War in Ukraine

unconventional warfare declared on NATO countries by cutting their fiber optic cables??

Germany's defense minister says damage to 2 Baltic data cables appears to be sabotage

Germany's defense minister said Tuesday officials have to assume damage to two data cables under the Baltic Sea, one of which ends in Germany, was caused by sabotage — though he said they have no proof at present. Damage was detected Monday to the C-Lion1 cable that runs nearly 1.200 kilometers (750 miles) from the Finnish capital, Helsinki, to the German port city of Rostock. Another cable between Lithuania and Sweden was also damaged.

Speaking in Brussels, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Russia poses not just a military but also a hybrid threat, and that Europe needs to take a broad approach to defense. He said the damage to the two cables was “a very clear sign that something is afoot."

“No one believes these cables were severed by mistake, and I also don't want to believe versions that it was anchors that by chance caused damage to these cables,” he said at a regular meeting of European Union defense ministers. “So we have to state — without knowing in concrete terms who it came from — that this is a hybrid action. And we also have to assume — without already knowing it, obviously — that this is sabotage.”

The foreign ministries of Finland and Germany had already said Monday evening that the damage raised suspicion of sabotage. They said in a joint statement that the damage comes at a time that “our European security is not only under threat from Russia‘s war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors.”

 

hopefully the first of many now that they can go on the hunt with missiles instead of drones

Ukraine strikes Russian weapons depot with North Korean arms

Ukrainian units, in cooperation with other components of the army, struck the arsenal of the Russian 1046th logistics center near Karachev. According to the staff, twelve secondary explosions and detonations were recorded in the target area, highlighting the effectiveness of the operation.

Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Counteracting Disinformation, confirmed the attack on the warehouse belonging to the Main Directorate of Rockets and Artillery of the Russian Ministry of Defense. The depot stored artillery ammunition from North Korea, guided aerial bombs, anti-aircraft missiles, and ammunition for multiple rocket launchers.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the continuation of efforts to destroy Russian ammunition depots, aiming to curb Russia's aggression against Ukraine. They emphasized their determination to further weaken the military potential of the opponent through precise strikes on strategic logistic targets.

 

If this was Jeopardy, the question to your long-winded answer above would be "What is a Russian agent?"

 

I fairly certain that Trump has the minimum amount of self-awareness to realize that this was not a respectful gesture by Putin. And Trump craves respect and respectability. He thinks it should come automatically with the large bank account.

 

Chinese ship with Russian captain on way from Russia to Egypt was in vicinity of both cables at the time they were cut. What are the odds? It has now been detained by the Danish navy. Should the Danes search it or the Germans/Fins?

should this have it's own thread? may drag NATO into Ukraine if Germany/Fin interests attacked by Russia

Chinese Ship Suspected of Undersea Cable Sabotage Detained in 'NATO Lake'

The U.K. newspaper Financial Times reported that investigators of the severed cables are looking into the movements of the Chinese bulk carrier Yi Peng 3, which was en route to Egypt's Port Said from the Russian port of Ust-Luga. Social media reports said that the vessel had a Russian captain, although this has not been independently confirmed.

The Yi Peng 3 had passed close to both cables around the time each was cut on Sunday and Monday, according to maritime tracking group Marine Traffic. The vessel was then followed by the Danish Navy, according to open-source intelligence analysts.

"Ship suspected of damaging comms cables x 2 in Baltic Sea has been detained by Danish Navy," posted OSINT account auonsson on Bluesky, which tracks vessels in the Baltic. The post said that it was "anchored just outside Danish territory with patrol/dive Y311 SØLØVEN vessel guarding her."

"Frigate HDMS HVIDBJØRNEN might be present too (no AIS but made speed toward situation.)" the post added. "The Danish Defence can confirm that we are present in the area near the Chinese ship Yi Peng 3. The Danish Defence currently has no further comments," Denmark's military said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

 

perhaps it was a reminder that Melania isn't the only Trump he has naked pictures of and he isn't afraid to show them?

 

piss tapes!

I knew they’d resurface

 

Kompromat. An age old way of Russian business dealings

 

we really are sliding back into "Russia Russia RUSSIA"

 

I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but it probably is not related to what I was talking about.

 

Did we slide out of it at some point? You know you’re posting in a thread about Russia’s war of conquest against its neighbor, right?

