Yevgeny Prigozhin onboard plane in fatal crash, says Russia - "Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner paramilitary chief who launched an armed mutiny in June, has been reported dead. Russia said he was onboard a private jet that crashed in the Tver region near Moscow, killing all 10 onboard."
Ukraine Women Flash As Helicopters Fly Over to Boost Morale: Pilot
Influencer works as 'emotional support stripper' in Ukraine - "An Instagram influencer who shipped out to help Ukraine amid the ongoing bloody war with Russia has found her niche aiding soldiers and volunteers as an “emotional support stripper.” Fan-Pei Koung, of Houston, Texas, created an OnlyFans account that is free for Ukrainian soldiers and volunteers, where she describes herself as “a globe-trotting girlfriend, now volunteering in Kharkiv.” The 33-year-old bombshell, whose content includes videos of stripteases as air raids sirens blare and shirtless photos with rocket launchers, does everything from “free emotional breastfeeding to soldiers and volunteers” to distributing cash donations to Ukrainians and volunteers, according to her OnlyFans profile, which states proceeds go toward her humanitarian efforts. “I’m the sexy girl in Ukraine who wants to volunteer, and will probably put out”... The 2015 Miss Taiwanese American Pageant competitor first headed to Ukraine in November 2022 to volunteer and assist refugees, working at women’s shelters and orphanages in Lviv, a city in the western part of the country, far from the front lines. The work, however, wasn’t all that different from her job experiences back home, which pushed Koung to look into assisting the military directly. Koung, who also won first prize in the NASA Space Health Challenge in 2014, moved to Ukraine full-time in February. She since assisted volunteered in the volatile eastern Donbas region by bringing water to those still living in bombed-out towns and offering emotional support to English-speaking soldiers while she learns Ukranian. “It’s a little soft core diplomacy I’m bringing,” Koung told The Post. “Everyone’s sending their strongest and finest, I wandered in and was like, ‘Hey whats up, wanna talk? I’ll give you a massage.'” Through her volunteer work on the ground, Koung struck up various romantic relationships with the men she’s met and is currently dating a Ukrainian drone operator, a power plant worker and two information technology workers... “People don’t talk about the sexual needs of the people of country at war,” she said with a laugh. “Think about the one part of you that needs to have a person you can confide in,” she added. “I try to do that for anyone who speaks English, or Ukrainian at a 3-year-old level.”"
Russia Places Metro Writer On Wanted List For "Discrediting" Military - "Dmitry Glukhovsky, author of the science fiction novel Metro 2033 and its sequels, has been placed on Russia's wanted list for his critical remarks regarding the country's invasion of Ukraine."
Putin says Wagner Group has no legal basis and therefore simply doesn’t exist
Convenient. The coup must've been imaginary
Collin Rugg on Twitter - "JUST IN: The FBI censored American citizens at the direction of Ukrainian intelligence by banning social media accounts that Ukraine determined to be a threat to their agenda. The FBI continues to be the greatest threat to democracy in America. According to a new report by the House Judiciary Committee, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube censored accounts that Ukraine determined to be 'spreading Russian disinformation.' Ukraine would send accounts to the FBI that they wanted banned and the FBI would then communicate with social media giants to take action. “In light of well-documented instances of the FBI’s civil liberties abuses, this new information raises grave concerns about the FBI’s credibility as the nation’s premier law enforcement organization,” said the report. “FBI violated the First Amendment rights of Americans and potentially undermined our national security.” Dismantle the FBI."
Meme - The Meme Policeman: "The Other 98%, meet The Other 98%. Beware, they are trying to fool you! It is entertaining to see them struggle to settle on a narrative, often posting contradicting memes in the same day, even same hour. But eventually I expect them to settle on the blame corporations narrative. When the really high gas prices get here, the solidarity narrative will become untenable and they'll return to their roots."
The Other 98%: "The largest oil and gas companies made nearly $200 BILLION in profits last year. There are ZERO reasons for regular folks to be paying a premium at the pumps while Big Oil feels no hit. Don't be fooled into thinking higher gas prices = Ukrainian solidarity. This is corporate greed and price gouging."
The Other 98%: "My wife and I are retired and on a fixed income. Yes, the rising price of gas will hurt us. But tonight we will sleep on a comfy bed. Our refrigerator is full, and we're not worried about about where our next meal is coming from. Our neighborhood looks the same today as it did yesterday. If I have to sacrifice a little to hurt Putin, so be it. It's nothing compared to what the Ukrainians are going through."
