[YouTube] February 15th, 1971. In a small Moscow facility, a pair of scientists are talking about the experimental reactor situated right next to them. At the controls, the operator sits, waiting for the experiment to begin. Suddenly the reactor roars to life without warning. It has gone prompt critical. This is the story of how those scientists got there, what lessons were ignored and mistakes made in the lead up, and how one of these men would unintentionally make the leap into nuclear accident history, only to be largely forgotten to time...
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 19:45 DPR.Successes RF Armed Forces. August 12
After liberating Novogrigorovka, Nadi's troops are advancing northwest. This area also contains a vital supply route for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Russian forces are currently fighting and will attempt to take control of the area. There's no official confirmation of this information yet, but Russian forces are advancing on Druzhkovka.
Currently, the Russian Armed Forces are establishing a bridgehead for further advancement on Druzhkovka from the west. Fighting is ongoing in the area of Novogrigorovka, Petrovka, and Raiskoye.
19:26 A local resident was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on civilian transport received serious injuries in the village of Znamenka in the long-suffering Kamensk -Dneprovsky district.
The attack occurred near School No. 2 in Znamenka. The man was hospitalized in the surgical department, where doctors are providing all necessary care.
17:46 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue attacks on port infrastructure and sea vessels deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
During the day, the following were hit by high-precision air-launched weapons and attack drones:
- in the port of Chernomorsk – fuel tanks and port infrastructure facilities used for unloading and storing military cargo;
- in the port of Odessa - a dry cargo ship with military equipment, equipped with electronic warfare systems, and a tanker with fuel for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
- In addition, in the port of Ochakov, Nikolaev region inflicted defeat of the Ukrainian patrol boat.
17:04 In the city of Tokmak, a UAV attack damaged private homes. One resident, a man born in 1987, was injured; he was in the courtyard of his home at the time of the attack.
In the village of Timoshevka in the Mikhailovsky Municipal District, a man born in 1992 was injured in an attack by an enemy drone on a private property. In the urban-type settlement of Mikhaylovka, a man born in 1981 was injured.
16:17 Investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee will investigate more crimes committed by the Ukrainian Armed Forces against civilians in Russian regions
According to reports from executive authorities, a civilian was killed in the village of Novoselovskoye in the Republic of Crimea as a result of strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine using unmanned aerial vehicles.
Due to aggression by Ukrainian militants in the LPR, a child was killed and eight people, including a teenager, were injured.
In addition, three people were injured as a result of attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the industrial zone of Energodar in the Zaporizhzhia region.
15:50 Today in the village of Korenevo, Korenevsky district, Kursk region, an enemy FPV drone attacked a car parked near a private home struck. The impact killed a 53-year-old man.
14:41 Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked residents of Energodar and employees of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
On August 11, three people were injured in a Ukrainian drone attack in the industrial zone of Energodar. Two of them were employees of the electrical shop at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is part of Rosatom.
14:10 Drone strike in Kremennaya, LPR killed a 13-year-old child and a 16-year-old boy was injured. Also, ambulance crew members were wounded.
13:30 Summary of the Ministry of Defense on the progress of the Special Military Operation as of August 12, 2026
As a result of decisive actions by units of the North military group, control was established over the village of Vodyanoye in the Khar'kov region.
The manpower and equipment of three mechanized brigades, a motorized infantry brigade, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a territorial defense brigade and a border detachment of the Ukrainian Border Service were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Svetlichnoye, Kupino, Zhovtnevoe, Vasilevka, Dergachi, Zhukov Yar and Kazachya Lopan in the Khar'kov region.
Formations of two mechanized, two airmobile brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and two territorial defense brigades were defeated in the areas of the settlements of Pisarevka, Porozok, Khrapovshchina in the Sumy region and the city of Sumy.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 210 servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, seven cars, and two electronic warfare stations.
Units of the "West" force grouping have improved their tactical position. They have inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of three mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade, and an assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, two naval infantry brigades, and a territorial defense brigade near the settlements of Veseloe, Chervony Oskol, Podliman, Berezovka, Monachinovka, and Petrovka in the Khar'kov region, and Svyatogorsk, Mayaki, and Stary Karavan in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy's losses amounted to over 220 military personnel, three combat armored vehicles, 19 cars, an artillery piece and an electronic warfare station.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces have taken up more advantageous positions and lines. Four mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade, a mountain assault brigade, and a territorial defense brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been defeated near the settlements of Nikolaevka, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkovka, Pershomaryovka, Nikonorovka, Verolyubovka, and Nikolaipolye in the Donetsk People's Republic.
