraine had broken into a Democratic server.

Hunter Biden took a paid seat on the board of Burisma, a controversial Ukrainian gas company, in April 2014, just a month after Russia illegally annexed Crimea. He later resigned from Burisma in April 2019 during his father’s 2020 campaign for president.

In an investigation, Russia was found to have been behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) back in 2016. Trump’s reference to the server in Ukraine was part of a conspiracy, pushed largely by Giuliani, that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that had hacked the DNC.

While Trump called it the “perfect call” at the time, White House officials also on the call said they felt the president was asking Zelensky to dig up dirt on a political rival.

Trump’s request also seemed to be a way to pressure the Zelensky administration at a time when it was waiting for further U.S. aid. A week prior, Trump had ordered his chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to suspend $400 million in U.S. military aid to Ukraine and had withheld an invitation to the White House.

The memory of the phone call and the stain it left on the leaders’ relationship begs the question of what U.S.-Ukraine relations will look like if Trump secures a second term in office. U.S. aid is critical to Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s almost three-year war that aims to destroy Ukraine as an independent nation.

Zelensky told the BBC on July 18 that if re-elected, working with Trump would be "hard work, but we (Ukrainians) are hard workers."

He also said he is ready to work with whoever is elected U.S. president to defeat Russia. "Maybe he really doesn’t care, but we have to work with the United States," he added.

Trump accepted the Republican Party's nomination on July 18. His chances to win the presidency are expected to increase following an assassination attempt, and calls for Biden to step out of the race are growing louder amid concerns over his health.

The former president has long criticized U.S. aid to Ukraine and, as the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2024 U.S. elections, held sway over the party and contributed to the months-long deadlock in Congress over U.S. aid to Ukraine.

Emily Channell-Justice, a program director at Harvard University’s Ukrainian Research Institute, believes that if elected in November, Trump's first impeachment following the phone call with Zelensky will likely impact how a future Trump administration deals with Ukraine.

“Being at the center of a giant scandal in that administration, I can’t imagine that Trump looks fondly upon President Zelensky,” Channell-Justice told the Kyiv Independent.

One of Trump’s National Security Council staffers who was listening to the infamous 2019 call, Alexander Vindman, told the Kyiv Independent that Trump “says what he means” when asked how seriously Ukrainians should take the potential return of a Trump White House and what it could mean for Ukraine.

“He’s not concealing himself at all.”

quote:

At least 16 explosions and 6 fires reported.

quote:

Hungarian foreign minister outraged over Ukraine stopping oil transit of Russian Lukoil
Hungarian Foreign Minister P�ter Szijj�rt� described Ukraine's decision to halt the transportation of Russian Lukoil oil to Hungary "incomprehensible and unacceptable" and intends to address the issue at an EU Council meeting.

Source: Szijj�rt�’s statement published by Hungarian government spokesman Zolt�n Kov�cs, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Szijj�rt� condemned Ukraine's decision to halt Lukoil's oil transit to Hungary, calling it "incomprehensible and unacceptable".

He stated that Hungary has identified temporary decisions to stabilise supply, but they are unsuitable for the long term, and a "swift resolution" is required.

Szijj�rt� emphasised that Hungary and Slovakia rely heavily on oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, with approximately 2 million tonnes received annually from Lukoil.

SPOILER

quote:

Quote: "This decision seriously jeopardises the long-term oil supply security of Hungary and Slovakia," the Hungarian foreign minister said.

He encouraged Ukraine to respond and stated that he intends to address the matter at a meeting of the EU Council on Foreign Affairs.

"It's peculiar that an EU-aspiring country is endangering the energy supply of two EU member states, especially in the summer when energy consumption is at its peak," Szijj�rt� complains.

On 18 July, Slovakia and Hungary said that they had stopped receiving oil from the Russian Lukoil corporation after Ukraine strengthened sanctions against the corporation.

Ukraine imposed limited sanctions on Russia’s Lukoil in 2018, but those sanctions covered only the withdrawal of Ukrainian capital, restrictions on trade, and a ban on participation in the privatisation or lease of state property in Ukraine.

In June 2024, Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council expanded the sanctions against Lukoil, adding, among other things, a ban on transit of its oil via Ukraine.

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 06:12 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://mil.in.ua/en/news(...)efective-components/
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

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Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 07:51 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/07/19/7466570/
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

Wat een huilebalk. Dit was al sinds vorig jaar bekend dat dit er aan zat te komen. Ze hebben dus tijd genoeg gehad om een alternatieve leverancier te vinden.

quote:

Aikhal
Aikhal – Russia
Aikhal (means 'fame') is the biggest diamond mine in the world. It is located in Yakutia, in the far east of Russia. The owner of this mine is one of the biggest mining companies in the world, Alrosa.
ALROSA Group is a Russian partially state-owned diamond mining company.

quote:

PJSC Alrosa is the largest diamond-mining company in the world, owned by the Russian state and accounts for over 90% of all Russian diamond production, and the company constitutes an important part of an economic sector that is providing substantial revenue to the government of the Russian Federation.3 jan 2024

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 11:46 schreef michaelmoore het volgende:
Alles in Ruzia is partially state owned, lees Putin and friends owned
[..]
[..]
[ afbeelding ]

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Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 12:14 schreef Ulx het volgende:
[ x ]

Het gaat niet helemaal goed.

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Op vrijdag 19 juli 2024 23:09 schreef Discombobulate het volgende:

[..]
Precies wat ik zei.

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 07:51 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2024/07/19/7466570/
[..]

SPOILER

[..]

Wat een huilebalk. Dit was al sinds vorig jaar bekend dat dit er aan zat te komen. Ze hebben dus tijd genoeg gehad om een alternatieve leverancier te vinden.

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Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 14:02 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Geen goede tijd om hongaar te zijn, denk ik. Feest over 90 dagen.

[ x ]

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 14:02 schreef ExTec het volgende:
Geen goede tijd om hongaar te zijn, denk ik. Feest over 90 dagen.

[ x ]

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 05:27 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

Update from Ukraine | Ruzzia Failed in Vuhledar | The major attack was repelled by Ukraine

Update from Ukraine | Eastern Front Tensions | Ruzzia Suffers Unbearable Losses

19 Jul: Against all odds! 8 Ukrainian Soldiers BREAK THE SIEGE LEAVING HUNDREDS DEAD RUSSIANS BEHIND

quote:

Terwijl Kiev de rekrutering van militairen strak aantrekt en grotere groepen onder de wapenen roept, overlijden meer deserteurs die het land uit willen vluchten.

Alleen al bij de grensovergang met Moldavi� zouden dit jaar twaalf Oekra�ners bij de vlucht naar het westen zijn omgekomen, schrijft de Daily Telegraph die zich baseert op bronnen in het land.

Sinds het begin van de oorlog mogen mannen tussen 18 en 60 niet zonder toestemming het land uit. Toch hebben in totaal al 650.000 Oekra�ense mannen van die leeftijdscategorie de benen genomen, meestal naar het westen. In de EU wonen inmiddels ook al 4,2 miljoen Oekra�ners, vooral vrouwen en kinderen.

Afgelopen maandag maakte de Veiligheidsdienst van Oekra�ne SBU bekend dat vier militairen de Moldavische grens te voet probeerden over te steken. Toen ze werden betrapt opende een van hen het vuur op de grenswachten. De militair kwam om het leven. De andere drie werden opgepakt.

Volgens een woordvoerder van de grenswacht was de dood van de militair een geval van zelfverdediging. De militaire politie onderzoekt de zaak. De afgelopen maanden zouden tientallen vluchtende soldaten zijn opgepakt op de grens. Mannen die nu op de vlucht worden betrapt, kunnen celstraffen van twee tot vier jaar krijgen.

Bestelwagens vol
25 juni werden vier bestelwagens en een SUV gestopt met daarin 47 mannen in de dienstplichtleeftijd die op weg waren naar het westen. Volgens KyivPost hadden de inzittenden 5.000 tot 18.500 dollar per persoon betaald voor de overtocht. Ze hadden honderden kilometers gereden en lagen op matrassen op de bodem. Twee weken daarvoor werd een truck aangehouden. Onder een laag graan zaten 41 mannen tussen de 18 en 60 jaar.

Aantal slachtoffers
Het aantal slachtoffers aan Oekrainse zijde is inmiddels zo hoog opgelopen dat het leger van Zelensky volgens The Telegraph ook zieken oproept voor actieve dienst. Mannen met hepatitis, tuberculose en hart een vaatziekten worden gewoon goedgekeurd, citeert de krant een man die met een hersenafwijking ook gewoon in het leger moest.

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Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 14:18 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

[..]
Allemaal sterke verhalen hoeveel Russen er steeds wel niet onophoudelijk sneuvelen door een paar dappere Oekra�ners. Het kan ook te ongelooflijk zijn.
Want anders zouden wel veel meer Oekra�ners graag aan het front willen vechten.
[..]
Bron: De Telegraaf

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 16:16 schreef oheng het volgende:
Nieuws uit rusland vandaag: bosbranden, bedrijfsbranden, overstromingen, zeurende mobiks en vrouwen, vliegtuigongelukken, belastingverhogingen.

Standaard dagje weer dus.

Sergey Lavrov announces Russia's Willingness to Negotiate Peace | Times Now World

Putin’s offensive is ‘dead’ | Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 14:18 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

[..]
Allemaal sterke verhalen hoeveel Russen er steeds wel niet onophoudelijk sneuvelen door een paar dappere Oekra�ners. Het kan ook te ongelooflijk zijn.
Want anders zouden wel veel meer Oekra�ners graag aan het front willen vechten.
[..]
Bron: De Telegraaf

quote:

Op woensdag 10 juli 2024 00:04 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://news.liga.net/en/(...)th-assault-battalion
[..]

