'Leaked' Documents: British HMS Defender Stunt Near Crimea Was An Intentional Provocation
Last week someone 'leaked' a number of confidential papers from the British Ministry of Defence to the BBC:
Classified Ministry of Defence documents containing details about HMS Defender and the British military have been found at a bus stop in Kent.One set of documents discusses the likely Russian reaction to the ship's passage through Ukrainian waters off the Crimea coast on Wednesday.
Another details plans for a possible UK military presence in Afghanistan after the US-led Nato operation there ends.
...
The documents, almost 50 pages in all, were found in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early on Tuesday morning.A member of the public, who wishes to remain anonymous, contacted the BBC when he realised the sensitive nature of the contents.
The BBC believes the documents, which include emails and PowerPoint presentations, originated in the office of a senior official at the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Last week saw a provocative move against Russia by a British warship in the Black Sea.
The documents include this map which shows two potential routes that the HMS Defender could have taken to sail from Odessa in the Ukraine to Batumi in Georgia.
bigger
The British government ordered the ship to take the aggressive route through territorial waters of Crimea which the Russian government had announced to be off limits. Those three designated off-limits zones are marked on the British map!
Taking that route was patently illegal under international law. The map thus proves that the move of the HMS Defender was an intended provocation, not an 'innocent passage' as the British government had originally claimed.
The BBC acknowledges this but insists on the false claim that the British move was legal:
Following the controversy generated by HMS Defender's mission, the documents discovered in Kent confirm that passage through the TSS was a calculated decision by the British government to make a show of support for Ukraine, despite the possible risks involved.Was this gunboat diplomacy?
It was certainly the use of a warship in pursuit of diplomatic goals. But its primary objective was not to "poke the Russian bear" (a phrase and sentiment conspicuously absent from the documents). This was all about freedom of navigation and a clear endorsement of Ukraine's sovereignty, following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Meanwhile Russia has adopted new policies on how to handle repeats of such provocations. Until recently the response from the Russian border guards to infractions in its territorial waters was the firing of machine canons as warning shots followed by aerial bombing of the target. The bombing of a ship could lead to significant casualties. The new policy will allow more nuanced responses:
The Russian Ministry of Defense is creating a unified procedure for Russian aviation against ships violating the state border in response to the incident involving a British warship in the Black Sea on June 23, Izvestia writes. The new regulations will cover the use of lighter weapons to reduce the risk of serious military incidents since the use of conventional aerial bombs can be too dangerous.
...
The regulations are now under the consideration of the main command of the Navy and the Aerospace Forces. It will revise the set of weapons that aviation can use to fire warning shots against intruders. A proposal has been put forward to abandon the use of aerial bombs in favor of unguided aircraft missiles, sources in the military department told Izvestia.
The next ship that tries to repeat the HMS Defender's stunt will leave with some holes in its hull and upper structures.
The other main part of the leak is about U.S. requests to Britain to leave special operation forces in Afghanistan even after the NATO pullout:
[O]ne document, addressed to Ben Wallace's private secretary, and marked "Secret UK Eyes Only", outlines highly sensitive recommendations for the UK's military footprint in Afghanistan, following the end of Operation Resolute Support, the Nato operation currently winding down in the wake of President Biden's decision earlier this year to withdraw American forces.The document discusses an American request for British assistance in several specific areas, and addresses the question of whether any British special forces will remain in Afghanistan once the withdrawal is complete.
Media reports have already suggested Britain is considering leaving some forces behind.
To keep special operation forces in Afghanistan without the backing of air support and a well protected logistic train would be lunatic. There will soon come a phase in Afghanistan during which the Taliban will fight against local warlords and drug kingpins in what will be number of highly chaotic battles. The Brits know this:
"Any UK footprint in Afghanistan that persists... is assessed to be vulnerable to targeting by a complex network of actors," it says, noting that "the option to withdraw completely remains."
Afghanistan, it says, is already becoming more dangerous.
The reduced presence of Nato forces "is already impairing the situational awareness that we (and the US) used to enjoy across the country".
The 'leak' to the BBC may not have come out of the Ministry of Defence or the military. There have been reports in the British press that the Foreign Ministry had opposed the decision to send the HMS Defender through Crimean waters:
In a report released on Thursday night, the [Telegraph newspaper] – known to be close to Prime Minister Boris Johnson – alleged that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had "raised concerns" about the mission, proposed by defense chiefs, in advance. He was reportedly worried that the move could hand a potential victory to Moscow.The account of events claims that Johnson was ultimately called in to settle the dispute.
The 'leak' may thus to be a round in a fight within the British cabinet over a more or less aggressive foreign policy.
Posted by b on June 27, 2021 at 11:30 UTC | Permalink
Well the brits are doing what Amerika wants I do believe and it's about to get really weird.
https://smoothiex12.blogspot.com/2021/06/so-it-is-confirmed.html
Thanks b
Posted by: jo6pac | Jun 27 2021 11:45 utc | 2
Come on. "Leaked"? "Found"? Ad least Russians did semi-believable story with Status-6 photos of news conference (it was Russian general holding the paper during official briefing).
This crap may be printed by some kids/Iranians/Santa Claus, then mailed to BBC.
