[Roosta]

Should put a team in play to take the fucker out as soon as he steps off the plane.

[kellyhound]

russian armed forces are increasingly using chemical gas as a means to break through Ukrainian defensive lines.

In some instances, Ukrainian units are exposed to gas attacks up to two or three times a day, significantly hindering their effective defense and forcing them to constantly abandon positions to save lives.

Chemical weapons expert Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a retired British colonel, notes that since January 2024 the number of gas attacks in Donbas has drastically increased.

Since February 2022 the Ukrainian army has reported around 600 such cases, but within just nine months this year that number has risen to around 4,000.

In the British newspaper "The Telegraph," De Bretton-Gordon recalled that chemical gas broke the deadlock of trench warfare in April 1915, when Germans used chlorine against unprepared Allied troops. The expert points out that a similar tactic is currently being used in Ukraine.

He also highlights the fact that some Ukrainian units are subjected to gas attacks up to two or three times a day, most commonly using CS gas or chloropicrin.

Both of these substances are illegal according to the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention, to which both russia and Ukraine are signatories.

Drones drop gas canisters into trenches, causing soldiers to experience suffocation and vomiting, forcing them to leave their shelters. As they leave their positions, reconnaissance drones precisely direct artillery fire on them.

The expert emphasises that assistance from the UK and the UN is essential in this situation. In particular, London should supply Ukraine with modern gas masks since British companies are leaders in their production, meeting the needs of entities such as the US Department of Defense, the British Ministry of Defence, and most NATO countries.

Bretton-Gordon stresses that approval for such assistance should be easier and faster than procedures related to the provision of lethal weapons, which President Zelensky is seeking. "We cannot waste time" – the expert appeals.

[dabruster]

Seems like these Russia/Ukraine war threads are a lot of opinionating, and not much documenting. Scrolling through the images and videos, labelled "the enemy", appear to only document casualties to one side. Where does one go to get neutral journalism anymore?

[kellyhound]

Vladimir Putin is reportedly living with his gymnast girlfriend on a vast, heavily-guarded country estate featuring several palatial mansions and a playground for their young children.

Alina Kabaeva, a 39-year-old Olympic rhythmic gymnastic champion who has long been linked with the 70-year-old Russian leader, lives in a villa on Putin’s estate on Lake Valdai, about 250 miles north west of Moscow, according to a report from Russian investigative news site The Project.

The Russian president has reportedly bought his lover a property empire worth $120 million (£100 million) through a slush fund in Cyprus, the site reported.

Construction on Ms Kabaeva’s mansion began in 2020 and was completed two years later, according to The Project.

At nearly 13,000 square feet, the mansion was built entirely of wood in the style of a Russian dacha. Construction was carried out by a company owned by Yuri Kovalchuk, the Russian businessman also known as “Putin’s banker”.

Unnamed officials told The Project they had seen children on the premises, and satellite images taken between 2016 and 2020 showed a playground in the woods believed to have been built for the family.

The area has been frequented by Ms Kabaeva’s distant female relatives, described as her chaperones in leaked train manifests. The chaperones also reportedly own properties in the area.

The house where Ms Kabaeva is said to live is located just 800 metres (2,640ft) from Valdai, Putin’s best-guarded and most private residence, where he almost never holds public meetings.

Photographs of that mansion, leaked by a construction executive who worked around the house until 2005, showed opulent interiors reportedly inspired by Putin’s love for his hometown of St Petersburg and its eighteenth-century Hermitage Museum.

One image purportedly shows the president’s study bedecked with ornate mahogany furniture and featuring the secure landline phones used by top Kremlin officials.

In another room, gilded chairs can be seen arranged around a glass table and a spherical chandelier, with golden leaves hanging from the ceiling.

Guests to the house were encouraged to reach out and take one, the contractor claimed. Another photo appears to show a massive chandelier decorated with rubies.

The existence of the villa was first reported in 2021 by the team of Alexei Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, who claimed that budget funds were used to lease the property from Mr Kovalchuk, the businessman.

Both the Russian president and Ms Kabaeva have repeatedly denied that they are in a relationship.

Unnamed officials who attended Putin’s private parties said they had never seen the two together but they have no doubt that they have a relationship, saying that only top-ranking officers in the president’s security detail were aware of the details of their arrangement.