 

I'm not the one somehow trying to tie this war into Russian kompromat

 

Anything not to have to develop real, common sense policy. Curious what the strategy will be for Vance, although I wouldn't be surprised to see them go Russia, Russia, Russia on JD Vance as well. At some point in the distant future, they'll figure out Americans aren't listening to them.

 

I'm not buying the conquest narrative. Each situation is unique. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait was unique in its own right. The history, underlying disputes and legitimacy are completely different for the conflict in Ukraine currently. Let us not forget that until the 90's, we had essentially ceded all of Eastern Europe to the Soviets, because they spilled blood to help us stop Hitler. Fast forward to 2014 and you have the U.S. stoking a coup in a border country that has historically been a part of Russia proper and further attempting to bring that country into it's defense alliance. And it's not like we weren't warned ahead of time.

It's intellectually dishonest to categorize everything as "conquest" simply because it doesn't align with your interests. And no, I don't support what Russia is doing, but I also understand the two sides would have stopped fighting a long time ago without American and British intervention. If Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians want to settle the conflict, they should be allowed to do so without judgment being passed.

 

tying djt's actions into his admiration for and apparent obligation to Putin too complicated to follow? Russians use kompromat/blackmail as a way of doing business. It is ingrained in their culture. Leverage and nothing is off limits. djt was doing business in Russia for a long time and has a fondness for young blondes. you seriously think that djt wasn't offered whatever vice he craved and had it was recorded for prosperity you probably think he won the election too.

my contract with a russian (actually Armenian but Moscow centered) had a mid 6 figure bonus tied to it if certain entitlements were secured. I was invited to go to Moscow for a meeting, unusual because we had meetings digitally. US rep for company warned me that they would offer whatever to get kompromat on me to get me to renegotiate my contract. Rooms would be bugged as well as whatever car we travelled in. Apparently he had learned the hard way. Investing $20k to get me to come to Moscow for two nights to renegotiate $500k out of my contracted bonus is a worthwhile investment. Just business. It is in their culture, it is how they do business.

 

It sounds like you simply don’t want to accept the definition of conquest, which we can call “That which is conquered; possession gained by mental or physical effort, force, or struggle.” Russia is attacking its neighbor to add to its own territory, and it has already “annexed” the parts it already occupies as well as parts it fails to occupy for the present. That is conquest.

And whatever agreements we made about spheres of influence under previous world orders is interesting but not relevant. We are not under that world order any longer. Ukraine is now a sovereign state with the inherent right and responsibility of self-defense. If you want to argue how things “used to be,” then why not justify Russia’s actions because under an even earlier world order we annexed Texas?

 

this must have been a high value target to be one of the first on the list once the gloves were taken off

wonder if it was a physical asset or a personnel asset they were targeting

Ukraine Struck Russian Command Center in Belgorod: Kyiv

Ukraine announced on Wednesday that it had successfully targeted a Russian command post in the town of Gubkin, located in the Belgorod region, approximately 168 kilometers (105 miles) from the Ukrainian border. It comes after President Joe Biden authorized long-range targeting inside Russia with ATACMS rockets capable of hitting positions up to 190 miles (300 km) away.

The attack targeted the command post of Russia's "Sever" group of forces, said Reuters, who added that the Russian defense ministry had said on Wednesday "it intercepted 44 drones launched by Ukraine's armed forces overnight, including three over the Belgorod region."
...................................
Ukraine used long-range ATACMS missiles against a target inside Russia for the first time on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian news agency RBC-Ukraine, citing a source inside the country's defense forces. The missiles struck a munitions storage facility near the city of Karachev in Bryansk Oblast in western Russia, over 70 miles from the Ukrainian border, on November 19, the outlet said.

"Indeed, this is the first time that ATACMS has been used to strike Russian territory. The strike was carried out on a facility in the Bryansk region, and it was successfully destroyed," the source told the outlet.

 

Newsweek reporting an entire regiment of more than 1000 Russian soldiers stationed in Volgograd has deserted.

"Among those who deserted the division, also referred to as "sochniks," which translates to "those who left their unit without permission," were 26 junior officers, a major, and two lieutenant colonels. Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Defense for the Russian Federation for comment via email."

MSN

 

As I stated earlier, Russia is the more vulnerable party to pressure in any future negotiations. Some of that evidence (like what is posted here) is becoming undeniably public, but much remains classified and is only now becoming available to the people who will make up Trump’s national security advisory team. It’s going to get progressively harder to argue with a straight face to “just let Russia have it.”