Russians: Now Using Poison Underpants

[47of74]

Russian “diplomats” had to take the long way home. 

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With hundreds of Russian diplomats being asked to leave European nations, the task of carrying them back home has fallen mainly on one of Russia’s Rossiya IlyushinIl-96 aircraft. However, what would have normally been short routine flights across the continent, have now had hours added to their flying time because of the current airspace restrictions.

The political and diplomatic repercussions of Russia's war in Ukraine continue to affect Europe, with many nations asking Russian diplomats to go back home. While tensions had been mounting ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, things escalated even further last week when many countries in the continent took firm action by expelling Russian officials from their soil.

The biggest diplomatic breakdown in recent years means that hundreds of Russian nationals have to be transported back home all of a sudden. While usually, this would have meant a short flight to Moscow, the skies above Europe are not what they used to be even a few months ago.

 

[klein_roeschen]

Putin got a new commander for his invasion in Ukraine, Alexander Wladimirowitsch Dvornikow . He was leading the russian attacs in Syria in 2014 and accused of having comitted war crimes. From the short discription a hobby military historian in another forum I attend posted, this man is ruthless and the war will get a lot uglier than what happened until now.

[EmCatlyn]

18 hours ago, 47of74 said:

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has called for the Russian Orthodox Church to be expelled from the World Council of Churches

Yeah I'm down with that.  The ROC is pretty much just a tool of Vlad the Invader and his government now.

Not surprisingly, there is a push among the Orthodox to oust Patriarch Kirill head of the Russian Orthodox Church for his collaboration with Putin.

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ROME – As buzz continues around a possible second meeting between Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, many within Orthodoxy are calling for Kirill to be tried by church authorities for supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate are collecting signatures for an appeal to the Council of Primates of the Ancient Eastern Churches for “a lawsuit against Patriarch Kirill.” If found guilty by a pan-Orthodox tribunal, the signatories want Kirill to be deprived “of the right to occupy the patriarchal see.”

Orthodox Priests Condemn Russian Patriarch

I don’t know  how much power the Council of Primates has, but it appears that the head of the ROC may have to answer to some body.

[Dandruff]

11 hours ago, EmCatlyn said:

I don’t know  how much power the Council of Primates has, but it appears that the head of the ROC may have to answer to some body.

Council of Primates?

OK...I found that there is another definition of the word.

[47of74]

The Russians might have a problem

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The flagship of Russia’s Black Sea fleet was hit and seriously damaged by two Ukrainian missiles, officials in Odesa claimed last night.

The Moskva, a Slava-class cruiser with approximately 510 crew, was said to be on fire and in danger of sinking.

It was understood to have been hit by two Neptune anti-ship missiles launched by Ukrainian naval forces. The battery was hidden in or around the Ukrainian port city.

Stormy conditions apparently prevented Russian rescue boats from helping it as it burnt.

 

[church_of_dog]

3 hours ago, 47of74 said:

The Russians might have a problem

 

The best twitter post I've seen about it is this image (credit @darth):

[Cartmann99]

 

[47of74]

Russia itself now is saying Moskva got promoted from battleship to submarine

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One of the Russian Navy's most important warships has sunk in the Black Sea, a massive blow to a military struggling against Ukrainian resistance 50 days into Vladimir Putin's invasion of his neighbor.

Russian state news agency TASS reported Thursday evening that the guided-missile cruiser Moskva had sunk, citing a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense.

"During the towing of the cruiser Moskva to the port of destination, the ship lost its stability due to hull damage received during a fire from the detonation of ammunition. In the conditions of stormy seas, the ship sank," the statement said, according to TASS.

 

[Howl]

This is a huge deal, sort of.  Here's a good point-by-point summary: How big a loss to Russia is the sinking of the Moskva missile cruiser?

Turkey isn't allowing any Russia ships to pass into the Black Sea, so the Moskva can't be replaced. 