In another sign of her proximity to Putin, Ms Kabaeva was, in 2014, appointed to lead Russia’s National Media Group, a sprawling media holding owned by Mr Kovalchuk, despite having no relevant experience. The position provides her with an annual income of about £8.6 million.

The investigation drew on documents provided by an unnamed whistleblower described as an executive in the “business empire of one of the president’s closest friends” who was directly involved in managing a Cyprus-based company used as a slush fund for the president.

The whistleblower contacted the journalists as he was outraged by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said the Russian regime “must be stopped”.

Documents reviewed by The Project revealed how Putin’s close friends and their companies were pumping money into Ermira, the Cypriot company, which was later used to buy luxury estate and provide for the needs of Putin and his family.

The Russian leader was also accused of racking up profits from the sale of a popular vodka brand named after him that appeared on the market in the early 2000s. Property rights to the vodka were repeatedly transferred between his childhood friend Arkady Rotenberg and the Cyprus-based company.

The vodka sales alone would have earned Putin at least half a million dollars between 2004 and 2019, according to The Project’s estimates.

Known for her secretive lifestyle, Ms Kabaeva was revealed as the owner of a number of other luxury properties across Russia, including a penthouse in Sochi on the Black Sea which is believed to be the biggest apartment in Russia.

While the apartment was briefly on sale, 3D visualisations available online showed its over-the-top luxurious interiors such as a dining room with marble floors and walls and gilded bannister rails on the stairs between the floors.

The gymnast’s properties were registered in the name of her relatives, including her elderly grandmother.

[Roosta]

Living it up while his people suffer.

[houseoftechno]

Originally Posted by dabruster ↗

Seems like these Russia/Ukraine war threads are a lot of opinionating, and not much documenting. Scrolling through the images and videos, labelled "the enemy", appear to only document casualties to one side. Where does one go to get neutral journalism anymore?

Being neutral does not mean wearing blinders. Russia military operations invaded Ukraine, killed their citizens, destroyed their infrastructure/economy and stole their territory. In my neutral assessment, that makes Russia the bad guy. It is human nature: People don't root for the bad guy.

[LionsDen]

Originally Posted by dabruster ↗

Seems like these Russia/Ukraine war threads are a lot of opinionating, and not much documenting. Scrolling through the images and videos, labelled "the enemy", appear to only document casualties to one side. Where does one go to get neutral journalism anymore?

Yep, that's why I gave up commenting on the war here. Most of the news over here are one sided and their sources are not trustworthy.

[LionsDen]

Originally Posted by houseoftechno ↗

Being neutral does not mean wearing blinders. Russia military operations invaded Ukraine, killed their citizens, destroyed their infrastructure/economy and stole their territory. In my neutral assessment, that makes Russia the bad guy. It is human nature: People don't root for the bad guy.

Yes what you are saying are part true. But you don't know exactly why the war started, only Putin and Zelensky can answer that question. Nevermind the bs media news most of it are lies anyway. I follow telegram channels and it's the total opposite of what is reported over here.

I love this website but if you are going to release news then make sure it's real and not one sided.

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by LionsDen ↗

I follow telegram channels and it's the total opposite of what is reported over here.

Please enlighten us as we follow tg channels also.
Total opposite lol

[Roosta]

LionsDen, Haven't seen any of your posts to do with Russias invasion of Ukraine & I've been following this war on a daily basis, like many others, since the start of this SMO back in Feb 22 & then I saw your Bio join date as Dec 23, so in actual fact you have no comprehension of the conflict / invasion & for you to make a comment of things being "Part True" what part of the russian genocidal scorched earth policy towards the Ukrainian ppl, culture & history don't you understand or consider "Part True".
Is the russian shelling of schools, hospitals, kindergartens, play grounds, shopping malls, residential complexes & the like, only "Part True".
Is the execution of Civilian Men, Women & Children only "Part True".
I strongly suggest that you go back to the start of russias invasion of Ukraine, documented here & see the level of cruelty inflicted on the people of Ukraine before you start talking shit !

Total Opposite !

Enlighten us on the actual facts that bought us to this point in time.