Posted by: Abe | Jun 27 2021 12:17 utc | 3
In a report released on Thursday night, the [Telegraph newspaper] – known to be close to Prime Minister Boris Johnson – alleged that Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had "raised concerns" about the mission, proposed by defense chiefs, in advance. He was reportedly worried that the move could hand a potential victory to Moscow.
The account of events claims that Johnson was ultimately called in to settle the dispute.
The 'leak' may thus to be a round in a fight within the British cabinet over a more or less aggressive foreign policy.
If Raab opposed the mission on the grounds that it would hand victory to Russia, he is not going to hand even more victory to Russia by leaking such incriminating documents, is he?
More likely it was a lower level official who opposed the mission because it was illegal and imoral, and because he opposed the principle of provoking Russia.
Posted by: BM | Jun 27 2021 12:25 utc | 4
Someone lost that or it was planted there. Not many people with that kind of information ride the bus? Seems more intentional then accidental. Or this is another example of the danger of powerpoint files. Should not be hard to track down who in the uk was working on the Defender route and troop levels in Afghanistan.
Posted by: ozz | Jun 27 2021 12:33 utc | 5
Maybe the Russians can bomb them with exploding foam bombs. Expanding, fast setting ones. With bright fluorescent, indelible dye.
Or foul their propellers, forcing them to be towed to port and arrest.
Humiliation is better than kinetic force in some situations.
Posted by: Memory loss | Jun 27 2021 12:39 utc | 6
It is known the Soviet KGB and now Russian FSB have some of the best covert penetration agents in the world.
There is the famous case of "Kim" Philby, a British intelligence officer and a double agent for the Soviet Union. A member of the Cambridge Five, he worked at the highest levels of MI6. The movie "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" was about him.
If I had to bet, this was a Russian agent high up in MI5, MI6 or something like that, that smuggled these out for the Kremlin.
Putin decided it was best to possibly blow this agent's cover and extract so the world could see just what the Brits are up to.
Posted by: Mar man | Jun 27 2021 12:46 utc | 7
100% chance this was intentionally leaked by the Brits themselves, rather than foreign intelligence. If the leak had not been orchestrated, the BBC would have shredded the documents rather than reporting about them.
Posted by: Donbass Lives Matter | Jun 27 2021 12:54 utc | 8
The problem with right of innocent passage is that is has to be... innocent.
Showing the flag is not innocent passage, nor is demonstrating ones right to innocent passage. Making any political point is "propaganda", explicitly ruled as non-innocent in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. The British Operation Ditroite was a freedom of navigation exercise, like the ones the US Navy regularly executes in and around disputed waters in the South China Sea. It cannot be both at the same time.
***
The voyage of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth to the Pacific is starting to remind me of the voyage of the Imperial Russian Baltic Fleet from Tallinn and Liepāja to the bottom of the Tsushima Strait in 1905. Blunder after blunder!
The latest incident has its analog in the Dogger Bank incident of October 1904. I will just quote Wikipedia:
The Russians had heard fictitious reports of Japanese torpedo boats operating in the area and were on high alert. In the Dogger Bank incident, the Russian fleet mistook a group of British fishing trawlers operating near the Dogger Bank at night for hostile Japanese ships. The fleet fired upon the small civilian vessels, killing several British fishermen; one trawler was sunk while another six were damaged.[15] In confusion, the Russians even fired upon two of their vessels, killing some of their own men. The firing continued for twenty minutes before Rozhestvensky ordered firing to cease; greater loss of life was avoided only because the Russian gunnery was highly inaccurate
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Jun 27 2021 13:00 utc | 9
Soggy documents at a bus stop 'leaked' to BBC propaganda outfit. LOL.
This story is all wet.
Someone is taking a piss. A piss on Ben Wallace?
Ben Wallace: UK 'must be prepared to fight wars without US'
Ben Wallace said the prospect of the US stepping back from its international leadership role under Donald Trump "keeps me awake at night".
By inference: Wallace would do anything to keep USA from "stepping back from its international leadership role". Was it Wallace that approved sailing a British ship into Russian waters and keeping British Special Forces in Afghanistan - at the behest of the Biden Administration?
Is BoJo throwing Wallace under the bus after media reporting that BoJo made the ultimate decision?
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jun 27 2021 13:08 utc | 10
Continuing from @Jun27 13:08 #10
This leak is NOT LIKELY to be a "fight within the British cabinet over a more or less aggressive foreign policy" - just a BoJo CYA.
IMO the Empire-driven "aggressive foreign policy" is not in any danger.
!!
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Jun 27 2021 13:15 utc | 11
After messing about off Bahrain, HMS Defender is now reported on marinetrafficdotcom as having departed Batumi in Georgia yesterday but current location is reported as Persian Gulf while it's plotted as being moored off Torquay in Devon. The sea off Torquay is frequently inhabited by out-of-work cargo ships, tankers and cruise liners, but a warship would moor up in Plymouth Sound or berth at Portsmouth.
Using the IMO number (4907878), vesselfinderdotcom reports that HMS Defender is underway off Bahrain.
Posted by: Ghost Ship | Jun 27 2021 13:19 utc | 12
The little cur with the ribbons and bows has got feisty now that Massa has let him get off the lap. And what bravery, baiting the bear.