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 16:47 schreef michaelmoore het volgende:

[..]
neee

quote:

On Lake Donuzlav, the SSU naval drone hit the KS-701 “Tunets” boat

^{Ukrainian Sea Baby naval drone. Photo credits: SSU}

Satellite images showed the aftermath of a strike on a Russian military base on Lake Donuzlav in Crimea.

Satellite images were published by Radio Svoboda (Liberty – ed.), which show traces of fire after hitting a Russian military base.

One of the fires is located on the territory of the Donuzlav wind farm, but the main damage was caused to the naval base.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the alleged destruction of Ukrainian surface drones in the area on the night of July 18.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{Affected sites of the Russian base on Lake Donuzlav in Crimea. Photo credits: Radio Svoboda}

Sources of the Ukrainian agency UNIAN in Ukrainian security agencies reported that as a result of the attack, the headquarters with a command post, ammunition and equipment depot, electrical substation, technical facilities and firing positions of the Russian army had been disabled.

The publication also published a video in which the SSU naval drone strikes the Russian KS-701 “Tunets” boat.

Морський дрон СБУ уражає КС-701 "Тунєц" на озері Донузлав

This information is confirmed by analysts from the CeberBoroshno Telegram group, who published a satellite image from the location of the Russian boat before the strike.

KS-701-type diesel boats with an aluminum hull are used for patrol missions.

The boat is 8.8 m long, 2.5 m wide, the height of the side is 1.2 m. The full draft of the watercraft is 0.37 m. The boat can accommodate up to 6 people, the crew consists of one person.

^{The location of the KS-701 “Tunets” boat before the strike. Photo from analysts from the “CyberBoroshno” group}

As previously reported, on the night of July 18, in the area of​ Lake Donuzlav in the Crimea annexed by the Russian Federation, a series of explosions sounded, fires began, which were recorded by satellites.

The Security Service of Ukraine announced the defeat of a number of Russian military targets by surface and air drones.

^{Satellite image confirming the fire in the Novoozernyi district. Crimea, July 18, 2024}

This is not the first defeat of boats of this type. In 2023, naval aviation of the Ukrainian Navy destroyed a Russian boat of the KS-701 type in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.

quote:

A Ukrainian drone blew up a Russian “turtle tank”

Servicemen of the BULAVA unit of the 3rd Mechanized Battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have destroyed a Russian tank.

The tank was destroyed with the help of a drone created by a team of Ukrainian volunteers “Wild Hornets”.

The corresponding video was published on the Telegram-channel “Wild Hornets”.

The video shows a drone dropping explosives on a Russian tank. What follows is a powerful detonation

A Ukrainian drone hit a turtle tank – that’s the name given to tanks clad in metal sheets to protect them from drones.

SPOILER

quote:

The Wild Hornets development team has improved their drone by increasing its payload capacity.

The drone can now carry a payload weighing 8.1 kilograms.

Previously, the strike drone could drop up to 6 kilograms of explosives.

The developers also published test footage of the improved drone.

Ми вдосконалили силу нашої Королеви Шершнів 8.1 kg 🐝🇺🇦🐝 #дикішершні #drone #wildhornets #fpv

quote:

Millions Without Power in West Russia Thanks to Nuke Plant Failure, Record Temps, Kyiv Drone Strikes
Officials at the Russian atomic energy station say an emergency shut-down gutting power production capacity was perfectly safe and no radiation was released.

^{Yanina Pavlenko (L), Kremlin-appointed mayor of the Russia-occupied Ukrainian city Yalta, smiles and tells Yalta residents that power outages are an opportunity to “talk with dear ones about things like life and love.” She said work on restoring electricity service was ongoing. Kyiv Post screen grab from Pavlenko’s personal Telegram channel.}

Kremlin-appointed officials responsible for electricity deliveries in southwest Russia and Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine on Friday were struggling to halt accelerating blackouts and prevent collapse of the regional power grid, as millions of power consumers sat in the dark or sweltered without air conditioners.

A punishing trifecta of an emergency shutdown of one of four reactors at one of Russia’s biggest nuclear power stations, record-high temperatures that meteorologists predict will last at least another week, and damage caused by Ukrainian drones targeting transformer stations was responsible for rolling black-outs, emergency shut-downs and other interruptions to service.

Gray-outs and power failures were reported most often in densely-populated cities and districts of Russia’s southwestern Rostov Oblast, and across the border with Ukraine in the Russia-occupied Crimea peninsula and Donetsk region – a land space roughly the size of Poland and home, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to some eight million people.

SPOILER

quote:

.

^{Corporate image published by the Russian state atomic energy monopolist Rosatom of four nuclear reactors at the Rostov nuclear power station. One of the four reactors at the facility producing electricity for southwest Russia and Kremlin-occupied regions of east Ukraine went offline on Tuesday. Officials said the emergency shutdown was safe and there was no radiation threat.}

A Friday statement from DonEnergo, the state-run power company delivering electricity to customers in Russia-occupied eastern Ukraine and southwest Russia said: “due to extreme rises of air temperatures to and above 39 degrees Centigrade the power grid of the joint electrical power systems South is suffering a significant load…making necessary rolling blackouts to power users.”

The statement said nothing about the nuclear accident at the Rostov nuclear power station, the single largest generator of power for the grid in southwest Russia. Customers would be informed of a return to normal services “later,” the DonEnergo statement said.

According to a July 16 statement by the Russian nuclear power monopoly, Rosatom, one of four reactors at the Rostov atomic energy station was shut down due to a turbine malfunction. Officials said there was no radiation threat and that technicians were investigating the problem. No timeline for repair was announced.

Another reactor is offline for long-term maintenance, leaving the station – with a 1.5 Gigawatt capacity responsible for about 75 percent of electricity generated in southwest Russia – at half capacity, corporate officials said on Tuesday.

Since the July 16 accident, DonEnergo has reported dozens of electricity delivery failures caused by grid overload in the cities of Rostov, Donetsk, Novocherkassk, Bataisk, Kamensk-Shakhtinskiy, Shakhty, Sal’sk, Novoshakhtinsk, Morozovsk and Gukovo.

The city Rostov-Na-Donu, home to more than one million residents and capital of Russia’s southwestern Rostov Oblast’ bordering Ukraine appeared to be particularly hard hit, suffering sixteen unplanned blackouts in districts of the city, notwithstanding mandatory halts to electricity deliveries elsewhere, in order to prevent blackouts.

Donbasenergo corporate statements on July 16-17 promised a return to normal services in three hours. By July 18-19, DonEnergo corporate messaging had ceased predicting when customers’ lights and appliances might again have power.

In Russia-occupied Crimea Evgeniy Gorlov, Kremlin-appointed vice mayor of the regional capital Simferopol, and Mikhail Razvozhaev, Kremlin-appointed mayor of the naval port city Sevastopol, in Wednesday statements said that electricity users services should be back to normal on Friday. That was not the case and power cuts and blackouts were being reported across the peninsula, Kyiv Post review of local chat groups found.

In the summer resort city Yalta, on the south coast of the Russia-occupied Crimea peninsula, local news agencies reported street lights and illumination on seaside boardwalks was switched off, to reduce load on the grid.

Yalta occupation authority Mayor Yanina Pavlenko in video comments described the power grid situation in the city as particularly difficult because – aside from the heat and nuclear reactor failure affecting the whole region – an underground high voltage trunk line had failed and needed to be dug up and repaired. She called on neighbors to be patient.

“Friends! There is no electricity. But maybe we can use this moment, as a possibilty to be with our loved ones. To talk about life. About one’s family. About love,” Pavlenko said in a candle-lit video statement.

Regional media also reported electricity shortages in the neighboring Krasnodar Krai region, in mainland Russia opposite Crimea, and rolling black-outs or emergency power shut-downs in the cities Kransodar, Stavropol, Gelenzhik, Novorossiysk and Maikop.

Official Kremlin-controlled information sources offering updates on the power cut-offs, ranging from Rosatom to DonEnergo, to officials like Razvozhayev, Pavlenko and Golov, have made no reference to weeks of Ukrainian drone strikes seemingly focusing on degrading power grid infrastructure in regions now badly short of electricity.

A Friday statement by the Ukrainian partisan group Krymsky Veter said that more than 20 power transformer substations were offline in Yalta alone, due to damage from Ukrainian drone and guerilla attacks. Kyiv Post researchers confirmed power was off in many but not all sections of the city, but could not determine the exact cause.

Ukrainian strike planners in early July appeared to expand a long-running kamikaze drone bombardment campaign against its giant northern neighbor to attempt strikes against civilian power transformer stations in west and southwest Russia.

The latest major Ukrainian wave of drone strikes clearly targeting Russia-controlled power grid infrastructure took place on July 9, when a reported 40+ robot aircraft loaded with explosives hit, or attempted to strike electricity distribution nodes in Rostov Oblast and in the neighboring Volgograd Oblast. According to Russian milbloggers, at least four power substations – infrastructure critical for handling overloads during periods of high electricity use – were hit.

quote:

Poisoned fruit kills 12 Russian soldiers in occupied Mariupol
At least 12 Russian soldiers have died after eating poisoned watermelons supplied by Ukrainian resistance fighters in the occupied southeast city of Mariupol.

Russian troops started the siege of Mariupol on February 24, 2022 and captured it after a three-month battle that reduced most of the city to ruins.

