Another Crazy Plot By A Ukrainian Secret Service Just Blew Up - Flimsy Excuses Follow
In May 2018 the Ukrainian secret security service SBU faked the murder of the Russian 'journalist' Arkady Babchenko in Kiev for very questionable reasons. The murder had first been blamed on Russia.
The SBU claimed that by faking the murder they would uncover a real Russian murderer which made no sense.
It later turned out that the whole thing was part of a corporate raid:
The staged murder, with a fake cadaver, a fake killer and a fake operator behind it, was endorsed (video) at the highest levels of the Ukrainian government.
"Western" media used the hoax to accuse and defame Russia and its president Putin without the slightest supporting evidence. That alone is already a serious mess and reveals the utter failure of "western" journalism and media.
The background of the case, a takeover of a company by illegal means, demonstrates the total social failure of the "western" coup in Ukraine. The worst of the worst, robber barons like Poroschenko and criminal bankers like Kolomoisky went on to steal billions of "western" aid while the Ukrainian state fell apart. Defying the courts the power of the state is secretly abused for slapstick worthy plots to grab up industrial assets.
The victims are the people of Ukraine who get robbed of their means and their security. Russia, the permanent boogeyman of the "west", is least to blame for it.
In August 2020 there was another crazy SBU plot which a month later unraveled:
On August 7 we reported how the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU, in the guise of a private military company, hired former Russian and Ukrainian soldiers allegedly for jobs in Venezuela. All the hired men had previously fought on the 'Russian side' of Ukrainian civil war in the Donbas region. The men were told to go to the Belorussian capital Minsk from where they were supposed to be later flown to Venezuela to guard oil installations.
The Ukrainian SBU then told the Belorussian security service KGB that the Russian mercenaries, who were then waiting in a resort near Minsk, were in Belarus to overthrow its president Lukashenko. The men were arrested and Lukashenko made a public fuss about the alleged Russian coup against him. Ukraine then asked for the extradition of the men. It had plans to indict them for their involvement in the Donbas war.
But just a few days after the men were arrested the whole plan unraveled. Russian media proved without doubt that the men had been tricked to go to Belarus and that they had no plans to overthrow Lukashenko. The Belorussian president apologized and the men were returned to Russia. As the Russian broadsheet kp.ru summarized (machine translation):
...
That version of the story has since been confirmed by the Ukrainian side (see below).
The original plot was indeed to get the former Russian soldiers (who had fought in Donbas) to Kiev by high jacking their plane on the way from Minsk to Turkey. Someone in the Zelensky government had prevented that by contacting the Belorussians.
Today we learn about another crazy Ukrainian plot. The Russian news agency Tass reports of it (machine translation):
FSB thwarted Ukrainian military intelligence operation to hijack Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft
MOSCOW, 25 July. /TASS/. The FSB of Russia disrupted the operation of the Ukrainian military intelligence to hijack the planes of the Russian Aerospace Forces, which was supervised by the NATO special services. This was reported to TASS on Monday at the Center for Public Relations (CSP) of the FSB of Russia.
"The Federal Security Service uncovered and stopped the operation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to hijack combat aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, supervised by NATO special services," the CSO noted.The FSB reported that "Ukrainian military intelligence officers, acting on behalf of the political leadership of their country, tried to recruit Russian military pilots for a monetary reward and guarantees of obtaining citizenship of one of the EU countries, to persuade them to fly and land aircraft at airfields controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
As noted in the special service, the identification of these plans by the counterintelligence of the FSB also made it possible to strike at a number of Ukrainian military facilities. "In the course of the operational game, Russian counterintelligence officers obtained information that helped our armed forces inflict fire damage on a number of Ukrainian military facilities," the FSB said. In addition, employees of the Ukrainian special services involved in the operation and their accomplices have been identified.
From the FSB video with a conversation with a Ukrainian intelligence representative, it follows that the Russian Aerospace Forces were ready to pay up to $2 million for the hijacked plane.
You may want to watch the video on the TASS site. It shows excerpts from Telegram chats, maps and flight plans, as well as a recording of the plotters talking with one pilot.
The basic story has been confirmed by Christo Grozev, who works for the British disinformation service Bellingcat as lead Russia investigator. But Grozev is giving the story a very different slant:
Christo Grozev @christogrozev - 11:51 UTC · Jul 25, 2022Today FSB announced that they have “foiled a plot by Ukraine’s intelligence services” to lure Russian military pilots to surrender to Ukraine – with their planes – in return for millions of USD in payments (thread).
Using a traditional mix of forged "evidence" and loosely interpreted facts, the FSB also accused me personally of being involved in the plane-hijacking plot (on screen: totally forged message, I never had a UK number, obviously).
What is true, however, is I was involved in this crazier-than-fiction story of triple-agents, fake passports and faux girlfriends - as a documentary film maker. Yes, we were chronicling one of the wackiest counter-counter-intel operations of all time. And the docu is still on.
While Russia is presenting today this as a coup for its counter intelligence, in fact the operation was a serious blunder for the FSB, disclosing unintentionally identities of dozens of counter intel officers, their methods of operation, and their undercover assets.
Remember the Wagner sting operation in Belarus? Well, as Russia invaded Ukraine, some of the Ukrainian operatives who engineered that sting decided to repeat it: this time by enticing RU military pilots to surrender. In April, Ukraine adopted an “weapons-surrender-incentive law”
A team of Ukrainian operatives decided to approach Russian pilots with an offer based on this law. We found out about the initiative, and assured ourselves a front seat – to make a documentary about this brazen operation.
Several Russian military pilots were approached and even sent “proof-of-access” videos from inside their planes, in each case bearing a separate number hand-written on pieces of paper. Some of the footage from the inside of the planes was quite detailed and enlightening.
(Note that now FSB are presenting these videos as "controlled leaks" - while at the same time blurring the inside of the cockpit on TV).
The “negotiations” between the Ukrainian recruiters and the pilots, which we filmed, started out as expected, but their tone changed quickly, suggesting the pilots were no longer talking on their own behalf but were “coached” – likely by FSB military counter-intelligence officers
A clear clue that the FSB had intercepted the communications came when one of the pilots suddenly said he no longer wanted to get his wife out of the country, but his "lover" instead.
It took me about 5 minutes to discover that the pilot's "lover" (waaay too hot for him, FSB) was an FSB asset, working as a fitness trainer by day, but moonlighting as an FSB girlfriend-for-hire the rest of the time. (The Ukrainians figured that out too).
