Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

Africa Horn

US Africa commander highlights terror growth in Sahel and competition with China for influence

2025-05-30

[FOX] A top United States military general warned Thursday that terror groups in Africa are ramping up their ability to conduct attacks in the U.S.

Gen. Michael Langley, the four-star Marine General who leads U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), said the Sahel region of the continent is now the "flashpoint of prolonged conflict and growing instability. It is the epicenter of terrorism on the globe."

Several terror groups have expanded drastically in the last three years. Al-Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, is three times the size it was in 2022, he said, and has spread across Mali, Burkina Faso, and parts of Niger, which the U.S. military pulled out of last year.

Jama'at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin,

…in Arabic it’s called JNIM and in French is GSIM. Recent estimates of its size range from 2,000-6,000 turbans…

a faction affiliated with Al-Qaeda, is now four times the size it was in 2022, expanding mainly in Burkina Faso.

"We're keeping a good eye on this because they could have the capacity to attack the homeland," Langley said in a call with reporters.

"Throughout my travels across West Africa and through dialog here at the conference, the concerns shared by my peers match my own," he added. "One of the terrorist's key goals now is access to the west coast of Africa. If they gain access to the vast coastline, they can diversify their revenue streams and evolve their tactics, more easily exporting terrorism to American shores."

He noted that the terror groups engage in illicit activity like smuggling, human trafficking and arms trading, which fund their nefarious actions and destabilize the region.

U.S. forces over the weekend conducted an airstrike against the al Qaeda-linked al-Shabab in Somalia. The East African country has been wracked for decades by attacks and insurgency from Islamist terrorists, both from ISIS and al-Shabab.

The U.S. is in a race with China and Russia to gain influence and trust with the local governments of several African nations to help protect citizens from terror groups.

Langley said there is an increasing concern about the number of African soldiers going to Beijing for military training and replicating a U.S. International Military Education and Training (IMET) program.

Link

-Great Cultural Revolution

Nolte: Pompous Scott Pelley, Astronaut Gayle King Reportedly on CBS Chopping Block

2025-05-29

[Breitbart] 60 Minutes’ chief pompous ass Scott Pelley, and CBS Mornings host Gayle King (who identifies as an astronaut), are reportedly on the CBS News chopping block, per a Daily Mail exclusive.
That'd certainly warm the cockles of my cold, black heart.

I'm filing this under Opinion because Nolte calls Scott Pelley a pompous ass. Although I agree with that opinion, it is opinion and should be labeled as such just like the — tee hee —. Then there's the word schlonging, which is certainly inappropriate for a straight news article even though I think it is appropriate treatment of these so-called journalists.
According to the report, far-left CBS News is in crisis — tee hee — "with staffers crying in the hallways, fighting over story coverage and seating, and scrambling to update their resumes amid fears of mass layoffs."

According to the insiders who spoke with the Daily Mail, "morale has plummeted across the network, from the flagship Sunday news show 60 Minutes to CBS Mornings," all of it due to two things: 1) CBS parent company Paramount Global’s impending merger with Skydance Media and President Trump’s $20 billion lawsuit against CBS News for interfering in the 2020 presidential election.

Currently, the Trump suit is in arbitration and all indications are that Skydance does not want to inherit that mess, so it needs to be resolved before the merger is official.

Then there’s the reported $500 million Paramount is looking to cut "in preparation for the lucrative merger with Skydance Media against the backdrop of a ratings freefall" and the ongoing, high-level personnel shake ups.

Fallout from the merger and the Trump suit has already hit hard. No less than Wendy McMahon, the president of CBS News, and Bill Owens, the executive editor of the disgraced 60 Minutes, have already resigned.

So...

Where to cut? Where to cut?

Well, according to the report, Gayle King has become $10 million in damaged goods. Not only is she hosting the forever-in-last-place CBS Mornings, her grotesquely elitist Space Origin flight, combined with her claims that those few minutes in space mean she’s now an astronaut, have scalded her reputation.

"People don’t want to say it out loud in the office but the entire space debacle really hurt us," one 60 Minutes staffer told the Daily Mail. "Gayle being part of that is not a good look for our brand. I think a lot of people resent Gayle for that. I know I do."

King’s $10 million per-year contract is up in September.

"Multiple sources told the Daily Mail that 60 Minutes host Scott Pelley could also be on the way out."

Pelley, of course, is infamous for his self-regard, unbridled bias, and dishonesty.

"We’re in the middle of a bloodbath," a 60 Minutes staffer told the Daily Mail. "The axe is falling, people are leaving, no one knows what to do next. We’re all updating our resumes because it really feels like this is a sinking ship."

Some call it a long overdue reckoning for a corrupt regime media that, at long last, has lost its influence over public opinion.

