Unlikely to be false-flag operation, because this is extremely embarrassing for Russia. Where are the Russian air defenses?
Jump to postWhen Finland was invaded in the Winter War, Soviet troops fighting (and dying) there were disproportionately represented by Ukrainians and Belarusans. Those same who unsuccessfully tried to break free a generation prior. Then, in WWII it was even worse, every fourth Belarusan killed, every fifth to...
Jump to postI've noticed that the skies above Ukraine have gotten pretty quiet recently. Is this a recent development or something that has always happened ? It has been quiet since MH17. Donbas is a no-fly zone and so is Crimea, so Europe-Asia flights that used to fly over Ukraine now fly either more to the n...
Jump to postThough the VIP configured ones have been retired, ZE707 is a QC version in RAF service since 2012. So lighter cargo or in pax configuration Special Forces? Poland has committed to give some weapons to Ukraine, including its most modern MANPADS (Piorun). I think the most likely explanation is that t...
Jump to postAnother active day for the air bridge to Ukraine. This morning, Western Global B-747F (Reg N344KD, flight number CMB328) arrived in Kyiv from Dover AFB. She was followed a short while ago by Kalitta Air B-747F N715CK, returning to Kyiv from Dover AFB already after midnight local time (flight number ...
Jump to postTwo more Kalitta Air 747Fs arrived in Kyiv today from Dover AFB (N716CK and N715CK, with respective flight numbers CMB339 and CMB326).This is the first time that two shipments arrive on the same day. RAF A-400M ZM417 was back in Kyiv today, this time coming from RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus. I did not fin...
Jump to postThe air bridge continues. A seventh B747-400 arrived in Kyiv on Thursday. This time it was a Western Global B747-400BCF (N344KD). Its cargo reportedly consisted of ammunition for Mk.19 40 mm grenade launchers. The eighth cargo arrived yesterday, by Kalitta Air B-747-400F (N701CK). https://twitter.co...
Jump to postYesterday and today, the fifth and sixth 747 load of military equipment arrived in Kyiv from the US. https://twitter.com/oleksiireznikov/status/1488245276901060611 https://twitter.com/oleksiireznikov/status/1488437053318598656 According to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, more than 500 t...
Jump to postEightyFour wrote:Amazing footage, and a great video. It also made me realize that my Ukrainian was much worse than I thought, I could only pick out some words here and there. Luckily there were subtitles.
Yesterday, B-52s again flew in Ukrainian airspace, already for the third time in three weeks. As before, they were escorted by Ukrainian Air Force Mig-29s and Su-27s. In addition, two USAF CV-22 Ospreys flew over the Dnipro river in the center of Kyiv yesterday. The flyover had been announced by the...
Jump to postToday, for the first time ever, US Air Force B-52s flew in Ukrainian airspace, flying over Ukrainian territory close to occupied Crimea and Donbass. Other NATO aircraft were active at the same time to the south and west of Crimea. Ukrainian Su-27s were also active. According to the US's European Com...
Jump to postThe Russians seem to get worried. ROTTERDAM - Russia would like to involve a possible crown witness in the MH17 trial, Vladimir Tsemach, in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine. The AD reports on the basis of three different sources, including the independent Russian news site The Insider. Tsemach is a...
Jump to postWell yeah...it takes a special interpretation of reality to see something positive in a situation where freedom of speech has regressed, people being jailed for posts made online, the ammount of political prisoners has grown since Yanukovitch was overthrown, corruption only increaded, quality of li...
Jump to postThe Ukrainian people have voted, in a relatively clean process without violence or major incidents. Poroshenko has conceded defeat, and has said that he will help Zelenskyi during the transition period. This is democracy at work in an orderly manner. This in itself is a major victory for Ukraine. It...
Jump to postUkraine is getting less corrupted, may be not as fast as I would like to, but the progress is noticeable. The most important thing is that the people are not afraid of their government, and the government knows that they do not have a stranglehold on power, like Putin does. So, they cannot abuse th...
Jump to postFive years ago, on February 22, 2014, Ukraine's Parliament deposed Viktor Yanukovych as President of Ukraine, with 328 votes (out of 450) in favor. Yanukovych had fled Kyiv the evening before, following a tumultuous week during which about 100 protesters were killed on the streets of central Kyiv. D...