Since then, local partisans have been involved in a number of sabotage actions, including sabotaging railways and burning warehouses with Russian supplies.

Referring to the “watermelon incident,” Pyotr Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, added that in Mariupol “the resistance movement is actively fighting.”

“There are always people who come en masse from Russia and want to make money. That is, they want to trade something.

“The operation was simple. It was clear that the watermelons were bought by soldiers at a [Russian] military base. It was clear who supplied these watermelons. A crate of watermelons was sold cheaply,” Andryushchenko told the Ukrainian Channel 24.

He said that in addition to the 12 Russian soldiers who died as a result of watermelon poisoning, 30 servicemen suffered severe poisoning and had been admitted to the hospital.

This is not the first time such an incident occurred, the official said. A few months earlier, four Russian soldiers were killed by alcohol poisoning, Andryushchenko recalled.

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 17:55 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://tvpworld.com/7939(...)in-occupied-mariupol
[..]

quote:

A Russian wife turned to her husband and asked,

"What's this special military operation our glorious leader keeps talking about?"

Her husband replied, "It's a war to stop America and NATO." "Oh, right” she says “How's it going?"

“Well” he replied “so far we have lost over 20 generals, 100,000 troops killed, countless injured, 3000 tanks, 300 aircraft, hundreds of helicopters, countless armoured vehicles, artillery and trucks, our flagship along with other naval ships, our army is being defeated in most areas and we have had to resort to conscripting 500,000 Russians including murders and rapists to replace our losses”.

“Wow” replied the wife “what about America and NATO”?

“They haven’t turned up yet”

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 23:53 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:

Ukrainian Marines SACRIFICED in Pointless PR Stunt

Veel troepen verloren voor wat? Zonde van de speciale troepen als je het mij vraagt.

Vanaf 2:30 gaat het over Krinky

quote:

Op zaterdag 20 juli 2024 23:53 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:

Ukrainian Marines SACRIFICED in Pointless PR Stunt

Veel troepen verloren voor wat? Zonde van de speciale troepen als je het mij vraagt.

Vanaf 2:30 gaat het over Krinky

quote:

As of Nov. 16, the Marines said that Russian forces operating in the area had suffered 1,216 fatalities, 2,217 wounded, and lost 24 tanks, 48 armored vehicles, 89 artillery systems and mortars, 135 other vehicles, nine multiple launch rocket systems, and 14 boats.

quote:

"Dirty" Russian Yuan: China Refuses to Accept Payment in Currency Bought in Russia
Russian importers have encountered a new and very serious problem in settlements with China: they have begun to receive refusals to accept payment in yuan if they were purchased in Russia. Not only Chinese banks are afraid to deal with such money, but even payment agents who help transfer money to the East through third countries - many importers now use their services.

In the cross-border payments sphere, new terms appeared in June – “clean” and “dirty” yuan, several market participants told The Moscow Times. “Clean” is the one bought abroad, and “dirty” – on the territory of Russia (it doesn’t matter where – on the stock exchange or on the interbank market). This “dirty” yuan, according to them, is now becoming a burden.

SPOILER

quote:

After the US imposed sanctions on the Moscow Exchange and Asian subsidiaries of major banks on June 12, the number of Chinese banks willing to accept money from Russia fell sharply. VTB Shanghai, which was also hit with sanctions in June, began having serious problems transferring yuan to clients’ accounts in China. It had been difficult for the bank to buy yuan inside the country before (the US threatened secondary sanctions against banks actively working with Russia in February), and it replenished its reserves using complex schemes, a financier at a Russian foreign trade company explains to The Moscow Times: either at the Moscow Exchange and then sending it to China through local intermediary banks, or through the Russian division of Bank of China, where the yuan was “transferred” again by intermediary banks. Now this trickle has stopped, because the intermediaries who helped with the transfer of yuan and Bank of China have refused to do so.

And working “on counter flows” – using the yuan that comes to the bank’s accounts of exporters to pay for goods, or exchanging debt obligations to offset such transactions – is becoming increasingly difficult, agrees the head of the payment agent company. Exports passing through VTB-Shanghai are smaller than payments for imports, he explains.

As a result, direct payments from Russia to China in yuan, which had previously been circulating with difficulty, have now almost ceased to be delivered to recipients. “If before June 12, Chinese counterparties quickly and without problems received about 15% of such payments, now, according to our estimates, it is about 5%,” a source shared data with The Moscow Times. In response, foreign trade companies and suppliers began to receive explanations from VTB-Shanghai and Chinese banks about the shortage of yuan and queues to receive them.

But banks are only half the trouble. What's even worse is that there is a problem with the only scheme for settling foreign trade transactions quickly and almost without interruptions - through payment agents in other jurisdictions. In the spring, when payments to China began to freeze en masse, many importers gave up on banks and began using the services of such agents. This significantly increased costs (by 3-5%, according to importers), but the money arrived, and the goods arrived. The appearance of the "dirty" yuan spoiled everything.

"Over the past month, three out of five of our payment agents said they would only work with 'clean' yuan," says a Chinese equipment supplier. Some agents are willing to receive rubles and convert them into 'clean' yuan themselves, but this is very expensive - almost 10%, taking into account 'agency' and conversion losses, and in the case of 'heavily sanctioned' goods - even more expensive, he complains.

You can also try to pay directly to China in rubles, but again, it is not so easy to “push” them there – not all banks are ready to accept payments in Russian currency, and those that are, often set extortionate rates for conversion into “pure” yuan, the interlocutor of The Moscow Times continues. But even having “pushed” to China, it is not easy to pay in rubles there: few people need them. “It is even more difficult to find suppliers who are ready to receive rubles [than banks ready to accept them], and they, again, tend to raise prices for such deliveries, so it still turns out to be slow and expensive,” says the supplier of household goods. “That is why we are still holding on to “our” yuan and agents, but we are already feeling problems and rising costs here – and this is despite the fact that it has long been difficult for us to compete on price with those who import goods from China to Russia using so-called “cargo” schemes, which is essentially smuggling.”

quote:

Russia plans $1 billion investment in protective shelters for military aircraft amid growing drone attacks
Russian war correspondents, citing Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, reported the Russian military leadership's intentions to build protective shelters for combat aircraft at military airfields. Intriguingly, the announcement appeared on social media just before the Ukrainian forces' strike on the Millerovo airbase on July 20.

"With the help of high-precision Western missiles with cluster warheads, the enemy has repeatedly attempted to attack our combat aircraft on the tarmacs. On Friday, Andrei Belousov assured me that a timetable for the airfields has already been drawn up and shelters will definitely be built," wrote Russian military blogger Alexander Kots on his channel.

SPOILER

quote:

Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted not only the deployment sites of Russian frontline aviation but also airbases housing Russian strategic aircraft. For instance, in April this year, Ukrainian special services carried out an operation to strike the "Engels-2" airfield, where strategic bombers Tu-95MS were stationed.

Additionally, in one of the latest similar episodes, the newest Russian Su-57 fighters were damaged while stationed at an airbase in the Astrakhan region, 600 km from Ukraine.

Commenting on the news, Ukrainian analysts from Defense Express note that the decision to construct protective structures appears in the Russian information space as a "bottom-up" initiative proposed by "war correspondents."

However, the absence of such structures at Russian airbases has been known since the 1980s, with the deployment of new aircraft like the Su-27 and MiG-31, which did not fit into the standard shelters of the 2А13 model. During the Soviet Union period, standard 2А13 arch shelters, 13 meters wide, with 60 cm thick concrete walls, and half-meter thick steel doors, were built in border military districts. These shelters also included service areas equipped with electrical systems, ventilation, and fire suppression equipment.

The cost of a standard 2А13 shelter in 1972 was 160,000 Soviet rubles, equivalent to approximately $1.5 million under current economic conditions. For larger aircraft like the Su-27, bigger shelters such as the 2А19 model with a width of 18.6 meters are required, significantly increasing costs due to their size and additional structural features.

Regarding the possibility of constructing shelters, such work is likely to start at airbases like Kushchevskaya, Millerovo, Belbek, as well as in Taganrog and Voronezh. If the Russians aim to protect about 300 aircraft units, the overall cost approximates to about $1 billion.

"However, it is very likely that instead of full-fledged shelters for aircraft, Russia will go the path of least resistance and resort to either canopies like those at the Khmeimim airbase in Syria or metal hangars designed just to protect from inclement weather," the analysts conclude.

quote:

Fico criticizes Kyiv's sanctions against Russian oil in call with Shmyhal
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico criticized Ukraine's sanctions against the Russian company Lukoil in a phone conversation with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on July 20, the Slovak news agency Tasr reported.

In June, Kyiv imposed sanctions blocking the transit of pipeline oil from Lukoil to Central Europe to cut off the Kremlin's source of income used to support its military.

"Slovakia doesn't intend to be a hostage to Ukrainian-Russian relations," Fico reportedly told Shmyhal.

Fico claimed that Ukraine's decision to block Lukoil transit would have negative ramifications for the Slovak oil refinery Slovnaft, which is part of the MOL Group, a Hungarian oil and gas conglomerate.

Ukraine's restrictions have led to fuel shortages in Budapest, which depends on Russia for 70 percent of its oil supply, Politico reported on July 20.

Slovnaft "will receive 40 percent less oil than it needs for processing" due to Kyiv's sanctions, Fico said.

"It will have an impact not only on the Slovak market, but it may also lead to the halt of deliveries of Slovnaft-produced oil to Ukraine," Fico said.

Slovnaft products constitute one-tenth of Ukrainian oil consumption, Fico said.

Shmyhal's office has not yet commented on the conversation.