I prefer to call it The Schlonging:

Ruth Marcus — Washington Post columnist resigns.
538 — Disney/ABC’s wildly biased polling site shutters.
Paul Krugman — Always wrong New York Times columnist forced out.
Jim Acosta — CNN anchor forced out.
Norah O’Donnell — Failed CBS anchor out.
Chuck Todd — NBC’s former Meet the Press host DEI’d out.
Andrea Mitchell — NBC harridan ages out of job.
Chris Wallace — Son of Someone out at CNN.
Joy Reid — Racist MSNBC anchor too racist for MSNBC. Fired.
Neil Cavuto — Fox News anchor scurries away.
Alex Wagner — Demoted at MSNBC.
Mohyeldin — Lost MSNBC show.
Apparently he is Ayman Mohyeldin, the Cairo-born Egyptian (dad)-Palestinian (mom) former Al Jazeera reporter who was one of the first Western reporters allowed in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was captured. He also covered the 2008-9 Gaza war and the Arab Spring, and claims it was in his interview that Moammar Ghadaffy announced he was giving up Libya’s WMD program. His Master’s thesis was titled, “The News Media Paradigm in the War on Terrorism,” which sounds awfully grand.
Olivia Nuzzi — Out at New York Mag for allegedly stalking RFK Jr.
Katie Phang — Lost MSNBC show.
Jonathan Capehart — Lost MSNBC show. Steps down from Washington Post editorial board.
Lester Holt — Out as NBC Nightly News anchor.
One-third of New York Times Editorial Board — Say, bye.
Eugene Robinson — Washington Post columnist quits in snit.
Ryan Lizza — Scurries to Substack over credible misconduct allegations.
Bill Owens — 60 Minutes chief resigns in crybaby disgrace.
Wendy McMahon — CBS News president resigns after less than two years.

Trump’s triumphant reelection proved the corporate media are nothing more than an elite salon where everyone talks to each other because Normal People have stopped listening to their lies and hoaxes. The corporate media are over, and the fallout has just begun.

Tee.

Hee.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: May 9, 2025

2025-05-10

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondence] 22.57 Russia "supports" the idea of a 30-day truce between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, but it is allegedly necessary to "take into account certain nuances in order to reach an agreement." This was stated by Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov, according to the Russian propaganda news agency RIA Novosti.

22.25 The United States Embassy in Kiev reported on Friday, May 9, "specific information" about a possible serious air attack on Ukraine in the near future. This is stated in a statement on the website of the US Embassy in Ukraine.

21.59 US President Donald Trump hopes that the Russian Federation and Ukraine will agree to a 30-day ceasefire. This was stated by White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt at a briefing.

21.48 Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on the phone. The main topic of discussion was the ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia. Yermak reported this on his Telegram channel.

18:43 Journalist from Zhitomir, officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Bohdan Lysenko died in the Zaporizhzhya direction of the front. This was reported by the Institute of Mass Information with reference to the journalist's son Anton Lysenko.

18:33 Another nine children have been returned to government-controlled territory of Ukraine, said Daria Zarovna, adviser to the head of the Presidential Office.

Zarovna said that among those who were brought back was 14-year-old Dmitry, whose house was next to a Russian firing position and whose family lived under the constant sounds of gunfire.

"At school, the young man was forced to sing war songs and throw grenades, and some of his classmates were sent to military camps where they were trained by Wagnerites," she added.

They also returned Ekaterina, whose mother was forced to obtain a Russian passport, otherwise she would have been denied medical care during a difficult birth.

Another boy, 9-year-old Stas, despite threats and persecution from teachers and the FSB, refused to sing the Russian anthem and participate in militarized events.

18.21 A meeting of the leaders of the "coalition of the determined" countries will take place in Ukraine. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky. French President Emmanuel Macron also confirmed that a meeting of the "coalition of the determined" will take place, which will be held partly virtually and partly in person.

18.00 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz believes that a ceasefire agreement in Ukraine is possible in the next two days. This was reported by Bild.

17.27 The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv sent two citizens suspected of working for Hungarian intelligence to pretrial detention. This was reported by Suspilne.

17:00 The Security Service and the National Police have eliminated six new schemes for evading mobilization in different regions of Ukraine. Thirteen dealers who sold fake medical certificates to evaders or helped them escape abroad have been detained. The cost of such "services" was 20 thousand dollars.

16.33 Mass events are banned in Chernihiv on May 9, 10 and 11. This was reported by the head of the city military administration, Dmitry Brizhinsky. He also called on residents not to ignore air raid sirens and avoid mass gatherings.

16.10 EU countries have already committed to providing Ukraine with at least 1.35 million artillery shells by the end of 2025. This was announced by Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha following a meeting in Lviv. According to him, work to increase this quantity is ongoing.

15.30 In Konstantinovka, Donetsk region, emergency rescue and search operations have been completed at the site of a partially destroyed nine-story building damaged as a result of a Russian airstrike on May 7.

402 tons of destroyed structures were dismantled. Emergency workers removed a woman's body from under the rubble.

14:50 A meeting of the EU foreign ministers on the creation of a special tribunal for the Russian Federation for crimes against Ukraine was held in Lviv. The coalition gave political approval to the creation of a special tribunal, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry reported .

14.22 President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to representatives of partner countries to create a tribunal for the crime of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Vladimir Putin started a full-scale war against Ukraine because he escaped punishment for previous wars. This can no longer be allowed, the president noted.

14.15 In Belgorod, a strike drone hit the regional government building. Deputy Governor of the Belgorod Region Alexander Lorenz, who was near the epicenter at the time of the explosion, was injured. He was diagnosed with a concussion and acubar trauma. A Rosgvardia employee was also injured in the attack.