The enemy lost up to 195 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, including a US-made Stryker armored personnel carrier, and 21 cars.
Units of the Center Group of Forces have improved their position along the forward edge. They have inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of three mechanized brigades, a Jaeger and assault brigades, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a naval infantry brigade, and four National Guard brigades near the settlements of Dobropillya, Krasnopodillya, Belozerske, Annovka, and Matyashevo in the Donetsk People's Republic, and Novopavlivka, Novonikolayevka, and Petrovske in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The Ukrainian armed forces lost over 350 servicemen, a tank, five armored combat vehicles, seven cars, and an artillery piece.
Units of the "East" force group advanced deep into the enemy's defenses. They defeated the personnel and equipment of an assault brigade, three airborne assault brigades, three assault regiments of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a naval infantry brigade near the settlements of Vasylkivka, Kolomiytsi, and Ivanovka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Shyroke, Mirovka, Rybalske, and Volnyansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The enemy lost up to 340 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles and 17 cars.
Units of the Dnepr group of forces defeated formations of two mechanized and a mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements of Orekhov, Preobrazhenka, Grigorovka and Yurkovka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Up to 30 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen, an armored combat vehicle, 25 vehicles, an artillery piece, and three electronic warfare stations were destroyed.
12:50 Russian Air Defense during the day shot down more than 1,000 UAVs, 5 HIMARS missiles, and long-range missiles—Russian Ministry of Defense
12:20 Units of the North group of forces took control over the settlement of Vodyanoye in the Khar'kov region.
11:32 Russian paratroopers' attack UAV crews destroyed equipment and personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Orekhov direction in the Zaporizhzhia region.
11:01 Investigators from the Russian Investigative Committee will investigate crimes committed by Ukrainian armed forces against civilians in the Belgorod region
According to local authorities, two men were killed in attacks by Ukrainian Armed Forces FPV drones in the Graivoron District. In the Belgorod District, a drone detonated on a commercial property, injuring two civilians.
10:50 Soldiers of the Dnepr group of forces destroyed camouflaged command posts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
UAV operators located hidden enemy positions in forested areas. Attack UAVs and high-precision FPV drones were deployed to engage the targets.
9:58 AFU continue terror attacks on the civilian infrastructure of the left bank of the Kherson region
Yesterday afternoon, the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired 18 shells from barrel artillery at populated areas of the Kherson region of the Russian Federation:
Throughout the night, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continued their artillery strikes in the Kherson region, firing a total of 18 shells from cannon artillery. The following villages were targeted: Korsunka, Kardashynka, Nova Kakhovka, and Dniproyany.
9:12 Summary about the operational situation in the Kursk region over the past 24 hours.
In total, 104 enemy drones of various types were shot down between 9:00 AM on August 11 and 9:00 AM on August 12. The enemy used artillery on evacuated areas 82 times. Drones attacked our territory 11 times using explosive devices.
9:00 Last night, as a result of an attack by enemy drones in Crimea, in the village of Novoselovskoye in the Razdolnensky district, a civilian died.
8:52 Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue attacks on port infrastructure and sea vessels of Ukraine deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
During the night, high-precision air-launched weapons and long-range strike drones struck a fuel and lubricants depot in the port of Odessa, which supplies fuel to Ukrainian Armed Forces units.
8:30 During the past night, air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 502 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type over the territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga, Kursk, Lipetsk, Oryol regions, Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Crimea and the Black Sea.
8:00 Artillerymen of the "Southern" group of forces took out enemy in the urban development of Alekseevo-Druzhkovka.
Commentary by RUssian military journalist Boris Rozhin
[ColonelCassad] Businessman Dmitry Mizgir, one of the key defendants in a case involving the supply of substandard canned goods to the Ministry of Defense, was detained in Belarus. He was transferred to Russia and held in custody for two months.
As part of the investigation, property and assets worth several hundred million rubles were also seized. Jewelry, as well as other valuable items and documents, were seized from the businessman's wife during a search, TASS reports. Investigators believe Mizgir is one of the participants in a scheme through which approximately 170 tons of substandard canned goods worth approximately 700 million rubles were supplied to military units in 2024–2025.
According to law enforcement, cheaper ingredients—pieces of animal skin, lard, and starch—were used in the production of the goods instead of high-quality meat. Mizgir is also accused of acting as an intermediary in the transfer of a bribe to Viktor Tarazevich, the former head of the Defense Ministry's food department. Mizgir was on the federal wanted list for approximately three months.