Fico, a pro-Russian populist, halted military aid to Ukraine after taking office in September 2023. The move was a stark reversal of Slovak foreign policy.

In May, Fico was shot and seriously injured in an assassination attempt. He made his first public appearance since the shooting on July 5, addressing supporters in a speech that praised Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

SPOILER

quote:

Translation:

"The target is hit... Here is the smoke... The plane is falling and the pilot ejects(at 0:32)... The shute opens up..."

SPOILER

quote:

Translation:

"Look, there were boats over here... There are mines over there... Engines... My kitchen used to be here, Lilya... Here are my dumbbells... Two of them... Yep... (1:08): And here is the entrance into our dugout... I've sent you a picture before, remember? You said it looked like in a fairytale... This is how it looks now, Lilya... Fubarred... Yep..."

SPOILER

quote:

Boris Johnson unveils Trump's peace plan for Ukraine with Russian Crimea
Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unveiled Donald Trump's peace plan for ending the war in Ukraine, according to Johnson's op-ed in the Daily Mail.

The British politician noted that Trump's peace plan includes the following steps:
• The West allows Ukraine to use ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles, as well as other weapons, to target airfields within Russia. Once Russian troops are pushed back, Putin could offer a deal.
• Russia retreats to the borders as of February 24, 2022. Ukrainian territory under Kyiv's control is recognized as a free country with the prospect of rapid accession to the EU and NATO.
• After the war, some Ukrainian troops were stationed in European countries to replace part of the 70,000 US troops deployed to deter potential Russian aggression. This would allow Trump to save money, bring American troops home, and compel Europeans to do more for their defense, which is one of his key goals.
• Russia declares that the Special Military Operation has fulfilled its mission and denazified the country. Special protective measures are introduced for the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine.

Johnson remarked that with President Donald Trump in the White House, there is a real prospect of some global rapprochement with Russia, and with Putin, a return to the times when Russia was a respected partner of the G8 and even NATO.

According to the politician, there is only one way to achieve such a result — through force.

"Washington under Trump will have to show that international borders must be respected, and that the Soviet empire cannot be rebuilt by force. That means backing the Ukrainians to the hilt," Johnson stated.

He also added that a victory for Ukraine could pave the way for new and much better relations with Russia, which would be a great victory for America and the entire world.

Trump's diplomatic efforts
On July 17, Boris Johnson held a meeting with Donald Trump, during which the politicians discussed the situation in Ukraine. The meeting took place a few days after an attempted assassination of Trump during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

On the night of Saturday, July 20, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had his first phone call with Trump since 2021.

The US presidential candidate positively assessed the communication with Zelenskyy.

quote:

Op zondag 21 juli 2024 05:25 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Het aangehaalde artikel:
9 maanden Krynky half oktober 2023 - eind juni 2024 Oekra�ense verliezen:
• 262 doden
• 788 vermisten
• 58 stuks materieel verloren

Om het even gemakkelijk te maken laten we er van uit gaan dat die 788 vermisten allemaal dood zijn, natuurlijk kunnen een deel daar van prima in gevangenschap zitten.

1050 doden, voor elke dode 2 gewonden dan zitten wij op 3150 verliezen in 9 maanden tijd:
9 maanden Krynky half oktober 2023 - eind juni 2024 Oekra�ense verliezen:
• 1050 doden
• 2100 gewonden
• 58 stuks materieel verloren.

Dat is: 117 doden, 233 gewonden (350 verliezen) en 6 stuks verloren materieel per maand.
Dat is: 4 doden, 8 gewonden (12 verliezen) per dag.

En dat is in het slechte geval, als alle vermisten daadwerkelijk dood zijn.
De verliezen van materiaal volgens Naalsio. Deze zijn visueel bevestigd. Dus er zullen er meer zijn.
[ afbeelding ]
[ afbeelding ]
Hierbij hebben de Russen dus bijna 5 keer meer verliezen.

Rusland heeft voor de verdediging van de oostbank van de Dnipro een groot aantal soldaten in de regio gestationeerd. Volgens dit artikel ging dat om 64.000 in de herfst van 2023, wat uiteindelijk zelfs opliep tot 120.000 nu.

Dit waren dus soldaten die in elk geval voor een groot deel of ergens anders vandaan gehaald moesten worden, of niet naar deze andere plekken gestuurd konden worden. Natuurlijk geldt dit ook voor een heleboel materieel waar ze dus op andere plekken van de oorlog geen gebruik van hebben kunnen maken.

Alleen dit is al heel waardevol voor Oekra�ne gebleken. Daar zijn veel levens in andere gebieden door gered, niet alleen Oekra�ense soldaten maar ook burgers bijvoorbeeld.

Een andere goede reden was dat er een bufferzone gecre�erd werd tussen de in handen van Rusland zijnde oostkant van de rivier en de in handen van Oekra�ne zijnde west bank. Hierdoor was het moeilijker om de west bank aan te vallen, of om er bijvoorbeeld troepen heen te krijgen.

In het hierboven genoemde artikel wordt ook een indicatie van Russische verliezen gegeven. Dmytro Lykhovii, de woordvoerder van de operationeel-strategische groep Tavria geeft aan dat de Russische verliezen 4 tot 5 keer groter zijn. En als je naar de materieel verliezen kijkt klopt dat wel ongeveer.

Dan komen we hierop uit:
9 maanden Krynky half oktober 2023 - eind juni 2024 Oekra�ense verliezen:
• 1050 doden
• 2100 gewonden
• 58 stuks materieel verloren.

Dat is: 117 doden, 233 gewonden (350 verliezen) en 6 stuks verloren materieel per maand.
Dat is: 4 doden, 8 gewonden (12 verliezen) per dag.

9 maanden Krynky half oktober 2023 - eind juni 2024 Russische verliezen:
4200 - 5250 doden
8400 - 10500 gewonden
271 materieel verliezen

Dat is: 468 - 583 doden, 936 - 1166 gewonden (1404 - 1749 verliezen) en 30 stuks verloren materieel per maand.
Dat is: 15 - 19 doden, 31 - 39 gewonden (46 - 58 verliezen) per dag.

Zoals ik al aangaf is dit als wij er van uit gaan dat alle vermisten dood zijn, een ruwe schatting dus. Want als de een deel van die vermisten gevangen genomen zijn zullen de Russische verliezen ook flink lager kunnen uitvallen. En de 4-5x meer Russische verliezen is ook niet een vaststaande feit. Maar het valt wel in de lijn met schattingen van andere gevechten waar de Russen koste wat het kost wouden winnen. Denk aan Avdiivka en Bakhmut.

Ook het ministerie van defensie van de UK geeft aan dat Rusland flink veel verliezen heeft geleden.
[ x ]

De cijfers waren sowieso al erg hoog op de oost bank van de rivier. Dit zijn de cijfers over alle bruggenhoofden daar in de eerste maand dat Oekra�ne posities in nam in Krynky. Al is het mij niet helemaal duidelijk of dit alleen over die maand gaat, of dat de periode daarvoor zonder Krynky ook meetelt.
https://kyivindependent.c(...)nipro-river-battles/
Ukrainian Marines: Russia has suffered close to 3,500 casualties in Dnipro River battles
[..]

quote:

Op zondag 21 juli 2024 07:02 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://newsukraine.rbc.u(...)plan-1721513761.html
[..]
Als Trump zo graag vrede wil waarom geeft hij in plaats van een deel van Oekra�ne niet gewoon Alaska aan Rusland.

Want de Krim, Luhansk en Donetsk zijn gewoon Oekra�ne natuurlijk. Al is het niet helemaal duidelijk of die laatste twee ook hieronder zullen vallen, daar de titel alleen over de Krim spreekt.

quote:

Op zondag 21 juli 2024 13:36 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Eens, alle boxes zouden ticked zijn als het de grenzen van 91 betrof, en niet die van 22.

Maar denk dat dit al volstrekt niet te verteren valt voor putin. Die mag z'n orcs dan uit gaan leggen dat hij het land te gronde heeft gericht voor letterlijk helemaal niets, en de nazi's zijn weg, maar zelenski doet nog wel iedere avond zijn praatje op de buis.

quote:

Op zondag 21 juli 2024 14:44 schreef Ulx het volgende:

[..]
So? Als burgers boos worden is dat prima op te lossen door ze in Siberi� uit te leggen dat ze het verkeerd zien.

quote:

Op zondag 21 juli 2024 05:25 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Het aangehaalde artikel:
9 maanden Krynky half oktober 2023 - eind juni 2024 Oekra�ense verliezen:
• 262 doden
• 788 vermisten
• 58 stuks materieel verloren

Om het even gemakkelijk te maken laten we er van uit gaan dat die 788 vermisten allemaal dood zijn, natuurlijk kunnen een deel daar van prima in gevangenschap zitten.

1050 doden, voor elke dode 2 gewonden dan zitten wij op 3150 verliezen in 9 maanden tijd:
9 maanden Krynky half oktober 2023 - eind juni 2024 Oekra�ense verliezen:
• 1050 doden
• 2100 gewonden
• 58 stuks materieel verloren.

Dat is: 117 doden, 233 gewonden (350 verliezen) en 6 stuks verloren materieel per maand.
Dat is: 4 doden, 8 gewonden (12 verliezen) per dag.

En dat is in het slechte geval, als alle vermisten daadwerkelijk dood zijn.
De verliezen van materiaal volgens Naalsio. Deze zijn visueel bevestigd. Dus er zullen er meer zijn.
[ afbeelding ]
[ afbeelding ]
Hierbij hebben de Russen dus bijna 5 keer meer verliezen.