Nor did the pilot seem to know anything about his "girlfriend's" background (he was earnestly surprised she even had a travel passport, and that she had been in Istanbul a few months ago, and to Barcelona a year earlier).
...but I also found out throughout the process of her "boyfriend's negotiations with the Ukrainians, she she had been talking to an FSB military counter-intel officer.
Another clue came when a different pilot suddenly asked his Ukrainian counterparts for advice in incapacitating his co-pilot with a sedative.
At this point, it became clear to me that the original luring operation was over – and had turned into a double “operational game” in which both sides were trying to extract maximum information from the other, while feeding them maximum disinfo.
The Ukrainians started feeding the "pilots" - imem the FSB -fake maps of their anti-aircraft deployments, as well as disinfo on the operational airstrips.
At the same time, the pilots sent (probabably equally fake) approach and descent maps of their own. We kept filming.(At one point, the Ukrainians even convinced the FSB to send the wife of one of the pilots - along with a whole FSB tailing team - to Minsk, waiting for a promised "meet up" with the Ukrainians handlers. The FSB waited in vain for 4 days)
This bizarre mutual-deceipt game came to an end when the FSB realized no one will show up at any of the suggested meet-ups (FSB were keen to identify Ukrainian agents), realizing they've been burned. And the Ukrainians realized they're likely not getting a real pilot either.
Despite the unexpected ending (so far), we still plan to finish this crazy film.
Grozev's long account of him being involved as only a documentary film maker is unconvincing to me.
- The plot by whomever was certainly done in secret. So how would Grozev find out about it?
- Why would any secret service allow some outsider to film a documentary while they are implementing such a plot? Fact is, none would.
- How and why would the Russian FSB know that Grozev was involved in the whole thing if he was only documenting it?
- Why would it accuse him of being involved, including with chat screenshots he now claims are fake, if he played no active role in it?
More likely is that Grozev was part of the crazy scheme and helped the plotters with his 'investigating' experience.
The whole thing blew up and they now need a story, any story, that makes the failure look good. Grozev is providing that to an international audience.
The SBU did the same in the crazy fake murder of Arkady Babchenko case. They did the same after the crazy Wagner plot blew up.
Are you telling me that the people behind this would refrain from offering flimsy excuses now that their latest crazy plot has been exposed?
Posted by b on July 25, 2022 at 14:24 UTC | Permalink
next page »More bullshit, a few yankee dollars spread around, and a few headlines for mass consumption. Just another day living under the Anglo American NATO death cult.
Posted by: circumspect | Jul 25 2022 14:36 utc | 2
Read and watch this and start thinking!
Military Reporter: Debates On Necessity To Destroy Ukrainian Infrastructure
https://southfront.org/military-reporter-debates-on-necessity-to-destroy-ukrainian-infrastructure/
Vladlen Tatarsky is military reporter from the Donbass. In 2014 he joined the People’s Militia in Gorlovka, served in the Vityaz regiment of the LPR. Today Vladlen Tatarsky is back on the front line, as a special military correspondent.
In his video report on July 20, he explained that it is necessary to destroy strategic infrastructure facilities in order to fulfill the tasks of Russian military operations, up to use of TACTICAL NICLEAR WEAPOMS in Ukraine, and ongoing debates on this issue in Russia.
.. continue reading and watch video on southfront.org and start thinking to what that goes to
Posted by: Peter | Jul 25 2022 14:43 utc | 3
Elene Evdokimova has more info and video from the Russian side on this issue.
Christo Grozev is a Bulgarian, and a leading disinformation news "reporter" at the major disinformation agency Bellingcat. 😋
Posted by: ostro | Jul 25 2022 14:50 utc | 5
From IntelSlava
🇷🇺🇺🇦⚡After the strike on the port of Odessa, "Harpoons" do not pose a threat to the Russian Federation - Lavrov
Posted by: Down South | Jul 25 2022 14:50 utc | 6
It seems this theft scheme is a humilating response to the deep humiliation of Russia aquiring HIMAR.
Truly seems this dramody is entering final act - doing as necessary to keep flow of funds from west and supress the people long enough to transport the booty.
If something were to happen to Zelensky, perhaps that would distract from CIATO humiliation.
Posted by: jared | Jul 25 2022 14:52 utc | 7
These capers will continue as long as the racket continues to produce mega $ for all connected, not forgetting the $ for the big guy. Look for other “evidence” of Russian imminent collapse and lack of morale to keep the western public complacently paying up.
Posted by: Caliman | Jul 25 2022 14:53 utc | 8
Usual BoilingCrap nonsense.
It is really funny that the BC author seems oblivious that this statement
It took me about 5 minutes to discover that the pilot's "lover" (waaay too hot for him, FSB) was an FSB asset, working as a fitness trainer by day, but moonlighting as an FSB girlfriend-for-hire the rest of the time. (The Ukrainians figured that out too).
self incriminates by providing proof that this so-called "documentary" film maker was doing active spycraft.
Posted by: c1ue | Jul 25 2022 14:56 utc | 9
@2 circumspect
yankee dollars spread around
Yeah, interesting variation on the general theme of extracting money from the proxy war sponsor (Bellingcat's being the poster child of this phenomenon, in the department of fabricated informational products - they manage to feed a whole ecosystem of bullshit artists). In this case, as there is apparently UA legislation mandating this bribery, a recipient literally *has* to be created on the other side.
At the same time there's also some possibility the whole thing originally began with a pilot who genuinely fell for this scam, and covered his ass in the obvious way after being caught.
Posted by: ptb | Jul 25 2022 15:01 utc | 10
They should've resurrected Ian Fleming, instead of Grozev...😋
Posted by: ostro | Jul 25 2022 15:01 utc | 11
Slight typo - that should be August 2020 rather than August 2000.
Posted by: farm ecologist | Jul 25 2022 15:05 utc | 12
@Down South #6, seems fairly unbelievable that Ukraine was storing its entire stock of Harpoons on a dry dock and a patrol boat(?) next to another dock adjacent to the grain silos. Also no evidence of secondary explosions from those strikes that I've seen. Count me as a big skeptic of Lavrov's claim - I guess the proof would be if the Black Sea Fleet returns to maneuvering within ranges that have been denied by those weapons.
Posted by: yenwoda | Jul 25 2022 15:06 utc | 13
My question is how much more of this sort of stuff is going on that is not detected?
Evidently not enough to have made a difference, yet....grin
Posted by: psychohistorian | Jul 25 2022 15:06 utc | 14
FSB Thwarts NATO-Supervised Ukrainian Intel Operation to Hijack Russian Combat Aircraft
"The Russian Federal Security Service uncovered and stopped the operation of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense to hijack combat aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, supervised by NATO special services," the FSB said in a statement.
Ukrainian military intelligence officers, acting on behalf of the political leadership of their country, tried to recruit Russian military pilots for a monetary reward and guarantees of obtaining citizenship of one of the EU countries, the statement said, adding that the Ukrainian officers attempted to persuade them to land aircraft at airfields controlled by the Ukrainian military.
The employees of the Ukrainian special services involved in this operation and their accomplices have been identified, the FSB added.
The security service said the the UK was providing major assistance to Kiev in this operation. At the same time, Christo Grozev, the executive director of the investigative journalist group Bellingcat (listed as a foreign agent in Russia), participated in the operation, FSB noted. According to Grozev's correspondence with one of the participants in the operation, Grozev had found two couriers who met a contact from Moscow hired by Ukrainian intel through his coordinator. He was carrying an advance payment of $4,000 for any pilot who would agree to hijack the warplane.
According to a video clip published by the authorities, Ukrainian agents tried to bribe the pilots, offering up to $2 million to hijack Su-24, Su-34, or Tu-22 aircraft.
They also said that the EU has been notified about the plan and will ensure their safety if the operation is successful.
Previously, reports suggested that NATO and US intel in particular are heavily involved in the Ukrainian crisis, as their agents are deployed to back Kiev against Moscow in a bid to stop the Russian special military op in Ukraine.
The news about the foiled operation come as Ukrainian troops failed to break through the Russian defensive line in the Kherson region.
Meanwhile, Kiev's forces are gradually being pressed out of the Donbass region; Russian servicemen and Donbass militia are advancing, having fully liberated the territory of the LPR earlier this month."
Posted by: Operation Hijack | Jul 25 2022 15:17 utc | 15
Christo Grozev's story is about as convincing as the Sherlock Holmes costume that he poses in for his Twitter avatar.
He's now tweeted a half an hour ago that the SBU had nothing to do with the plan
The Ukrainian operation was not a project of either SBU or GUR. (If it were, there'd be no way we would - or want to - get access to it). It was organized by maverick ex operatives whom we got to know in the Wagner investigation.
Grozev is not just Bellingcat's lead Russia investigator, he's also their CEO. His predecessor Eliot Higgins tweeted that in previous investigations "Christo spent about 150k of his own money on data." and that he got that money "By being a very successful businessman." Very generous of him, and he's not funded by anyone else at all!
Posted by: Brendan | Jul 25 2022 15:29 utc | 16
The spin that FSB counterintelligence officers were "exposed" is particularly forced. There is no particular reason for counterintelligence officers to work secretly Physical security of intelligence materials, probably the number one task, doesn't require it. Noticing whether people with access are suddenly flaunting unexplained wealth or are falling to pieces with alcoholism or drug addiction or mental health issues, might be the number two task. That's doesn't require secrecy either. Cameras would be better to surveil embassy personnel nowadays, rather than plainclothes. Open surveillance even has a deterrent effect. The only thing that might would be covert attempts to recruit your own people by officers pretending to be foreign agents. But personally my judgment is the damage from entrapping your own personnel would be vastly greater than the improbable benefit. Better to improve classification so that only a more manageable amount of genuinely sensitive data is to be protected. That's more feasible.
Posted by: steven t johnson | Jul 25 2022 15:42 utc | 17
Hollywood comes to Ukraine. In 1982, Firefox was made. Perhaps a few barflies saw it. It's a Cold War thriller with Clint Eastwood as #1 star who is tasked with stealing the USSR's newest jet that the West has no comparison. To get it to work, he must think in Russian as the helmet he wears is attuned to acting on the pilot's thoughts. Forty years later, the same plot is attempted. I wonder if the Officer's Club strike was one of those bits of actionable info that was developed as a result. But as seems rather clear, Russia's ability to harvest and act upon illegal intelligence is superior to all players.
NATO countries, governments and their complicit Main Stream Media have gone all-in supporting the corrupt Zelensky, his corrupt oligarch backer Ihor Kolomoyskyi and the Nationalist Militia. Ukraine's sectarian, partisan bitter civil war is like Northern Ireland on steroids. In the case of NI, there are probably less than 1000 nutters, on each side, but the whole population supports one side or the other (nationalist / unionist, Catholic / Protestant, Irish Ancestry / Scottish Ancestry). The difference with Ukraine, is the numbers and more recent history (WWII).
Putin's support in Russia is growing while many NATO country leaderships are rapidly falling apart. Food inflation is just starting, shortages come next, then the cost of winter fuel after that. Quite how long plutocrats can hold all these Kakistocracy governments and goons in place will be interesting. When they fall, the chaos will be epic.
Posted by: ft | Jul 25 2022 15:53 utc | 20
Posted by: tim rourke | Jul 25 2022 15:05 utc | 12
Thanks Tim. As a Canadian (Ont), I look forward to reading it & passing it along to my fellow lemmings, er, citizens...
Posted by: ianMoone | Jul 25 2022 15:53 utc | 21
thanks b.... lies and deceit seem to be a permanent feature of the intel agencies... it makes sense beillingcrap is in on it, as they are an arm of the intel agencies posing as independent journalists... it disturbs me how much money is devoted to all this and as i have said and karlof1 mentions - the hollywoodization of all of this is kind of depressing... apparently hollywood is about the only thing the usa and friends excel at.. make believe bullshit..
@ Brendan | Jul 25 2022 15:29 utc | 17
thanks for all that..
Posted by: james | Jul 25 2022 16:03 utc | 22
NATO countries, governments and their complicit Main Stream Media have gone all-in supporting the corrupt Zelensky, his corrupt oligarch backer Ihor Kolomoyskyi and the Nationalist Militia. .Posted by: ft | Jul 25 2022 15:53 utc | 21
Ihor Kolomoisky was Zelensky's original backer, motivated by his falling out with Poroshenko. Zelensky's original desire for peace in the east was genuine, since war was bad for Kolomoisky's businesses.
However, in September 2021 the US put Kolomoisky on its sanctions list, and that signaled the official transfer of Zelensky's ownership to the US State Department and CIA.
There is much speculation that Zelensky is about to be taken out, and Russia blamed. If anyone has both motive and opportunity it is Kolomoisky, he created Zelensky and was then outbid by the USA.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jul 25 2022 16:09 utc | 23
Posted by: tim rourke | Jul 25 2022 15:05 utc | 12Thanks Tim. As a Canadian (Ont), I look forward to reading it & passing it along to my fellow lemmings, er, citizens...