Just wait till he's swiped with the bear claws...
Posted by: morongobill | Jun 27 2021 13:20 utc | 13
The new policy will allow more nuanced responses:
That statement seems very strange. First they say "next time we will shoot to hit" and "sink" to send a message of getting tough; then they come out with a statement that in future they won't use aerial bombs because they are too dangerous. I think that cannot be taken at face value. The "more nuanced" statement seems implausible, as it seriously undermines the deterrant value, in my view.
Maybe the real meaning is exactly the opposite - next time, they will immediately sink the ship with no further ado.
Why now? Maybe the Russians have intelligence that the British have definite plans to penetrate Russian territorial waters during the Sea Breeze games next week, and the HMS Defender incident was a trial run to test Russian resolve - maybe the Russian intention in issuing the above statement is to say "go ahead and try it on" ... and then immediately sink the intruders as soon as they enter.
I was a bit puzzled why they were so lax with the Defender. Why didn't they electronically immobilise the ship, as they had done with a US ship one time, then tow it into port and arrest all the crew for the war crime of aggression, and confiscate the ship. The crew might subsequently be released in exchange for political favours. If, instead, they were to be light on the Defender and then sink (or immobilise and tow) an intruder during the Sea Breeze games when it had 31 other ships as backup, that would send a pretty strong signal to the US and NATO about Russian capabilities and resolve. While sinking one ship they might also electronically immobilise others to prevent them interfering.
A lot of maybe's, sorry about that!
Posted by: BM | Jun 27 2021 13:22 utc | 14
seems that BoJo s time is ending sooner than he would wish
Posted by: Mina | Jun 27 2021 13:24 utc | 15
32 NATO ships in the Black Sea for the games next week, and they already have an established reputation for colligions. Would Russia be planning to give a helping hand, perhaps? A few timely and well-placed spoof GPS signals to help nudge ships into colliding with each other ... what need for Russia to sink intruding Nato vessels if they can be encouraged to sink each other themselves, after all?
Posted by: BM | Jun 27 2021 13:34 utc | 16
Looks like US/UK to engage on multiple fronts.
The surface ships are for the public consumtion.
I suspect the real target is Syria.
Posted by: jared | Jun 27 2021 13:38 utc | 17
BBC? That's like giving the Pentagon Papers back to the Pentagon. BBC is State Media betrothed to the Crown. So this wasn't a leak at all, but PR. Who for what I leave to better experts.
Posted by: gottlieb | Jun 27 2021 13:54 utc | 18
The Russia should bomb them with fresh manure.. that is the only thing that the brits deserve for their nefarious arrogance and hatred for Russia
Posted by: Virgile | Jun 27 2021 14:12 utc | 19
@ Abe #3 who says: 'This crap may be printed by some kids/Iranians/Santa Claus, then mailed to BBC.'
So according to your 'theory' these documents are fake?
Why then would MoD admit publicly that some 'sensitive papers' have been lost?
A spokesperson for the ministry said that an employee had reported the loss of sensitive papers, adding that it would be “inappropriate” to comment further.An investigation is now underway to determine how the documents ended up at the bus stop, the BBC said.
---news report in RT
Posted by: Gordog | Jun 27 2021 14:17 utc | 20
Ukraine is already starting to crack:
China welcomes Ukraine U-turn on Xinjiang human rights call
Time is running out for the West on the Ukrainian question...
After reconsidering the situation, I came to the conclusion that it was the best thing that could happen. It completely removed any ambiguity about the space around Crimea. Everyone knows now what happens when the next time a ship enters that space. That's really good. Nobody can claim anymore, the Russians provoced it. No accidents can happen anymore. Everyone knows: The next one who does it wants to start a war.
Posted by: A Helberg | Jun 27 2021 14:27 utc | 22
The new regulations will cover the use of lighter weapons to reduce the risk of serious military incidents since the use of conventional aerial bombs can be too dangerous. ...A proposal has been put forward to abandon the use of aerial bombs in favor of unguided aircraft missiles, sources in the military department told Izvestia.
Pretty funny when you think about that one. No one can say the Russians don't have a sense of humor.
Posted by: circumspect | Jun 27 2021 14:51 utc | 23
Pretty funny when you think about that one. No one can say the Russians don't have a sense of humor.
Posted by: circumspect | Jun 27 2021 14:51 utc | 23
Yep, deadpan and dry as a bone. It's like a secret language.
Posted by: Bemildred | Jun 27 2021 14:53 utc | 24
As others have noted, the fact that BBC reported this changes the possible provenance of these papers considerably.
I completely forgot about the British DSMA-Notice (Defence and Security Media Advisory Notice) capability. So my original hypothesis of a possible Russian leak looks far less likely.
As I understand it, there is no way the BBC could report on this without government permission.
This brings some palace intrigue into play. This "leak" blows the lid completely off the official British narrative and makes Boris Johnson look like a reckless fool endangering not only a Royal Navy destroyer, but whole country by pulling UK into a war with Russia.
This might expose some serious cracks in UK politics at the highest levels.
