[WonderMomma]

Bloggers in Bulgaria wonder if this convoy of vehicles is headed to Ukraine.

[WonderMomma]

The latest news from the Russian side about the events on Belgorod on 22 May.




VIDEO:
Wow, Lyndsey Graham. That's fucked up. This is an example of why I LOATHE politicians.

[WonderMomma]

Looks like training... based on a video I posted yesterday... the hats look like it could be Spain but they're speaking Ukrainian? I wonder if these are new trainees... looks like it could be something they are made to do.

"Lesson in love"

[WonderMomma]

"Ukraine officially requested Taurus cruise missiles from Germany, - Spiegel

The Ukrainian side recently sent a request for the supply of a German analogue of Storm Shadow with a range of up to 500 km to Germany, the newspaper writes.

The receipt of an official request was confirmed by the German Ministry of Defense. How many missiles of this type Ukraine expects to receive is not specified."

[WonderMomma]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

"The first group of 400 Ukrainian soldiers has begun training on American Abrams M1 tanks in Germany, the Pentagon reports.

The training will last 10-12 weeks."

"The arrival of Abrams M1A1 tanks at the Grafenwehr training ground in Germany for the training of Ukrainian tankers."

[kellyhound]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

Bloggers in Bulgaria wonder if this convoy of vehicles is headed to Ukraine.

Exercise Saber Guardian 23, the third and final connected exercise making up the Dynamic Employment of Forces to Europe for NATO Deterrence and Enhanced Readiness 2023 exercise, or DEFENDER 23, begins May 29.

Led by U.S. Army Europe and Africa’s V Corps and a Romanian multinational division, Saber Guardian activities include Army prepositioned stock equipment draws; a tactical road march; river crossings; response to simulated chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear threat; and medical evacuation operations through the region. Simultaneously, the 41st Field Artillery Brigade will conduct Multiple Launch Rocket System/High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and HIMARS Rapid Infiltration missions in the Black and Baltic Sea regions, with USAREUR-AF’s 56th Theater Fires Command. Simultaneous combined arms training will also occur in these regions.

“Saber Guardian and exercises like it demonstrate our ability to quickly assemble, deploy, receive, onward move and integrate forces from the United States or from inside Europe in support of NATO requirements,” said Lt. Gen. John S. Kolasheski, commanding general, V Corps. “This is important as it provides U.S. and NATO leadership options for employing combat-credible forces across the conflict continuum.”

Saber Guardian, the largest of the Black Sea region exercises, includes more than 2,400 U.S. and 7,300 multinational participants. Countries participating in Saber Guardian include, but are not limited to: Albania, Bulgaria, Belgium, France, Greece, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia and the United States.

Saber Guardian will incorporate the State Partnership Program between Romania and the Alabama National Guard, who will deploy from the U.S. to Eastern Europe to conduct training and military-to-military engagements alongside their long-time partners.

“One of the great things about the DEFENDER exercise each year is how it showcases to the world the strength and capability of the NATO cooperation and, specifically, our National Guard State Partnership Program. It demonstrates a level of mutual understanding and international camaraderie against which nothing else on the globe can compare or withstand,” said Maj. Gen. Sheryl Gordon, adjutant general for the state of Alabama.

The Department of Defense’s SPP supports security cooperation objectives by developing enduring relationships with partner countries and carrying out activities to build partner capacity, improve interoperability and enhance U.S. access while increasing the readiness of U.S. and partner forces to meet emerging challenges.

“Hundreds of our Alabama National Guard Soldiers will be able to seamlessly integrate and operate alongside our Romanian counterparts on Romanian soil because we’ve been doing so for 30 years,” Gordon said. “That’s what makes these alliances unique.”

Romania signed a bilateral affairs agreement with the Department of Defense and the state of Alabama in July 1993, establishing the Alabama-Romania SPP.

[Roosta]

Originally Posted by Guns N' Coffee ↗

$332,666.50 each

Funny how there's a 666 in that price tag.

What are the chances, spooky !

[Roosta]

Originally Posted by WonderMomma ↗

DISCLAIMER: no clue if this information is true or not. I'm just reporting what I'm seeing all over the place.

Apparently, Lukashenko got extremely ill after closed door meeting at the Kremlin and is reportedly in a Moscow hospital in critical condition and his condition is considered non transportable. I'm posting some of what I'm finding below.

