Ammunition dumps get blown up sometimes in war.
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Apparently it was a storage for old soviet ammunition that was way past its best, its one of the disposal sites.
I personally donāt think they would be keeping many staff around, knowing its a stock pile of old soviet munitions thats not very stable, with bombs dropping out the sky at any time.
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The Freedom of Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps punched through the Russian checkpoint at Kozinka, Belgorod, and advanced 10KM to take 4 villages.
The circular underground structure on the top right used to be where Russia kept some nuclear warheads and missiles.
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I was like, āwait, Ukraine took Russian territory?ā, but itās more complicated. For anyone else who shares my ignorance, some context:
A group of anti-Putin Russian nationals ā who are aligned with the Ukrainian army ā has claimed responsibility for an attack in Russianās southwestern region of Belgorod, as Moscow said it was fighting a group of saboteurs there.
Shelling damaged an administrative building, several residential buildings, and a kindergarten in the area, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who said there were no fatalities.
In a Telegram post, groups calling themselves the āFreedom of Russia Legionā and āRussian Volunteer Corpsā said they had āliberatedā a settlement in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.
A Ukrainian official acknowledged that the units had carried out an operation in the area but insisted they were acting independently.
āWe can confirm that this operation was carried out by Russian citizens,ā Andriy Yusov, a representative of Ukraineās defense intelligence agency, told CNN.
He said the units were āpart of defense and security forcesā when they were in Ukraine, but were independent from Kyiv when they were not: āIn Russia they are acting as independent entities.ā
Iām still not quite sure how to feel about it, though. I mean, being anti-Putin is great, but Russians shelling Russian kindergartens seems less great? And is there any chance they were using NATO-supplied weaponry? And what does it mean if they were?
So a group of soldiers took it upon themselves to attack targets in Russia without orders? You would think that Ukraine wouldnāt be happy about that.
I think I saw a propaganda video about this group lately, it seems to be organized. Good, make Russia disperse its forces more.
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Oh snap
Wut
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Lol flipboard showed me a year old story and i didnāt check the date!
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Then have a new story.
Drone attack on Russian ships, Russia say you missed, Ukraine say we hit, both with video evidence.
My take is there was more than one drone, some got shot but at least one hit.
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Just some Russian seaman smoking excessively.
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It was definitely a hit. However, the Russian Intel ship Ivan Khurs is nowhere to be seen. One could only assume that being a top secret intel ship, Ivan Khurs transformed into a submarine to dodge further drone strikes.
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Using cheap drones against very expensive naval ships with a lot of humans on board is just upending the whole idea of naval warfare isnāt it.
Iāve been expecting Ukraine to attack their missile boats at some stage
This is a great read by Fiona Hill, looks at the conflict through the lens of multiple perspectives and properly assesses the geopolitical implications.
A little long, but might be worth it for a lazy Sunday read.
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Iāll give it a go, lots of good analysis out of Brookings
Ok, not really anything in there I disagree with, but:
- Could have pointed out the value of the US led post WW2 system which has arguably prevented some conflict and helped lift millions if not billions from poverty
- Treats China with kid gloves, naive if not disingenuous; for example while China hasnāt overtly supported the Russian invasion they are absolutely supporting their unlimited partner
- Russia and China are not immune to a colonial mindset, and many of the countries who prefer their alternative are also dictatorships
Not every piece can include every factor, but I thought these things could be at least acknowledged
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I think this piece is intended for an American policy-minded audience, who takes those things for granted, rather than trying to paint the big picture.
Check out the conference info, speakers, and agenda. They had sessions in Shanghai, but mostly European participants/location/focus
This looks like it was the keynote speech
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Got you, but same basic dynamic.
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