Posted by: Mar man | Jun 27 2021 15:00 utc | 25
Exercise Sea Breeze starts tomorrow and continues to July 10, with a few activities extending through July 23. Considering that in the best of times the US Navy cannot avoid bashing into commercial shipping and attempts to redirect lighthouses the chances of an incident are rather large. Even if there were no Intent chances of an incident are large.
Should a USUK ship, or any craft of any sort (what does the Moldova Navy have?) enter Russian waters that ship will almost certainly be promptly sent to the bottom. At which point the possibility of a full scale nuclear exchange is greater than zero. There would be very little reason for Russia to make a measured and minor response.They have done that already. Russia could send all 32 ships and all 40 aircraft to the bottom. To demonstrate that they can. What then? Wait for the US to behave reasonably?
I am not saying any of the above will happen. The game being played is dangerous. The players are morons.
Any who think this is a small sideshow, who imagine it is page 3 amusement for the commentariat.........
Posted by: Oldhippie | Jun 27 2021 15:15 utc | 26
...A proposal has been put forward to abandon the use of aerial bombs in favor of unguided aircraft missiles,
Clearly this is so that the holes will be smaller and unlikely to set the ship(s) on fire. The smoke would also be more visible as a warning
However, the finding of "papers" is just another diversion. The scenarios for tomorrow include the following items....
...The arrival of many ships for the "exercise". Which does not seem to have happened yet.
...The big demonstrations in London.
***
.....and the folowing scandal which is about to break;
Hancock and corruption?
Whilst you’ve been distracted by His affair, PHE released a report revealing 62% of alleged Covid deaths are people who’ve been vaccinated.
Plus; the primary intended use for Midazolam purchased in France was end of life, ----as--- was stated explicitly to NHS, (who) definitely anticipated mass death on general wards & that was why they wanted such quantities- (Midolazam was administered to OAP's as a "sedative" if dying from Covid).
***
Israel; For monday; 135 Palestinian families in al-Bustan neighbourhood in #Silwan town are threatened with forced displacement tomorrow. 'Israel' will replace their beautiful neighbourhood with a settler national park!
Plus; Arrest of inhabitants of Sheik Jarrah, one by one, but unremarked because of the elimination of independent (Non-US controlled) news outlets.
Posted by: Stonebird | Jun 27 2021 15:20 utc | 27
The orchestrated "blunder" does confirm at least a couple of things. One is that the Brits have decided that if the US is going to be stepping back a bit from foreign entanglements (because domestically and financially it has little choice), they want to be first in line of the lapdogs to step in and fill any vacuum. So they're trying to ingratiate themselves to the Ukrainians, hoping to insert themselves into that feed trough, and they're discussing trying to be the last Anglo standing in Afghanistan, for a similar reason. I'm sure we'll be seeing stepped up meddling in Syria as well. All the better that milking those cows fits in perfectly with their long-term Russia hatred.
The other thing it seems to confirm is that the UK is going through serious factional in-fighting, just as is occurring in the US. As someone already mentioned, the UK press is even more unapologetically subservient to the government in general and special services in particular than US press, so the fact that the information was printed means it was meant to be printed, at least by one of the factions. I'm suspecting that even though BoJo went along with the war mongers in this particular incident, in general the MI6-types and British version of their "deep state" don't trust him to do their bidding unquestioningly (similar to the way Trump was brought to heel, but never trusted or liked). So I expect that faction decided good to weaken BoJo, make him look foolish and impulsive, and essentially make him own what was originally their plan. I suspect that faction thought they couldn't lose--if the Russians over-reacted, they win because they'll use it as ammo for killing NS2 and the softening relations between the US and Russia, and if it fails to accomplish that, they can make BoJo look like an irresponsible fool (not that hard, but....). Notice how the press is bashing BoJo, but no-one is asking "so who's the dumbass who presented this "plan" to BoJo in the first place?
Posted by: J Swift | Jun 27 2021 15:21 utc | 28
Re; the UK political infighting mentioned in b's post;
"The 'leak' may thus to be a round in a fight within the British cabinet over a more or less aggressive foreign policy."
There is also a definite move to get Starmer out and remplace him with that noted war-monger - Blair. (Most of the new figures in "Labour" are supposed to be ex-blairites). He of course, would jump at the possibility, if it could lead him back to the "big money".
Posted by: Stonebird | Jun 27 2021 15:32 utc | 29
So, say the Russian navy (even more clapped-out and shrunken than ours) managed to find a ship in good enough condition to get to the South Atlantic. Say it then loaded aboard some Moscow journalists. And say the Russians decided they were actively backing Argentinian claims to the 'Malvinas'.
And say they got 'permission' from Buenos Aires to pass through 'Argentine territorial waters' in the Falkland Sound, and Moscow's media ran a big story, with film of RAF Typhoons flying low over their grim, grey ship and the Russian reporters all dolled up in combat kit.
Peter Hitchens
Posted by: Keith McClary | Jun 27 2021 15:53 utc | 30
Documents “found” at a bus stop? Are they kidding us? Top secret information? Even a child would see how stupid this whole story is.
Posted by: Jose Garcia | Jun 27 2021 16:08 utc | 31
Posted by: Gordog | Jun 27 2021 14:17 utc | 20
It is definitely fake, made by someone up the UK government. Leak is bullshit, but story who and why is doing the infighting up there is probably more interesting in days to come.