13.52 Russian troops dropped guided aerial bombs on Sumy Oblast, killing a woman. This was reported by the Sumy Oblast Prosecutor's Office. It is noted that on the evening of May 8, the enemy dropped, according to preliminary data, 8 guided aerial bombs on the Rechkovskaya community of Sumy District. Only in the morning of May 9, the body of a 63-year-old woman with no signs of life was found on the territory of one of the households. A criminal case has been opened.

13.13 A 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine will be a test for Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's readiness to negotiate a lasting peace. This was stated by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. If the Russians do not agree to a 30-day truce, then Western allies will not hesitate to increase sanctions pressure, he warned.

12.22 Delegations from 35 countries and the Council of Europe arrived in Lviv on Friday. This was reported by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. A meeting of EU foreign ministers and a meeting of the Core Group on the creation of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine will take place.

11.16 British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that his country is introducing the largest package of sanctions against Russia ever.

10.24 Russia is producing munitions at an extraordinary rate – more than 1,400 Iskander ballistic missiles a year, as well as 500 Kh-101 cruise missiles a year, The Economist reports, citing Ukraine’s assessment and a report by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

9:50 For the first time in the history of Ukraine, the Security Service has exposed a network of agents of the Hungarian military intelligence, which carried out espionage activities to the detriment of our state.

The organization's task was to collect information on the military security of the Zakarpattia region, search for vulnerabilities in the land and air defense of the region, and study the socio-political views of local residents: in particular, scenarios of their behavior if Hungarian troops enter the region.

As a result of complex measures in Zakarpattia, the SBU detained two agents from the network of the Hungarian special service. The curator of both defendants was a career employee of the Hungarian military intelligence, whose identity has already been identified.

8.52 Over the past 24 hours, 193 combat clashes have been recorded at the front, with the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelling most of the Russian assaults in the Pokrovsk direction. This was reported on May 9 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is noted that aviation, missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces hit 16 areas of concentration of personnel and equipment of the Russian invaders, two command posts, five artillery weapons, a military supply warehouse and four other important Russian facilities.

8.22 Troops attacked the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region with drones and artillery. As a result of the shelling, one person was injured, a fire started and residential buildings were damaged. This was reported by the head of the OVA Serhiy Lysak. According to him, the invaders fired at the district center, Pokrovsk, Krasnogrigorevsk, Mirovsk and Marganets communities. An 83-year-old man was injured. He is undergoing outpatient treatment. A garage and an outbuilding caught fire. Rescuers tamed the fire.

7.51 Ukrainian military destroyed 1,300 Russian invaders in one day, as well as 4 tanks, 36 artillery systems, MLRS and air defense systems of the enemy. This was reported on May 9 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

7.22 Fighters of the border unit of unmanned aerial systems Phoenix, using drones, destroyed military equipment of the Russians in the eastern direction. This was reported by the operational-strategic group of forces Khortytsia, which published a video filmed by border guards. We are talking about a tank, an MSTA-B cannon and a dozen trucks of the occupiers.

02.58 Georgian volunteer Tarbey (Tabo) Arkania died in the battles near Pokrovsk. He is a refugee from Abkhazia. He lived in Ukraine, was a national and European champion in taekwondo. He is survived by his wife and two small children.

01.11 The 10% decrease in the number of mobilized in December-January is explained by the Christmas and New Year holidays. After that, the mobilization figures returned "to a certain level." This was stated by the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Oleksandr Zavitnevich.

Link

Africa Subsaharan

JNIM's Growing Pressure on Benin

2025-04-26

[UNDERSTANDINGWAR.ORG] Benin
Benin

...Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, that they put where Dahomey used to be. It is a birthplace of voodoo and zombies. In Abomey, Dahomey's former capital, the Historical Museum occupies two royal palaces with bas-reliefs recounting the kingdom’s past and a throne mounted on human skulls. To the north, Pendjari National Park offers safaris with elephants, hippos and lions and tigers and bears, oh my!...
. Al Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel carried out its deadliest-ever attack in Benin as it continues to increase the lethality of its operations in Benin throughout 2025. The latest attacks are significantly more lethal despite no increase in frequency. Benin is a key US security partner in West Africa. Jama'at Nusrat al Islam wa al Moslemeen's (JNIM's)

…in Arabic it’s called JNIM and in French is GSIM. Recent estimates of its size range from 2,000-6,000 turbans…

growing strength in Benin

…that range was last year. That sounds like there may be more now…

undermines US efforts to contain the Salafi-jihadi insurgency in the Sahel and to demonstrate to African states that the West is a more effective and reliable security partner than Russia.

Link

Israel-Palestine-Jordan

24 Germans and their families have been evacuated from Gaza, Berlin says

2025-04-18

[IsraelTimes] The German government says it has evacuated a group of 24 Germans and their close family members from the war-battered Gaza Strip.

“After months of being stuck in Gaza, a group of 24 Germans and their family members were able to leave Gaza today in close coordination with the Israeli authorities,” a spokeswoman for the German foreign ministry says.

Nine members of the group are understood to be German citizens, while the rest are Palestinian family members.

The group was taken by bus through Israel and the West Bank to Jordan, where they will take a flight to Germany, the spokeswoman says.

Foreign ministry spokesman Christian Wagner earlier told journalists that “roughly two dozen” Germans were leaving the territory.

Today’s evacuation is the third carried out by Germany since the closure of the Rafah border crossing in May 2024.

In total, the German government has enabled almost 700 Germans and their family members to leave Gaza since October 7, 2023.