Rusland heeft voor de verdediging van de oostbank van de Dnipro een groot aantal soldaten in de regio gestationeerd. Volgens dit artikel ging dat om 64.000 in de herfst van 2023, wat uiteindelijk zelfs opliep tot 120.000 nu.

Dit waren dus soldaten die in elk geval voor een groot deel of ergens anders vandaan gehaald moesten worden, of niet naar deze andere plekken gestuurd konden worden. Natuurlijk geldt dit ook voor een heleboel materieel waar ze dus op andere plekken van de oorlog geen gebruik van hebben kunnen maken.

Alleen dit is al heel waardevol voor Oekra�ne gebleken. Daar zijn veel levens in andere gebieden door gered, niet alleen Oekra�ense soldaten maar ook burgers bijvoorbeeld.

Een andere goede reden was dat er een bufferzone gecre�erd werd tussen de in handen van Rusland zijnde oostkant van de rivier en de in handen van Oekra�ne zijnde west bank. Hierdoor was het moeilijker om de west bank aan te vallen, of om er bijvoorbeeld troepen heen te krijgen.

In het hierboven genoemde artikel wordt ook een indicatie van Russische verliezen gegeven. Dmytro Lykhovii, de woordvoerder van de operationeel-strategische groep Tavria geeft aan dat de Russische verliezen 4 tot 5 keer groter zijn. En als je naar de materieel verliezen kijkt klopt dat wel ongeveer.

Dan komen we hierop uit:
9 maanden Krynky half oktober 2023 - eind juni 2024 Oekra�ense verliezen:
• 1050 doden
• 2100 gewonden
• 58 stuks materieel verloren.

Dat is: 117 doden, 233 gewonden (350 verliezen) en 6 stuks verloren materieel per maand.
Dat is: 4 doden, 8 gewonden (12 verliezen) per dag.

9 maanden Krynky half oktober 2023 - eind juni 2024 Russische verliezen:
4200 - 5250 doden
8400 - 10500 gewonden
271 materieel verliezen

Dat is: 468 - 583 doden, 936 - 1166 gewonden (1404 - 1749 verliezen) en 30 stuks verloren materieel per maand.
Dat is: 15 - 19 doden, 31 - 39 gewonden (46 - 58 verliezen) per dag.

Zoals ik al aangaf is dit als wij er van uit gaan dat alle vermisten dood zijn, een ruwe schatting dus. Want als de een deel van die vermisten gevangen genomen zijn zullen de Russische verliezen ook flink lager kunnen uitvallen. En de 4-5x meer Russische verliezen is ook niet een vaststaande feit. Maar het valt wel in de lijn met schattingen van andere gevechten waar de Russen koste wat het kost wouden winnen. Denk aan Avdiivka en Bakhmut.

Ook het ministerie van defensie van de UK geeft aan dat Rusland flink veel verliezen heeft geleden.
[ x ]

De cijfers waren sowieso al erg hoog op de oost bank van de rivier. Dit zijn de cijfers over alle bruggenhoofden daar in de eerste maand dat Oekra�ne posities in nam in Krynky. Al is het mij niet helemaal duidelijk of dit alleen over die maand gaat, of dat de periode daarvoor zonder Krynky ook meetelt.
https://kyivindependent.c(...)nipro-river-battles/
Ukrainian Marines: Russia has suffered close to 3,500 casualties in Dnipro River battles
[..]

quote:

Op zondag 21 juli 2024 12:15 schreef Idisrom het volgende:

[..]
Maar Krinky blijft een van de meest zinloze offensieven van de Oekra�ners. Qua dodental absoluut niet te vergelijken met Stalingrad oktober 1942, maar toen werden de Russen ook de Wolga overgezet met een gemiddelde levensverwachting van 14 uur. De Oekra�ners hebben hier wel elite-troepen opgeofferd zonder een breder doel.

De verdediging van Bachmoet en nu Chasiv Yar zal geen enkele Oekra�ner achteraf als zinloos beschouwen.

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Ukrainian Ground Forces announced the destruction of almost 60 reconnaissance UAVs in a week

^{Downed ZALA drone. Photo credits: SOF}

Air defense and electronic warfare units of the Ground Forces destroyed almost 60 Russian reconnaissance drones over Ukraine in a week.

Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, announced this.

Enemy air targets were shot down, both in the rear and along the line of contact.

Between July 13 and 19, the air defense of the Ground Forces destroyed 154 aerial reconnaissance and strike systems of the Russian troops, including six Kh-101/555 cruise missiles.

SPOILER

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^{Illustrative photo of the Russian Orlan-10 UAV. Photo from open sources}

Besides, 148 drones of various types were destroyed:
• UAV Shahed-131/136 – 12 units;
• UAV Orlan-10/30 – 11 units;
• UAV Zala – 40 units;
• UAV “Lancet” – 35 units.
• UAV Supercam – 8 units;
• UAV “Pryvet-82” – 27 units;


^{Shot down Russian SuperCam S350 drone. The photo is illustrative}

In addition, 15 enemy drones of unspecified type were shot down.

The list includes 59 Orlan, Zala, and Supercam drones, which the Russians actively use to conduct reconnaissance and adjust strikes both on the front line and in the rear areas. Therefore, the destruction of such drones is a crucial task for Ukrainian air defense and electronic warfare.

Pavliuk also noted that the Ukrainian military suppresses a significant number of tactical UAVs of the Russian occupiers, in particular FPV drones and wing drones, using various electronic warfare means.

“Over the past week alone, our warriors have thwarted about 5,000 missions for enemy fixed-wing UAVs and more than 3,000 enemy FPV drones!” the commander noted.

Fighting Russian drones

Момент ураження ворожого БПЛА

In addition to traditional systems of fighting air targets, such as SAMs, anti-aircraft guns, and machine guns, the Ukrainian military also uses FPV drones to shoot down Russian reconnaissance drones.

Перехоплення БПЛА Zala за допомогою FPV-дрона

Intercepting drones with other drones is a relatively new and promising area of air defense development. In recent months, Ukrainian FPV drones have destroyed multiple Russian reconnaissance drones in the air, including ZALA, Orlan-10, and even a Lancet loitering munition.

Сили оборони підняли літак Як-52 для збиття БПЛА Zala

Ukraine also uses a two-seat piston single-engine Yak-52 training aircraft to intercept Russian reconnaissance drones. The shooter in the cockpit intercepts UAVs using small arms.

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New type of attack drone shot down in the Kyiv region

^{New Russian strike drone. Photo credits: Defense Express}

During another Russian missile attack on July 20, air defense units of the Kyiv region shot down a new type of Russian attack drone.

The relevant photos were published on the War_home Telegram channel.

The new drone, unlike other Russian attack drones, has a slightly different design.

Thus, the published photos show that it is built according to a standard aerodynamic scheme, and the twin tail boom.

SPOILER

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^{A new type of Russian attack drone shot down by the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine. Photo credits: War_home}

It should be noted that due to the lack of more detailed photos, the drone can also be built according to the canard aerodynamic scheme.

A closer look at the drone reveals a two-stroke internal combustion engine from the Chinese DLE.

Inside, a Russian Kometa antenna was spotted, and in the nose, there is a compartment for a payload, which may consist of an explosive or a charge.

It is not yet clear who manufactures this type of drone, but according to Western media, in 2024, Russia began conducting joint research with China to develop a new low-cost attack drone.

^{A new type of Russian attack drone shot down by the Air Defense Forces of Ukraine. Photo credits: Trukha}

According to the network, the drone could have been used by the Russians to conduct so-called “combat tests.”

In addition, they add that the Russians tested a new Chinese-made Mugin drone in the same way.

Militarnyi previously reported that Ukrainian developers demonstrated flight tests of a jet drone designed to intercept air targets.

According to published information, the Bullet unmanned aerial vehicle system is designed specifically to combat enemy reconnaissance and attack drones and helicopters.

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Fined for yellow and blue shoes: How Russian laws smother dissent

^{Anna Bazhutova was jailed for five and a half years for spreading "fake information" on the Russian army}

Dissent is not tolerated in Vladimir Putin's Russia.

For years Kremlin critics have faced a host of laws which could be used against them, and since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that toolbox of measures has swelled in size.

The laws target basic rights such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly - even though they are enshrined in Russia's constitution.

The repressive nature of the punishments, often disproportionate to the offence, harks back to the methods of the old Soviet Union.

SPOILER

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Spreading 'false information'
The law used most widely against critics of the war in Ukraine is the criminal offence of spreading "deliberately false information" about the Russian army.

It was rushed through parliament shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "urgently needed because of the absolutely unprecedented information war waged against our country".

According to prominent Russian human rights group OVD-Info, more than 300 people have since been charged or convicted under it.

^{Ilya Yashin was jailed for eight and a half years for spreading "false information"}

Even though the law mentions "false" information, it has been used against people who highlight crimes that are well-documented but denied by Russia.

Ilya Yashin is one of the most high-profile critics of the war to be convicted under this law. The former head of a Moscow disctrict council was given eight and half years in jail for a live stream on YouTube in which he urged an investigation into the murder of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

In April 2023, prominent opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in jail on charges of treason and spreading "false information" about the Russian army.

His case was partly based on a speech in which he accused Russian troops in Ukraine of committing war crimes by using cluster bombs in residential areas and bombing maternity hospitals and schools.

^{Dissident Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for 25 years on various charges including spreading false information about the army}

The law has also been applied to Russians with far smaller public profiles.

Russian-language tutor Raisa Boldova, 61, was handed a suspended one-year community service sentence for posting critical comments about attacks on civilians in Ukraine, including the bombing of the Mariupol maternity hospital.