[EmCatlyn]

On 4/14/2022 at 2:44 PM, Cartmann99 said:

 

My understanding is Russians have been suspected of having some nukes in that area already. So it’s probably just more saber-rattling.

We used to worry that a nuclear war might be started by some minor player on the world stage. We got used to the idea that “mutually assured destruction” would keep the bigger players from pushing the button.

Now Russia is threatening nuclear action for every little annoyance.  It’s a lot more talk of nukes than any other country with nuclear capabilities.

On 4/14/2022 at 5:01 PM, 47of74 said:

Russia itself now is saying Moskva got promoted from battleship to submarine

 

Yeah, but they still claim to have rescued all the crew (more objective assessments suggest a loss of at least 1/3) and that it was not a military hit by the Ukrainians but either an accidental fire or (they hint) sabotage.

Either way, the ship is gone and the Russians are bombing Kyiv again.

 

[Dandruff]

49 minutes ago, EmCatlyn said:

We used to worry that a nuclear war might be started by some minor player on the world stage. We got used to the idea that “mutually assured destruction” would keep the bigger players from pushing the button.

Now Russia is threatening nuclear action for every little annoyance.  It’s a lot more talk of nukes than any other country with nuclear capabilities.

Repeat threats of nukes and making interesting claims about their battleship, among other things.

Hope the world is (also) remaining alert to the potential for non-nuclear attacks.

[EmCatlyn]

Posted on r/ukraine on Reddit.   

[47of74]

Wouldn’t surprise me if something similar is going on here

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He lived with his sick mother and never had a regular job. He had no obvious source of income and, according to his uncle, even signed up for welfare benefits as a caregiver deserving of state support.

But Bohus Garbar, down-on-his-luck and in his early 50s, still managed to donate thousands of euros to Kremlin-friendly, far-right political parties in Slovakia. He also worked for free as a contributor to an anti-establishment website notorious for recycling Russian propaganda.

“He definitely wasn’t in a state where he could support any political party,” said Mr. Garbar’s uncle, Bohuslav Garbar, a retired computer programmer in the family’s hometown of Kosice, 50 miles from Slovakia’s eastern border with Ukraine.

A Slovak security service surveillance video, made public in early March, provides at least the start of an explanation: it shows his nephew receiving instructions and two 500-euro bills, a small part of what officials say were tens of thousands of euros in payments, from a Russian military intelligence officer masquerading as a diplomat at Moscow’s embassy in Bratislava, the Slovak capital.

 

[fraurosena]

3 hours ago, 47of74 said:

Wouldn’t surprise me if something similar is going on here

It would surprise me if it isn't.

[47of74]

42 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

It would surprise me if it isn't.

Well Hell pretty much all of Faux News is a Russia propaganda operation these days.  Fucker Carlson pretty much has all but said he's a Russian agent.

[EmCatlyn]

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Meanwhile on Russian state TV: host Vladimir Solovyov threatens Europe and all NATO countries, asking whether they will have enough weapons and people to defend themselves once Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine comes to an end. Solovyov adds: "There will be no mercy."   Julia Davis on Twitter April 20, 2022.

I am assuming this is just propaganda, and realistically I don’t think the Russians would get very far if they attacked the EU and the US—- but just hearing it discussed as a possibility makes me nervous.

[47of74]

An update

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Questions look set to be asked after two Russian oligarchs, both linked to gas giants, apparently murdered their wives and daughters before killing themselves—within two days of each other.

In both cases, the alarm was raised by the slain families' surviving child.

Former Kremlin official and Gazprombank vice-president Vladislav Avayev, 51, was found dead in his luxury Moscow apartment alongside the bodies of his wife and 13-year-old daughter on Monday. It appeared he had shot them before turning the gun on himself. The bodies were found by distraught 26-year-old daughter Anastasia after she was unable to get hold of her family.

The following day former Novatek deputy chairman Sergey Protosenya, 55, his wife Natalya, 53, and 18-year-old daughter, Maria, were found deadat their Spanish mansion. The scene suggested the women had been stabbed, before Protosenya hanged himself in the garden. The alarm was raised by the couple's teenage son, who was staying in France, after he was unable to reach his parents at their home in the coastal town of Lloret de Mar.

 

[Howl]

3 hours ago, 47of74 said:

An update

"Spanish investigators are now reportedly trying to work out whether the Protosenya deaths were the result of a domestic murder-suicide or an organized hit."

Russian hit, because, well,  it has all the hallmarks of a Russian hit and two similar Russian hits is the start of a pattern meant to terrify other Russian oligarchs living abroad who might be tempted to speak the truth about Putin and Ukraine.  

It's all been going on for a long time (From USA Today in 2017: SUSPICIOUS RUSSIAN DEATHS: Sacrificial pawns or coincidence?) but murdering whole families is another level of horror. 

The hit (not a murder/suicide) on Vladislav Avayev in his Moscow apt? They also murdered his pregnant wife (she was 47) and 13-year-old daughter with cerebral palsy.  This scene was found by an adult daughter. 

Here's my thinking. I don't think Putin will nuke.  Putin's feral survival instincts are in overdrive -- he'll crank up the agit prop machine and declare this Ukraine cluster fuck as a win on May 9 or  he's going to have a personal polonium tea problem courtesy of the assassination squads he's built up to murder and terrorize others. 

So May 9?   May 9 Russian Victory Day is a HUGE deal in Russia -- the largest and most important holiday of the year. What is Russia’s Victory Day, and what might it mean for Ukraine?   Putin will likely give a speech.  Depending on what happens in the Donbas in the next week,  this may be Putin's only chance to extricate himself. 

The world will know it's a sad Pyrrhic victory, but Putin's PR machine is in overdrive and the truth of Russian military losses and savagery has been ruthlessly suppressed.

On the other hand, a lot of Russian people are wondering why their loved ones aren't home from the "special operation"  if the war is over.  Many don't even know their cherished son/father/husband one is never coming home. 

 

Edited April 23, 2022 by Howl

[Howl]

Here's a bit more info from Newsweek.  Spoiler: It's a LOT of oligarchs. 

Every Russian Oligarch Who Has Died Since Putin Invaded Ukraine—Full List

You can substitute the term "mobligarch" for oligarch.  The deal is, you can do what you like to make money in Russia, as long as Putin gets a cut and you don't badmouth him. There's a LOT of dirty money in Russia, and Putin has share of all of it.   Otherwise...

Edited April 23, 2022 by Howl

[47of74]

9 minutes ago, Howl said:

Here's a bit more info from Newsweek.  Spoiler: It's a LOT of oligarchs. 

Every Russian Oligarch Who Has Died Since Putin Invaded Ukraine—Full List

You can substitute the term "mobligarch" for oligarch.  The deal is, you can do what you like to make money in Russia, as long as Putin gets a cut and you don't badmouth him. There's a LOT of dirty money in Russia, and Putin has share of all of it.   Otherwise...

Yeah I saw that article too about all the oligarchs that died since Vlad the Invader attacked Ukraine.

Your thing about mobligarch made me think of something.  All my overseas trips were either through Trafalgar or a company subcontracted by Trafalgar.  They used to have trips to Russia and I think about eight or nine years ago I had considered going on one of those tours.  But I decided against it because of all the anti-gay stuff the Russian government was doing, undermining democracy (even before Fuck Face came along), and that money spent there would be propping up Vlad and his government.  They and other tour companies did the sensible thing and cancelled trips to Russia.

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“We recognize that these sanctions will impact everyday people who may not agree with Russia’s politics but they are unfortunately essential to apply pressure on the country to invoke change,” Poon Tip said, characterizing G Adventures’ actions are part of a wider travel industry strategy to force Russia to end the invasion.