Link

Home Front: WoT

New Mexico man charged with Tesla, local GOP arson attacks

2025-04-15

See also here.

[TOWNHALL] An Albuquerque man with a disturbing criminal history has been charged in connection with two politically charged arson attacks—one targeting a Tesla dealership and the other the Republican Party of New Mexico's headquarters. The suspect, who had previously expressed anti-establishment and krazed killer views, is now facing federal charges as authorities investigate what appears to be a deliberate assault on political and economic symbols that don't align with far-left ideology.

On Monday, authorities charged Jamison Wagner in connection with two separate arson attacks—one at a Tesla showroom and the other at the Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters. In the first incident, Wagner allegedly set fire to two Tesla vehicles and vandalized the building with graffiti, including phrases like ''Tesla Nazi Inc.'' and red and black swastikas. Two months later, the GOP office was similarly targeted in an arson attack. Investigators linked Wagner to both crimes after discovering matching improvised incendiary devices—glass containers filled with flammable liquid and sealed with distinctive green lids—at both scenes. Investigators also noted a hand-written capital ''I'' or ''H'' letter on the top of the green metal lid.

''Let this be the final lesson to those taking part in this ongoing wave of political violence,'' Attorney General Pamela Bondi said. ''We will arrest you, we will prosecute you, and we will not negotiate. Crimes have consequences.''

On April 12, the FBI and ATF searched Wagner's home and uncovered significant evidence tying him to both arson attacks. Among the items found were a white cardboard box containing eight suspected incendiary devices, blue Styrofoam egg cartons matching the polystyrene used in the improvised napalm at the Tesla fire, and jars with green gingham-style lids similar to one recovered at the Republican Party of New Mexico fire. Investigators also found several jars labeled with handwritten capital letters ''I'' or ''H,'' consistent with markings seen on lids at both scene of the crimes.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Rundown on Redut - Current Leading Russian PMC

2025-03-05

[GreyDynamics] Redut PMC: The Kremlin’s Private Army

Redut is a Russian Private Military Company (PMC) also known as Centre R, PMC Redut, and Redut Security. The organisation is part of the “anti-terror family,” a grouping of PMCs that protects Russian commercial interests and also advances Russian geopolitical goals. Nominally controlled by the foreign military intelligence agency of the Russian Federation, the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (GRU), it acts as a proxy umbrella organisation that manages several different PMCs. Established in 2008, it has operated in a variety of fields and theatres, including Syria and, during the Russo-Georgia War of 2008, in Georgia. It is currently active in both Ukraine and Africa through its sub-units.

1.6 REDUT RE-ORGANISATION AND GROWTH (2024-)
As of December 2024, Redut reportedly has an estimated 25,000 mercenaries and other contractors. It has emerged as the main Russian PMC organisation, is very active in Africa and Syria, and has operated alongside other Russian PMCs on the continent, such as the BEAR Brigade.

The reported leader of Redut, Konstantin Mirzayants, is allegedly tied to the Russian MOD, its operations in Africa, and the creation of “Africa Corps,” which is also reportedly assuming Wagner’s operations on the continent.

2 ORGANISATION OF REDUT
As Redut is not a sole military group, much like Wagner, it operates as an umbrella organisation. This means that it encompasses and also delegates tasks to several different units that operate underneath it.

Additionally, an investigation by the Ukraine-based Skhemy project and the Russian media Sistema confirmed that Redut is less of a private military company than it is a GRU front. This involved the recruiting of fighters for Redut by the GRU, operating through a network of ‘shadow companies,’ non-existent military units and additionally, fictitious legal entities to legally distance Moscow from ‘special operations.’

A useful table of organization can be seen at the link, even showing which units are partially and fully staffed. Following that comes brief descriptions of key units, weaponry, and so forth.

5 CONCLUSION
Redut, also known as PMC Redut, is a Russian Private Military Company (PMC). Part of the “anti-terror family,” a grouping of PMCs that protect Russian commercial interests, it is currently active in Ukraine and also Africa and stands accused of war crimes against Ukrainian forces. Its sub-units have been seen in active combat all across the Eastern front of the Ukrainian War. Using a variety of equipment–such as small arms, artillery and drones–it is a highly lethal collection of privatised fighters used by both the Russian Government and the GRU to advance their aims in areas, and in ways, deemed unsuitable for regular forces.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: March 3, 2025

2025-03-04

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:58 President Volodymyr Zelensky held a meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on Monday, March 3. Its participants discussed special issues of Ukraine's stability. This was stated in the evening address of the head of state.

22:47 German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius convened a virtual conference of defense ministers from five European NATO countries, where they reaffirmed their continued political and military support for Ukraine, MDR reports.

21:44 During the first three days of March, the activity of Russian troops on the front in the area of responsibility of the Khortitsa operational-strategic group of troops decreased slightly compared to February. This was reported by Viktor Tregubov, a representative of the Khortitsa operational-strategic group of troops, on the air of Unified News.

21:26 A solution to end the war cannot be found without either Kiev or Moscow. This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his speech at an iftar with ambassadors.

20:58 Ukraine continues cooperation with all partners and hopes for US support in achieving peace. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky on the social network X on the evening of March 3.

19:44 During the battle for Bakhmut, the Russian PMC Wagner suffered a crushing defeat, losing more than 20 thousand fighters, which made this region the most difficult for the enemy. The Ukrainian Armed Forces, in turn, suffered minimal losses, maintaining an advantage of one to seven.

