Science & Technology |
NASA's oldest active astronaut lands with space station crewmates on his 70th birthday |
2025-04-20 |
[Space.com] NASA's oldest active astronaut has redefined traveling "home" for your birthday, landing from the International Space Station on the same day that he turned 70. Don Pettit touched down on Saturday (April 19) with his Soyuz MS-26 crewmates, Aleksey Ovchinin, 53, and Ivan Vagner, 39. The U.S. astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts reached the ground in Kazakhstan at 9:20 p.m. EDT (0120 GMT or 6:20 a.m. local time April 20), seven months after they left Earth aboard the same spacecraft. Pettit was born on April 20, 1955, in Silverton, Oregon, but said that the feeling of being home is relative to where you have been. |
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Science & Technology |
Soyuz MS-26 with new international crew docked with ISS |
2024-09-12 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. [Regnum] On September 11, the Soyuz MS-26 manned spacecraft automatically docked with the Rassvet module of the Russian segment of the International Space Station (ISS). This was announced by the Roscosmos state corporation. ![]() The crew included Russian cosmonauts Alexei Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner, as well as NASA astronaut Donald Pettit. The launch vehicle with the Soyuz MS-26 manned spacecraft was launched to the ISS from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The docking of the spacecraft to the international station was recorded at 22:32 Moscow time. The space mission will last 202 days. During this time, the cosmonauts will have to conduct 42 scientific experiments in the fields of medicine and biology. As reported by Regnum News Agency, according to Roscosmos, in December 2024, Ovchinin and Wagner will go into outer space. They will install a spectrometer on the surface of the station, which will allow the most accurate measurement of the cosmic radiation background. On September 7, the Boeing Starliner spacecraft undocked from the ISS and returned to Earth without a crew on board. It landed at the White Sands Test Site in New Mexico. Spent materials and cargo from the ISS were returned to Earth. |
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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
'Lotos' about the future of PMC 'Wagner' |
2023-07-08 |
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics. Text by writer Timofey Ermakov publishing in a telegraph.ph article. [ColonelCassad] One of the commanders of the Wagner PMC gave an interview about the future of the PMC. "Lotos" - a former airborne officer, a hero of the Russian Federation. Led the assault on Soledar. ![]() In short, until August, "Wagner" on vacation, and then we'll see. There will be rotation in the southern countries + relocation to Belarus. They do not want to contract with the RF Ministry of Defense. Apparently, those who leave for Belarus will not fight in Ukraine at the current stage. Only those who will go on a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry will continue. EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LOTOS: WHAT AWAITS PMC "WAGNER" Today, going into one of the cafes in the south of Russia, I met a familiar "musician", sat down and chatted. Suddenly, an unexpected surprise came in - Anton Elizarov, the same Lotus, who is one of the key commanders of the Wagner PMC. We chatted, talked about the situation in Ukraine, remembered some stories. I asked him a question that worries, perhaps, everyone: - Anton, what are you going to do next? - We were all dismissed on vacation before the beginning of August, there are many tasks ahead that have to be solved, so Evgeny Viktorovich decided to let everyone go to rest. Personally, I have not been to the sea with my family for 5 years, other guys are also now immersed in family issues with their heads. To give everyone an opportunity to rest before the big work that we have to do, such a decision was made by the council of commanders. - And what's next with PMC "Wagner"? - In the short term, as I said, we have a lot of work to do. First, we need to rotate the guys in our distant directions, infuse new blood. The second and most difficult thing is access to Belarus. We have to prepare bases, training grounds, coordinate with local governments and administrations, organize interaction with the law enforcement agencies of Belarus and establish logistics. There is a lot of work and the tasks are not easy, but the more difficult the task, the more interesting it is. I think we'll manage. — And what about Ukraine? Are you worried about what's going on there? I am following the situation in Ukraine, and, of course, I am worried about what is happening there. But when they don’t hear you, they ignore all proposals and ways to resolve issues, even when you talk about it to the whole world, then it’s probably better sometimes to step aside and watch what is happening from the outside. Although it is damn insulting and painful when there are ready-made proposals and opportunities for solving the problem, they are brushed aside... As our wise ancestors used to say, let's wait and see. And we step aside and silently look. But our armored train is on a siding, and we are ready to come to the aid of our Motherland and our people when our Russian people call us. - In the light of recent events, is there an attack on PMC "Wagner"? - There is no collision by law enforcement agencies, the President guaranteed this to us. As for society and ordinary people, you can see for yourself: the girls walk around with chevrons, which they lured from our guys, most likely for kisses. The boys wear T-shirts and caps with our symbols, the boys play war games, as the Germans at the bottom of the dill, and as the fighters of the Red Army - the fighters of the Wagner PMC. - And what is happening in the media now, where they pour mud on Prigozhin? - In my opinion, by biting the Director, all journalists are simply fulfilling the order of Shoigu and Gerasimov, trying to separate the Wagner PMC from its creator. In my opinion, this is just a raider seizure by the Russian Defense Ministry of the most effective military formation in the world. Shoigu tried to create his own PMC "Redoubt" and other small companies, but he did not succeed. So, probably, they decided that it was better to pick up the finished one. But they do not take into account that PMC "Wagner" is not just a structure that unites people, it is an ideology. Have you heard the story about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table? So, all the commanders of the Wagner PMC are knights, and our leader is the Director. We cannot be divided, all decisions are made jointly, at the council of commanders. Thus, a structure devoid of a corruption component has been created. All decisions are made on the board and are instantly implemented, without delay and delay, and this is the secret of the effective management of Wagner PMC units and the successful completion of the tasks assigned to the units. Therefore, PMC "Wagner" cannot be divided, we are strong as long as we are together. Without this, we will disperse to the corners, and the Wagner PMC will cease to exist altogether. As for the desire to divide us from the inside, this will not work. Each of us has become what he is, thanks to Sergei Petrovich and the company he created - Wagner PMC. He brought us together when the state did not need us, he united us and infected us with his ideology of kindness with his fists. and PMC "Wagner" will cease to exist altogether. As for the desire to divide us from the inside, this will not work. Bellingcat, the anti Russian website, has stated that Sergei Petrovich is a Russian GRU officer, but it appears Sergei Petrovich is just another name for Evegniy Prigozhin. Each of us has become what he is, thanks to Sergei Petrovich and the company he created - Wagner PMC. He brought us together when the state did not need us, he united us and infected us with his ideology of kindness with his fists. and PMC "Wagner" will cease to exist altogether. As for the desire to divide us from the inside, this will not work. Each of us has become what he is, thanks to Sergei Petrovich and the company he created - Wagner PMC. He brought us together when the state did not need us, he united us and infected us with his ideology of kindness with his fists. It's not a secret that most of us were thrown out of the army due to non-compliance with the terms of the contract by generals and colonels-sycophants. For example, I was accused of stealing an apartment received under a social contract, and according to the law, I am entitled to housing from the state. But I was convicted, and those who tried me received regular titles. I am now a Hero of Russia, but the Ministry of Defense is still strenuously trying to evict me from the only housing, throw me out on the street, and they do not care about my merits. And after that they think that I will betray the company and its leader, for the sake of mythical social guarantees I will sign a contract with them? If these people think so, they are definitely out of their minds. This is not only my opinion, this is the opinion of the majority. Okay, I've got to go, I've probably said too much anyway. So far, glad to see you. Interviewed by Timofey Ermakov. More from Russian military blogger Andrey Chervonets: Prigozhin's parade tunic As I wrote earlier, security forces conducted a search in Prigozhin’s house and posted photos of the decoration and furnishings of the premises in open resources. In my humble, possibly erroneous opinion, those who posted the photo in the media violated two articles of the criminal code of the Russian Federation at once: Article 161 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation / Invasion of privacy Article 137 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. But that's not the point. The ceremonial tunic of Evgeny Viktorovich is interesting, which was also highlighted