BBC is government mouth piece and wouldn't/couldn't publish "sensitive gov" info without consulting with that same gov first. They did that and got green light to publish it. So, gov would only green light BS they themselves made and sent it to BBC, hence - the "leak".
Would they leak crucial info themselves? Of course not. Even with infighting, who ever did that risks life sentence if info is real. Julian did less and ended up worse. So, it is not crucial info, it was published by UK gov themselves... you connect the dots.
Posted by: Abe | Jun 27 2021 16:19 utc | 32
I always print my Powerpoints to read on the bus home.
Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 27 2021 16:44 utc | 33
Russian foreign ministry mocks UK: ‘007 agents aren’t what they used to be’
Zacharova:
In reality, London has demonstrated yet another provocative action followed by a bunch of lies to cover it up. 007 agents are not what they used to be.
Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 27 2021 16:53 utc | 34
Posted by: Jose Garcia | Jun 27 2021 16:08 utc | 31
> Documents “found” at a bus stop? Are they kidding us? Top secret information? Even a child would see how stupid this whole story is.
You are right. Then again, intended audience had been served with years of steady "Skripal doorknob licking neuro-toxin theory", so...
Posted by: Abe | Jun 27 2021 17:10 utc | 35
The shit show continues until it doesn't....
So the BBC goes from no reporting on the story for a day or so and then this....the great unraveling is before us and it can't happen fast enough for me
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 27 2021 18:01 utc | 36
@m #1 undoubtedly there are many reasons to hold the airport, but question is, can they hold the airport, once all country is under the taliban. Is not easy to have CRAMs at the airport, also taliban are more hostile than irqi shiite militias
Posted by: Svaya | Jun 27 2021 18:06 utc | 37
I always print my Powerpoints to read on the bus home.
Posted by: Norwegian | Jun 27 2021 16:44 utc | 33
And I'm always looking in bus stop garbage cans for soggy documents.
Posted by: arby | Jun 27 2021 18:22 utc | 38
@ vk | Jun 27 2021 16:17 utc | 14
It's really not fair to call
Pr. Didier Raoult a "charlatan".
When/as YOU know, we are deleted or banned.
https://www.mediterranee-infection.com/
He is a Medic for 40 years, far away from a talkinghead.
You can "private" BShitting forever.
And even don't worth a comment
~~~
And what's up Doc VK about India?
Home of Delta Variant. You alert us A FEW WEEKS AGO for a deadly tsunami and....
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/india/
Posted by: TRUTHAHN | Jun 27 2021 18:44 utc | 39
The Russian message:
we can damage your ships enough with our (special) unguided bullets. No need for expensive guided bombs or missiles. We spare them for serious business.
Posted by: Dutch | Jun 27 2021 19:45 utc | 40
Documents real or fake? Whistle blowers are on five-eyes number one wanted list. That they publish government criminal activities is apparently irrelevant. According to five-eyes, the theft of a few bits of government paper is a far larger crime.
According to Putin, it was the actual scientists involved in the Manhattan Project that sent technical information to the soviet union. The Rosenberg were just the couriers. They knew that the US having that sort of power at their disposal would certainly use it.
This current quest by five-eyes to retain dominance is just that. Not ideological like cold war 1.0. There will be, like the scientists of the Manhattan Project, plenty of leakers.
So, a whistle blower dumps documents at a bus stop. Somebody just happens to pick up the wet papers and read them, and also happens to realize they are secret government documents????
Those sort of papers would be very traceable. Only a limited number of people would see them, and only a limited number of copies in circulation. Giving them to a journalist, dumping them at a bus stop... either way makes little difference when it comes to tracking down possible suspects.
Disagreeing factions amongst their lordships? One faction trying to take the other down? The doco dumper protected by some lordships in high places??
Posted by: Peter AU1 | Jun 27 2021 20:15 utc | 41
Civil Servants in the past may well have carried paper copies of confidential documents on public transport, as the only way to get through the workload. After all, one does not simply drive into Whitehall and park one's car there.
Indeed luggage and laptops do sometimes get left on buses and trains, but this story does not sound remotely plausible.
As for the BBC's relationship with the government, on some issues (like bashing Russia) it is relentlessly on-message. On others (like trying to get Brexit done) it is definitely not. It seems to have a more secure relationship with MI6, who are a feature of the permanent establishment, like themselves, than with ministers and a cabinet who, after all, may only be there because the ghastly proles voted for them, and then probably not for very long. I've always assumed than on taking high office, ministers in sensitive departments get immediately taken into a room and shown the Zapruder film, which ensures their good behaviour. Or even a photo of Robin Cook might suffice, who followed the script in one war but not the next one.
So in short, the spooks in Vauxhall must have cleared this. Presumably the Russians calculated this too which is why they declared it a laughable fake. Unless, as others have mentioned, it is a court intrigue, with the target presumably being Boris. What the hell do they think Britain will be doing staying behind in Afghanistan? It's absurd. I know these imperialist fools have delusions of grandeur but they can't possibly be that stupid. Or can they?