19:28 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky respects the work of the DeepState platform, but notes that the military still has questions about the resource. This is stated in the video interview of the commander-in-chief.

18:25 US President Donald Trump is ready to resume talks on natural resources with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and it will take "not that much," the US leader's national security adviser Mike Waltz said on Fox News.

17:50 The Airborne Assault Troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue testing and training personnel for landing on modern T-11 parachute systems.

17.24 Since the beginning of the current day, 57 combat clashes have occurred on the front, mainly in the area of Pokrovsk and Kurshchina. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported the details in the operational summary as of 16:00.

16.59 Russian singer Grigory Leps (real name Lepsveridze) has been suspected in absentia for publicly supporting and financing Russia's war against Ukraine. This was reported by the SBU.

16.43 Support for the war against Ukraine among Russians has reached its maximum. According to Russians, the so-called peace talks and the end of the war should take place on the Kremlin's terms. This is evidenced by data from the Russian Levada Center, which positions itself as independent.

16.30 A possible halt to American aid to Ukraine would only benefit Putin's Russia. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a conversation with journalists after the summit in London. At the same time, he expressed hope that the United States would not help the aggressor country.

16.20 In the period from November 29, 2024 to March 1, 2025, almost 21,100 military personnel returned to service after unauthorized abandonment of the military unit (SU).

Most of the fighters returned to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the military also actively returned to the National Guard and Border Service.

After March 1, military personnel who left their units without permission must also return to service, but the mechanism for their legalization in the unit will be different.

15:39 The European Commission plans to present a plan for the rearmament of Europe to EU member states tomorrow. This was stated by EC President Ursula von der Leyen during a conversation with journalists in Brussels.

15:00 Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi has suspended the head of the unit training center and the commander of the military unit from their duties due to the Russian missile strike on a training ground in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. A complex commission headed by the head of the Main Directorate of the Military Law Enforcement Service of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is working on the scene.

14:47 Russian troops continue to try to break through to the Ukrainian border in the direction where the Defense Forces are conducting an operation in the Kursk region. The occupiers are trying to enter the territory of Ukraine to cut off logistics routes, but these attacks are not massive. This was reported by the representative of the State Border Service, Colonel Andrey Demchenko, on the air of the telethon.

14:33 Russia has launched another military satellite into orbit. This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry. The successful launch of the Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket was carried out from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in the Arkhangelsk Region.

13.45 Law enforcement officers have opened a criminal case into the death and injury of Ukrainian servicemen as a result of a Russian missile strike on a training ground in Dnipropetrovsk region. This was reported by the State Bureau of Investigation.

13:30 The Security Service detained three accomplices of the Russian special services in the Poltava region, who were carrying out information sabotage against Ukraine.

13.13 Last week alone, Russia launched more than 1,050 attack drones, almost 1,300 aerial bombs and more than 20 missiles at Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported.

12.55 Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is "aware of all the nuances" of the dispute between the presidents of Ukraine and the United States in the White House. This was stated by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov at a briefing. In his opinion, this incident between Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump shows how difficult it will be to "settle the situation in Ukraine."

12:29 The Armed Forces of Ukraine have launched a large-scale project, the Drone Line, which provides for the creation of a network of specialized units that will receive modern equipment, the necessary resources, and specialists. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense on Monday, March 3.

11:47 A man born in 1977 died suddenly in the Kremenchuk district territorial center for staffing and social support. The Poltava regional TCC and SP reported the details.

11:43 Foreign components were found in the examined samples of guided missiles of the Russian Tornado-S multiple launch rocket system. According to the GUR, components made in the USA, Great Britain, China and Switzerland were found.

11.22 US President Donald Trump plans to meet with senior officials of his administration on Monday to discuss possible options for action regarding aid to Ukraine, The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed representative of the presidential administration.

It is claimed that this could involve ending American military aid to Ukraine, which was approved and paid for during the Joe Biden administration.

11:13 A Russian drone hit an eco-park in the suburbs of Kharkov. In the village of Lesnoye, the hit was recorded on the territory of the eco-park not far from the petting yard. The enclosures were destroyed, the animals died.

11:12 Deputy Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Major General Vadim Skibitsky, said that Russia is increasing the production of some types of missiles. In particular, the Kh-101 cruise missiles and the Kinzhal missiles. According to him, the production of missiles in Russia in 2025 has not undergone significant changes compared to 2024, although a redistribution of production was recorded.

10:55 A 61-year-old woman, seriously wounded as a result of the shelling of a minibus in the Dniprovsky district the day before, died in a hospital in Kherson. The number of wounded has risen to ten.

Thus, as a result of the Russian attack on the minibus, 12 people were injured: two died and 10 received injuries of varying degrees of severity.

10:44 The Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Major General Mykhailo Drapatiy, confirmed the fact of the Russian strike on the training ground where the Ukrainian military were located. He wrote about this on Facebook.

10:35 Over the course of several days, explosions and arson attacks were to occur in four regions of Ukraine on orders from the Russians. However, the Russian scenario was averted, and all suspects were detained.

In the Kiev region, an agent of the Russian special services was detained who was preparing to blow up one of the military units in Bucha. In Lviv, SBU cyber specialists prevented a series of terrorist attacks that were being prepared near the local TCC and SP buildings, as well as the city's main railway station.

