Sanctions against Russia

[kgwilson]

A short film entitled Slaughterbots" was released  4 years ago and it shows what existing technology is capable of producing. It is scary but would be really useful if there were several thousands targetting all of the Russian Kremlin occupiers with political and military leaders. It was featured on the BBC and describes the near future.

 

The web page is autonomousweapons.org and is a plea from a large group of AI experts to try to get such things banned. I don't think they will succeed.

 

 

 

[onetrack]

Ukraine is slowly getting the upper hand in the artillery stakes. The Russians have been using their Cold War 240mm "Tyulpan" ("Tulip") mobile mortars - which are a fearful weapon when they strike.

But they have a shorter range than the Western artillery pieces, such as the U.S. 155mm, of which Ukraine is slowly acquiring more. Defence gurus who have been tracking the Russian losses claim the Ukrainians have wiped out 17 of the Tyulpans so far in the war, and the Ukrainians are getting better at finding them and destroying them.

 

The problem with trying to find the Russian artillery pieces is they hit and run. They stop, set up, fire a few rounds, and then push off, so they can't be found and hit. 

 

The problem for the Russians is trying to keep up enough ammo for these huge guns - and replacing the ones knocked out.

There are reportedly 60 Tyulpans in service, and it's suspected the Russians have hundreds more in storage. Whether those ones in storage can be brought to a serviceable condition within a satisfactory time frame is the $64 question. The Tyulpans were all built between 1959 and 1988, and modern Western artillery is going to have a major technological advantage over them.

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2023/07/03/russias-is-sending-its-heaviest-artillery-into-ukraine-and-it-is-getting-destroyed/?sh=5a5f8f1031ab

[Jerry_Atrick]

Prigozhin seems to have been killed is a plan e crash - I guess falling out of windows is not dramatic enough: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-08-24/wagner-chief-yevgeny-prigozhin-moscow-plane-crash/102768858

 

Though, there is apparently some doubt he was actually on the plane.

[red750]

Here is the report from the Guardian. Ch 7 news says his death has been confirmed by Russia.

 

 

 

Here is another report, from Ziv News Live:

 Putin loses his "General Armageddon", regarding Surovikin.

 

 

And the Ukranian Defense Ministry has claimed to have destoyed a tank convoy. Ukraine destroys Russian tank convoy

 

 

 

 

[red750]

Another report:  Prigozhin Plane Crash

 

Apparently his 2/I/C was also on board. Will there be reprisals from his supporters?

[octave]

Wagner Boss Dies After His Plane Accidentally Falls Out of a Window

 

[facthunter]

That would be a "Window of Opportunity"  Nev

[nomadpete]

Curious.  Somebody had their mobile phone in their hand at the time of the crash. And it was running in 'movie' mode, and was aimed at the sky at the very moment that the aircraft emerged and plummeted to the ground.

 

Dunno about you, but by the time I react to a bang and get my phone out and wake it up, the plane would have hit the ground.

[onetrack]

Don't break out the champagne just yet. There are multiple people who have changed their name to Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, and just because his name was on the passenger manifest list doesn't actually mean the real Prigozhin is dead.

 

Did anyone see the article that a second aircraft was following the Embraer, and it turned back and landed safely in Moscow after the Embraer crashed?

Was that aircraft a fighter jet, or was it another business jet carrying the real Prigozhin - and he decided that it was safer to land rather than continue the flight and have an "accident" happen to his aircraft?

 

Russia is the land of lies, lies and more lies, obfuscation, and deviousness, and the truth there is as scarce as unicorns. I reckon it will be years before we know the full story.

 

From the ABC ....

Why can't we be sure Prigozhin is dead?

48m ago

By Lucy Sweeney

What we have so far is a Wagner-linked plane that went down, and a passenger list with Yevgeny Prigozhin's name on it. Russian authorities are still identifying the remains of those on board,  however they have not yet confirmed Prigozhin is among the bodies.

We've seen Wagner-linked Telegram channels posting tributes to Prigozhin. As we just saw, there are makeshift memorials popping up at Wagner HQ in St Petersburg.

However, in Russia, everything is not always as it seems. There have been reports of a second jet owned by Prigozhin that landed safely in Moscow. Some security analysts have speculated that the crash could be a ploy to allow the Wagner chief to disappear quietly into a life of obscurity.

Keir Giles, a Russia expert with international affairs think tank Chatham House, was among those urging caution about reports of Prigozhin's death earlier today. He pointed out that "multiple individuals have changed their name to Yevgeny Prigozhin", as part of his efforts to make it harder for his enemies to track his movements.

So it may be some time before we can confirm Prigozhin's status.

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by onetrack

[red750]

There were reports that it was shot down.

[Marty_d]

If true, possibly the least surprising death in the history of the world...

[rgmwa]

Dmitry Utkin was apparently on board as well, plus another senior Wagner member. Wouldn't surprise me if Putin decided to get rid of the lot of them.

[onetrack]

I'm amazed - that if the reports are true, and Prigozhin is dead - that he was foolish enough to board an aircraft anywhere. I didn't think he would be that stupid.

 

Putin isn't going to board any plane to anywhere, any time soon. He knows that the instant he's airborne, he's 99% likely to end up as a lawn dart.

[spenaroo]

Does the hockey team still fly?
proud soviet tradition of plane crashes

Edited August 24, 2023 by spenaroo

[onetrack]

If the video is genuine, then Prigozhin (and everyone on that plane) endured a terrifying couple of minutes, knowing they were all doomed.

 

You'd have to hazard an educated guess that a bomb or bombs planted on board, were the reason the Embraer went down.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by onetrack

[willedoo]

If true, it's good riddance, but I was sort of hoping he would stick around for a while longer and keep needling putler and his clown princes.

[facthunter]

Wagner is a risk to the entire world. It has no redeeming features. Murderers/Assassins for Hire. Death and destruction for MONEY. 

[willedoo]

In other news, the Ukrainians destroyed an S-400 air defence battery in Crimea. It's embarrassing for Russia as they market it as the best state of the art air defence system in the world. Not only was it hit by an incoming aerial projectile, but the Ukrainians had a drone in the air to capture it on film. Erdogan in Turkey might be having second thoughts about whether it was worth it to give up the F-35 in order to have the Russian S-400 systems. He'll be starting to think he's been sold a dud.

[nomadpete]

3 hours ago, Marty_d said:

If true, possibly the least surprising death in the history of the world...

And that is why I think it was a set up.

[spenaroo]

7 minutes ago, facthunter said:

Wagner is a risk to the entire world. It has no redeeming features. Murderers/Assassins for Hire. Death and destruction for MONEY. 

yeah.... well they are Moscow's problem now. Putin may have shot himself in the foot

what's going to happen now they don't have leadership to follow.
how many are going to go back to normal life and get a regular job?
more likely organized crime is about to get a decent expansion

[facthunter]

Those types don't go back to normal (BORING) lifestyles easily. Many are adrenalin Junkies. Nev

[nomadpete]

Would anybody even notice if a wealthy podgy, bald old foreigner arrives for a long holiday on an island somewhere in the Carribean?

[onetrack]

The Wagner fighters have apparently been leaving Belarus in sizeable numbers because of poor pay. a major reduction in what they were formerly getting. No doubt, they'll be heading off to start criminal ventures, or to find places where they can get away with major criminality. Africa must look good for many of them, but they'd do well to remember, life is cheap in Africa.

[willedoo]

I think Wagners were helping out the Niger coup regime. Who knows what will happen there now if the Wagner leaders are gone. There are other PMC's that have sprung up to try to squeeze Wagners out, so putler will probably still be able to play his Africa games.

 

There's been a lot of trouble in Russian regional areas with ex-prisoner Wagnerites coming back home after their war service. Some of them committed grisly murders in these towns only a couple of years ago and were safely locked away doing life sentences. Now locals aren't happy because the murderers are pardoned and back home in their community and have been committing more crimes. A lot of the ex-crims are not in the best mental state and are armed and angry. They're angry because they think the locals should treat them with respect as war veterans, not the murdering criminals they really are. Another thing making them cranky is that as private contractors, they don't qualify for any of the government post war service payments and benefits. On top of that Wagners have not paid a lot of them what was promised.

[willedoo]

Latest unconfirmed rumours are that a Russian Mi-8 pilot defected to Ukraine and landed in Poltava, 300klm from the front. Other alleged details are that it was transporting Su-27 and Su-30 parts at the time and that the pilot's family were relocated to Ukraine before the defection. Other reports say that two crew members were killed. Might be just a BS story, but we should find out in the next couple of days if it's true. If so, it would be the first surrender of a Russian helicopter.