Posted by: ianMoone | Jul 25 2022 15:53 utc | 22
Seriously??? It was a complete waste of time.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jul 25 2022 16:16 utc | 24
@ Opport Knocks | Jul 25 2022 16:09 utc | 24
if zelensky is taken out- regardless of who does it - it will be blamed on russia.. that is a given.. no facts needed... the western msm echo chamber will look after all the rest...
Posted by: james | Jul 25 2022 16:17 utc | 25
Thank you b; Your reporting has exceeded the quality of the remaining media outlets by a wide margin. You call a duck for what it is and point out the facts. The others that have class now include all of your work. The truth will do that!
I have a real problem with Andrei that is the Saker. He demonstrates a very totalitarian mindset that relies on faith to instruct him and set his values. His most recent post included diatribe, mythical assumptions and an understandable hatred for much of the west. But it isn't reporting nor is it non partisan journalism. I don't count on the site for truth, but they do bring other voices in to their credit.
I raise my glass of bier to you, danke schoen
Posted by: Tard | Jul 25 2022 16:26 utc | 27
I've always wondered why James Bond’s missions, despite their ultra-secret nature, were filmed without any of the protagonists seeming to notice. Well, I have the explanation! He was accompanied by even more top secret teams from Bellingcat.
Posted by: Leuk | Jul 25 2022 16:28 utc | 28
I note for the record that in today's New York Times (7/25/22) there is ZERO coverage of Ukraine. The propaganda wind has shifted.
Posted by: HH | Jul 25 2022 16:31 utc | 29
Considering that Glazev mentions a couple of times "I found out it was BS because...", his involvement obviously goes a bit deeper than "We just met Ukrainian dudes and drank a few beers and chatted about fighter jets". By the way, if he actually found out on his own something SBU didn't notice yet, no way he'd keep it to himself.
That said, he's quite wrong in an obvious part: "She can't be your girlfriend, she's way too hot for you". The hot girls ratio in Russia is high enough, and the "great-looking guys" ratio is low enough for this to actually be realistic. You'd thought someone who's specialty is current Russia would be aware of it.
Posted by: Clueless Joe | Jul 25 2022 16:31 utc | 30
"Seriously??? It was a complete waste of time."
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jul 25 2022 16:16 utc | 25
Posted by: james | Jul 25 2022 16:18 utc | 27
Fair point. But I did say I have yet to read it (and still do)
Rest assured, if it's not worthy, I won't pass it along
But I felt compelled to at least acknowledge the effort of a fellow Canadian, especially those of the open-minded variety as they are in short supply...
Posted by: ianMoone | Jul 25 2022 16:39 utc | 31
Grozev was also involved with the fake “Navalny” documentary, which also coincidentally had the filmmakers at the ready just as the subject was “poisoned”.
Posted by: jayc | Jul 25 2022 16:59 utc | 32
The blowing up of these stores makes little difference as long as the general public in the USA/Canada continues to believe that their state media (cbc/pbs/abc) and major networks actually report honestly -- as opposed to psychopathic oligarchy controlled, lying, propaganda organ used to manufacture consent.
It is great to have sources like this blog for the minority of us that are aware of the propaganda problem. Sometimes I feel like I am crazy to think we are ruled by a psychopaths, then I read another good article and the comments here, or an alternate source for example, analyzing the assignation of Shinzo Abe -- and I am encouraged to continue the fight to red pill people.
Posted by: Peter | Jul 25 2022 17:00 utc | 33
Kiev is the Cuckoo's Nest. The entire society is psychotic, schizoid, with many of them pathologically degenerate.
None of their behaviors are normal, nor should anyone expect them to be.
Russia will soon 'sedate' the entirety of Ukraine, slip its arms into straightjackets, lobotomize the leaders, and medicate the masses (metaphorically speaking).
They were driven mad by seven generations of corrupt and criminal leaders and enticed into madness by the EU and US.
Expect more until they are 'institutionalized completely'.
Posted by: Red Ryder | Jul 25 2022 17:08 utc | 34
#6 and #14 - Lavrov on Harpoons - he didn't say ALL Ukraine's Harpoons had been hit, just the ones in this particular location. "As for the targets hit by high-precision weapons, they are located in a separate part of the Odessa port, the so-called military part. And the targets were a Ukrainian Navy combat boat and a munitions depot holding recently delivered Harpoon anti-ship missiles. These missiles were delivered to pose threats to the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Now, they pose no threats," he said. https://tass.com/politics/1484577
Posted by: Susan | Jul 25 2022 17:18 utc | 36
Even if you were a Russian pilot inclined to betray your country for money, would you trust the Ukraine and its 'western' 'allies' to honor their promises?
Posted by: Figleaf23 | Jul 25 2022 17:22 utc | 37
Posted by: ostro | Jul 25 2022 14:50 utc | 5
Hey dumbass, so what if he is Bulgarian? What does it has to do with him being an MI-6 whore?
Posted by: Bloke from block 8 | Jul 25 2022 17:29 utc | 38
Posted by: Bloke from block 8 | Jul 25 2022 17:29 utc | 39
---------
Hey, A-hole, Bulgarians are bloody traitors, that's why!
Russia shouldn't have ever considered these half-gypsies...😃
Posted by: ostro | Jul 25 2022 17:39 utc | 39
$20 million in about-to-crash currency and guaranteed citizenship in a country about to go back to the 17th century standard of living.
Such a deal!
Posted by: wagelaborer | Jul 25 2022 17:41 utc | 40
Poland does not agree to share gas with other European Union countries, said Anna Moskwa, the Minister of Climate and Environment at a press conference.“Tomorrow in Brussels there will be a meeting on energy security, and more importantly - on the topic of gas. Our gas storages, as you know, are full at the moment. We have secured deliveries. All needs are met, unlike the 11 European Union countries that have already introduced restrictions today, she said.
According to her, Poland does not need to impose any limits.
“What the European Commission has proposed is such a new gas solidarity mechanism. What is unacceptable in the European Commission's proposals is an attempt to impose mandatory reduction mechanisms, ”Moscow said.
In her opinion, the states cannot agree to such a step, because no one knows what the coming winter will be like. The official believes that in the current situation we can only talk about voluntary mechanisms or savings in individual countries.
How nice is that!
Super unity in European Union!
Posted by: ostro | Jul 25 2022 17:42 utc | 41
This reads like Nancy Drew or possibly Hardy Boys. Bellingcat does not write so well as the original writers of those series.