Jump to postJanuary 2019, so far: 2 Su-34 collided over Sea of Japan, with casualties. https://www.aex.ru/news/2019/1/19/192741/ Tu-22M3 crashed on landing in Murmansk region, reportedly with casualties. https://tass.ru/proisshestviya/6026357 Footage of the Tu-22M3 crash: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_con...
Jump to postRather than changing the Constitution of the Russian Federation to stay in his current position beyond 2024, Putin may seek a union between Russia and Belarus to create a new position for himself as President of this union. https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-01-08/putin-is-seeking-to-re...
Jump to postYeah, Ukraine and kinda is still Ukraine. However it is a pretty split country with one side supporting the west and the other Russia. Playing your broken record does not make it less broken. Public opinion in Ukraine has shifted a lot, and it has not shifted in Russia's favor. https://www.ukrinfor...
Jump to postIt has become impossible to have any serious debate on any Russia or Ukraine related topic on a.net. The pattern is always the same: some thread is started on a Russia or Ukraine related topic, the Russian trolls come in, the debate degenerates into a shouting, insulting, and propaganda match, and t...
Jump to postUNGA adopted a Ukraine-initiated resolution urging Russia to withdraw its military forces from the occupied Crimea and condemning the increasing Russian military presence in parts of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. 66 for, 19 against, 40 cosponsors Standing together with the world power wannabe ...
Jump to postFollowing the Kerch Strait incident, the US stepped up its intelligence gathering in the area around the Azov Sea.
An analysis by The Aviationist:
https://theaviationist.com/2018/12/11/a ... -incident/
US conducts 'extraordinary' observation flight to reaffirm commitment to Ukraine
https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/06/poli ... index.html?
Bellingcat published an analysis of the November 25 Kerch Strait incident:
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and- ... -incident/
One of the apparent consequences of the Azov Sea crisis: the US is reportedly considering giving the Ukrainian Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates. https://www.unian.info/politics/10303743-u-s-eyes-giving-ukraine-oliver-hazard-perry-frigates-to-boost-defenses-in-black-azov-seas.html If this mat...
Jump to postOne of the apparent consequences of the Azov Sea crisis: the US is reportedly considering giving the Ukrainian Navy Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates. https://www.unian.info/politics/10303743-u-s-eyes-giving-ukraine-oliver-hazard-perry-frigates-to-boost-defenses-in-black-azov-seas.html If this mate...
Jump to postUkraine is currently hosting the largest international aerial exercise in its history, "Clear Sky 2018". Today, in the context of this exercise, a UkrAF Su-27UB crashed, killing both pilots. One of the pilots is reportedly an American. https://thedefensepost.com/2018/10/16/ukraine-su-27-fi...
Jump to postThe Russian Orthodox Church today decided to cut all its ties with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, in retaliation for the latter's decision to recognize the independence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church... Moving to splendid isolation... https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/15/r...
Jump to postKurt Volker: Russia's Ukraine "operation" has backfired by making its former vassal state more pro-Western than ever, a US diplomat has said. "They [Russian leaders] are driving the Ukrainian people away from their historic relationship with Russia," Kurt Volker, the US state dep...
Jump to postIn a historic move, the Orthodox Church's Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul) today approved the establishment of an independent Ukrainian Orthodox Church, despite Moscow's strong objections and severe threats. https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/10/ukraine-orthod...
Jump to postNATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, speaking yesterday after the meeting of the NATO-Georgia Commission: We are also concerned by Russia’s military build-up in the Black Sea region. Black Sea security is a priority for NATO and for Georgia. We follow the situation in the Azov Sea very closely and we...
Jump to postThe agreement would have opened borders to goods and set the stage for travel restrictions to be eased, and included an EU offer to lend Ukraine 610m euros. No. This agreement was about exactly the opposite - Ukraine is to wide-open markets for EU exports, while 2/3 of the agreement's volume were r...
Jump to postThere is no point in discussing anything with Kiwirob. He was writing back in 2014 that the sanctions were going to be lifted soon, that the west was going to throw Ukraine under the bus, that life in occupied Crimea was all rosy and dandy, whereas in free Ukraine it was nothing but hell, and by the...
