[Roosta]

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

A powerful explosion occurred at the Ural Factory in Solikamsk, Russia. This is one of the largest defense industrial plants in Russia, engaged in the production of explosives and ammunition.

Attachment 1217384

Happened on a smoke break.

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

The SBU detained an FSB agent who installed hidden webcams on the roads of Zaporizhzhia in order to record convoys of the Armed Forces

He installed his own hidden webcams along the main highways of the region.

The video cameras were supposed to broadcast car traffic online 24/7 with remote access to FSB personnel.

But the SBU stopped the FSB operation in time, and the agent never gave the Russians information that was of interest to the enemies.

One of the first tasks of this traitor was to collect information about the local regional SBU administration. In this way, he came to the attention of internal security and counter-intelligence of the Ukrainian special service.

He will never see daylight again.

[Poster101]

Originally Posted by duntez ↗

Not quite a proof that there were any military equipment or w/e in that post office warehouse, but this video proofs that UA is using Post office trucks to move army equipment. That logo on the side of the truck represent “UA Postservice” company

I guess a Tank is a big package to ship through the post office, but not like Russia needs to worry about justifying targeting civilians now, we are on like day 600+ of the war and they have not cared about targeting civilians in the past.

[kellyhound]

FSB "mole" was discovered in Zaporizhzhia OVA: the man was passing on information about the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the south.

To fulfill his task, the Russian agent got a job at OVA in October as the chief specialist of the cyber security department. Previously, he worked at an enterprise that carried out maintenance of military equipment.

2 months ago, the man offered his "help" to the occupiers on his own initiative. Now he faces up to 12 years behind bars.

[Roosta]

Going for a walk into the woods I see.

[duntez]

Kherson front.

[kellyhound]

The attack came at a critical time, in a critical location.

As world leaders congregated at the UN General Assembly in New York, a Ukrainian missile struck Russia's navy headquarters in occupied Crimea.

It was a devastating blow to Vladimir Putin's military presence on the peninsula it has illegally occupied since 2014.

Kyiv claimed the strike killed 34 naval officers, and soon after Russia moved the majority of its Black Sea fleet out of the port of Sevastopol.

Now, a group of partisans is claiming it played an important role in the attack, telling the ABC it provided critical intelligence to Ukraine's armed forces about Russia's Black Sea navy headquarters.

"The strike on the Russian Navy base was a direct strike at the core of the occupying military structure," a partisan, who requested anonymity and concealed their identity, said in a video sent exclusively to the ABC.

"We believe that this destruction served as an irreversible point for the Russian occupiers to realise their impending collapse."

The ABC can't independently verify the partisan's claims.

The partisan is a member of the Crimean Combat Seagulls, an underground resistance movement that responded to a list of questions sent to the group by the ABC via an encrypted messaging app.

The Seagulls emerged in September last year, following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

They have claimed responsibility for sabotaging railways, arson attacks on Russian military vehicles and soldier's cars inside Crimea.

They describe themselves as "free Ukrainians in Crimea" and do not disclose their membership numbers.

Crimea is critical to Russia's ability to supply its front-line troops.

It was used by Russia as a launching pad for its invasion of southern Ukraine in 2022, and its warships based in the Black Sea have been firing missiles at Ukraine's civilian population since then.

"This deadly action resulted in the elimination of many high-ranking enemy military officers, which made them realise the danger of remaining in Crimea," the partisan said.

When asked if the movement would be providing information on military targets inside Crimea following the recent delivery of long-range ATACMs missiles by the United States, the partisan said: "We have already provided critical information and are continuing to do so."

"We have reliable data transmission channels in place that we constantly use.

In a follow-up text message, the group said it gathered critical intelligence relating to Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters before the missile strike.

There have been reports in the Kyiv Post — Ukraine's oldest English-language newspaper — that Atesh, another Crimean partisan group, provided information about the location and activities inside the headquarters after cultivating naval servicemen who were disgruntled about pay.

The Crimean Combat Seagulls is one of at least three partisan groups operating inside the occupied region, including Atesh and the Yellow Ribbon movement — the latter says it's engaged in non-violent resistance.

Ukraine's National Resistance Centre helps partisans provide intelligence about locations, equipment, buildings and personnel in occupied territories and shows them how to do it in the most secure manner possible.

In the war between Russia and Ukraine, Crimea plays an important role.

In 2014, President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed the region from Ukraine.

Four years later, he opened a bridge to the peninsula from Russia, claiming Crimea had always been an integral part of Russia.

Crimea had been a part of Russia from 1783 when Catherine the Great annexed it on behalf of the Russian Empire.

Then, in 1944, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin expelled the whole Crimean Tatar population — more than 200,000 people — after he falsely accused them of mass collaboration with the Nazis.

Crimean Tatars say more than 100,000 of their people died of starvation and disease after the deportations.

In 1954, Stalin's successor Nikita Khrushchev transferred Crimea back to what was then known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.

When Ukraine gained independence in 1991, Crimea remained a part of the nation.

After being annexed, Crimea became a crucial staging post for the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Cutting off the peninsula and its supply lines to Russian troops is now a key part of Ukraine's war strategy.

That goal has proved difficult to achieve. Ukraine's counter-offensive south of Zaporizhzhia has failed to achieve the kinds of breakthroughs its leaders and allies had hoped for.

The head of Ukraine's armed forces, General Valery Zaluzhny, recently admitted the war had reached a stalemate and there could soon be pressure on Ukraine to enter peace negotiations with Russia.

There has been speculation that Ukraine could be forced to give up Crimea as part of any peace settlement. But Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is adamant Crimea must be returned to his country.

"We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. As long as Crimea is under Russian occupation, it means one thing: The war is not over," he said.

President Zelenskyy's Permanent Representative for Crimea, Tamila Tasheva, says the peninsula has always been connected to mainland Ukraine, both geographically and politically.

"As a Crimean Tatar woman, I can say that this is clear. Crimea is the territory where the indigenous peoples of Ukraine, Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks, were formed," she told the ABC.

Ms Tasheva was born in Uzbekistan after her family was exiled due to Stalin's mass deportations. She returned to Crimea as a five-year-old in 1991 when Ukraine gained independence, only to face exile once more following Putin's annexation of Crimea in 2014.

She said that since then, Crimea has been transformed into a military base for Russia and that it was critical for the future of security in Europe the region is returned to Ukraine.

"It's one of the pillars of the peace formula, which was presented last year [at the G20] in Bali by President Zelenskyy," she said.

"It's an issue of military and security stabilisation in the region. If we do not retake Crimea, it means that in a few years after we finish this war, Russia will restart the invasion of Ukraine [from Crimea]."

Ukraine says that across nine years of Russian occupation, political persecution, torture, discrimination and the violation of property rights has become a part of everyday life in Crimea.

"Currently, there are 189 political prisoners, 123 of them are Crimean Tatars," Ms Tasheva said.

"The persecution began back in 2014, including enforced disappearances on the territory of the peninsula. During all this time, there were 45 enforced disappearances."

Ukraine says that since 2014, Russia has illegally conscripted over 36,000 Crimean residents into military service.

Crimea has also become a hub for the so-called "children's camps" that have been used to facilitate illegal child deportations to Russia, which Putin has been indicted for by the International Criminal Court.

Ms Tasheva says even the most minor acts of defiance can lead to detention under the Russian occupation in Crimea.

"We know that people are detained for having yellow-blue manicures on their nails or women or men who tattoo themselves with Ukrainian symbols," she said.

"Oleksiy Ladin, who was involved in the defence of Ukrainian political prisoners, was recently detained for 14 days and fined for allegedly discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation."

With a crackdown on minor dissent inside Crimea, it means the activities of the partisan movement are especially dangerous.

"Every activity of the resistance movement is risky, especially when you have to fight against a massive totalitarian machine," the Seagulls' partisan said.

"Obviously, we feel the danger because our lives and the lives of our loved ones are at stake.

"However, this does not deter us from facing the challenge. As for the Russian agents, they are certainly trying to expose and suppress us.

"At least they create this impression. So far, there have been no effective attempts to undermine our work."

Last weekend, there were further attacks aimed at key military sites in Crimea.

A shipyard in the port of Kerch was struck on November 4. Ukraine's military claimed a Russian warship used to launch Kalibr missiles was significantly damaged in the attack.

It followed the first attacks on Crimea using ATACMs long range missiles on October 30, which damaged Russian air defence.

The Crimean Combat Seagulls believe these missile strikes are giving birth to "panic and self-doubt" among the Russian military and warn the numbers of partisans willing to risk their lives for their cause is growing.

"We can confidently state that the resistance movement in Crimea has grown to unprecedented proportions over the past year," the partisan said.

The ABC has not independently verified that claim.

"With each new enemy defeated on the peninsula, Crimean residents clearly feel the approach of the Ukrainian army and [are] preparing for the upcoming liberation from Russian occupation," the partisan said.

However, liberating Crimea is easier said than done.

Assuming Russian troops did not withdraw or surrender, Ukraine's armed forces would have to make their way through a narrow strip of land, 5 to 7 kilometres wide, known as the Isthmus of Perekop, to get to Crimea.

Many Russians believe that Crimea is legitimately theirs. If Ukraine retakes the peninsula, it would be a massive challenge to Putin's authority.

Kyiv estimates 500,000-800,000 Russian citizens have resettled there since 2014. It's likely the Kremlin will throw everything at the fight to keep the territory under Russian control.

The partisan from the Crimean Combat Seagulls believes Ukraine can recapture the peninsula.

"We want to convey one thing to the Russians. Crimea is a Ukrainian peninsula and only death awaits our enemies," they said.

[ljubodrag]

■ "If we lose this war, it won't be because of us at the front, it's honest here."

A Ukrainian fighter shares his frustration about the corruption in the government.

Hmmm, in my opinion, it's not a question of if but when.

How's this? Better?

[ljubodrag]

■ A UA commander tactfully notes the age of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "volunteers" who had been picked up on the streets and patiently repeats the main rules of behavior in the trenches during shelling.

Warning. Profanity. 18+

Is that Russian language?

[Roosta]

Originally Posted by ljubodrag ↗

■ "If we lose this war, it won't be because of us at the front, it's honest here."

A Ukrainian fighter shares his frustration about the corruption in the government.

Hmmm, in my opinion, it's not a question of if but when.

How's this? Better?

I don't know why you bother anymore as your just a joke around here.

[Guns N' Coffee]

Originally Posted by ljubodrag ↗

■ "If we lose this war, it won't be because of us at the front, it's honest here."

A Ukrainian fighter shares his frustration about the corruption in the government.

Hmmm, in my opinion, it's not a question of if but when.

How's this? Better?

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