In an echo of a chilling Soviet practice of confining dissidents to mental hospitals, the court also ordered her to undergo a compulsory psychiatric evaluation.

'Discrediting' the Russian army

^{A man is led away bearing a piece of paper with eight asterisks}

Another recent law penalises "discrediting" the Russian army, and it has been applied to a broad variety of actions interpreted either as support for Ukraine or criticism of the war.

These include:
• Wearing clothes in the blue-and-yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag
• Writing anti-war slogans on cakes, as did pastry chef Anastasia Chernysheva
• Dyeing one's hair blue-and-yellow or listening to Ukrainian music
• Displaying anti-war posters with messages ranging from "No War" to eight asterisks - the number of Russian letters that spell "No War" - or even just a blank sheet of paper.

A village priest in Kostroma region was fined for discrediting Russia's armed forces after praying for peace and mentioning the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill".

Targeting 'foreign agents'
Russia's "foreign agents" law allows restrictions to be imposed on critics without convicting them of any wrongdoing.

Individuals or organisations that have criticised or scrutinised government policies are targeted if they are deemed to have received money from abroad - even from a relative - or merely to be under "foreign influence".

The label has to be attached to all public communications, a practice designed to undermine trust in them and one that resembles the Soviet practice of branding dissidents "enemies of the people".

Among Russia's "foreign agents" are election monitor Golos, prominent pollster Levada Centre, rights group OVD-Info, a movement of wives of mobilised soldiers called The Way Home and numerous independent news websites and journalists including Nobel Peace Prize winner Dmitry Muratov.

Books written by so-called foreign agents have started to disappear from shops and libraries.

'Undesirable organisations' and 'extremists'

^{Alexei Navalny died in jail after he was convicted of extremism - his widow Yulia has now been accused of extremism too}

A "foreign agent" label can make life difficult – but being declared "undesirable" amounts to an outright ban.

All manner of organisations have been banned from Russia in this way – from the NGO Greenpeace to London-based think-tank Chatham House, as well as a number of key Russian media outlets.

Late opposition leader Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation was disbanded after being declared “extremist” – another label used to effectively erase individuals and organisations from public life.

Navalny himself was handed a lengthy prison sentence and died in jail in February 2024. His widow says he was killed by President Putin. Several of Navalny's lawyers were themselves arrested on charges of extremism.

Rallies and protests

^{One man was fined for wearing blue and yellow shoes - the colours of the Ukrainian flag}

In Russia, anyone who wishes to hold a demonstration needs permission from the authorities. If the rally is critical of the government, that is practically impossible.

"One-person pickets" are allowed, but many are regularly shut down - ostensibly because of Covid restrictions.

One man was fined for wearing blue-and-yellow shoes - seen as a violation of laws regulating political demonstrations. And a journalist from Vologda Region, Antonida Smolina, was visited by police after someone complained about photographs she had posted online showing her posing in a yellow coat against a blue sky.

Other actions outlawed in Russia include "disrespect" for the authorities and calls for sanctions to be imposed on the country.

Laws as a tool to 'legitimise repression'
According to Natalia Prilutskaya of Amnesty International, the Kremlin uses laws to “legitimise repression”, partly by exploiting the vague wording of some Russian laws.

"This vagueness allows law enforcement structures to qualify basically any activity as a forbidden activity, or at least it makes it easier," Ms Prilutskaya told the BBC.

Dmitrii Anisimov, spokesman for Russian human rights group OVD-Info, argues that laws are a particularly important for the Kremlin because of the way Russia's security apparatus functions.

"The Russian security community is fairly bureaucratic and it needs legal norms for their actions,” he said. Legislation used by the security services had been “deliberately designed in a way that makes their application simple and widespread”, he added.

Ms Prilutskaya says it all adds up to a general climate of repression, which she blames on President Vladimir Putin.

"The ambitions of one person have brought Russia to the edge of a really deep abyss,” she said.

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Ukraine Issues Warning on Navigation Disruptions in Black Sea
Ukraine’s seaports authority has issued a cautionary notice to shipowners regarding disruptions to satellite navigation systems in the Black Sea, warning of potential spoofing incidents affecting ship tracking. The advisory, sent last week and reviewed by Bloomberg, specifically advises masters of vessels heading to Greater Odesa about the heightened risk of losing satellite navigation signals.

Although the letter does not explicitly attribute the disruptions, analysts suggest they are part of Russia’s efforts to counter Ukrainian drone operations in the region. The interference could also impact maritime traffic carrying commodities, complicating navigation for vessels relying on accurate positioning information.

Andriy Klimenko, from the Institute of Black Sea Strategic Studies, noted that the disruptions are escalating, attributing them to Russian military actions aimed not only at defending against Ukrainian threats but also at complicating Ukrainian exports and tracking Russian oil shipments.

Both Ukraine’s seaports authority and Russia’s defense ministry declined immediate comment on the matter.

In recent instances, Moscow’s measures to interfere with GPS signals have affected airline operations in the Baltic and Finland, prompting reliance on alternative navigation methods. The current disruptions in the Black Sea are reported to affect all ships in the vicinity rather than individual vessels selectively turning off tracking systems.

While there have been no reported slowdowns in exports due to these navigation issues thus far, ongoing disruptions may pose operational difficulties and complicate efforts to monitor commodity movements. Analysts estimate that a significant number of vessels in the Black Sea are currently broadcasting compromised location data, particularly those involved in transporting Russian coal.

In recent months, instances have been observed where ship-tracking systems display vessels in locations deemed implausible, including on land in Crimea and even at a Moscow airport.

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China provides geospatial intelligence to Russia

^{Chinese Long March 5B Y2 launch vehicle. Photo credits: Visual China}

China is providing geospatial intelligence to Russia, which is also used in the war against Ukraine.

Bloomberg reported on this.

According to U.S. intelligence, China is providing geospatial intelligence to Russia, which is used both in the war against Ukraine and to monitor the deployment of NATO troops in Europe.

In addition to the information itself, the publication claims that China is also providing Russia with microelectronics, optics, propellants to be used in missiles, and generally expanding cooperation in this area.

SPOILER

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^{Assembly of the Long March 5B (Y2) launch vehicle. Photo credits: CMSA}

“Amid signs of continued military integration between the two nations, China has provided Russia with satellite imagery for military purposes,” the publication noted.

Russia currently receives information from China’s HEAD Aerospace, which is a supplier of optical and radar data from more than 100 Chinese spacecraft.

In addition to government agencies, the satellites were also leased by the Wagner PMC. According to the French edition of Agence France-Presse (AFP), in November 2022, the Russian mercenary group leased two Chinese high-resolution Jilin-1 Gaofen 03D12 and 03D13 satellites and related services for a total of more than $30 million.

They were launched into a 535 km orbit in the same year, 2022.

In general, in addition to optical satellite systems, the Russian Defense Ministry and the Wagner PMC also received intelligence information from radar satellites of the Chinese operator Spacety.

It should be noted that politically, China is trying to portray itself as a neutral country, but at the same time, it is supporting Russia with equipment that the country uses for military purposes.

In March 2024, Russia started using 122-mm artillery shells that resemble Chinese-made shells.

^{Comparison of the Russian OF-56IM-1m and the Chinese 122mm projectile.}

It is not yet clear whether these shells are produced in Russia or whether China is providing them directly as part of its assistance.

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Ukraine’s cheap sensors are helping troops fight off waves of Russian drones
Sub-$500 rig helps save expensive air-defense missiles for bigger threats.

Ukraine has a network of almost 10,000 acoustic sensors scattered around the country that locate Russian drones and send targeting information to soldiers in the field who gun them down.

Dubbed “Sky Fortress,” the concept was developed by two Ukrainian engineers in a garage who put a microphone and a cell phone on a six-foot pole to listen for one-way UAVs, said Gen. James Hecker, commander of U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Africa.

“They put about 9,500 of these within their nation and now they get very accurate information that is synthesized in a central computer and sent out to mobile fire teams. And on an iPad, they get a route of flight of these one-way UAVs coming in, and they have a triple-A [anti-aircraft] gun and a person with six hours of training can shoot these down,” Hecker told reporters at the Royal International Air Tattoo on Saturday.

SPOILER

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About three months ago, Russia sent a salvo of 84 UAVs into Ukraine, and the system helped the defending troops shoot down all but four, Hecker said.

The system was so effective that the engineers behind the system were invited to demo it at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Hecker said. Other countries are looking at acoustic sensors, he added, noting that Romania recently did a demo with the system.

Each sensor costs about $400 to $500, he said, which suggests that the entire network costs less than a pair of Patriot air-defense missiles.

Hecker said the U.S. and allied militaries should look for their own ways to dramatically lower operational costs. In April, the U.S. expended missiles worth millions of dollars to take out $30,000 drones launched at Israel from Iran and Iranian proxies.

“That's why I challenge industry, I challenge the NATO air chiefs to come up with cheaper, more creative solutions that will put us maybe, hopefully on the right side of the cost curve, but if not, an equivalent cost curve. Likewise, we need to develop equipment at NATO to put Russia on the wrong side of the cost curve, should we have an Article Five situation,” he said.

Patriot and other heavy-duty air defenses remain vital for Ukraine, whose forces and civil infrastructure have been increasingly hammered by Russian ballistic missiles.

“What we're seeing from the Russians is increased use of ballistic missiles, and that's primarily because of North Korea providing ballistic missiles to them, and that obviously concerns us, but we are making sure that we equip Ukraine so that they can deal with that threat,” Hecker said.

