Russia - threadbanned users in OP

saabsaab · 17-10-2023 6:52pm

Putin is looking for distraction..

'Putin’s enabling of his “Arsenals of Evil” ally, Iran, resulted in the opening of a new front in Gaza in his war against the West.

Mitt Romney got it right in 2012 when he told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer that “Russia [is] without question, our number one geopolitical foe. … They fight every cause for the world’s worst actors.”

Later, during a presidential debate, Barack Obama responded to Romney, “The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back, because the Cold War’s been over for 20 years.”

But this is not your 1980’s Russia — it is worse. Under Putin’s leadership, it has militantly sought to restore its prominence and establish a new global order in its likeness. There was never going to be a Russia reset. And the ramifications of failed Russia policy has been on full display for the last 11 years — under both Republican and Democratic presidential leadership.

Russia has fomented discord, violence and division throughout the Sahel, the Black Sea, the Middle East, the Balkans and the Baltic States. It has done so by sowing disinformation through social media platforms, by direct interventions and by funding and training insurgents to overthrow governments through the use of mercenaries such as PMC Wagner.

Moscow has brutally suppressed uprisings in Chechnya and Syria, supported insurrections in Niger and Sudan, illegally annexed “Russian-speaking” territories in Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine and Crimea, and, in February 2022, launched its “special military operation” in Ukraine — so far a failure that threatens Putin’s aspirations.

He needed a distraction, and last weekend he got it.

The Kremlin’s surreptitious activities resurfaced in a surprise attack on Israel by the terrorist group Hamas, code-named Operation Al-Aqsa. Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor, described the attack as “the single deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust.”It was a multi-domain assault — air, land, sea, and cyber. Well beyond the recognized capabilities of Hamas, fueling speculation that the terrorist organization received direct support from Iran, and likely from Russia as well.

The Washington Post and Wall Street Journal confirmed the speculation with respect to Iran. Both reported that Hamas “began planning the assault at least a year ago, with key support from Iranian allies who provided military training and logistical help as well as tens of millions of dollars for weapons” — and greenlighted the operation last week in Beirut. They also reported officers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had trained Hamas.

Putin also likely saw an opening after Congress passed its 45-day continuing resolution last week that provided no additional funding for Ukraine.

Now Israel, a historic and strategic ally in the Middle East, is under attack, facing its own 9/11, just as Russian forces in Ukraine are teetering on the edge of defeat in the Donbas and Crimea. Coincidence? Had the White House, while publicly supporting Ukraine, unwittingly painted itself into Putin’s corner?

The evidence for Russian involvement in this atrocity is circumstantial but present. Putin benefited from leveraging Hamas to incite terror and generate an Israeli response to distract the U.S. government from supporting Ukraine, and he used Iran to achieve his end.

Russia’s relationship with Iran — a principal supporter of Hamas — suggests a more nefarious relationship.

Hamas leaders traveled to Moscow in March 2023, where according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, their meeting “touched on Russia’s unchanged position in support of a just solution to the Palestinian problem.” More recently, Hamas politburo chief Ismail Haniyeh was in Moscow on Sept. 10. At the time, Hillel Frisch, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, thought the purpose of the meeting was “to signal [Moscow’s] displeasure with Israel, perhaps in relation to Ukraine.”Given the events of Oct. 7, a more likely explanation would be that he back-briefed the Kremlin on Hamas’s final preparations for the attack timed to take place on Putin’s 71st birthday — a quid pro quo.

Other activities suggest Russian support and organization.

According to the Ukrainian Center of National Resistance, members of PMC Wagner, who left Belarus for Africa, allegedly participated in the training of Hamas militants on “assault tactics and the use of small unmanned aerial vehicles to drop explosive devices onto vehicles and other targets.”

Israeli government and media websites were repeatedly targeted with distributed denial-of-service attacks — “a type of cyberattack that floods websites with traffic and forces them offline” — by hacking groups associated with Russia and allied with Hamas. Killnet and Anonymous Sudan claimed they had brought down multiple Israeli websites, including those of Israel’s security agency, Shin Bet and the Jerusalem Post.