Jump to postKiwirob will tell you, 20 years is not that old for a navy ship.... 40 is about where they start to exit service with 50 being a general max (yes of course it is all dependent on the type of service they see). Their are not "great ships" but they are good ships, and a good ship is what yo...
Jump to postDuring a ceremony today in Baltimore, the Ukrainian Navy took delivery of two former US Coast Guard Island-class patrol boats (named Drummond and Cushing in US Coast Guard service). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Drummond_(WPB-1323) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Cushing_(WPB-1321) Preside...
Jump to postSeparatism is illegal under Russian law. The actions undertaken by Russia and its agents in Crimea are crimes under Russian law, if undertaken on Russian territory. Indeed, Crimeans are now being jailed for expressing pro-Ukrainian views. So much for the whole argument of the right of self-determina...
Jump to postTomorrow, Ukrainian President Poroshenko will be in Baltimore to take delivery of two US Island-class patrol boats for the Ukrainian Navy. The US offered these boats already some time ago, but that the delivery is now finally materializing may have something to do with the situation in and around th...
Jump to postThe Ukrainian Navy ships have completed their redeployment from Odesa to the Azov Sea. Donbas entered the port of Mariupol yesterday evening, Korets this morning. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian ships were subjected to Russian harassment and provocations during much of ...
Jump to postUK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson visited the frontlines in Eastern Ukraine last week, and pledged to increase the UK's training and support efforts to the Ukrainian Navy and military. As part of these efforts, Royal Marines will be deployed to Ukraine by year-end and the Royal Navy will step up...
Jump to postAround this time, two Ukrainian Navy ships (command/support/S&R ship A500 Donbas and seagoing tug A830 Korets) are attempting to cross the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea into the Azov Sea. The Ukrainian ships are being shadowed by two Russian patrol boats. A US Air Force RC-135V is reportedly ...
Jump to postThe Ukrainian ships have passed the Kerch Strait, accompanied (and harassed) by a flotilla of about 10 Russian Navy and Coast Guard / FSB ships. Footage of the ships passing underneath the Kerch bridge: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ntc9OFxZZE President Poroshenko has congratulated the crews on th...
Jump to postAround this time, two Ukrainian Navy ships (command/support/S&R ship A500 Donbas and seagoing tug A830 Korets) are attempting to cross the Kerch Strait from the Black Sea into the Azov Sea. The Ukrainian ships are being shadowed by two Russian patrol boats. A US Air Force RC-135V is reportedly p...
Jump to postA Mig-31 crashed yesterday. The pilots managed to eject. A technical problem is suspected. The Mig-31 fleet has been grounded pending the completion of an investigation. http://www.novinite.com/articles/192233/MiG-31+Interceptor+Jet+Crashes+in+Central+Russia+%E2%80%93+Russian+Defense+Ministry http:/...
Jump to postIt seems that the Syrian military accidentally shot down a Russian Il-20, using a Russian-supplied SAM system during an Israeli attack. The Il-20 went missing over the Mediterranean yesterday, with 14 crew on board. https://edition.cnn.com/2018/09/17/politics/syrian-regime-shoots-down-russian-plane/...
Jump to postNothing is known yet from independent sources. And yet our Scorpius is sure it were Ukrainian terrorists, whomever they might be, Russian backed or Ukrainians. If Russia would not back these rebels, it would have been over by now and a solution could have been reached. Dutchy, can you at least on s...
Jump to postScorpius wrote:Hi all. I'm from Russia and I'm ready to answer your questions. Let's have a little chat. If you are interested, of course.
US State Department statement on opening of Kerch bridge: The United States condemns Russia’s construction and partial opening of the Kerch Strait Bridge between Russia and occupied Crimea, which was done without the permission of the government of Ukraine. Crimea is part of Ukraine. Russia’s const...
Jump to postScorpius wrote:For those who are interested: link to the live broadcast of the opening ceremony of the bridge in Crimea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4edK9kuvlDo
Another crash in Syria. A Ka-52 went down, presumably due to a technical failure. Both crew members perished.
https://ria.ru/syria/20180507/1520095709.html
The Bellingcat Investigation Team has determined conclusively that the artillery attack on the Ukrainian town of Mariupol on 24 January 2015, which resulted at least 30 civilian deaths and over 100 injuries, came from Russia-controlled territory. Bellingcat has also determined that the shelling oper...
Jump to post