Posted by: oldhippie | Jul 25 2022 17:42 utc | 42
The gift that never stops giving. Or maybe the Giving Tree.
Thanks, b. And everyone else here.
Posted by: lex talionis | Jul 25 2022 17:42 utc | 43
CC:
About the thwarted hijacking of Russian planes and the role of Bellingcat
In the story of the failed operation by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine to recruit Russian military pilots and hijack Russian aircraft, the emphasis has shifted somewhat.
The participation of the self—styled "Sherlock Holmes of the XXI century" Hristo Grozev (part-time lover of tame Russian deer and head of pseudo-investigators from Bellingcat) is a direct consequence of the incompetence of the Ukrainian special services.
We have written enough about the professional abilities of old Hristo at the time: this is both a banal inability to handle facts, and the working out of an "order" on the part of the Bulgarian arms mafia.
Last year, this character publicly said that he was ashamed of the operation of the GUR of Ukraine to capture the "Wagnerians", and if he had his way, he would have done everything differently.
A month before the start of the special military operation, Bellingcat was turned into a full-fledged anti-Russian information PMC.
Today, Bellingcat acts as a "drain tank" of Mi-6, which fulfills the narratives needed by customers.
The "civilian detective" Hristo Grozev was allowed to document the intelligence operation of Ukraine (as he himself states).
The operation to recruit pilots and hijack planes was not only carried out under the direct patronage of Western intelligence services, but also its information support was entrusted to a "media outlet" with an extremely dubious professional reputation.
Posted by: CC About Bellingcat | Jul 25 2022 18:14 utc | 44
The EU gas sharing is another step towards EU's collapse. The final nail will be the removal of veto power, what borel and schlitz want to do.
Posted by: rk | Jul 25 2022 18:17 utc | 45
The entire West is doing Californication, https://youtu.be/YlUKcNNmywk
Posted by: Anne B | Jul 25 2022 18:19 utc | 46
Red Ryder @ 35
Ok...so who is McMurphy and who is Chief Bromden?
Strangely, I guess the US government is Ken Kesey tripping on mescaline while writing the book.
Talk about life imitating art!
Posted by: Objective Observer | Jul 25 2022 18:23 utc | 47
#---Posted by: Tard | Jul 25 2022 16:26 utc | 28
Good luck with faithlessness.
Posted by: Anne B | Jul 25 2022 18:24 utc | 48
[email protected] a grain deal was going to get signed Ukraine moved all it's Harpoon missiles to the dockside warehouse, because Russia wouldn't break the grain deal, right? Right......cue GLs laugh track.
Cheers M
Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Jul 25 2022 18:25 utc | 49
Anything Ukraine touches, smoulders. That the SBU should have more wits than GeStaPo or "ReichsicherheitsDienst" RHSD is a complete circus. The Germans were very Evil, but were in these matters mostly no fools. OR even the best of "Maskirovska" the NKVD or KGB is an utter joke.
I hope all Ukrainians involved will take a trip to Siberia, where the prison camps have no fence. There is nowhere to go to.
Posted by: Den Lille Abe | Jul 25 2022 18:26 utc | 50
The fact that British operators like Bellingcat are involved shows just how inept MI6 and the Foreign Office really is nowadays. The Blair Regime effected a huge change in personnel recruitment to ensure "diversity" across the government agencies and competence was downplayed in favour of "identity".
UK lives on image created decades ago. None of its institutions are effective - political, military, ecclesiastical, judicial, educational. The rot is pervasive. The current head of MI6 is former ambassador to Turkey who has been running anti-Russian policy in Central Asia and encouraging Erdogan to be a Zelensky.
Then again his grandfather was IRA.
The way Karen Pierce (MI6) was put in as UN Ambassador tells you how far clueless politicians are being manipulated by crazed imbecility at MI6. It was after all the Cameron/May Regime which led MI6 run riot with its "Russiagate" dossier against Trump - a sort of latter-day "Zinoviev Letter" as planted in Daily Mail
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jul 25 2022 18:32 utc | 51
Posted by: rk | Jul 25 2022 18:17 utc | 46
There will be no gas-sharing in EU.
That is real reason Russia reduced Nordstream I flows after Poland ditched Yamal and back flowed much cheaper Nordstream Gas from Germany through reverse-flow Yamal to build its reserves.
German suppliers had contracts at $280 per 1000 m3 and could make a tidy profit between that input price and market spot rates at Russia's expense just as GDR used to sell cheap Soviet oil for hard Western currency after 1973 OPEC price spike.
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jul 25 2022 18:40 utc | 52
Indeed unity in the "Union" is being tested soon:
https://t.me/azmilitary11/11603
Poland didn't agree with the proposals of the EU Commission to reduce gas consumption.Minister of Climate and Environment of Poland-it is difficult to agree to a mandatory reduction in gas consumption without knowing what the next winter will be,without ensuring their interests
But wasn't it about "saving the planet"?
Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 25 2022 18:53 utc | 53
Some time ago I said that b does more reporting of actual news than the entire NYT building. I think we can throw in the whole BBC building as well. Another masterpiece!
Posted by: Patrick Armstrong | Jul 25 2022 19:11 utc | 54
"b".........in a world filled with crazy.........where exactly does this fit??????
We now live in a world where reality can be created to be, anything that is desired.
Posted by: James Cook | Jul 25 2022 19:23 utc | 55
There were lots of previous expressions of worry here, but Patrick Lancaster is back on Twitter and YouTube as of yesterday.
Looks like he took a couple of weeks of well deserved holiday.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jul 25 2022 19:27 utc | 56
Multiple analyses regarding the coming faith of Zelensky:
https://t.me/asbmil/3253
In regards to Gonzalo’s analysis on the US assassinating Zelensky (https://youtu.be/mactoSForFY) — it is textbook US behaviour. We’ve heard this song before.He makes very good points. As the US knows Ukraine is about to fold and donbass is about to fall to the Russians, USA will attempt to turn Ukraine into a civil war mess. Same thing they did to Libya.
But we still think this coup is coming from within Zelensky’s own ranks as we stated in our original analysis.
Time will tell, if Zelensky really is a deadman walking, Russia will be blamed for it one way or another.
The fact is that if Russia wanted Zelensky dead, he’d be fertilizer since the first day of the invasion. Nobody doubts this and everybody knows this. Russia can take him out anytime they like.
The one thing that is clear is that if something happens to Zelensky, then the west will blame Russia.
Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 25 2022 19:29 utc | 57
The one thing that is clear is that if something happens to Zelensky, then the west will blame Russia. Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 25 2022 19:29 utc | 58
...or they could fake it. His face could benefit from some surgery in any case and he could retire to Israel or West Israel (Florida).