Posted by: Ash Naz | Jun 27 2021 21:27 utc | 42
Russia's new guidelines for engaging these incursions are a masterful slight to the Hato beast. These stunts have no military value and do not threaten Russia in any way so treat them like the frat boy pranks they are! By publicly saying they will treat these events with a velvet glove, they not only prevent any unintended consequences, they denigrate Nato's capabilities and for a puffed up phony like blighty that is like being turned away from a private club. When dealing with cowards and children, use the flat of the blade...not the edge.
Posted by: Peter The High King | Jun 27 2021 21:38 utc | 43
@ Ash Naz | Jun 27 2021 21:27 utc | 42 who wrote
"
I know these imperialist fools have delusions of grandeur but they can't possibly be that stupid. Or can they?
"
Nice summary of the dissonance, thanks.
Unfortunately, those imperialist fools have been in grandeur control of our spinning orb for centuries and I posit their current delusions are of keeping that grandeur control.
So far, this HMS Defender skit is below B grade but that doesn't mean it can't be turned into some Wag the Dog event given the right propaganda expert.......Real life TV serials, whoda thunk.....stay tuned for commercials for vaccines.....
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 27 2021 22:12 utc | 44
The Russians need to develop a new weapon filled with the excrement of the finest British cows and drop these on any trespassing toy boats. Bomb them with their own bullsh*t.
Posted by: Sad Canuck | Jun 27 2021 22:16 utc | 45
I thought it timely to recall this Michael Ledeen quote:
Crappy Little Countries, In Theory And Practice
You probably remember Jonah Goldberg's endorsement of Michael Ledeen's worldview:
I've long been an admirer of, if not a full-fledged subscriber to, what I call the "Ledeen Doctrine"..."Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business.
The unipolar moment has passed and the Anglo/Zionists haven't realised it, they are still busy attempting to realise the objectives of the Yinon Plan.
Posted by: Paul | Jun 27 2021 23:50 utc | 46
This article is referenced here:
The Amerikastani website The Drive suggested, in an article oozing with anti Russian condescension, that the Defender may have been so far away from the patrol boat that it "was not aware of the warning shots".
To which I made this response:
"Brutish propaganda is full of claims about how great their destroyer the HMS Provocateur, er, Defender, is, how many hundreds of targets its radar is allegedly capable of tracking, yet the Brutal crew aboard this tin can, according to this article, "may have not been aware" that the Russian patrol boat was firing warning shots at it? Is the author of this article stupid, or does he imagine that his readers are?"
Posted by: Biswapriya Purkayast | Jun 28 2021 0:03 utc | 47
The documents werent planted at a bus stop at all. Another lie. They were leaked directly to the media. Thats cover so the media/mod connection isnt hinted at.
Posted by: Hermius | Jun 28 2021 0:32 utc | 48
I would think that the neo-nazi crowd in the Ukraine would be honored and humbled that Boris would sacrifice the lives of UK sailors for them. I have to wonder if the everyday Brit is happy to support a possible shooting war with Russia just for bragging rights? If the missile technologies the Russians have developed are real, then the Russians could easily sink the entire UK Navy literally anywhere in the world.
Posted by: Erelis | Jun 28 2021 1:45 utc | 49
What is very clear is just how insecure the blighty regimes is. Pathetic!
Posted by: Drool britania | Jun 28 2021 2:34 utc | 50
Maybe the Russians can bomb them with exploding foam bombs. Expanding, fast setting ones. With bright fluorescent, indelible dye. Or foul their propellers, forcing them to be towed to port and arrest.
Humiliation is better than kinetic force in some situations.
Posted by: Memory loss | Jun 27 2021 12:39 utc | 6
Brilliant! I would love to see that...or something like it. There is nothing more devastating to the morale of someone who takes himself too seriously than to take the piss out of him. And it would completely defuse the situation, I believe. Killing 240 British sailors for a technical transgression of a boundary - when the transgression cannot cause real invasive damage - would paint the Russians in a bad light. Much as it did the Turks when they shot down the Russian fighter for an incidental supposed infringement of their air space. (Even NATO paused and seemed to say "WTF?") There is a good reason why the establishment sics the late night comedians on their enemies.
Posted by: Activist Potato | Jun 28 2021 3:06 utc | 51
This might expose some serious cracks in UK politics at the highest levels.
Posted by: Mar man | Jun 27 2021 15:00 utc | 25
Yes. The Brits have a complete idiot in charge and those who don't want to be run by an idiot are doing what they can... including the BBC.
Posted by: Activist Potato | Jun 28 2021 3:23 utc | 52
Posted by: Activist Potato | Jun 28 2021 3:23 utc | 51
Yes, Boris seems to be the canonical British aristo, ignorant of all but his own high social status, bigoted, and full of self-confidence.
Posted by: Bemildred | Jun 28 2021 6:59 utc | 53
Should a USUK ship, or any craft of any sort (what does the Moldova Navy have?) enter Russian waters
Posted by: Oldhippie | Jun 27 2021 15:15 utc | 26
An inflatable rubber mannequin er, sorry, dinghy perhaps? Or maybe just a traditional 8 foot wooden row boat?