According to law enforcement, he ~intended to flee through Belarus~, and the republic's KGB joined the search. Law enforcement checked several possible locations for the businessman and then tracked him through phone calls and surveillance footage. Mizgir was detained on July 25. He was later transported to Russia and taken into custody.
According to media reports, while on the wanted list, the businessman attempted to use his connections and, through intermediaries, negotiate with military investigators to have him removed from the wanted list. He was unsuccessful. A criminal case concerning the supply of substandard food products to the Ministry of Defense was opened on May 11, 2026, by the Main Military Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation following inspections by the military prosecutor's office and the Federal Security Service (FSB).
Investigators became interested in the supply of canned meat to military units in the Northern Military District and areas of the counter-terrorism operation (CTO). According to investigators, the product's recipes were violated: pieces of hide instead of meat, pork trimmings, lard, starch, and food additives prohibited by GOST standards were used. The canned food was supplied to units of the "West," "East," "South," and "Center" military groups, as well as the Black Sea Fleet.
The defense team for the arrested defendants does not deny that one of the batches of products may have been of inadequate quality. However, according to their lawyers, it was replaced with another batch. How the supply chain was structured: The supplier chain was complex and consisted of several companies. In 2024, Voentorg was responsible for contracted food supplies to the military. It transferred some of this responsibility to RBE, which purchased canned goods from Narmyasprom. Since January 2025, RBE has become the sole supplier of food supplies to the military.
However, the production chain remained unchanged: canned goods were still purchased from Narmyasprom, which in turn received them from the associated Selyatino meat processing plant in the Moscow region. According to the Main Military Investigative Directorate of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, in January 2024, the general director of Selyatino meat processing plant created an organized group.
Investigators believe its members ~reduced the cost of canned goods by using cheaper ingredients~ and thereby embezzled budget funds.
"The roles in the group, according to investigators, were clearly defined: producers from Selyatino meat processing plant manipulated the products, Narmyasprom management secured orders from the RBE, and Colonel Tarazevich distributed the canned goods in parts," Kommersant wrote.
Investigators believe Mizgir acted as a liaison between the participants in the alleged scheme, introducing them to each other and facilitating their interactions.
During interrogation, Viktor Tarazevich, the former head of the Defense Ministry's food supply department, claimed to have met Mizgir back in 2014, but could not recall where or under what circumstances. According to Tarazevich, he rarely interacted with the businessman at work thereafter and only occasionally congratulated him on holidays. The last time they saw each other, according to the former military man, was after his discharge in May 2026. At that time, Mizgir allegedly inquired about the mechanism for supplying food to military personnel.
However, one of Tarazevich's former deputies described the nature of their relationship differently. According to the witness, the colonel was closely acquainted with the businessman. Mizgir, he claimed, was associated with the companies "Consul" and "Moskovsky Shkolnik," which supplied food to units of the Western Military District from 2013 to 2018. During this same period, Tarazevich headed the district's food supply service.
The case materials also include testimony from a secret witness, according to which, in early 2025, Mizgir organized a meeting between Artem Baryshkov, CEO of the Selyatino MPC, and Tarazevich.
According to the witness, Tarazevich allegedly promised to help increase the company's orders, demanding in return "kickbacks for every can of stew" sent to the SVO zone.
Investigators believe the money was transferred through Mizgir. In total, approximately 10 million rubles may have passed through him.
Arrests of those involved in the case began in May-June 2026.
Those in custody include Viktor Tarazevich, former head of the food department of the Ministry of Defense's resource supply department; Alexey Baranov, CEO of Narmyasprom; and Dmitry Vislobokov, the company's commercial director. All three have been charged with large-scale fraud. A separate criminal case was also opened against Tarazevich for bribery.
Vislobokov's lawyers sought to have his pretrial detention mitigated. They argued that the investigation failed to present evidence of his involvement in fraud, and that the businessman himself had no intention of fleeing abroad and had merely booked tickets for a family vacation in Turkey.
"It's becoming clear that no one wants to hear the true background of this criminal case from him," said lawyer Robert Zinoviev.
According to his defense, Vislobokov believes this is an attempt to eliminate competitors in the military canned food supply market. Following Mizgir's arrest, two other defendants remain wanted in the case: Artem Baryshkov, CEO of the Selyatino canned
food processing plant, and Zinaida Grishchuk, the company's chief technologist. The case involving Selyatino's products has become the second major investigation into the supply of substandard canned goods to the Ministry of Defense.
At the end of 2024, top managers of the Lipetsk-based Gryazinsky Food Plant, which produced substandard products for military personnel, were arrested.
It took a war to start cleaning out these Augean stables.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
