Oorlog in Oekraïne #999: F-16s vliegen eindelijk rond.

quote:

The Dealings Of Dmitry Patrushev, A Star Of Russia's 'New Nobility' And A Possible Putin Successor

^{Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev presses the flesh at a government meeting on energy in Moscow on July 2.}

In 2017, a Cyprus-based offshore company called Pimodo invested 3 million euros ($3.25 million) in 10 residences at the five-star Salinas Sea Resort in the Atlantic Ocean archipelago nation of Cape Verde. The money for the investment was provided by the Russian agricultural-trading firm Agrotorg Tulsky, an affiliate of Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank), which the Russian government created in 2000 to support the agricultural sector.

Agrotorg Tulsky then purchased Pimodo itself in April 2018, meaning that the bank set up to develop Russian agriculture became the owner of luxury housing in a remote country known for its white sand beaches and as “an important transit hub for South American cocaine moving to Europe,” according to the U.S. government.

The Cape Verde resort purchase opens a window into an elite realm of Russia’s opaque leadership circles, Systema, RFE/RL’s Russian-language investigative unit, has found. And the brightest star in this particular constellation is Dmitry Patrushev, the 46-year-old Russian deputy prime minister who is the eldest son of presidential aide and former Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev. The younger Patrushev has been tabbed by experts as a leading candidate for a successor if President Vladimir Putin, 71, relinquishes power -- though there’s no sign he plans to anytime soon.

“The biggest plus” of Dmitry Patrushev as a potential successor “is his combination of silovik and civilian. Thanks to his father, the chekist corporation will perceive him, if not completely as ‘their own,’ then ‘socially close,’” wrote political consultant and former Putin speechwriter Abbas Gallyamov, using Russian terms that refer to senior officials with military or security backgrounds. “At the same time, most of society -- tired of militaristic rhetoric and the endless hunt for enemies -- won’t be frightened by his ‘epaulettes.’”

The main minuses for Patrushev, Gallyamov continued, are the scandals surrounding him and his unpalatable image as a “fortunate son.”

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Explosion occurred at military factory in Bashkiria, resulting in casualties
An explosion occurred at the Avangard military plant in the city of Sterlitamak, Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia, which belongs to the Russian corporation Rostec, according to Russian media sources.

The incident occurred while a repair crew was dismantling a pipeline in one of the workshops. Three crew members were killed. The causes of the accident are under investigation.

The Russian Investigative Committee suggests that workers violated safety procedures during the cutting of pipes, causing a gas-air mixture to ignite, according to Radio Svoboda, citing other Russian media.

The Avangard plant is owned by the state corporation Rostec and manufactures weapons and components for multiple-launch rocket systems. The enterprise is under sanctions from the European Union, Switzerland, and Ukraine.

Explosions and incidents in Russia
In recent months, incidents of fires and explosions at defense and military enterprises, oil refineries, and oil depots have increased across various cities in Russia.

In mid-July, a drone attack caused a fire at the low-voltage apparatus plant in Korenevo, Kursk region.

At the end of July, Ukrainian special forces drones attacked an oil refinery and several Russian airfields, damaging a Tu-22M3 bomber.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Former Trump Adviser Kellyanne Conway Lobbies for Ukrainian Interests
The former campaign aide indicated in a Justice Department filing that she will be paid $50,000 a month by an oligarch to seek support for Ukraine.

^{Kellyanne Conway, who served as a top aide to Donald J. Trump’s 2016 campaign and his White House, registered on Friday to represent Victor Pinchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch.Credit...Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times}

With former President Donald J. Trump and his allies signaling that he will scale back assistance to Ukraine if he retakes the White House, a onetime close adviser has accepted a $50,000-a-month contract to lobby for Ukrainian interests.

Kellyanne Conway, who served as a top aide to Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign and his presidency, registered on Friday to represent Victor Pinchuk, a Ukrainian oligarch who has positioned himself as a leading supporter of his country’s defense against Russian aggression.

In a filing with the Justice Department under the Foreign Agents Registration Act, Ms. Conway indicated that the Ukrainian government would be the “principal beneficiary” of her lobbying on behalf of Mr. Pinchuk’s charitable foundation.

The filing signaled that Ms. Conway would engage U.S. lawmakers and opinion leaders to explain the importance of Ukraine to the protection of democratic principles, and would try to raise awareness “of Ukrainians’ fight for freedom and the Russian illegal war of aggression.”

Ms. Conway also indicated that she would try to persuade American officials to attend the forthcoming installment of Mr. Pinchuk’s annual security conference, scheduled for next month in Kyiv.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

Ukraine’s air defenses shoot down four enemy missiles, 15 Shahed UAVs overnight
On the night of August 6, Ukraine’s air defense forces shot down 2 of 4 Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, 2 of 2 Kh-59 air defense missiles, and 15 of 16 Shahed attack drones launched by Russian invaders.
Ukrainian Air Force Commander, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk said this in a post on Telegram, Ukrinform reports.

“On the night of August 6, 2024, the enemy fired four Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles at the Kyiv region from Russia’s Voronezh region, two Kh-59 guided missiles from the airspace over the Azov Sea, and 16 Shahed-type attack UAVs from Crimea’s Cape Chauda, Russia’s Kursk,” the report says.

Mobile firing groups of the Defense Forces, anti-aircraft missile troops and airborne EW units of the Air Force of Ukraine were engaged in repelling the air attack.

As a result of anti-aircraft combat, two Iskander-M/KN-23 ballistic missiles, two Kh-59 guided missiles and 15 attack UAVs were shot down in the Kyiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Khmelnytskyi regions.

As reported by Ukrinform, on the night of August 6, the Ukrainian Navy destroyed three Shahed attack drones.

quote:

Russian Helicopter Sinks After Crashing in Mediterranean
A Russian Mi-8MT helicopter crashed and sank in the Mediterranean while working to extinguish a forest fire in Turkey, Russia's state-run media reported.

The helicopter, which was operating under Russia's Abakan Air, sank near the town of Adana in Turkey after crew members attempted to take water for firefighting work on August 2, a representative of the Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) told news agency Interfax.

Abakan Air performs domestic and international charter flights, providing aviation services in Russia and overseas, including search and rescue, medical flights and cargo charter flights, its website states.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.

quote:

What Russia’s arrest footage of Evan Gershkovich and Paul Whelan really tells us
Russia’s pro-Kremlin media know how to create an alternative reality, and last week’s historic prisoner swap was no exception.

On Monday, Russian state-backed media outlets treated viewers to lurid footage of the arrests of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former US Marine Paul Whelan.

The locations of the videos are not in doubt: Gershkovich was arrested last year at the Bukowski Grill, a steak restaurant in the city of Yekaterinburg; Whelan was arrested at the Metropol Hotel, just across the road from the Bolshoi Theater in central Moscow.

But take nothing at face value from these heavily edited videos. Yes, we see Gershkovich being roughly detained and pushed to the ground. And we see a handcuffed Paul Whelan on a hotel bed, flanked by Russian security officers.

Yet despite the claims of the Russian-language voice-over, there is little here to support Moscow’s case that the two men were engaged in espionage – an allegation strenuously denied by the US government, the families of Whelan and Gershkovich, and their supporters.

SPOILER

Om spoilers te kunnen lezen moet je zijn ingelogd. Je moet je daarvoor eerst gratis Registreren. Ook kun je spoilers niet lezen als je een ban hebt.