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jul 25 2022 19:36 utc | 58
@ostro (42)
That's going to go well with the rest of Europe, especially Germany, since Poland has been getting gas (at a discount, no less, I think) from Germany for some time now. And Germany is the country expected to crash the hardest economically when the gas crisis really hits....
Posted by: hk | Jul 25 2022 19:38 utc | 59
In response to Figleaf23@38,
You know what they say, trust but verify. The Russians verified the money by having the SBU transfer part of the promised funds and they verified the air defense locations they were given by launching some missiles at them.
Posted by: Skiffer | Jul 25 2022 19:39 utc | 60
@Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jul 25 2022 18:40 utc | 53
"There will be no gas-sharing in EU.
That is real reason Russia reduced Nordstream I flows after Poland ditched Yamal and back flowed much cheaper Nordstream Gas from Germany through reverse-flow Yamal to build its reserves."
Absolutely. It is quite stunning how the European elites keep thinking that they can play games with their biggest supplier of fossil fuel energy and that that supplier will not retaliate and take offsetting actions.The EU have spent years playing games with Russia over the cancellation of South Stream, the refusal to ink long term contracts, ownership of pipelines, and Nordstream 2. The sanctions etc. are just the exacerbation of a trend, together with the childish attempt to refuse to pay in Rubles after Europe stole Russia's Euro FX reserves.
Then Poland cancels their gas contract with Russia, reverse flowed Yamal and thinks that it can simply get Russian gas cheaper via Germany. Then they act surprised when Russia reduced Nordstream 1 flows! The same will happen with any games to control the price of Russian oil exports, plus the disruption of shutting off specific crude oil flows required by customized processing plants.
Imho, it looks like the firing of some SBU officers are linked to that fiasco.
Posted by: Olivier | Jul 25 2022 19:58 utc | 62
The one thing that is clear is that if something happens to Zelensky, then the west will blame Russia.
Nothing will happen to the clown. He is a hero and jewish. On time he will flee and fly away to take refuge in Florida.
Posted by: Olivier | Jul 25 2022 20:04 utc | 64
Just to mention Bulgaria are among the top nations at depopulation.
By far the greatest area of population decline in the world is Eastern Europe, where many countries are losing large portions of their population to emigration.
Top 20 Countries with the Fastest Population Decline 2020-2050 (United Nations 2019) ...
Bulgaria. ...
Lithuania. ...
Latvia. ...
Ukraine. ...
Serbia. ...
Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...
Croatia.
Which country is shrinking the fastest?
...
Bulgaria, the European Union's poorest member state, is shrinking – and fast. The Balkan nation of 6.5 million has already lost more than a quarter of its population since it peaked at the end of communist rule three decades ago, according to early estimates from a 2021 census.
Most Extreme Cases of Human Depopulation in History:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBCKiAg0zIc
Bulgaria was liberated from Turks by Russian Empire as slavic "brothers" and christians it thereafter allways sided the opposite side, like 3rd Reich and now the Bellingcat;)
The name originated from Volga Bulgaria - Tatarstan.
Old church slavonic originated from dialect of bulgarian, maybe macedonian and thus it strongly influenced russian language.
Hence Bulgaria have a lot of history, mostly a past and very doubtfull any future perspectives.
Poland as a country have radical political position, too but it's economics is growing, they have some IT and agricultura and it's total GDP is largest than Sweden.
Posted by: Alef | Jul 25 2022 20:07 utc | 65
Who read the analysis Collateral Damage?
https://wikispooks.com/wiki/File:Collateral_Damage_-_part_1.pdf
There is an important part on the end of Soviet Union. Very much worth considering, especially after Poutin's words on the strength and weakness of Russia.
Posted by: Olivier | Jul 25 2022 20:09 utc | 66
The fact that British operators like Bellingcat are involved shows just how inept MI6 and the Foreign Office really is nowadays. planted in Daily Mail
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jul 25 2022 18:32 utc | 52
Only necessary to look at the date when bellingcat was created.
Posted by: Olivier | Jul 25 2022 20:13 utc | 67
MK Bhadrakumar at his best on Russia's closing of the Jewish Agency office in Moscow.
"The Jewish Agency is Israel's life source and the Kremlin shut it down this month. The fallout may be a measurable schism between Moscow and Tel Aviv, in which the latter has a lot to lose."
https://thecradle.co/Article/Columns/13460
And then there is this by Valery Kulikov at NEO
https://journal-neo.org/2022/07/25/who-is-behind-the-terrorist-provocation-in-the-kurdistan-region-of-iraq/
That's three stories today about the CIA's weird antics.
Posted by: bevin | Jul 25 2022 20:15 utc | 68
Posted by: Olivier | Jul 25 2022 20:04 utc | 65
Zelensky could be Epsteined.
Posted by: Jonathan W | Jul 25 2022 20:20 utc | 69
Opport Knocks @ 59
Yes. It is that simple. Likely no surgery required. Change of hairstyle, change of makeup. He's an actor already. Looks Jewish, moves to Miami, done.
Posted by: oldhippie | Jul 25 2022 20:23 utc | 70
I agree with both Lira and whoever that asbmil Telegraph channel is that Norwegian linked @58. Zelensky is a dead man walking. It is a race to see whether the Nazis or the CIA snuff him first. As I’ve mentioned before, Zelensky’s best chance is with the Russians.
The poor guy is trying his best to keep the myth of the Ukraine alive but every day he has less to work with. Meanwhile he has some truly evil monsters sharpening their knives in the shadows behind his back. Monsters who have made big investments in the Ukraine project and will want someone’s head if the Russians succeed in dismantling that project.
Unless the Russians can pull off some kind of miracle rescue Zelensky will never live to see that mansion outside Miami.
Posted by: William Gruff | Jul 25 2022 20:23 utc | 71
Off topic but, remember how much pipe gas Ukraine has stolen over the years? Will Western Ukrainians go cold this winter?
As I recall, urban areas in Ukraine have central heating buildings and the steam is piped around town. Should those town wide pipes not be heated, they could freeze and burst, which would be caput for the whole town heating until all gets fixed.
Posted by: Carl | Jul 25 2022 20:27 utc | 72
Posted by: bevin | Jul 25 2022 20:15 utc | 70
Good eye bevin, things are not going too smooth between Russia and occupied Palestine. Besides de Jewish Agency problems today a politician from the wild 90's was arrested, the local MSM pointed to the usual dictatorial Putin and the persecution of "democrats", that is to say the 5th column, but what they do not mention is that the arrested Gofman was hiding his Israeli citizenship which is against the law in Russia.