In Chernihiv, an accomplice of the Russian special services was exposed, who was involved in preparing a number of terrorist attacks in the region. In Vinnytsia, a group of arsonists was neutralized who, on orders from Russia, burned two relay cabinets of signal installations regulating traffic on important sections of Ukrzaliznytsia.

10:27 The Nomad unit, consisting of representatives of various indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation, has become part of the International Legion of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR MOU). This was reported in the Legion's Telegram channel.

9:48 Russians have increased the production of drones and plan to launch 500 drones simultaneously in Ukraine. This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Vadim Skibitsky.

9:35 The Russian National Guard is guarding wounded Russian soldiers who are in hospitals in the temporarily occupied Crimea to prevent them from escaping, the ATESH partisan movement reports.

In Crimea, against the backdrop of increasing cases of escapes from hospitals during treatment, security for Russian military personnel has been strengthened. The reason for the escapes is the systematic sending of wounded and under-treated servicemen to the front.

9:30 As a result of the fall of the downed Russian drone in Cherkassy, a fire broke out on the territory of a furniture factory. This was reported by the head of the Cherkassy OVA Igor Taburets. According to him, the fire has been extinguished. Windows and roofs of two buildings and trucks were also damaged. The blast wave knocked out windows at several neighboring enterprises, and vehicles were damaged.

9:15 At night, the Russian army attacked Krivoy Rog. As a result of the attack, a 52-year-old woman was injured. A fire broke out in the city, which rescuers extinguished. An industrial enterprise, a medical facility, six high-rise buildings, and a car were damaged.

9:12 The Ukrainian Defense Forces shot down 46 Russian drones, and another 31 UAVs were lost. This was reported by the Ukrainian Air Force. As a result of the enemy attack, there was damage in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhia regions.

8:50 The Russian troops have intensified their offensive actions in the Kursk region; in total, 109 combat clashes occurred on the front over the past day. This was reported on March 3 by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. It is noted that in the Kursk direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled 30 attacks over the past day. The occupiers fired 444 artillery shells, including 12 from multiple launch rocket systems. They also carried out 19 airstrikes, dropping 30 guided aerial bombs.

8:14 The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with artillerymen, destroyed the Russian self-propelled artillery unit 2S43 Malva. This was reported by the command of the Special Operations Forces.

7:45 The Ukrainian military destroyed 1,350 Russian invaders in one day. The total combat losses of the Russians from 24.02.22 to 03.03.25 amounted to approximately 878,070 people. This was reported on March 3 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

7:23 In occupied Mariupol, the Russians held military exercises Storm-2025, in which local men were involved. This was reported by the Center for National Resistance. It is noted that the participants in the exercises were representatives of the security forces of the so-called DPR, with the involvement of civilian men who are listed in the occupation administration of the city as "reservists".

04:20 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is ready to leave his post in exchange for Ukraine joining NATO and ending the war. The president also criticized the interference of foreign officials in domestic political processes in Ukraine, stressing that the issue of choosing a president should be decided only by Ukrainian citizens.

04:00 Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that European leaders "decided to continue the war instead of choosing peace" during the London summit. According to him, this is "bad, dangerous and wrong."

02:30 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine will never agree to the legal or actual recognition of the occupied territories as part of the Russian Federation. He stressed that this is not only a principled position of the Ukrainian people, but a matter of compliance with international law.

01:20 FBI Director Cash Patel said he has asked the US Congress to investigate where the money sent to help Ukraine went. According to him, the US cannot have full confidence in Volodymyr Zelensky, who allegedly does not say where the money goes.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

'PTSD is something everyone has.' Post-SVO sniper helps soldiers return to the world

2025-02-07

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Ol'ga Borisova

[REGNUM] Two snipers, having worked on targets as part of a sabotage and reconnaissance group, were returning to their own. They went deep into the enemy's rear - they had to walk about five kilometers to their positions. The path lay along a narrow path, which the soldiers called "the run."

There is no way to turn left or right - everything around is mined. The path is covered by enemy mortars and machine guns. You can only run.

"I came up, crossed myself and ran - whether I would be lucky or not. I was unlucky. First, a mortar, a shot threw me back, and then a machine gun caught up with me," sniper Ivan Ivankov, call sign Django, tells IA Regnum.

The wound was serious, the bullet entered the abdominal cavity. But the man and his partner decided not to call an evacuation team - it would have to move along the same "run".

Ivankov knew that even two fighters would immediately become a target for Ukrainian drones, so he told his partner to go forward, letting him go twenty to thirty meters away from him. He himself went behind. Or rather, first he walked, and then simply crawled towards his own.

TO THE FRONT AFTER PRISON
Ivan Ivankov is 49 years old. He was born and raised in Irkutsk, and served in the border troops of the KGB of the USSR. He received an education as a psychologist, but never worked in his profession. He got a job as a security guard, then as a bodyguard.

And then, recalls the interlocutor of IA Regnum, “I met some comrades and decided to organize my own organized crime group.”

"We got involved in banditry. Of course, there's nothing good about it... We had episodes from 2012 to 2015. I was convicted of armed robbery of ATMs in Irkutsk," Ivankov says.