Russia, learning from costly mistakes, shifts battlefield tactics
Eat, Pray, Love author withdraws new Russia-set novel from publication - "Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert is pulling her new novel from publication after Ukrainian readers expressed “anger, sorrow, disappointment and pain” about her decision to set a book in Russia. Gilbert’s The Snow Forest is a historical novel set in Siberia, and follows a family of religious Russian fundamentalists who have lived isolated and undetected for 44 years since retreating from the world in the 1930s. When they are discovered in 1980 by a team of Soviet geologists, a scholar and linguist is sent to the family’s home to bridge the chasm between modern existence and their ancient, snow forest life."
You're not allowed to publish books featuring Russia now?
Natalia Antonova 🇺🇸🇺🇦 on Twitter - "Putin: *attacks Georgia*
Putin: *purposefully bombs Syrian civilians*
Putin: *annexes Crimea at gunpoint*
Putin: *destabilizes the Donbas*
Putin: *MH17*
Putin: *cyber attacks*
Putin: *massing troops*
Anti-imperialists: “Why is Biden being so aggressive 🥺”"
"Anti-imperialism" is just hating the West
Russia-Backed Fighter With Neo-Nazi Symbols on Sleeve Awarded Medal - "The head of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic in Ukraine has been seen in a video awarding a medal to a fighter for helping to kill "more than 250 nationalists." Published on April 3 through the Russia-backed republic's website, the footage also shows the fighter wearing symbols used by neo-Nazis on his sleeve."
So everyone should be glad that Nazis are killing Nazis, right?
Couple who fled Ukraine went back because of ‘terrible’ UK rental options - "A British-Ukrainian couple who fled the war in Ukraine for Britain have decided to move back to the war-torn country due to costs and conditions in the UK’s housing market. Joe Place, a British 29-year-old PhD student and content writer from Sheffield, South Yorkshire, and his wife Irina, a 34-year-old Ukrainian working as a content manager, left their home in Kyiv in February to escape the conflict in the country... “We realised we actually quite like it back here, and we’re OK,” Mr Place said. “We wouldn’t want to live back in Kyiv right now because it’s not safe, but where we are it is very safe, mostly anyway.” Mr Place said because Russia has been hitting Ukrainian infrastructure with missile strikes, they are prepared for electricity and heating outages."
So much for a war being dangerous
Insider Paper on Twitter - "NEW 🚨 Georgia’s prime minister told an international forum Wednesday that his government cannot afford to impose sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war as they would “devastate” the economy"
He's going to regret it when Putin is manipulated into invading Georgia again. Poor Putin, always forced to start wars he doesn't want to
Kazakhstan Moves to Curtail Parallel Trade to Russia - "customs controls in Kazakhstan have tightened, and the effects are starting to be felt in Russia. As Astana tries to avoid secondary sanctions, the country has begun to crack down on efforts to circumvent sanctions by routing goods through Kazakhstan. While Russia has legalized so-called parallel imports — the supply of products without the copyright holder’s permission — Kazakhstan has decided to block such transactions. Many companies, like Samsung, LG, Apple, Bosch, and others, opted to slow or pause sales in Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine. Yet these goods are sold in nearby countries, like Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which can serve as transit points for in-demand items. Washing machines are one example. As the Financial Times reported in March: “the number of washing machines exported to Russia from Kazakhstan rose from zero in 2021 to almost 100,000 in 2022.”... Given the technology involved in modern appliances, European officials aired concerns in late March that Moscow may be extracting semiconductors from washing machines and cameras, turning objects not necessarily associated with the military-industrial complex into dual-use goods."
What is a thermobaric or vacuum bomb? - "A thermobaric bomb (also called a vacuum or aerosol bomb - or fuel air explosive) consists of a fuel container with two separate explosive charges. This can be launched as a rocket or dropped as a bomb from aircraft. When it hits its target, the first explosive charge opens the container and widely scatters fuel mixture as a cloud. This cloud can penetrate any building openings or defences that are not totally sealed. A second charge then detonates the cloud, resulting in a huge fireball, a massive blast wave and a vacuum which sucks up all surrounding oxygen. The weapon can destroy reinforced buildings, equipment and kill or injure people... Given their devastating impact, and their usefulness against defenders who are dug in to buildings or bunkers, thermobaric bombs have mainly been used in urban environments."