Renowned guidebook writer Rick Steves expressed similar reasoning behind the decision of his tour company’s, Rick Steves’ Europe, to cancel its Russia’s offerings. “When we bring travelers to another country, we also bring their dollars — dollars that would support (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s aggression,” he said.

Meanwhile, tour operators that cancelled their planned trips to Russia are having to scramble to refund guests, which Poon Tip said is difficult due to banks closures in the country, as well as provide them alternatives. Melissa DaSilva, the U.S. president of Trafalgar Tours — which had four trips to the country scheduled for this year — said her company is giving travelers the option to reschedule their trip for a later date or change to an itinerary in a different destination.

While G Adventures and Trafalgar have emphatically stated they won’t take guests there during the rest of 2022, Intrepid Travel is taking a wait-and-see approach regarding Russia as the company has only canceled its tours to the country through the end of June.

Yeah I would have liked to have gone to Russia and seen places like St. Petersburg, Moscow, Red Square, and so on.  Seen places like the Kremlin, St. Basil's, the Winter Palace, and the like.  But not as long as Putin or his supporters are around and have any sort of power in Russia and Russia keeps backsliding on democracy and human rights. 

[47of74]

Moskva is now an "underwater cultural heritage” site.

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“The ‘Moskva’ missile cruiser was the flagship of the Russian fleet, and became number 2064 in the register of underwater cultural heritage of Ukraine,” the country’s defense ministry wrote on its Facebook page. “The famous cruiser and the most sunken object at the bottom of the Black Sea can be admired.”

But legally, the move by Ukraine is dubious at best.

Eden Sarid, a lecturer at the University of Essex and expert on cultural heritage law, said this is wrong.

“They’re trolling Russia,” he said. “This is part of the story Ukraine is writing … about the way it opposed the Russian invasion —and this becomes part of the story when it’s your cultural heritage.”

 

And when this is all over they should Ukraine should get glass bottom boats so people can see that piece of cultural heritage. 

[Xan]

What do people think?  Were the oligarchs planning to flee the country?  Were they offering to testify against Putin?  These deaths are obviously a warning to the other oligarchs to stay in line but I'm wondering what info Putin found that caused him to put the hits out on these men and their families.  Killing the wives and children is, I guess, supposed to be the strongest deterrent.  Putin really is a monster.

Incidentally, the latest photos and videos of Putin make him look really ill.  In the video, he holds onto the edge of the table with his right hand and his right foot keeps tapping.  In a different video, it appears that he's having trouble controlling movements in his right hand.  In this pic from the first video, his face looks bloated and he's sitting slightly hunched.  I'm not sure what's wrong with him but there's definitely something wrong.

[47of74]

2 hours ago, Xan said:

What do people think?  Were the oligarchs planning to flee the country?  Were they offering to testify against Putin?  These deaths are obviously a warning to the other oligarchs to stay in line but I'm wondering what info Putin found that caused him to put the hits out on these men and their families.  Killing the wives and children is, I guess, supposed to be the strongest deterrent.  Putin really is a monster.

Incidentally, the latest photos and videos of Putin make him look really ill.

He's probably paranoid that they'll get rid of him and put someone in who can be more easily controlled.  It's not an entirely unreasonable assumption given how much Vlad the Invader is costing the oligarchs and Russian businesses.   

That said, I don't know that the victims were actually planning to do much of anything, Vlad would probably just make up justifications for killing the oligarchs and their families just to scare the other oligarchs into line.  Might bite him in the ass down the line if it causes oligarchs and others in the Russian government to take extreme measures to get rid of Vlad in order to save their own skins.     

[Howl]

According to this Forbes article, the Moskva sank in about 300 ft of water and the Russians are attempting to salvage...something. 

The Russians Appear To Be Sending A Deep-Diving Submersible To The Wreck Of The Cruiser ‘Moskva’

And in other news, a couple more generals crossed over the rainbow bridge when the Ukrainians hit a Russian command center. 

[Howl]