In 2015, he was arrested, spent two and a half years in a pretrial detention center, and in 2017, was sent to a penal colony — a prison for former employees of the internal affairs agencies. In the colony, especially in the pretrial detention center, it was harder than at the front, says Ivankov. Although, he admits, it is a “special experience.”

"Places of imprisonment teach you everything, it's a serious training, " says Ivankov. "For me, at least, it was quite comfortable later, both in the forest hole where I had to sleep, and in other situations."

In the pretrial detention center, the man's education as a psychologist came in handy. Firstly, to help himself - "with meditation and relaxation." Secondly, Ivankov was appointed senior in the cell, and had to resolve conflicts among aggressively minded men.

He was released from prison in March 2023 on parole.

" Many of my friends went to the front directly from the colony - both through Wagner and through the Ministry of Defense. Many friends left, and many stayed there: they died during the capture of Soledar, Bakhmut. I had a patriotic desire to punish that scum that was there..." - the man recalls.

After returning from the colony, he underwent basic military training at the Rokot organization in Irkutsk. There, they taught him fire training and tactical medicine. Then Ivankov signed a contract with the Redut PMC, where he "began to prepare more professionally."

The skills of handling weapons and marksmanship, developed during his military service, came in very handy. At the training ground, all recruits took a test: they had to hit a target, an A4 sheet of paper, from a distance of 100 meters to get a group of four even "holes". Ivankov passed the test successfully and received the sniper specialization.

When asked how his relatives reacted to his decision to go to the North Military District, the Regnum news agency’s interlocutor answered confidently:

"Nobody tried to talk me out of it, and it wouldn't have helped. My ex-wife said that I should think about it, but she is patriotic, and she understood that I was already determined to do it, and I couldn't be swayed. My mother also took it well. Of course, she was worried in her heart, but nevertheless... My friends and brother raised money for me, bought me equipment, helped with everything."

It took two months to prepare, then to the SVO zone. And three months later that same sortie into the enemy's rear, the wounding and the return on a "run" happened.

"When I crawled to my own people, they immediately sent me to the medical unit. There they found out that the wound was serious, they took me to Artemovsk for surgery. And a day later - to the hospital in St. Petersburg," recalls the interlocutor of IA Regnum.

Then began a long process of rehabilitation, returning to Irkutsk, and again trips to St. Petersburg for new operations. Ivankov himself admits that he was lucky: they allocated a quota to a military hospital, although by that time the contract had ended and the man was listed as a "civilian". Despite this, the doctors literally got Ivankov back on his feet: "they did everything perfectly, stitched everything up."

He was especially worried about his physical fitness because he had always been involved in sports and did not want to quit.

"Last April, when I had my last operation, I was forbidden to lift objects heavier than five kilograms. The restriction was for six months, it was April then, but in May I had already signed up for a gym and started lifting weights little by little. I started with five, then ten... Now I lift 140 kilograms - I have fully recovered," Ivankov says.

"THEY MUST UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE NEEDED IN PEACEFUL LIFE"
Already in the first days after the injury, the man realized what PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) was - he experienced an acute attack. In the hospital, the most ordinary sounds seemed unbearable.

"I remember it as if it were yesterday: someone turns on, for example, an electric razor, and you perceive it in your sleep as if a drone is flying over you. And such a burning, incredible desire to fall, hide under the bed. You perceive the slam of the door as an explosion or gunfire. Various methods of meditation and relaxation helped me, thanks to them I more or less coped with it," recalls the interlocutor of IA Regnum.

And just recently, when he went to Baikal with friends, he experienced similar feelings: someone decided to take pictures with drones, the man heard a characteristic buzzing - “it immediately gave me goosebumps.”

While still in the hospital in St. Petersburg, Ivankov realized that he wanted to help the soldiers who would return from the front - "they will experience the same thing as me." He began looking for courses to train military psychologists, and saw a program at the St. Petersburg training center "Kupol." In October, he left the hospital and immediately signed up for the course. He studied remotely from November 2023 to February 2024, and received a diploma in military psychology.

I posted an ad and started holding online consultations. I worked mainly with the wives and widows of fighters. Their main request was "help me cope with loss, bereavement."

MAY 9
And then Ivankov, as he says himself, "got into the flow." He saw a message from the Fatherland Defenders Fund that they were recruiting for training in entrepreneurship from the public organization "Business Russia." The man applied, talked to the organizers. He said that he wanted to help the fighters.

Through joint efforts, the concept of a non-profit Center for Psychological Rehabilitation of SVO Participants and Their Family Members was born. The Center has already been registered, and the start of work is scheduled for February 2025.

"It is very important that support is not only from family, but that there are organizations that help cope with everything. I would like our project to develop, to grow into an all-Russian network. I know this from my own experience: you can't drag a person who came from the front to a psychologist, he will twirl his finger at his temple and go drink some moonshine," Ivankov says.

All those who returned have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Ivan is convinced, but some people cope with it easier, while others have a really hard time. That is why, the man decided, the Center should become a real community - a club for veterans of the Fatherland.

"His activities will be aimed at maximum adaptation to peaceful life. Sooner or later, everything will end, the guys will come back - it will be hard for everyone. We all remember how the Afghan war ended, the Chechen wars: there were all sorts of organized crime groups, drug addiction, alcoholism, suicidal syndrome...