The failure of Russia’s missile war in Ukraine - "Since February 2022, Russia has fired thousands of missiles and loitering munitions at Ukraine’s cities, infrastructure and military forces. These attacks have killed and maimed thousands of Ukrainian civilians and military personnel. Despite the heavy toll of Russia’s missile war on Ukraine, the attacks have, in the aggregate, failed to produce the kind of decisive strategic effects Moscow likely expected would bring about Ukrainian capitulation. My recently released report, Putin’s Missile War, attributes Russia’s underperformance to incompetency within its military and to Ukraine’s skillful use of air defenses and passive measures like dispersion and deception... In a successful strike campaign, one would expect a belligerent to become less dependent on stand-off strike assets over time as it wore down its adversary’s air force and air defenses. Yet Russia has experienced the opposite. Its failure to achieve air superiority in the early phases has caused an increasing dependence on missiles and other stand-off weapons, such as one-way attack drones, to strike targets anywhere beyond the front lines. In this way, Russia has become a victim of the kind of anti-access/area denial strategies it has sought to develop over many years... Although the impact of Ukrainian air defenses is difficult to independently confirm, the general trend lines suggest the force is growing more efficient and capable of thinning out Russian missile and drone salvos. At the start of the conflict, for instance, Ukraine was intercepting no more than 10% of incoming Russian cruise missiles. By early fall, Ukraine was claiming to intercept around half of Russian cruise missile salvos. By the end of 2022, after the arrival of longer-range Western air defenses like NASAMS and IRIS-T, Ukraine regularly claims to intercept 75%-80% of cruise missile salvos."
Deterrence After Ukraine—A Critical Analysis - "Before the invasion, a number of pundits on the Left and Right were confidently predicting that it would never happen, and that Western intelligence agencies and media outlets who reported otherwise were warmongering. Then, when the invasion duly began, a number of the same pundits declared Putin “unbalanced” or “mad” or “irrational”—someone who could not have been deterred by a rational cost-benefit analysis in any case. This kind of reasoning is a defense mechanism employed by individuals and organizations looking to explain away their own failures of judgment. But, as Shakespeare had Cassius observe, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.”
Noam Chomsky interview: “Ukraine is not a free actor, they’re dependent on what the US determines” - New Statesman - "Noam Chomsky: Russia is fighting more humanely than the US did in Iraq . The US linguist on the war in Ukraine, how the West is provoking China and why the UK is “not an independent country anymore”... Chomsky’s world-view does not leave space for Ukrainian agency. It is the “US and Britain” who have “refused” peace negotiations in Ukraine, Chomsky tells me, in order to further their own national interests, even as the country is being “battered, devastated”. That negotiations with Russia would mean de facto abandoning millions of Ukrainians to the whims of an aggressor that has shown itself capable of extraordinary brutality, such as in Bucha and Izyum, is dismissed. “Ukraine is not a free actor; they’re dependent on what the US determines,” he says, adding that the US is supplying Kyiv with weapons simply to weaken Russia. “For the US, this is a bargain. For a fraction of the colossal military budget, the US is able to severely degrade the military forces of its only real military adversary.” According to Chomsky, Russia is acting with restraint and moderation. He compares Russia’s way of fighting with the US’s during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, arguing that large-scale destruction of infrastructure seen in that conflict “hasn’t happened in Ukraine”. He adds: “Undoubtedly Russia could do it, presumably with conventional weapons. [Russia] could make Kyiv as unliveable as Baghdad was, could move in to attacking supply lines in western Ukraine.” When I asked him to clarify whether he was implying that Russia is fighting more humanely in Ukraine than the US did in Iraq, Chomsky replies, “I’m not implying it, it’s obvious.” Delegations of UN inspectors had to be withdrawn once the invasion of Iraq began, he says, “because the attack was so severe and extreme… That’s the US and British style of war.” Chomsky adds: “Take a look at casualties. All I know is the official numbers… the official UN numbers are about 8,000 civilian casualties [in Ukraine]. How many civilian casualties were there when the US and Britain attacked Iraq?” The number of foreign dignitaries who have travelled to Kyiv since the war broke out is proof of Russia’s restraint, Chomsky says, in stark contrast with Iraq. “When the US and Britain were smashing Baghdad to pieces, did any foreign leaders go to visit Baghdad? No, because when the US and Britain go to war, they go for the jugular. They destroy everything: communications, transportation, energy, shock and awe – anything that makes society function.” Estimates of civilian deaths from the invasion of Iraq vary widely. An estimate by the Iraq Body Count project (IBC), considered one of the most comprehensive databases of deaths during the Iraq War, puts the total civilian death toll at between 186,000 and 210,000 in the 20 years since the 2003 invasion, which it says is likely an under-count. Almost 25,000 of those deaths are directly attributable to the US-led coalition and its Iraqi allies. The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded 8,490 civilians killed and 14,244 injured in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s invasion 14 months ago. However, it “believes that the actual figures are considerably higher” because of poor data from areas with high civilian casualties, such as the city of Mariupol in the south. Ukrainian officials believe that tens of thousands – perhaps up to 50,000 people – died in Mariupol alone during Russia’s siege of the city in 2022. At times, Chomsky’s ideological priors lead him to overlook facts that might contradict his narrative. For instance, Sweden and Finland, which had been officially non-aligned for 210 and 73 years, respectively, both applied to join Nato in May 2022. To most observers, the end of their decades of neutrality might seem at least tangentially related to the invasion of Ukraine three months earlier. However, Chomsky says that both countries seeking to join Nato had “nothing to do with fear of a Russian attack, which has never been even conceived”. Claims that Russia could threaten either country amount to “Western propaganda”, he adds. Instead, Chomsky argues that joining Nato gives the military industries of both Nordic countries “great new market opportunities [and] new access to advanced equipment”. In fact, both countries explicitly cited the invasion of Ukraine as the reason behind their applications to join Nato. Moreover, within living memory, Finland fought off Soviet attempts to conquer and annex the country. The Winter War of 1939-40 against the USSR still shapes Finnish attitudes to Russia. Finland joined Nato on 4 April, while Sweden’s application continues to be held up by Turkey’s objections."
When you just hate the West
Progressive activist locks down her social media account after backlash from bizarre Putin tweet - "A progressive activist shut down her Twitter account after receiving an avalanche of laughter and criticism over her claim about Russian President Vladimir Putin being aided by white supremacy. Janel Forsythe identified herself as a "communications specialist" for non-profit organizations and for progressive causes, but her tweet about Putin had some unintended consequences. "This isn't discussed much, but Putin very much benefits from white privilege," Forsythe tweeted. "I just can't see a scenario in which a Black or Brown man running Russia would be allowed to invade Ukraine with no devastating consequences (see Crimea in 2014)," she added."
Elon Musk should give my Blue check mark to charity, says Stephen King - "“I think Mr. Musk should give my blue check to charity. I recommend the Prytula Foundation, which provides lifesaving services in Ukraine. It’s only USD 8, so perhaps Mr. Musk could add a bit more,” he tweeted. King’s tweet to Musk came after the latter claimed that he retained his blue check even without subscribing to the platform’s blue check service, which now costs USD 8 per month. “My Twitter account says I’ve subscribed to Twitter Blue,” King said. “I haven’t. My Twitter account says I’ve given a phone number. I haven’t.” King’s tweet on charity did not go down well with Musk. He hit back at the author by announcing his USD 100 million donation to Ukraine and questioned the former’s contribution.’ “I’ve donated USD 100M to Ukraine, how much have you donated? (We turned down the DoD money btw),” Musk asked."
Meme - "Stop talking about Ukraine. What about Iraq?"
"Territories of Iraq annexed by the United States: *blank*
Territories of Ukraine annexed by Russia:"
BBC Radio 4 - Best of Today, Changing attitudes to peace and war in Germany - "'We have as German Peace Society demonstrations on Saturday in many many places in Germany and I see that in Berlin in this very special and a very um right-wing-left-wing tension. It might be problematic and our German Peace Society clearly says there's no place for neo-nazis or right-wing people in our demonstrations we don't want them...
My plea is let's invest in peace and not anymore and more and more and now we want to give 100 a billion dollars uh in into our army. I think that's not the way towards the future. Less weapons and less war'...
'I'm from Israel and my, I'm Jewish and I live in Berlin so the dark humor is like I know that that's what helps'...
'Sergey laI met Vladimir Putin in 1994 when he was a totally unknown sidekick of the mayor of Saint Petersburg and at the end of the conversation he suddenly piped up and said we have to remember that there are territories that have always always been Russian and he specifically mentioned Crimea, which are now outside Russia and 25 million Russians outside the Russian Federation and we have a duty to protect them. So the Imperialist revanchist Instinct was there from the very beginning. Sergey Lavrov the Russian foreign minister is reported as saying recently that Vladimir Putin has only three advisers. Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great and Catherine the Greatvrov'"
To the far left, anyone to the right of Stalin is "far right"
Clearly you don't need to invest in defence and if you get invaded by Russia, just blame the right wing
BBC Radio 4 - Best of Today, Ukraine war anniversary - "‘Sometimes it's difficult for men to accept that they Commander or Deputy Commander is a woman. That's why I need to be a strong character to show them that it's not just a woman in front of them. I always say, firstly I'm an officer, then I'm a woman, and then I'm blonde’...