Hecker was asked about Ukraine’s prospects for survival.

“A couple months ago, I was a little bit nervous because the Ukrainians were starting to run short on some of the munitions that are required for defense as well as offense. But through the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group, Secretary Austin and the other defense ministers have stepped up to the plate and recently given Ukraine a lot of equipment that they really needed. So that gives me a little bit more hope as we go on,” he said.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 18:46 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://mil.in.ua/en/news(...)elligence-to-russia/
[..]

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 18:53 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:

[..]
En dan te bedenken dat China in de madia nog doet alsof ze zogenaamd "neutraal" is. Want ik geloof niet dat China satellietbeelden levert aan Oekra�ne. Blijkbaar is het voordeel van een betere relatie met Rusland nu toch belangrijker geworden dan de economische samenwerking met onder andere de EU en de USA of China speelt een bluf poker omdat vooral de USA nog veel geld schuldig is aan China.

Het is in elk geval jammer hoe China zich er steeds meer mee bemoeit want zo gaat het conflict alleen maar langer en langer duren natuurlijk.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 18:50 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
https://www.defenseone.co(...)ssian-drones/398204/
[..]

SPOILER

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 18:53 schreef LethalNinja het volgende:

[..]
En dan te bedenken dat China in de madia nog doet alsof ze zogenaamd "neutraal" is. Want ik geloof niet dat China satellietbeelden levert aan Oekra�ne. Blijkbaar is het voordeel van een betere relatie met Rusland nu toch belangrijker geworden dan de economische samenwerking met onder andere de EU en de USA of China speelt een bluf poker omdat vooral de USA nog veel geld schuldig is aan China.

Het is in elk geval jammer hoe China zich er steeds meer mee bemoeit want zo gaat het conflict alleen maar langer en langer duren natuurlijk.

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Georgian Volunteers Summoned for Questioning by Georgian Authorities
Georgian citizens who fought in Ukraine against Russia are being called in for questioning by Georgia’s State Security Service (SSG). The developments emerged when Nadim Khmaladze, a Georgian who fought in Ukraine, disclosed on social media that he had been summoned by the SSG under charges related to state overthrow and terrorism.

A day earlier, Lasha Chigladze, an activist from the Anti-Occupation Movement who also fought in Ukraine, was interviewed at the Tbilisi City Court. He reported being questioned about his activities in Ukraine and was informed about an investigation initiated a year ago regarding alleged involvement in a state overthrow.

Chigladze’s lawyer, Lasha Tkesheladze, denounced the case as politically motivated, emphasizing that his client was being targeted solely for his actions against Russia in Ukraine. “The case in question is absurd, has no relation to the law, and Lasha was summoned today because he fought in Ukraine against Russia,” Tkesheladze stated.

The state-owned channel Imedi reported that Chigladze is implicated in a conspiracy case aimed at overthrowing the government. Meanwhile, another Georgian volunteer, Nadim Khmaladze, echoed similar sentiments on social media, stating that he too has been summoned by the SSG under charges of state overthrow and terrorism.

These developments come amidst a backdrop where recent surveys indicate a growing perception among Georgian citizens regarding Russia as their country’s primary adversary. This sentiment has intensified amid allegations that the ruling party, Georgian Dream, is moving closer to Russia, potentially normalizing diplomatic relations and adopting Moscow’s rhetoric on the Ukraine war and Western policies.

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Around 20,000 Russians died in Kharkiv offensive, Zelensky says
Around 20,000 Russian troops were killed during Russia's failed offensive in Kharkiv Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the BBC on July 18.

Russia launched its offensive on Kharkiv Oblast in May, pressing towards Ukraine's second-largest city, but the assault quickly stalled.

"We stopped this offensive, and their attack failed. This is a fact," Zelensky said.

"About 20,000 of their people died. These villages cost them."

The Kyiv Independent was unable to independently confirm the figure.

In June, Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces said Russian forces suffered around 4,000 losses during their offensive in northern Kharkiv Oblast. The number includes troops killed or injured.

Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, and BBC Russia have confirmed the identities of 59,168 Russian soldiers who have been killed as of July 12 since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion.

The research was conducted using open sources, including obituaries published in the media and social networks and photos of graves and military monuments. The true toll may be significantly higher.

In the BBC interview, Zelensky declined to provide an updated count of how many Ukrainian troops have been killed in the war, citing security concerns. In February, he said that 31,000 troops had been killed.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 20:29 schreef Aether het volgende:
Biden geen kandidaat meer voor Amerikaanse presidentsverkiezingen
https://nos.nl/artikel/25(...)esidentsverkiezingen

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:01 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

[..]
Harris wordt aangedragen als nieuwe presidentskandidaat. Hopelijk zal dit niet de verkiezingen kosten. Want zij is een redelijk onbekend gezicht in de politiek (4 jaar senator zie ik, maar dat is vergeleken met beroepspolitici zoals Biden niks natuurlijk). Ondanks dat ze de laatste 3 1/2 jaar vice president is geweest. Ze is grotendeels uit de schijnwerpers gebleven.

Tevens is Biden in de gehele campagne de middelpunt geweest, en waren er geen andere serieuze presidentskandidaten voor de democraten.

Ik hoop dat dit goed af loopt. Maar als de democraten de presidentsverkiezingen verliezen dan is dat hun eigen schuld.

Ze heeft in elk geval haar leeftijd meezitten. En het zou ook mooi zijn om een eerste vrouwelijke president te zien in Amerika.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:04 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Zou (waarschijnlijk) helaas voor oekraine geen plus zijn. Want dezelfde broekpoepende staf die er sinds obama zit, gaan dan weer door.

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Klitschko adviseert Zelenskyy om ​​referendum te houden als pad naar vrede
Burgemeester Vitali Klitschko van Kyiv adviseert de Oekra�ense president Volodymyr Zelenskyy om niet als enige te beslissen over een mogelijke overdracht van geannexeerd grondgebied aan Rusland. Hij moet een referendum houden als hij over een dergelijk voorstel moet beslissen. “Ik denk niet dat hij in zijn eentje zulke pijnlijke en belangrijke overeenkomsten kan sluiten zonder de legitimiteit van het volk”, zei Klitschko in een interview met het Italiaanse dagblad Corriere della Sera.

Volgens Klitschko leveren de debatten over mogelijke scenario's voor een vredesakkoord met Rusland grote problemen op voor de president. "Zal hij de oorlog voortzetten met nog meer doden en verwoestingen of zal hij een territoriaal compromis met Poetin overwegen?", vraagt Klitschko zich af. "Wat hij ook besluit, onze president riskeert een politieke zelfmoord."

Klitschko en Zelenskyy worden beschouwd als politieke concurrenten, en de burgemeester zou zelfs ambities hebben voor het presidentschap. Toen hem werd gevraagd naar hun relatie, zei Klitschko: "Voor alle duidelijkheid: ik heb altijd een goede band met hem gehad, hij is degene die een slechte band met mij heeft."

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:10 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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De republikeinen onder leiding van Trump zou nog erger voor Oekra�ne zijn.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:23 schreef ExTec het volgende:

[..]
Ow?

Dat weet je niet, weet niemand, en de laatste signalen die er zijn, oa. zelenski c.s. zelf die zeggen dat het laatste gesprek zeer positief was, duiden andere kant op.

Bij 'jouw geliefde dems' weet je dat het meer van hetzelfde wordt. Oneindig op de rem hangen.

En ondertussen blijft die oorlog maar doorslepen, en blijven oekrainers sterven.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:32 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

Ja, onder Biden en de democraten komt hulp soms traag en druppelende wijs binnen, maar dat is met bijna alle westerse landen zo.

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Trump en de republikeinen hebben voor iets van 6 maanden alle hulp aan Oekra�ne tegengehouden, zelfs toen de democraten en Biden hun hun zin gaf met het beveiligen van de grenzen.

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Maar het klinkt steeds meer alsof jij niet alleen pro republikeinen bent maar ook pro Trump. En dat is je goed recht, maar dan moet je daar wel gewoon voor uitkomen. Alleen de meeste mensen in dit topic hebben nu eenmaal geen hoge hoed op van hem.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:20 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Klitschko adviseert Zelenskyy om ​​referendum te houden als pad naar vrede
[..]
[ x ]

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:42 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Enige verschil is dat die andere westerse landen bijna niks hebben om weg te geven, en de vs (bv) midden in het proces zitten van al hun perfect werkende F-16s omwisselen voor F-35s, maar zelf ook maar 1 F-16 leveren? Ho maarrrrrrr.
[..]
Je bedoeld dat boekhoudkundige gegoochel, waar biden c.s. het lot van oekrainers gewoon integraal ondergeschikt maakte aan partij politiek?
[..]
Is dat een soort copingsmechanisme van jouzelf ofzo?

Het is en blijft het bekende liedje: er wordt niet geslowwalked, en elk absurd excuus wat door biden c.s. de wereld ingeslingerd wordt om die verantwoordelijkheid van zich af te werpen, you run with it.

En mensen die dat opmerken? Nah, hoef je niet naar te luisteren, zijn toch maar trump aanhangers.

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Republican Party is Trump's now. Critics wary his quest for power will go unchecked

Five days after narrowly escaping assassination, Donald Trump will accept his presidential nomination on Thursday before an adoring crowd of supporters, the final act in his transformation of the Republican Party into the party of Trump.

His brush with death has fueled the growing quasi-religious fervor among the party faithful, elevating him from political leader to a man they believe is protected by God.