Posted by: Paco | Jul 25 2022 20:39 utc | 73
Wondering if the Clonidine was not the drug used by Navalny before he boarded the plane...
Posted by: Olivier | Jul 25 2022 20:40 utc | 74
Zelinsky is just reading from the script - in the final chapter (for him) there will be some explosion (of course blamed on the Russkies) and a piece of black coal left and he becomes an eternal hero (and then takes on a new costume and he will be flown to one of his many haciendas - or to one of his pal's that bought big in best of Switzerland [Gstaad I think] and just got canned him/themselves)..
When that will be? Not yet. When they want to escalate maybe. Or at some point they might decide that it would be better for the west to at least keep half the Ukraine for later shenigans.. In that case it might be a bit embarrassing to let him sign something. Or maybe one last bunker stand as we have already seen in the movies over and over again, in case they want to really go down till the last Ukrainian.
Posted by: C | Jul 25 2022 20:41 utc | 75
Former Israeli PM Ehud Barak in TIME: Iran Can Transform Itself into a Nuclear Power—And It's Too Late to Stop It By Surgical Attack
Ha'aretz paraphrased "surgical attack" as "military action". So that is what Israel is pondering.
Is the closing of the Jewish Agency in Moscow somehow related to Putin's need to be nice to Iran?
Posted by: Jonathan W | Jul 25 2022 20:54 utc | 76
It is getting to the point where an assassination of one man can trigger a world war, like the first of them all, WW1. And Ukraine is not that far from the Balkans.
Posted by: Jonathan W | Jul 25 2022 20:59 utc | 77
Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 25 2022 18:53 utc | 54
it still is. kinda like a cancer patient getting chemo and radiation, beats the immediate alternative for most.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Jul 25 2022 21:00 utc | 78
would not surprise me one bit if the US arranged for Zelensky to be whacked. they wouldn't want to suicide him like Epstein because they need to blame the Russians. hey, maybe they could blame the emotional trauma inflicted by the Russians for his unfortunate hanging? naw, they need a bullet riddled corpse.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Jul 25 2022 21:02 utc | 79
Portrait of an Idiot:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/canadian-montreal-man-volunteer-dies-ukraine-1.6530675
Posted by: Figleaf23 | Jul 25 2022 21:03 utc | 80
Posted by: Olivier | Jul 25 2022 20:04 utc | 65
Epstein was jewish too, he was probably a hero to the pedo community but sometimes dead heroes are much more useful than live ones anyway.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Jul 25 2022 21:04 utc | 81
in some ways maybe Allende is a better comparison to Zelensky than Epstein, insofar as being jewish and widely considered a hero. of course Zelensky is a fake hero, but leaving that aside. Or Diem, whacked by the sainted JFK.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Jul 25 2022 21:07 utc | 82
Diem wasn't jewish of course, probably catholic. like Kennedy, come to think of it.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Jul 25 2022 21:08 utc | 83
Posted by: C | Jul 25 2022 20:41 utc | 77
now I'm imagining that lump of black coal on display in a CIA funded museum somewhere, tastefully displayed like the Pieta.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Jul 25 2022 21:10 utc | 84
@Jonathan W | Jul 25 2022 20:59 utc | 79
The Russians saved Erdogan from the CIA coup attempt in 2016. The Russians do not assassinate foreign leaders like the Americans do, on the contrary.
Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 25 2022 21:11 utc | 85
The Russians saved Erdogan from the CIA coup attempt in 2016. The Russians do not assassinate foreign leaders like the Americans do, on the contrary.Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 25 2022 21:11 utc | 87
Some of us believe that was just a warning shot for Erdogan not to get too far out of line.
The murder of the Russian Ambassador, Andrei Karlov, shortly after was the real head scratcher. That was swept under the rug quickly.
Posted by: Opport Knocks | Jul 25 2022 21:27 utc | 86
Posted by: Norwegian | Jul 25 2022 21:11 utc | 87
true, and they aren't interested in overthrowing regimes, at least ones that don't threaten them and aren't puppets of their enemies.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Jul 25 2022 21:28 utc | 87
"@Down South #6, seems fairly unbelievable that Ukraine was storing its entire stock of Harpoons on a dry dock and a patrol boat(?) next to another dock adjacent to the grain silos. Also no evidence of secondary explosions from those strikes that I've seen. Count me as a big skeptic of Lavrov's claim - I guess the proof would be if the Black Sea Fleet returns to maneuvering within ranges that have been denied by those weapons.Posted by: yenwoda"
You have gotten this wrong. Russia did not say that harpoons were stored in a patrol boat or on a dry dock. The Russian Military stated that the following:
"The Russian Navy's ships struck the territory of Odessa port. A warehouse with anti-ship missiles was hit."
Posted by: joe | Jul 25 2022 21:38 utc | 88
From the FSB video with a conversation with a Ukrainian intelligence representative, it follows that the Russian Aerospace Forces were ready to pay up to $2 million for the hijacked plane.
Hi b, think you meant to write "SBU" instead of the RuAF?
Posted by: A.L. | Jul 25 2022 21:44 utc | 89
The Saker has a decent overview essay recapping the first 5 months with a brief mention of the tensions between Occupied Palestine and Russia. Another essay about Ukraine's "Logistical Nightmares" provides some good info. This is what got my attention:
In war, there are major battles and minor battles. Main and secondary, crucial and those that are not. There are also skirmishes that are sometimes as significant as some battles. One two-day “event“ will certainly affect the further course of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine. Ever since they received the American HIMARS multi-barrel rocket launchers, the Ukrainian generals have become emboldened. On July 20, their subordinates fired two platoons of six rockets at the Antonovsky bridge across the Dnieper in the Kherson region. There are 11 holes left on the bridge.This happened amid announcements from Kiev that a Ukrainian “counter-offensive in the south” would follow. Exactly to the Kherson region. With the aim of regaining control over it and defeating and destroying the Russian army on the right bank of the Dnieper. However, what followed was what neither the military leadership in Kiev nor the numerous American, British, German and Polish officers who were fighting invisibly on the Ukrainian side had expected.
A battery of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems arrived from Crimea in the Kherson region – with the task of defending the Antonovsky Bridge. On July 21, the Ukrainians tried two new platoons. Again with long-range rockets that American satellites and Avax guide to the target. But the S-400 intercepted and shot down all 12 missiles launched.