by those awards (30 medals and orders) that are on it. Let's dwell on this in more detail. The photo shows: - three stars of the hero - Russia, "DNR" and "LNR"; - two orders of courage; - Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree; - Order of Alexander Nevsky; - the Order "For Military Merit" (even Shoigu does not have this, it is given, among other things, for maintaining the high combat readiness of the troops and ensuring the defense capability of Russia); - Order of Friendship; - medals of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" I and II degrees. - medal "For the return of the Crimea"; - medal "For Strengthening the Combat Commonwealth"; - Medal of Merit in MTO"; - medal "For Combat Distinction"; - Khrulev medal; - medal of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. In addition, foreign awards: - Cross of "Military Valor" (CAR), - star "For Military Merit" (CAR); - Kromandor (Neck) Order of Recognition (CAR) - Order of the Republic (Sudan) - Order of the Two Niles (Sudan) - Grand Cross of the Order of the Stallion (Burkina Faso) - Order of Bravery (Libya) |
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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
New U.S. Sanctions Target Russian Financial Officials, Chechen Leader's Wives, Daughters |
2022-09-23 |
From a week ago, but still interesting. [RFERL] The U.S. Treasury Department on September 15 added top Russian finance officials, relatives of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, and a Russian children's rights official who allegedly directs the removal of Ukrainian children to Russia to its sanctions blacklist.The new sanctions target 22 individuals and two entities that the Treasury Department said advanced Moscow's objectives in Ukraine before and after Russia launched the invasion of its neighbor. The list includes three of Kadyrov's wives and three of his adult daughters. It also places additional sanctions on the Chechen leader, who has been under U.S. sanctions since December 2017. Kadyrov was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general for his role in Russia's war against Ukraine launched in February, the Treasury Department said, adding that Chechen units allied to Kadyrov have operated in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv where Russia’s troops committed atrocities and destroyed homes. "Kadyrov has recruited for Russia's war efforts through mixed martial arts clubs, which enables him and his units to continue their activity in Ukraine," the department said. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement that as Ukraine "presses forward with defending its freedom," the U.S. government is "taking steps to further degrade Russia's ability to rebuild its military, hold perpetrators of violence accountable, and further financially isolate [Russian President Vladimir] Putin." The new sanctions took aim at the heads of key Russian financial institutions, including the National Payment Card System (NSPK), which runs the Mir payment network; the National Settlement Depository; the Non-Bank Credit Organization Central Counterparty National Clearing Center (CCP NCC), which manages settlement for the Moscow stock exchange; and the Deposit Insurance Agency. The treasury also blacklisted Maria Alexeyevna Lvova-Belova, the presidential commissioner for children's rights. Working directly under Putin, the Treasury Department said, Lvova-Belova has overseen the deportation of "thousands" of Ukrainian children to Russia. "Lvova-Belova's efforts specifically include the forced adoption of Ukrainian children into Russian families, the so-called 'patriotic education' of Ukrainian children, legislative changes to expedite the provision of Russian Federation citizenship to Ukrainian children, and the deliberate removal of Ukrainian children by Russia's forces," it said. The treasury also designated Task Force Rusich, which it described as a neo-Nazi ![]() paramilitary group fighting in Ukraine, including near Kharkiv, and associated with the Vagner mercenary group controlled by close Putin associate Yevgeny Prigozhin. "Rusich has a long history of fighting alongside Russia-backed proxies in the Donbas region of Ukraine, and in 2015, Rusich mercenaries were accused of, and filmed, committing atrocities against deceased and captured Ukrainian soldiers," the department said. It said Rusich is led by Alexey Yurevich Milchakov and Yan Igorevich Petrovskiy. "Milchakov, who has developed a reputation for extreme brutality, was maimed in Rusich’s initial combat near Kharkiv, Ukraine in 2022," Treasury said. Petrovskiy, who was expelled from Norway in 2016 after being declared a threat to national security, is Rusich’s lead military trainer and replaced Milchakov as commander after his injury, the department said. U.S. Treasury sanctions freeze any assets those designated might have under U.S. jurisdiction and forbid any U.S. individuals or companies -- including international banks with U.S. operations -- from doing business with them. In a parallel move, the U.S. Commerce Department banned the export of quantum computing services, hardware, and software to Russia and Belarus. The Treasury Department said the move would degrade Moscow's ability to rebuild its military after heavy losses in its ongoing war in Ukraine. Related: Sanctions blacklist: 2022-06-05 Al-Qaida again finding a safe-haven in Afghanistan under Taliban, UN report warns Sanctions blacklist: 2022-03-10 Russia’s war in Ukraine: Latest developments – March 9. No, 3 Sanctions blacklist: 2020-08-20 US blacklists UAE-based firms for supporting sanctioned Iranian airline Related: Ramzan Kadyrov: 2022-09-17 Russian Perspective: Operation to Denazify Ukraine: Operational Brief September 16th (updated) Ramzan Kadyrov: 2022-09-16 Ukrainian Perspective: Invasion of Ukraine: September 15th, 2022 Ramzan Kadyrov: 2022-09-16 Russian Perspective: Operation to Denazify Ukraine: Operational Brief September 15th (updated) |
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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
Did the true number of Russian troop deaths in Ukraine just leak? |
2022-03-22 |
![]() I can't understand either who would have leaked it, as this information must be closely held. And frankly, given how incompetent the Russians seem and how indifferent they are to loss of life, I'm surprised they're keeping a count of their own fallen troops to begin with. But the figure is shocking if true. In less than a month of war, this would easily exceed the number of U.S. KIA in Iraq and Afghanistan, two conflicts that spanned nearly 30 years combined. Komsomolskaya Pravda, the pro-Kremlin tabloid, says that according to Russian ministry of defense numbers, 9,861 Russian soldiers died in Ukraine and 16,153 were injured. The last official Russian KIA figure, on March 2, was 498. Fascinating that someone posted the leaked number. The Red Army lost 15,000 men during the Soviet war in Afghanistan. Over 10 years. As gaudy as the apparently leaked number is, it's in line with other estimates. Five days ago, sources in U.S. intelligence told the Times they believed 7,000 Russians had been killed - conservatively. Other estimates circulating are higher: A former internal affairs minister of #Ukraine That's not wildly out of line with the number published in Komsomolskaya Pravda. Maybe the Ukrainian figures encompass regular Russian forces plus "separatists" fighting in the Donbas while the KP figures are limited to regular forces only. If it's true that 10,000 Russians have been killed and another 16,000 wounded, that's more than 10 percent of the total force out of action in less than a month, with no obvious prospects for mass reinforcements to fill the manpower vacuum. Someone on the Pravda staff is going to get shot. |
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-Obits- |
Evgeniy Mikrin, General Designer of Manned Programs of Russia, died of coronavirus. ISS endangered. |
2020-05-05 |
[Twitter]
From yesterday's [IBT] some background: Coronavirus Could Infect ISS After Senior Launch Official Tests Positive KEY POINTS A Russian launch official tested positive for COVID-19 Fears of COVID-19 reaching space and the International Space Station (ISS) have emerged after a Russian launch official reportedly tested positive for the diseases. According to reports, the official was spotted standing near other Russian officers, cosmonauts and astronauts before the recent launch to the ISS. On April 9, Russia launched the Soyuz MS-16 mission to transport two cosmonauts and one NASA astronaut to the ISS. The spacecraft was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, a spaceport in southern Kazakhstan. The event was attended by various officials from Russia. Some of them include Evgeniy Mikrin, the deputy head of Energia Rocket and Space Corporation. Along with Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, Mikrin oversaw the launch of the Soyuz MS-16 mission. A source confirmed to the Russian news agency TASS that Mikrin recently tested positive for COVID-19. According to the report, Mikrin tested positive twice for the virus following the launch of the Soyuz MS-16. A different report by the news agency noted that he is one of the 30 Russian space personnel infected with the virus. Due to Mikrin’s status, officials in Russia have already started contact tracing to check the individuals he had been in contact with prior to testing positive for coronavirus. For the Soyuz MS-16 mission, Mikrin flew from Moscow to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in a government plane along with Rogozin. Then, after reaching the spaceport, the Roscosmos head was spotted standing next to the crew of the mission, which includes the cosmonauts Anatoli Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner, and NASA astronaut Christopher Cassidy. “He was on the same plane with the head of the state space corporation Dmitry Rogozin who was later talking directly to cosmonauts,” local media outlet Moskovsky Komsomolets stated in a report. |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Cossack Fighter Laments Russian 'Utilization' Of Mercenaries In Syria |