A Russian disinformation campaign was launched immediately trying to associate weapons found in Gaza, used by Hamas to slaughter innocent civilians in Israel, with “Western-donated weapons” to Ukraine, implying that they had been sold on the black market to Hamas, in an attempt to “erode support for Ukraine.”

Finally, shortly after the initial attack, there was a call by Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova for Palestine and Israel to “implement an immediate ceasefire, renounce violence, exercise the necessary restraint and establish, with the assistance of the international community, a negotiation process aimed at establishing a comprehensive, lasting and long-awaited peace in the Middle East.”

After 20 months of the Biden administration providing Ukraine just enough military aid to survive, the Kremlin likely created conditions in Israel to divide the U.S., allowing disinformation to seep within the American political fabric, designed to create dissension and paralysis while placing doubt in the minds of America’s allies. The administration must now support two crises, Ukraine and Israel, while managing a Chinese threat to Taiwan and a North Korean threat to South Korea and Japan. It will not be able to pivot its way out of this.

The National Security team that got the U.S. into this predicament is not the team Washington needs to get us out of it. Bold and resolute solutions are required. The administration can continue to battle the hydra, or it can cut off its immortal head.

That requires a Russia-first strategy — a decision that helps Ukraine actually win, while setting conditions for Israel’s security. Defending Israel is a top priority. The White House must strike a balance that meets Israel’s and Ukraine’s needs. The White House is trying to tie military aid to both together, and that is a step in the right direction.

But it must provide Ukraine with what it needs to win — namely, precision deep strike weapons and munitions, fighter jets, HIMARS-delivered cluster munitions, and engineering equipment to breach minefields and obstacles.

As Hamas continues its relentless rocket assault on Israel, the U.S. must sustain the Iron Dome missile defense system, while leveraging American military assets, including the U.S.S. Gerald R. Ford carrier task force, to keep Hezbollah and other potential regional adversaries in check.

In March, Biden got it right in Warsaw when he exclaimed, “For God’s sake, this man cannot remain in power.” A Russian defeat in Ukraine would likely bring an end to the Putin regime, and the cancer it propagates throughout the world — including Hamas.'

Dohnjoe · 17-10-2023 6:58pm

ATACMS!!

Polar101 · 17-10-2023 7:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121251137#Comment_121251137

I think you mean Královec region.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Královec_Region

seenitall · 17-10-2023 7:51pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121251173#Comment_121251173

Tldr? Here:

thereitisgone · 17-10-2023 8:11pm

So three launches, 3 hits

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1714349585542381575

Mike3549 · 17-10-2023 8:39pm

So... Are there any red lines left? Taurus? Nato boots?

Edit: nevermind, found one

https://twitter.com/reshetz/status/1714323918515822647?t=DMHnoaUvKB9IRtY_G7POCQ&s=19

rogber · 17-10-2023 9:52pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121251517#Comment_121251517

Nice..these seem to be doing serious damage. The world's attention is now very focused on the Middle East but it's essential to keep Ukraine supplied and supported, Russian victory cannot be allowed.

TheValeyard · 17-10-2023 11:14pm

More good news on the UAF side

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1714391029086921137

junkyarddog · 18-10-2023 12:14am

https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1714289327784767875

😂😂

18-10-2023 12:40am

This is too funny, blyat to you too honey 😂

https://x.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1714333364373626899?s=20

RoyalCelt · 18-10-2023 3:45am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121250985#Comment_121250985

Exactly. Remember those Russia heli's who were a thorn in the Ukrainian counter offensive. These would have at the very least reduced that threat and saved Ukrainian lives and armour.

Rawr · 18-10-2023 6:48am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121252663#Comment_121252663

Well 1996 is still a crap-load more advanced than the ~~1986~~ ~~1976~~ ~~1966~~ 1956 technology the Russians are fielding now.

With ATACMS confrimed I wonder if the Russians had any plan for the threat of them. This pretty much puts nearly everything in occupied areas in striking range of the AFU. To keep their supplies safe the Russians will have to pull everything deep into Russia proper, making their already crap supply-chain even more useless.

Futhermore, the Kerch Bridge is now toast if the AFU can get close enough to the Azov coast.

TheValeyard · 18-10-2023 8:03am

Something up?

https://twitter.com/astraiaintel/status/1714520033034944582

m2_browning · 18-10-2023 8:19am

https://mil.in.ua/en/news/u-s-delivers-all-promised-m1-abrams-tanks-to-ukraine/

Things are looking up and up for Russian imperialists this week.

So much for arguments made here that it take months for things like ATACMS to arrive or that the shitshow in the Middle East will be a distraction

eoinbn · 18-10-2023 9:08am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121252841#Comment_121252841

The 1996 variant(M39) has a range of 165km, so well short of that is needed for Kerch. Also a submunition bomb like this wouldn't do much damage to a bridge.

m2_browning · 18-10-2023 9:48am

https://youtu.be/1okDKJwAaf8?si=aM_td6XFGKeYJ3V1

Warning: your eyes will hurt after rolling them so much after this.

Dubh Geannain · 18-10-2023 9:54am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121252939#Comment_121252939

Just Rybar at the moment. Reporting that Ukraine captured Poima. It could be another raid or it could be nothing. I guess we need to see where the Russians start shelling or hitting with drones.

zv2 · 18-10-2023 10:22am

Drone attack

https://twitter.com/Alfaiomi/status/1714562228513357985

From another post-

On the night of October 18, the #Ukraine security service used drones to attack a military camp near the #Khalino airfield in the #Kursk region.

According to the SBU, up to 3,000 soldiers and military equipment were stationed there.

josip · 18-10-2023 11:08am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253290#Comment_121253290

But if you could only pick 1 'just', you'd go for Rybar.

I can't see this as being anything more than a raid or diversion to draw troops away from the Zaphorizhia front line. Without heavy equipment they'll take heavy losses attempting to defend any kind of bridgehead.

TheValeyard · 18-10-2023 11:12am

Talk of a large scale drone attack on Kursk.

Mike3549 · 18-10-2023 11:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253735#Comment_121253735

Literally 2 posts above, zv2 posted the same. But ur post made me laugh 😅

zv2 · 18-10-2023 11:55am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253735#Comment_121253735

I put a link a few posts back.

m2_browning · 18-10-2023 12:07pm

https://twitter.com/DarthPutinKGB/status/1714278523127660932?s=20

Who elected this numpty

Mike3549 · 18-10-2023 2:04pm

https://twitter.com/Maks_NAFO_FELLA/status/1714616656901615918?t=m5TMYBbjUGPMjRjB_X6dXg&s=19

4 in one week.

Grain of salt, there are no photo/video evidence for all of them

Field east · 18-10-2023 2:17pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121247955#Comment_121247955

Unless one is a ‘student ‘ of the worlds’ religions I, I would not blame anyone for some people to get mixed up in what religion is the main religion in any country. Some countries Have a good mix of the main religions, others have one dominant religion and there are some religions consisting of various sects/divisions within eg Saudi Arabia is nearly all Muslim but it follows a more ‘conservative/strict ‘branch called Wahhabism. I think that another interpretation of the Koran by another branch of the followers of Islam are called Salfais

Dubh Geannain · 18-10-2023 2:20pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253290#Comment_121253290

Confirmation Ukraine are/were in the area.

https://twitter.com/NOELreports/status/1714588499423203343

macraignil · 18-10-2023 4:05pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121254785#Comment_121254785

Article with some more details on Ukrainian activity on the left bank of the Dnipro river:

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/22902

Hopefully another thorn in the side of putin's occupying forces and suggestions in the article that the railway bridge near there that was damaged by retreating moskovytes may still have foundations that would be useful in making a more substantial river crossing.