Posted by: BM | Jun 28 2021 7:38 utc | 54
It's clear that the change in caliber means they wish to preserve whatever wreck is left over rather than sink it. If they can merely disable the engines of the trespassing craft and document its position, that should diffuse the possibility of escalation somewhat.
Posted by: Skiffer | Jun 28 2021 10:39 utc | 55
thanks b. I have been stealing all your excellent research (and adding a bit of my own) on my blog.
So, I mean it. Thanks for your research.
The marking of the areas of the Notice to Mariners on the map is the in-your-face part of this. But, it indicates that the Royal Navy are not incompetent but being instructed by idiots. "Global Britain" spin rubbish. The oft missed point is that BoJo put the lives of UK civilians and military personnel at risk for his own ego.
Posted by: Donny Matter | Jun 28 2021 11:39 utc | 56
Of course the Cabinet Office of the U.K. could have organised a D-Notice on the ‘bus stop’ secret documents.
The fact that it hasn’t and the DS controlled MSM were obviously told to peddle they shaggy dog story does not take a scooby doo to figure.
As b points out there may be some internal local difficulties between the Mod /FCO career civil servants. More an arm wrestle than an actual hostility. But in recent years actual honest folk have been weeded out / removed from positions of influence. Going back to Dr Kelly of the fake WMD casualty of the gangsters.
Certainly in no way can Raab be described to be any less Brittannia mentally Unhinged than the rest of the current Cabinet, all cut from the same bubbling cloning vat they were cooked up in. Bozo the head clown included when he too was posted to the FCO as part of his CV for the Top Job of BrexShiteer in Chief.
As with the collective MSM ‘anger’ ‘Unleashed’ over the weekend against the departing muppet HandCock. It is nothing more than collective Narrative Management.
As is the installation of the ex DeutcheBank boy wizard Javid , the poster boy who made the bomb that blew up the banks in 2008, back to sell off the remaining NHS.
Who along with strapping on Dildo Hardon, has as much knowledge of health and medical issues as any dumb Ayn Rand KoolAid swiller - if you bleed to death from a paper cut you are not fit to survive ...etc nonsense.
I wouldn’t trust them to provide a band-aid never mind a whole Health Service. The strange crime of shagging in the office with a placed mistress being worse than 200k avoidable deaths ; and grand larceny, graft and boot filling spivs from a war time Treasury public funds open tap.
Posted by: DG | Jun 28 2021 11:51 utc | 57
@ B Purkayast, who mentions an article about HMS Defender's magical radar capabilities in 'The Drive', a popular online outlet which purports to talk 'authoritatively' about matters of weapons technology.
Yes, they really are that stupid.
One of the best-known writers in these US 'military-tech' outlets is one David Axe. From his wikipedia entry:
David Axe is an American military correspondent, blogger, and graphic novelist.Axe founded the website War is Boring in 2007 as a webcomic, and later developed it into a news blog.
A 'graphic novelist' who started a 'webcomics' site!
Yeah, that's the perfect academic and professional background for being a 'military correspondent' and writing about high-tech aerospace and weapons tech, lol!
The US has become disneyland!
Posted by: Gordog | Jun 28 2021 13:19 utc | 58
While we have been concentrating on the zones adjacent to Crimea, there is also a “rectangle” off the Kerch peninsula near the Kerch Strait, which connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and is of importance for the export of grain and steel from Ukraine.
. . .map image here
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 28 2021 16:29 utc | 59
What I see is a clash of reality with wishful thinking. The reality belongs to Russia as they correctly see Ukraine being invaded by foreign forces, its government overthrown by local Nazi-like forces, which are anathema to Russia, and thus a threat to Russian nationals and Russian national security which resulted in the legal repatriation of Crimea to Russia and the defense of their rights by Russian nationals. The wishful thinking belongs to NATO which has deluded itself into thinking that NATO didn't invade Ukraine or have anything to do with the armed Coup; that Russia stole--annexed--Crimea from the legal government of Ukraine and that the Russian nationals defending themselves are actually an invasion force or 5th column resisting ouster by the legitimate Ukrainian authorities, none of whom are Nazis or Nazi sympathizers. All that began 7 years ago--no, that's incorrect. All that began well before the fall of the USSR--how else were the Nazi currents kept alive for so long if not by the West. And for Russia, Ukraine was clearly a problem by 2004. And who is it that tells those "governing" Ukraine to ignore the UNSC-endorsed Minsk Accords? NATO. And we all know who gives the orders at NATO, and its not the Brits.
Further delusion is evident in this provocation as proven by the map which recognizes the exclusion zones. As I wrote when this incident occurred, if it had been a Syrian vessel inside the 12-mile line off Gaza, the Zionists would have attacked and tried to sink it, all the while screaming we have the right to self-defense. And still NATO persists in its delusion, of which it seems to have several.