2018-03-16 |
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty interview with Russian Cossack ataman (head man) and sometime mercenary Yevgeny Shabayev. ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Russia is abuzz with media reports that dozens -- perhaps hundreds, by some accounts -- of Russian mercenaries were killed or wounded in the eastern Syrian city of Deir al-Zor on February 7-8 in fighting with the U.S. military and its Syrian-rebel allies. The Russian government has been reluctant to talk about the incident, saying on February 15 that "about five" Russians "may have been killed" and, on February 20, that "several dozen" Russian and other former Soviet citizens were injured. The United States has estimated that about 100 fighters were killed in the incident, without specifying their nationalities. Many of the wounded mercenaries from the Vagner commercial security firm have been evacuated to Russia and are being treated in military hospitals. RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Yelizaveta Mayetnaya visited one such hospital outside St. Petersburg, where she spoke with Yevgeny Shabayev, the ataman of the Khovrino Cossack organization and a sometime mercenary. Shabayev had just finished visiting eight of the wounded mercenaries. He agreed to talk with RFE/RL about the fighting in Syria and about how and why Russians end up going there. His assertions -- including about burials and casualties, remuneration and compensation, deployments, or purported meetings in the Kremlin -- have not been corroborated by RFE/RL. RFE/RL: You've just finished visiting the wounded soldiers. What did they tell you about the night they were injured? |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
A Russian version of the private army in the movie Kelly's Heroes? |
2018-02-19 |
![]() That a total of 15 (the number of Russian PMC dead I heard) were killed in a six hour operation tells me they may not have even been part of the operation. Russian PMCs are like ours: they are combat experienced, and some of them are probably former special ops. They're not stupid. They likely know better than to attack a fixed NATO position at night. If NATO had forward air controllers or even special forces in the area, they could direct aircraft to deadly effect, and there would have been little the PMCs could have done about it. The coolest part of this story is the idea that a private business man has a private army complete with tanks and artillery. As the title suggests, this was Kelly's Heroes with a Russian accent. It is important to note that the outlet where I read about the minicampaign, Business Insider, has inflated Russian war casualties before in Donetsk. I have even fallen for Russian military jargon, not believing at the time the central story that 200 were killed in an artillery attack. But then I don’t draw a salary to pay attention to my beat. Russian military love to continue to use their jargon. So, when a translation comes out as two 300s, that means two wounded. But give the BI writers credit. They at least can do simple arithmetic. We will continue to hear the 600 dead meme for some time to come, I think. Then the major wire services quietly will come out with corrections, the bats will be in the belfry and all will be right with the world. As of now we keep hearing about lists of wounded housed in Moscow military hospitals, when those lists, the Russians insist, are spurious and chock full of made up names, as well as the names of Soviet writers. Some of those lists were compiled by a Ukrainian journalist (I forget the name) known to post bogus news about Russia. [TheJamestownFoundation] Officials from the United States and Russia, together with non-governmental sources, all agree on the core narrative: On February 7, 2018, east of the Euphrates River, in the oil-rich province of Deir el-Zour, a battalion-size armed group loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, supported by armor and artillery, moved to take over a dysfunctional oil refinery occupied by the Kurdish-dominated Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF); but this invading force was then decimated by US firepower “in self-defense.” The Euphrates River is more or less the so-called “de-confliction line,” agreed on by US and Russian military chiefs to separate Russian-supported pro-al-Assad forces and the US-backed SDF. On February 7, the pro-al-Assad forces were operating on the wrong (eastern) side of the river and threatened SDF fighters and coalition special forces embedded with them. The Russian Ministry of Defense insisted “no Russian servicemen were involved” and explained the incident as a mistaken move by local pro-al-Assad militias pursuing some Islamic State leftovers. The Russian authorities scolded the pro-al-Assad fighters for failing to notify and vet their move with Russian command in