‘You previously called for a boycott of the prominent Russian composer Tchaikovsky. Some would say well why punish the Russian people? This is the war of politicians and President Putin in particular’
‘Uh these people elected this President. These people are waving flags two days ago, greeting his speech about war in Ukraine. It's also a responsibility of those who are not publicly claiming against war, against Putin. So for us doesn't exist, uh good Russians. Uh, there are probably, there are some Russians who are publicly opposed Putin and this war. Then we can talk. But until war is not finished, it's not fair to say that uh, official Russian culture representatives like Anna Netrepka want to pretend that ballet and opera is something that Putin regime look like. No, they are aggressors’
‘That's, that's very damning to say there are no good Russians. We know many Russians left the country in protests against the war. Many protests and whatever they way they can in in the country. They're your neighbors, they're not going anywhere’
‘Uh let's withdraw troops and let's be punished by what they did in Ukraine and then we can talk’"
Russia convicts father of teen who drew antiwar picture - "A Russian court on Tuesday convicted a single father over social media posts critical of the war in Ukraine and sentenced him to two years in prison — a case brought against him after his daughter’s drawing at school opposed the invasion... Alexei Moskalyov fled house arrest before his verdict was delivered in his Russian hometown of Yefremov... The broad government campaign of repression has been unseen since the Soviet era... In Moscow last week, police raided two bars suspected of raising funds for Ukraine’s military. According to media reports, police played patriotic songs and forced the guests to sing along during the raid. At least 40 people were briefly detained. Another recent raid in the capital targeted an event dedicated to the jailed artist Sasha Skochilenko, who is on trial for spreading false information about the army. The event’s participants reported being beaten by police or threatened with rape."
BBC Radio 4 - From Our Own Correspondent Podcast, Ukraine’s unified resistance - "'I've just spent three weeks filming the escalation of this terrible War witnessing its impact on the local population and their response to it, almost always in Russian. In three weeks I didn't meet a single person who expressed support or sympathy for the Kremlin's military operation'"
Meme - "help ukraine"
"cut military spending"
*dilemma*
Meme - "Why does this steak look like it's about to invade Ukraine? *Putin*"
Meme - *Ukraine flag hat* "JESUS IS MY SAVIOR. ZELENSKY IS MY PRESIDENT"
Nationalism is only bad and dangerous for Western countries
Ukraine war: new figures suggest only one in four Russians support it, but that won't be enough to oust Putin - "Leaked internal Russian government polling recently indicated that as few as one in four Russians may be in favour of the war in Ukraine. Analysts believe that the forced mobilisation of over 300,000 civilians and the high level of casualties have all contributed to waning support for Russia’s war effort... the results were “consistent with a separate October 2022 survey [conducted by the independent Levada Center] which found that 57% respondents reported being in favour of talks”... a bottom-up regime change would require far greater popular discontent. A noted study by US researchers Erica Chenoweth and Maria Stephan has shown that for protests to be successful, there would need to be at least 3.5% of the population – in Russia’s case, 5 million people – taking to the streets against the regime. So far we’ve only seen thousands willing to brave reaction from the security services by expressing their discontent with Putin’s leadership. And the Russian public is far too polarised to ensure the success of a revolution or a coup attempt. This is the most salient takeaway from the most recent polling. Russia’s climate of division is more conducive to a dictatorship than a healthy democracy. An online experiment by academics from the US and Germany, the results of which were published in blog form in June 2022, found that citizens that supported the war were willing to punish fellow citizens who did not share their views on the conflict. Based on my interviews a couple of months ago with Russians who fled to Georgia, this bitter disagreement exists within members of the same family."
Given how polarised the US is, healthy democracy is not in the cards
Russian Public Support for War Plummets – Leaked Poll - "On Oct. 1, a widely circulated video on social media showed the friend of a Russian reservist attempting to break his friend’s arm with a sledgehammer so he could not be sent to the front lines in Ukraine... the mobilization of over 300,000 reservists has created the biggest labor shortage in Russia since 1993"
The Sirius Report on Twitter - "US has approved sale of $619m for missiles for Taiwan’s F-16 fleet in a new arms deal. As ever China just needs to ignore this US provocation. They are desperate for China to invade or attack Taiwan to justify sanctioning Beijing and to say, see we told you China is an aggressor"
Xi should be insulted. The anti-West squad think he's as easily manipulated as Putin is, such that China can be forced to invade Taiwan
He Did It Again - General Secretary Admits NATO Has Been at War Against Russia in Ukraine Since 2014 - "NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stepped in front of the cameras for an impromptu presser following a meeting of the NATO Defence Ministers at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium."
Amazing. By this logic the US declared an offensive war on Nazi Germany because of lend lease, which means they were the aggressors