@ 60
And the situation worsens as Ukraine and Georgia move up in the NATO admission process.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 28 2021 17:10 utc | 61
ASB News / MILITARY @ASBMilitary
Boris Johnson asked if UK is lying about HMS Defender “no warning shots fired”
His response: “well, they’re the bear”
[VIDEO]
https://twitter.com/ASBMilitary/status/1408582961658798080
Posted by: Mao | Jun 28 2021 19:12 utc | 62
Don Bacon @60--
Thanks for your reply! Relative to your remark is an observation made by The Saker in his analysis of this incident blends with my reality/delusion meme and takes us back to 1991:
"Third, what just happened is yet another clear sign that the EU is profoundly dysfunctional. After the end of the USSR in 1991, Russophobic Neocons in the West decided to make the Russians 'pay' by incorporating ex WTO and ex Soviet Republics into NATO. At first, it looked great, but now it has become clear that the blowback from this truly idiotic policy has many unexpected benefits for Russia and major problems for the Empire. They include:
"Russia got rid of all the Soviet periphery which was bleeding the Soviet Union dry.
"None of the newly created states has become a viable, successful state.
"The Empire spent many billions trying to prop up these newly independent states (ex USSR and eastern Europe) and tried to turn them into some anti-Russia showcase. They totally and comprehensively failed.
"Now the UK and, even more so, the 3B+PU have taken the EU hostage and are preventing the countries which matter from, well, mattering anymore.
"Countries bordering Russia are now all demanding NATO troops, which puts the latter in the worst possible position, right across the Russian border and, therefore, within range of too many Russian weapons to list here.
"Last, but not least, the stupid and, frankly, totally irresponsible actions of countries like the UK and the Ukraine risk involving all of Europe in a most dangerous and devastating war."
It would be interesting to know just how many $$Billions were squandered on what's still an ongoing attempt at expansion--with no return. The Saker's essay's good, IMO, as he makes several points I haven't included. He concludes thusly:
"Post scriptum: this just in – the USS Ross (DDG-71), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer in the United States Navy, has just entered to Black Sea on her way to Odessa where the Ukies are preparing manoevers if their 'mosquito fleet' in the latest 'Sea Breeze' NATO maneuvers (the biggest ones to date – 30 countries participate!). The Ukies have also declared that the Ross plans to follow the exact same course as the Defender did. The Russians? They announced that the USS Ross is now a “fat target” on their coastal defense missiles Bal and Bastion."
If the Ross tries, IMO she'll be interdicted at its first point-of-entry and disabled.
@Don Bacon(#59): The Kerch Strait allows a passage with 8m draught only. This seaway is really complex and all ships need a pilot for transit. Odessa or YUZHNY havens are more convenient and w/o Russian influence.
Posted by: Wolle | Jun 28 2021 20:47 utc | 64
@ karlof1 | Jun 28 2021 20:37 utc | 63 who continues to provide the MoA barflies with timely updates of our spinning world
Thank you even though most of the news is about ongoing conflict and potential for more...sigh
Desperate folks take desperate measures....time for a little one ship EMP interdiction if the Ross tries the same stunt
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jun 28 2021 20:50 utc | 65
@ Wolle 65
Yes, the Sea of Azov is shallow, used to be called a swamp, and so only shallow draft ships (boats) are usable. In fact it hardly rates as a "sea." . . .That said, we might expect more propaganda about it like when Russia captured a few boats). . . Atlantic Council: "The Russian Navy has also regularly disrupted merchant shipping moving to and from Ukraine’s Azov Sea ports in what critics say amounts to a partial blockade." They quote UNCLOS but I doubt UNCLOS applies.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 28 2021 21:45 utc | 66
@ Karlof 63
Countries bordering Russia are now all demanding NATO troops, which puts the latter in the worst possible position, right across the Russian border and, therefore, within range of too many Russian weapons to list here.
That is not a bad thing.
Yes, I've commented before about 'forward basing' being a strategy for peace. Just consider the Gulf situation where the US has been threatening military action against Iran for decades, all options on the table, with real men going to Tehran, but it hasn't happened. The best the US could do is back Iraq against Iran. And why is this? Because the US has 50,000 troops and some dependents stationed around the Gulf, all vulnerable to destruction if Iran were to be attacked.
Posted by: Don Bacon | Jun 28 2021 21:56 utc | 67
@Don Bacon(#66): After the HMS "Defender" aka HMS "Inselaffen" ;-) joggled on the front door. The big brother from the other side of Atlantic will smash into the Sea of Azov with an aircraft carrier.
I would prefer USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)! This will stop the Ukrainian exports of steel and grain definitely and w/o any Russian interference! Sarcasm off!
Posted by: Wolle | Jun 28 2021 23:28 utc | 68
But CVN-78 needs pilots for this innocent passage into the Sea of Azov. I can recommend the ultimate dream team Petrov&Boshirov! LOL!
Posted by: Wolle | Jun 28 2021 23:37 utc | 69
What about the Crimeans themselves?
https://consortiumnews.com/2015/03/22/crimeans-keep-saying-no-to-ukraine/
Posted by: Jim C. | Jul 2 2021 4:03 utc | 70
You think secret documents were left in rubbish by accident? And then they were found before they could be destroyed and then sent to journalists? Please do not think like a child. We need people to think straight so we can sort out the mess in our world.
Posted by: Gul | Jul 19 2021 18:25 utc | 71
The comments to this entry are closed.
"To keep special operation forces in Afghanistan without the backing of air support and a well protected logistic train would be lunatic."
That`s why the Kabul airport has to be held.
Posted by: m | Jun 27 2021 11:40 utc | 1