advance; but they simultaneously rebuked US forces for “seeking to grab valuable economic assets instead of fighting ISIS [the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria—the former name of the Islamic State group]” (Interfax, February 8). Yet, as more evidence trickled in, the narrative presented in Moscow began to shift. According to Kommersant, a large force of several hundred men—pro-al-Assad militias reinforced by fighters from the notorious private military company (in Russian Chastnye Voennie Company—ChVK) “Vagner”—gathered to attack the refinery and possibly take over nearby oil and natural gas fields. The backbone of the force was made up of up to 600 ChVK Vagner Russian contractors armed with tanks and heavy guns, according to an unnamed military source. The attack was not authorized by the Russian command and was planned as a night raid—the Russian-led force opened fire and attempted to swiftly move in, believing the SDF would offer only token resistance and that US forces would not risk aerial attack as the Russians moved in. But the US promptly deployed overwhelming firepower before all of the ChVK Vagner contractors moved out into battle formation. They suffered heavy losses in both men and equipment. The unnamed Kommersant military source told the paper that about 11 Russians were dead (Kommersant, February 14). Igor Strelkov (Girkin)—the former commander of Russia-backed rebels in Ukraine’s Donbas—was one of the first to post a report, based on information from “reliable sources,” about at least a hundred Russian ChVK Vagner fighters “slaughtered” by the US. Strelkov, like some other radical Russian nationalists, has opposed President Vladimir Putin’s incursion into the Syrian civil war, believing true Russian patriots must fight for Russian interests by defending truly Russian land, like in Donbas. Strelkov called for future potential volunteers “to think twice before enlisting with ChVK Vagner” (Newsru.com, February 9). This is not the first time Strelkov has published reports about heavy Russian casualties in Syria that have quoted former “colleagues from Donbas” who are now with ChVK Vagner (see EDM, October 12, 2017). Different media outlets have reported widely disparate casualty estimates: Pro-Kremlin sources have tended to downplay the losses, declaring about 10 to 20 Russians dead and up to 50 wounded, while others report casualties in the hundreds. Official sources refuse comment, citing a lack of reliable information. But no one seems to refute the fact of an encounter gone badly wrong or that ChVK Vagner mercenaries were hit by US military fire, that many were killed or wounded, and that heavy equipment was destroyed (Kp.ru, February 13). The ChVK Vagner force demonstrated rare incompetence by cavaliering into a night assault against a US-backed force, apparently ignorant of the fact that the US military has, for some time, preferred to fight in the dark to utilize night-vision superiority. The experience of fighting in Donbas or against the Syrian opposition and the Islamic State may have provided them with a false sense of security, underestimating what a full-scale US precision firepower attack could bring. Russian military chiefs, meanwhile, may be somewhat pleased ChVK Vagner receive a licking. The private military company is reportedly financed and sponsored by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a businessman from St. Petersburg known in the Kremlin court as “the cook” because he began his career catering for Vladimir Putin. Prigozhin reportedly has business interests in Syria and is apparently seeking to take over phosphate mining, oil and natural gas deposits. In promoting ChVK Vagner, “the cook” and his private army have reportedly increasingly come into conflict with the Ministry of Defense and Minister Sergei Shoigu (Novaya Gazeta, January 21). The Russian military command almost certainly knew in advance of ChVK Vagner’s planned move east of the Euphrates. And in Moscow, most assume the “traitorous” Americans were also aware of the imminent attack and, thus, prepared a deadly ambush (Militarynews.ru, February 13). This narrative is supported by the fact that, just hours before the ChVK Vagner force was massacred, a 210-meter bridge over the Euphrates, built last September by Russian sappers (see EDM, September 28, 2017), was washed away by a sudden flash flood. The Russian military accuses the SDF and/or the US of deliberately opening the floodgates at a hydroelectric damn upriver to destroy the bridge. The Pentagon denies this allegation (Interfax, February 9). The collapsing bridge cut off the Vagner-led force on the left bank from supplies, reinforcements and the possibility of an organized retreat. Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, the top US Air Force general in the Middle East, told journalists the encounter in Deir el-Zour “was not entirely unexpected”: For a week prior to the incident, the US had observed a slow buildup of hostile forces on the Euphrates bridgehead and reportedly contacted the Russian military. According to Harrigian, to repel the attack, multiple precision-fire munitions were released by ground artillery, F-15E fighter jets, MQ-9 drones, B-52 bombers, AC-130 gunships and AH-64 Apache helicopters (RBC, February 14). Some of these formidable assets could have been scrambled at short notice, but the B-52s, based presumably at Diego Garcia island, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, must have been in the air, loaded with ordinance, hours before ChVK Vagner made its move. No one seems to be telling the whole truth about an encounter in which the US military seemingly knowingly planned and executed an attack on proxy Russian troops, while the Russian military command deliberately turned a blind eye. This dangerous combination of heavy casualties and muddled narratives could potentially escalate into something much worse than war by proxy. |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Ghost soldiers: the Russians secretly dying for the Kremlin in Syria |
2016-11-04 |
[Rooters] The start of this year proved deadly for one unit of about 100 Russian fighters supporting President Bashar al-Assad's troops in northern Syria. On Feb. 3, 38-year-old Maxim Kolganov was killed in a firefight with rebels near Aleppo when a bullet pierced his body armor and heart. Then, on March 9, the same unit came under shell-fire near Palmyra, and Sergei Morozov, also 38, was hit and died on the way to hospital. Back in southern Russia, medals were delivered to their families: the order of bravery, with certificates signed by President Vladimir Putin. The medals, seen by Reuters, were intended to honor the sacrifice they had made for their country. Except Kolganov and Morozov were not employed by the Russian state. They were in Syria as private contractors, a small part of an army of such people who are being deployed secretly by the Kremlin in Syria. The deaths of Kolganov and Morozov, and others like them, have not been made public. Families say they were given little information and told not discuss the cases. In at least one case, the family of a fighter killed in Syria received a payout of around $100,000 in compensation. Officially, Russia is participating only in an air war over Syria with a small number of special forces on the ground. Moscow denies that its troops are involved in regular ground combat operations. However, in interviews with more than a dozen people with direct knowledge of these deployments, Reuters has established that Russian fighters are playing a more substantial role in ground combat than that the role the Kremlin says is being played by the regular Russian military. Neither the Kremlin nor the defense ministry responded to questions from Reuters. Reuters was unable to obtain comment from Syrian officials on the question of Russian mercenaries. Reuters was not able to identify the company or companies that hired the fighters, or the source of any payments to the fighters or their families. According to three people who knew Morozov and Kolganov, both had fought in Ukraine as part of the same unit that would eventually take them to Syria. It was led by a man who goes by the nomme de guerre "Vagner", who has become a leader of Russian mercenary forces in Syria, one of the sources said. According to two people who knew different fighters, they arrive in Syria via ships that land in the port of Tartous, leased by the Russian navy, or in military aircraft that land at Russia's Hmeymim air base in western Syria. A doctor at a Russian military hospital told Reuters the wounded are evacuated to Russia on board military cargo planes and then treated in military hospitals. The doctor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared losing his job, said he had personally treated contractors injured in Syria, whose role there was clear from their conversations. His hospital is officially meant to admit only serving military personnel, their family members or veterans who have served long careers in the military, a category his patients were too young to fit, the doctor said. When Morozov and Kolganov were killed, their bodies were flown to Russia aboard military aircraft and delivered to a morgue used by the military in the southern city of Rostov, according to relatives and Morozov's friend Kapa. "Kapa", a former Russian officer and volunteer in the Ukraine conflict who asked to be identified only by a nomme de guerre, was friends with Morozov and also knew Kolganov and several other Russians who fought in Ukraine and went on to fight in Syria with the Vagner group. He is still in contact with some of them. A Reuters reporter saw the Order of Courage which was given posthumously to Kolganov. It was delivered to his family home in Togliatti, a city on the Volga river, by someone in civilian clothes who did not identify himself, according to relatives. Reuters has also seen a photograph of Morozov's Order of Courage, dated Sept. 7, 2016. |
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