"Trump, Trump, Trump," attendees roared at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee when he appeared each night this week, his right ear bandaged, to listen to speaker after speaker intone reverentially about him and reference God's hand in his survival from a would-be assassin's bullet.

Republicans are uniting behind him this week. With most dissent quelled and his grip on the party never tighter, Trump will be in a much stronger position than in his 2017-2021 term to follow through on his agenda if he wins the Nov. 5 election.

Untrammeled by the internal divisions that sometimes stymied him in his first term, Trump would be freer to pursue hard-edged policies that include mass deportations as part of a crackdown on illegal migration, aggressive trade policies, and dismissing government officials seen as insufficiently loyal.

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Even if Trump retakes the White House, Republicans take control of both houses of Congress, and conservatives go on holding a Supreme Court super majority, there would still be institutional checks on a second Trump term.

He could be kept in check by Congress, the courts and a public that elects a new Congress every two years and a president every four years, constitutional experts say.

Nevertheless, many Trump supporters want to see a powerful president.

"You need a strong leader at the top," said Bill Dowd, a 79-year-old lumber business owner who was a guest of the Colorado delegation in Milwaukee.

"I'm a very, very big Ronald Reagan fan. Ronald Reagan pulled the party together also," Dowd said.

Dowd acknowledged that some of his Republican friends feared that Trump might try to abuse his power. He said while he did not share that fear he believed that dissent should not be stifled in any party.

For Trump's critics and political opponents, this is a dark and disturbing moment: they see the modern Republican Party as a cult of personality, a base from which Trump could pursue extreme policies and create America's first truly imperial presidency, threatening the future of its democratic norms.

"Donald Trump has called for the `termination’ of the Constitution, promised to be a ‘dictator’ ‘on day one,’ and now his Supreme Court justices say he can rule without any checks on his power," said Ammar Moussa, campaign spokesman for incumbent President Joe Biden, Trump's Democratic rival.

"Trump is a liar, but we believe him when he says he will rule as a dictator," Moussa said.

Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said Democratic assertions that Trump threatens American democracy and could become an autocrat if reelected were "fear mongering" and a "blatant effort to deceive the American people."

AN UNRESTRICTED TRUMP
In Milwaukee, nearly all of the 30 delegates, guests and elected Republicans interviewed by Reuters for this story acknowledged that their party had become the party of Trump but dismissed any suggestion that it had become cult-like.

"I believe that President Trump is a transformational figure, a man of destiny who God providentially saved from death on Saturday," Louisiana delegate Ed Tarpley said. "He's been given a special mission in our country. God's providential hand has elevated Donald Trump to a different status."

Those interviewed said they wanted a President Trump who was not constrained by bureaucracy or Congress to execute his agenda. They were in favor of more expansive use of executive action - decisions made by a president that do not need congressional approval.

They want nothing to stand in the way of his plans to deport millions of people in the country illegally and to reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy. In his first term Trump often complained of "deep state" bureaucrats he said were seeking to thwart him.

"The president ... must be allowed to implement his policies free of a bureaucracy resistant to them and unelected officials who do not agree with them," Tarpley said.

There are constitutional limits to what Trump can do through the power of his office, however, and any policies could still face lawsuits.

"I think the fears of critics are overblown, in the sense that they're more worried about the substance of his likely policies than the possibility that they'll be adopted through unilateral executive action," Stewart Baker, a former general counsel for the U.S. National Security Agency, said.

If Trump goes too far, his opponents say, they may still be able to count on federal courts to check him.

"We are mindful of the fact that we have a very conservative Supreme Court. But what we have found is that even Trump-appointed judges have ruled against his policies and found them illegal,” said Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center.

Half of Republican respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll this week said they agreed with the statement that "the country is in a crisis and needs a strong president who should be allowed to rule without too much interference from the courts and Congress."|

That was substantially higher than the 35% of Democrats and 33% of independents who agreed with the sentiment.

Only one convention attendee interviewed by Reuters, a senior Republican from a southern state, said he was worried about a second Trump administration. He said he feared Trump would become an autocrat, fill government agencies with yes men, and seek revenge on his political enemies.

Referring to Trump's pledge to supporters that he will be their "retribution," the Republican, who asked to remain anonymous, said: "That effort will be horrendous."

Trump was widely criticized for saying during the campaign that should he win, he will be a "dictator" - if only for a day, a comment he later said was a joke.

Democrats have rebuked him for promising to pardon his supporters imprisoned for the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that was triggered by his refusal to accept his 2020 election loss.

Trump, who was convicted of making hush money payments to a former porn star and faces charges related to his efforts to overturn Biden's victory, has threatened to use the Justice Department to pursue opponents, including Biden. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Former Republican presidential candidate Asa Hutchinson said he was concerned about the lack of constraints on Trump in a second term.

"The Department of Justice is probably the perfect example of that. Clearly, a President Trump would have a close hand at directing the activities of the Justice Department," Hutchinson, a former governor of Arkansas, told Reuters.

MAKING `NIXON BLUSH`
The implications of a second Trump term are profoundly disturbing for America and the world, said presidential historian Timothy Naftali, a former director at the presidential library of Richard Nixon, who resigned from office in disgrace in 1974 after the Watergate scandal.

Naftali said a recent Supreme Court decision granting sweeping immunity to a president for most acts while in office, combined with a pliant Republican Party, means there are limited constraints on Trump should he act maliciously and exploit the office for his own personal power and political retribution.

"He can gut the Justice Department and engage in a revenge tour that would make Nixon blush," Naftali said.

To be sure, Trump would not be the first president to test the limits of executive power. Leaders including former Democratic presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Barack Obama have taken an expansive view of their authority.

Even with the July 1 ruling by the high court on presidential immunity, Trump ostensibly would still be bound by the U.S. Constitution's separation of powers that reserves key functions to Congress and the judiciary.

Lara Trump, the Republican National Committee co-chair and Trump's daughter-in-law, acknowledged this week that governance by executive action - which can be overturned in the courts or by a successor - was not ideal.That's why it was crucial for Republicans to hold onto the House of Representatives in November and take the Senate from Democrats, she said, "so we don't have to rely on executive actions and we can actually see some lasting change."

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 22:01 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
En dat gaat om alle partijen, niet alleen om Amerika.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:42 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Enige verschil is dat die andere westerse landen bijna niks hebben om weg te geven, en de vs

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 22:09 schreef ExTec het volgende:
vs die partijen die niet in staat zijn om dat te doen.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 22:09 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Lees je wel?
[..]
Woestijnen vol.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 22:30 schreef Delenlill het volgende:
Wanneer de verkiezingen voorbij zijn is er tenminste een voordeel. De politieke spelletjes die er gehouden worden met het oog op de aankomende verkiezingen zullen dan grotendeels voorbij zijn aan beide kanten. En wie er dan ook president wordt hoeft zijn focus niet meer te verdelen.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 21:10 schreef Delenlill het volgende:

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De republikeinen onder leiding van Trump zou nog erger voor Oekra�ne zijn. Het is nu Trump zijn partij, behalve een enkeling staat nu de hele partij onvoorwaardelijk achter Trump.

Niet alleen Trump, maar ook zijn vicepresident Vance geven geen zak om Oekra�ne, of de rechtstaat en democratie in het algemeen.

Er is dus niks meer van jouw geliefde republikeinse partij over.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 22:51 schreef dudewhereismycar het volgende:

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Toch hoef je hier echt niet bang voor te zijn. Er is namelijk een ding heel heel belangrijk voor onze vriend Trump en dat is hijzelf.

Er zijn al aanwijzingen (Boris Jonsson o.a) dat Trump juist wel eens allin kan gaan in Oekra�ne.. moet je nagaan als hij straks kan zeggen: ik heb woord gehouden en de oorlog be�indigd.

Dit is de ultieme troef die hij in handen heeft om zo de geschiedenisboeken in te gaan.

No worries.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 22:58 schreef Hathor het volgende:

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Ja, of hij stopt de wapenleveranties compleet en Rusland rolt Oekraine op binnen een paar maanden. Dat is ook einde oorlog.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 23:01 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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Want dan komen er geen F-16s meer?

Ow wacht.

Ik denk bv dat trump het leveren van gripens niet afgeschoten had. Zoveel interesseert het e.e.a. hem niet.

Voor de rest is het enige wat de VS levert, en niet door anderen geleverd kan worden GMRLS en ATACMS. Artillerie munitie komt al overweldigen uit andere (europese) hoek. En zelfs voor patriot munitie is europa en japans aan het opschalen om die ook te maken.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 23:03 schreef Hathor het volgende:
wil ik nog wel eens zien of de Duitsers hun Taurus blijven leveren,

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 23:08 schreef ExTec het volgende:

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DIe leveren ze niet.

FR/UK leveren SCALP/StormShadow.

En ja, dat denk ik wel, europese landen hebben niet de luxe dat er een oceaan tussen ons en het wapengekletter zit.

Daarbij; wat is onpartijdig? Mogen we dan gewoon voor 250K een overbodige blackhawk kopen bij de VS en die aan oekraine geven?

Want die zijn gewoon te koop; wil oekraine graag hebben, maar vinden de de-escalateerders in het witte huis geen goed idee.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 22:58 schreef Hathor het volgende:

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Ja, of hij stopt de wapenleveranties compleet en Rusland rolt Oekraine op binnen een paar maanden. Dat is ook einde oorlog.

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Op zondag 21 juli 2024 23:42 schreef dudewhereismycar het volgende:

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Zelfs zonder de US zie ik het westen Oekra�ne wel te hulp schieten. Het is letterlijk in onze achtertuin.

Er zullen alleen wat heilige boompjes moeten worden gekapt.