We need to be prepared and help the kids, involve them in social activities. They must understand that they are needed, that they are already in a peaceful life, the world is no longer divided into friends and foes, there are much more colors in it," Ivankov explains.

According to him, the Center will also employ child and family psychologists who will be able to help the children and wives of soldiers.

Link

Government Corruption

What Happened When DEI Came to the Military?

2025-01-29

[The Free Press] Retired Air Force Brigadier General Christopher Walker, 59, spent almost two years as a senior adviser to the Air Force’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion at the Pentagon, attending dozens of meetings about implementing DEI initiatives. This was an unusual role given Walker’s career path: He had over 400 hours of combat flights and, most recently, had overseen West Virginia’s Air National Guard.

But in 2021, when the Air Force established its Office of Diversity and Inclusion, staffers assumed that Walker would be on board with their belief that DEI was a "warfighting imperative." Why? Because Walker is black. But that assumption was wrong.

Walker was a mole.

Alarmed by DEI programs that were little more, in his view, than "Soviet indoctrination," he leaked information to an organization called Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalism in the Services (STARRS). This group consists of retired military veterans and civilians who oppose woke ideology in the military. They, in turn, alerted lawmakers like Sen. Tom Cotton and Rep. Mike Waltz about what they were hearing from Walker and other active duty service members who opposed the military’s diversity policies.

"No one delved into how I thought," Walker told The Free Press. "They took one look at me and assumed I believed these things. I learned to listen and had to bite my tongue a lot."

Walker, who prefers to go by his pilot call sign, Mookie, took notes and mostly kept his head down, so he could keep reporting what was going on. "I thought, If this is allowed to stand, all of the senior people within the [Department of Defense] are going to bring along this propaganda and get rid of anybody who doesn’t go along with it."

Mookie recalled a private meeting in 2022 attended by generals and other key Pentagon staffers. At the meeting, Alex Wagner, the Air Force assistant secretary, asked the group to brainstorm ways to get the general public to accept drag shows on Air Force bases.

Close to retirement and with nothing to lose, Mookie finally spoke up. "I reminded the group that since the 1980s, the Air Force has not allowed lingerie shows," he said. "They don’t allow burlesque shows. So why would we allow drag shows?"

His comment seemed to have an effect. In June 2023, the Department of Defense officially banned drag shows on all military installations.

But that was the exception, not the rule. In 2022, Mookie recalls attending a training course at Georgetown University for Air Force generals and senior officers called "Managing for Inclusion." The professor, he said, informed the group that white people were oppressors and black and Hispanic people were the oppressed, so they couldn’t be racist. The professor also taught the class how to ask someone for their pronouns at the beginning of a conversation.

Link

Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia

Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: January 26, 2024

2025-01-27

Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.

Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 13.49 Russian troops have struck positions of the Defense Forces and populated areas of Ukraine this week using about 1,250 aerial bombs and more than 750 attack drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, January 26.

13.27 Israel has begun supplying Ukraine with Russian weapons seized in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, according to OSINT data.

12.43 Units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine have again hit the facilities of the Ryazan Oil Refinery Company, which is involved in providing the Russian occupation army. This was reported by the press service of the General Staff on Sunday, January 26.

11:37 In the area of Chasovy Yar, enemy units of Akhmat appeared, which include former members of the Wagner PMC and Russian neo-Nazis from the Rusich formation. This was reported on the air of Suspilne Novyny by Andrey Polukhin, a representative of the press service of the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Daniel.

10:29 Russian troops attacked the Dniprovskyi district at night with artillery and drones. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak on Sunday, January 26.

The shelling did not cause any damage, the situation is under control.

09:43 The Defense Forces shot down 50 drones with which Russian troops attacked Ukraine since the evening of January 25, another nine enemy UAV simulators were lost without negative consequences. This was reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

08.33 The thousand and sixty-eighth day of large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has begun. Ukrainian defenders are steadfastly holding back the onslaught of the occupiers, inflicting significant losses on them. In total, 167 combat clashes have been recorded over the past day. This was noted in the General Staff report on Sunday, January 26.

07.31 Over the past 24 hours, the Russian army lost 1,720 soldiers killed and wounded at the front. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the morning report on Sunday, January 26.

07.27 Russian troops carried out 325 strikes on 13 settlements in the Zaporizhia region in 24 hours, including attacks by aircraft and drones. Houses and infrastructure were damaged, there were no civilian casualties. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia OVA Ivan Fedorov on Sunday, January 26.

07.19 The military recorded an enemy ship in the Black Sea in the morning of January 26. Russia has withdrawn the vessel from Kalibrama again after weeks of absence. This was reported by the press service of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Sunday, January 26.

05.10 Russians attacked Kharkov with drones. City authorities reported that one of the strikes hit a private home in the Osnovyansky district of the city. According to preliminary information, the windows, roof and part of the building were damaged. There were no casualties.

04.58 Russian troops captured the settlement of Vremovka in Donetsk region and advanced in Velyka Novosilka, Toretsk, Kotlino, near Nadeyevka, Petrovpavlovka and Kotlino, the DeepState project reported.

02.52 Drones have again attacked an oil refinery and oil depot in the Russian city of Ryazan. A large fire broke out. The Center for the Prevention of Cruelty to the NSCDC commented on this: "The Ryazan refinery is trying to achieve this. This is fuel for military equipment and more." The previous attack was two days ago.

Link

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