"Lukashenka's condition is serious, he is a non-transportable patient, blood purification procedures are currently being carried out, - says Belarusian opposition member Tsepkalo"
Attachment 1183529


Attachment 1183530


Attachment 1183532


Article from Ukrainska Pravda (take with grain of salt): https://news.yahoo.com/president-bel...204642610.html

President of Belarus hospitalised after meeting with Putin
Sat, May 27, 2023 at 16:46 PM EDT (20:46 UTC)
In this article:

Vladimir Putin
President of Russia

Alexander Lukashenko
President of Belarus since 1994

Valery Tsepkalo
Belarusian politician and diplomat

Valery Tsepkalo, Belarusian opposition leader, said that after a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko was taken to the Central Clinical Hospital of Moscow in critical condition.

Source: Tsepkalo on Telegram

Quote: "According to the information we have, which needs additional confirmation, Lukashenko, after meeting with Putin behind closed doors, was urgently taken to the Central Clinical Hospital of Moscow, where he is now located. The best specialists were sent to return him from a condition assessed by doctors as critical. [His - ed.] blood was purified, Lukashenko's condition was proclaimed not transportable.

The organised measures to save the Belarusian dictator were intended to ward off speculation about the possible participation of the Kremlin in his poisoning. It does not matter whether he returns to working condition or not, doctors warn of a possible recurrence of relapses. "

Details: Later, Tsepkalo added that there is an attempt to explain Lukashenko's stay at the Administrative Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation with a medical examination.

"The appearance of such a version is quite natural, as an attempt to hide the real condition of the patient, which is still critical. Previous cases of faltering health were also attempted to be silenced. And in this case, in order not to arouse suspicion, his plane was even sent to Minsk," the opposition leader says.

Earlier: On 24 May, Lukashenko participated in the Eurasian Economic Forum in Moscow. There, in particular, he said that Russian nuclear weapons had already begun to be transported to Belarus within the framework of bilateral agreements.

Background:
✴️There had been no information about Lukashenko’s whereabouts or the state of his health for a long time. He had not appeared in public or participated in official events since the Victory Day celebrations in Moscow and Minsk on 9 May.

✴️Independent journalists reported that on the evening of 13 May, Lukashenko’s convoy, accompanied by a State Road Patrol special unit, arrived at the Republican Clinical Medicine Centre of the Presidential Administration

✴️In the light of rumors about Lukashenko’s illness, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has said that the opposition should be "well prepared for every scenario".

✴️On 23 May, Lukashenko announced that he was absent from public space due to illness, but was not going to die.

Novichok 101.

Novichok (Russian: Новичо́к, lit. 'newcomer, novice, newbie'[1]) is a group of nerve agents, some of which are binary chemical weapons. The agents were developed at the GosNIIOKhT state chemical research institute by the Soviet Union and Russia between 1971 and 1993.[2][3][a][5][6] Some Novichok agents are solids at standard temperature and pressure, while others are liquids. Dispersal of solid form agents is thought possible if in ultrafine powder state.[7]

Russian scientists who developed the nerve agents claim they are the deadliest ever made, with some variants possibly five to eight times more potent than VX,[8][9] and others up to ten times more potent than soman.[10] As well as Russia, Novichok agents have been known to be produced in Iran.[11]

In the 21st century, Novichok agents came to public attention after they were used to poison opponents of the Russian government, including the Skripals and two others in Amesbury, UK (2018), and Alexei Navalny (2020), but civil poisonings with this substance have been known since at least 1995.

In November 2019, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which is the executive body for the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), added the Novichok agents to "list of controlled substances" of the CWC "in one of the first major changes to the treaty since it was agreed in the 1990s" in response to the 2018 poisonings in the UK.[12]

[WonderMomma]

"Neutral Austria allocates 2 million euros for demining in Ukraine after debate.

"Everything remains the same: no Austrian soldier will set foot on Ukrainian soil as long as it is a war zone. We will help with financial support for demining," Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said."


Video:
"Two intercepted calls published by GUR reveal total confusion in the Belgorod region during the Russian Volunteer Corps raid.

The first call witnesses a military man being severely frustrated by the lack of action by his command despite having knowledge of where the raid began. He says he wishes that Rubylovka, a prestigious residential area in Moscow, was raided, to see what would happen.

In the second call, a civilian recalls his conversations with a member of the territorial defence in Belgorod who were fully geared except for having weapons, which resulted in them "f*cking around all day" but otherwise being practically useless.

Overall, it appears the reaction to the raid missed some key elements such as proper intelligence and armament, leading to frustration of Russians in the area."

[WonderMomma]

"Governor of Belgorod region Gladkov proposes to join Kharkiv to Belgorod region.

In his opinion, only this will solve the problem of shelling of the region by the Armed Forces."

#belgorod #russianterritory #rdkfrl