Thus, the S-400 reduced to zero the American myth that the missiles of their multi-barrel rocket launchers are uncatchable (undefeatable). This is a hint that more and more new S-400 systems will arrive in Ukraine in the coming days. To close the sky over strategic objects under Russian control and over ongoing operations. At the same time, the Russian army began serious preparations for the complete destruction of HIMARS.
That's a very serious outcome, such that the author wrote, "In fact, the Western-trained crews of these multiple rocket launchers are now like kamikazes, whose mission is to inflict as much damage as possible before they die." Given the outcome, my bet is that a whole bunch of S-400s will be deployed to neutralize the Himars.
I do highly suggest that article as its discussion of the logistics nightmare is extremely important and explains one of the major reasons why the Ukie Army is losing so badly.
Grozev's "account" for some reason brought to mind this famous Shakespearean quote "..doth protest too much, methinks"...
I can not remotely imagine why.
Posted by: Gabriel in Ireland | Jul 25 2022 21:54 utc | 91
Posted by: Jams O'Donnell | Jul 25 2022 21:23 utc | 316
the pr industry, partially birthed by a massacre of striking miners, still carrying on the agenda of the elitists lo these many years later, now in the guise of news
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNueTNLUgXY
that Jimmy Dore clip was from Fox News, could equally have been on MSNBC or any other useless MSM outlet.
Posted by: pretzelattack | Jul 25 2022 21:56 utc | 92
Actually killing operatives would make it extremely difficult to recruit the next operative. Introducing a new recruit to someone famous and dead is a great way to convince the new guy that the organization has near magical power. Of course the team that can resurrect the dead is to be feared as well as followed. I expect Epstein has a new life as a trainer. Zelensky will be fine. Expect his death to be as squirrelly as any other tale from CIA.
Posted by: oldhippie | Jul 25 2022 22:01 utc | 93
Bevin @70
An interesting post by Bradrakumar indeed, and on the heels of the story about a ham-fisted plot to steal Russian warplanes. It looks like Russia is weeding her garden, and not before time.
Posted by: Hal Duell | Jul 25 2022 22:01 utc | 94
OT but wouldn't the murder make sense as retribution against saving Erdogan? Anyway there's no shortage of loose ends like a Swiss diplomat falling to her death or an Ukrainian rocket making it deep into NATO airspace, I can't remember them all.
I've recently watched "Alles ist eins. Ausser der 0." and there were (old) loose ends there as well, the world is full of them.
- - -
Psychohistorian wrote:
"My question is how much more of this sort of stuff is going on that is not detected?"Yeah one can't help but wonder and your guess is as good as mine. Likely nobody really knows?
Difficult for anyone to be certain about secrets. My opinion is that by way of their generally conspicuous character very little is undetected, even in less "ambitious" cases (maybe calling them "optimistic" would be better), and that all one ever really hears about are the extremely rare astonishing successes or abject failures —which is then mythologized into pap or mutated into bizarre creations like a certain shit fictional character with the worst and most idiotic taste in alcohol ever :D (Inspector Gadget and Inspector Clouseau are far more realistic by comparison).
I'm only guessing.
I'm not counting anything in the endless drone out of western intelligence agencies about "hackers" and "industrial espionage" which is always bereft of any real detail, and on the opposite side of the scale of credibility I'm also not counting the enormous constant automated spying & more documented by Snowden.
- - -
"They [SBU/'Ukrainians'] also said that the EU has been notified about the plan and will ensure their safety if the operation is successful."Yeah this is mandatory: always inform a huge continental bureaucracy specializing in expert idiocy about your secret plans in advance to ensure certain success (sarcasm!).
Posted by: Sunny Runny Burger | Jul 25 2022 22:04 utc | 95
So what does this imply for the integrity of the MH17 case for which almost all evidence has been sourced by the SBU, the holy Ukrainians.
Posted by: Webej | Jul 25 2022 22:14 utc | 96
Christo hmm, not that Christopher Steele of the Bellingcat Clinton Trump Russian dossier? 5 Eyes propaganda ain't what it used to be.
Bulgaria needs a slap.
Posted by: WTFUD | Jul 25 2022 22:16 utc | 97
Posted by: yenwoda | Jul 25 2022 15:06 utc | 14
No doubt when the Black Sea fleet changes course Admiral Osipov will get in touch with you to answer your scepticism champ.
Posted by: Paul McGrory | Jul 25 2022 22:30 utc | 98
That is real reason Russia reduced Nordstream I flows after Poland ditched Yamal and back flowed much cheaper Nordstream Gas from Germany through reverse-flow Yamal to build its reserves.
Posted by: Paul Greenwood | Jul 25 2022 18:40 utc | 53
Supply by Nord Stream 1 is one casualty of G7 war on the RF. Supply by Yamal is another.
Run up to the SMO: Poland twice renounced its purchase contract with RU vi Yamal--2017, 2020--ending Dec 2022. Their supply plan was NO gas via Baltic Pipe and LNG sources, eg US, Qatar. LNG spot market: price volatility throughout 2021 coinciding with DE, US Nord Stream 2 cap and modest economic rebound generated vicious criticism of Gazprom supply dominance, the pretext for reactionary Energiewende policy in EU.
23 March 2022 Putin decree demands foreign buyer from "unfriendly" countires pay in rubles.
30 March: Gas flows via Yamal-Europe pipeline fall to zero, other source flows steady
PL, BG refuse ruble payment a/o 1 April. Gaprom warns against resale ("siphon") of contract supply. Reverse supply from Germany to Poland increases
22 April: EC issues ruble payment guidance
26 April: Gazprom Export notifies PGNiG (FL) and Bulfargaz (BG) of complete suspension of supplies under the Yamal contract ... beginning April 27
Poland announces sanctions against Gazprom, Russia halts gas flows
And here we are. vdL taking advice from the inmates on the Baltic until there's no gas to share at any price point.
Posted by: sln2002 | Jul 25 2022 23:01 utc | 99
That the pilot of a 35 million dollar high-tech military aircraft could, for whatever reason, simply do whatever they liked i.e. deliver safely it to an enemy airbase seems highly implausible. I would imagine head office could digitally make it fall out of the sky like a brick if need be. Surely "going rogue" is not an option given the need for technical support needed for firing weapons and landing safely. Am I wrong? Strangely ludicrous BS!
Posted by: UmpireofLies | Jul 25 2022 23:16 utc | 100
The comments to this entry are closed.
Over at the Saker Lira is suggesting that Elenskys time is almost up. He best get on the phone to someone in the RF before he runs out of time.
Posted by: William | Jul 25 2022 14:29 utc | 1