(06-30-2023, 03:35 PM)Kenzo Wrote: I have seen many odd looking equipment that Russians are using now, but this is the weirdest





Is the left / top thing from hind heli ?



Mil Mi-24

Quote:VP of Russian bank Kristina Baikova, 28, falls to her death from window of Moscow apartment
30 June 2023, 08:15
Kristina Baikova, 28, died in a fall from her apartment in Moscow. Picture: Social Media

By Asher McShane
@ashermcs
A Russian banking executive, 28, has died after falling from a window of her Moscow apartment.
Kristina Baikova, the vice president of Loko Bank, fell from her 11th floor apartment on Khodynsky Boulevard on June 23 - the latest victim among leading business figures in Russia who have suffered mysterious deaths.
Ms Baikova died instantly at the scene.
She was in the apartment with a 34-year-old friend, named Andrei after inviting him there for a drink.
An investigation into her death is under way.
Hers is the latest in a string of unexplained deaths involving senior businesspeople including energy officials since the start of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Read more: France on fire: Paris riots spread as police make 667 arrests - while Macron slammed for attending Elton John gig
Read more: Bodies of Titan sub victims unlikely to be found as deep sea dive firm 'completes off-shore operations'
Kristina Baikova died in a fall from her apartment in Moscow. Picture: Social Media
 Fears of assassination attempts have risen in Russia after Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin sought to wage a mutiny against the Kremlin. He is now reportedly staying in a ‘windowless’ hotel room over fears he could be pushed to his death.
In May, Russia’s deputy science minister Pyotr Kucherenko, 46, died suddenly after falling seriously ill on a flight to Moscow after a business trip to Cuba.
In April energy boss Igor Shkurko was found dead in his prison cell after he was accused of taking a bribe.
Dan Rapport, a well-known Putin critic, was found dead after plunging from his Washington DC luxury apartment building last August. His wife has refuted claims of suicide.
Weeks later, oil boss and vocal Putin critic Ravil Maganov fell from a window at a hospital in Moscow and died.
In December, IT chief Grigory Kochenov fell from his apartment balcony to his death while Russian authorities searched his apartment.
Also in December, a Russian sausage tycoon fell to his death from his hotel in India just two days after his friend, also from Russia, died at the same hotel.
The trend of senior executives and people critical of Putin dying in strange circumstances has been dubbed “Sudden Russian death Syndrome” with some two dozen officials and oligarchs reportedly dying in mysterious circumstances in 2022 alone.

(07-01-2023, 05:33 PM)F2d5thCav Wrote: The rocket launcher on the MTLB isn't a bad idea.  Being a recoilless weapon, they won't shake the vehicle when they fire.  They just have to be sure no one behind it has their head out of the vehicle when it fires!

Rockets for it are probably 57-mm.

Not sure about the cannon on it.  Looks like it was pulled out of an IFV turret and mounted without any shield for the gunner.  And it would have to VERY firmly mounted as, per eyeball judgment, it looks to be 100-mm or so in terms of bore diameter.

Cheers

(07-08-2023, 12:49 PM)727Sky Wrote: If all true this is some serious stuff for Russia.. 

  

Putin's Best Ally Turns Into a Brutal Enemy! Lukashenko Joined Forces with Poland Against Russia!

(06-30-2023, 03:35 PM)Kenzo Wrote: I have seen many odd looking equipment that Russians are using now, but this is the weirdest





Is the left / top thing from hind heli ?



Mil Mi-24

Quote: 
[/url] [url=https://share.flipboard.com/bookmarklet/popout?v=2&title=BREAKING: Biden calls up US military reserve units to deploy to active duty in Europe in 'Operation Atlantic]

• American News
  
• Jul 13, 2023
  

BREAKING: Biden calls up US military reserve units to deploy to active duty in Europe in 'Operation Atlantic Resolve'
Operation Atlantic Resolve is the official name of the unofficial operation supporting the war in Ukraine.




Libby Emmons Brooklyn NY
Jul 13, 2023 2 minute read


A presidential action posted by the White House on Thursday revealed that the President, under his authority as Commander-in-chief, is calling up US military units to deploy to active duty in Europe under what is being called Operation Atlantic Resolve. 

Operation Atlantic Resolve is the official name of the unofficial operation supporting the war in Ukraine, and is in response to Russia's invasion of the Donbass region. Operation Atlantic Resolve has been funded under the European Deterrence Initiative, and is intended, thus far, to strengthen NATO. The US has military in Eastern Europe, but has not called on Americans to fight to defend Ukraine.

"I hereby determine that it is necessary to augment the active Armed Forces of the United States for the effective conduct of Operation Atlantic Resolve in and around the United States European Command’s area of responsibility," President Joe Biden said.

As such, he authorized the ordering of any active duty units of the Coast Guard to serve as a unit of the Selected Reserve. The Selected Reserve is the "the most readily available group of Army Reserve Soldiers," according to the US Military. 

All members of the Selected Reserve can be mobilized in the event that an emergency arises and they are called upon to do so.

"In furtherance of this operation," Biden said, "under the stated authority, I hereby authorize the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security with respect to the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a service in the Navy, under their respective jurisdictions, to order to active duty any units, and any individual members not assigned to a unit organized to serve as a unit of the Selected Reserve, or any member in the Individual Ready Reserve mobilization category and designated as essential under regulations prescribed by the Secretary concerned, not to exceed 3,000 total members at any one time, of whom not more than 450 may be members of the Individual Ready Reserve, as they deem necessary, and to terminate the service of those units and members ordered to active duty."

President Biden is readying military forces to deploy to Europe. He made a promise to the American people in March 2022 that US troops would not be sent to fight in Ukraine on behalf of that nation's borders or in service to waging war against Russia.

Quote:A summit this year, however, wouldn’t include Russia, which has shunned any serious talk of peace and has held onto maximalist demands for any settlement, including annexation of territory its forces don’t currently control.

It comes as the war appears to have reached a stalemate, with neither side able to gain meaningful territory in recent months.

The meeting follows on from a gathering of senior officials in Copenhagen in late June, attended by Brazil, India, Turkey and South Africa. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan dialed into the meeting. Ukraine and several major European countries also participated.

For the Jeddah meeting, Saudi Arabia and Ukraine have invited 30 countries, including Indonesia, Egypt, Mexico, Chile and Zambia. It is not yet clear how many will attend, although the countries who took part in the Copenhagen talks are expected to do so again.

The UK, South Africa, Poland and the EU are among those who have confirmed attendance.

For now, Sullivan is expected to attend, according to a person familiar with the planning.

Saudi Arabia to Host Ukraine Peace Talks (full WSJ archived)

   

Quote:Digital Transformation in Ukraine: Before, During, and After the War

The process of digital transformation in Ukraine started long ago before the Russian full-scale invasion. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine was created in 2019, headed by Mykhailo Fedorov, to implement the “state in smartphone” project which was announced by President Zelenskyy. The vision of the Ministry is to build the most convenient digital state in the world without bureaucracy, absolutely paperless, and without the need to visit government offices. The big idea is that the state should work quickly, conveniently, and with a few clicks like Uber, Booking, or Airbnb.

...

Our Ministry team sees Ukraine in 2030 as the freest and most digital country in the world, with a powerful technological sector, the fastest customs in the world, and the best tax conditions. This year, Ukraine received the official status of a candidate for EU membership and will become a member of the EU. Ukraine will become the largest IT hub in Eastern Europe with the highest GDP growth rates, industrial parks, and our own Silicon Valley.

Deputy Minister for Eurointegration for the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine