The shadow war against Russia (and possibly for her as well!) cranked up several notches while we were enjoying our family and friends for Yuletide traditions. This is mostly in a two pair hand of absolute repeat narratives. If at first you don't succeed… Looks like New Year's resolutions may be on autopilot for next week. But of course that can be and likely is deceptive. But four events in hand are the topics for today.
The biggest is the crash of an AZAL flight from Baku to Grozny on Wednesday that crashed in Kazakhstan. Here's (most of) the story.
🔸🇦🇿🇰🇿🇷🇺 Based on the footage appearing online from the crash site of the Azerbaijani airline AZAL plane, the fuselage shows damage visually resembling the impact of air defense missile shrapnel.
The aircraft was en route to Grozny - at that time, the region was indeed experiencing a repulsion of an attack by launched Ukrainian UAVs. Several drones were shot down over Vladikavkaz in North Ossetia and the neighboring Ingushetia.
However, recordings of the crew's conversations with the air traffic controller have not yet been released online. The real cause of the crash will be known later after comparing all the data.
There were 72 people on board, of whom, according to the latest information, 32 passengers survived.
#Azerbaijan #Kazakhstan #Russia
@rybar Original msg🔸
Caliber News English YT🔸
Calafa Master YT🔸
And a series of photographs (above videos and these are all from a Yandex search for Azal Embraer 190 on Thursday) from the flight and immediate aftermath.
And some posts from our usual sources:
The first shots taken by rescuers from the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan shortly after the plane crash in Aktau.
📌SputnikInt🔸
Mile-high horror: Oxygen tank on board exploded, passengers lost consciousness before plane crash — Reports
It's claimed the oxygen tank blew out after the aircraft had hit a flock of birds.
#Kazakhstan🔸
🔸❗️Some of what we know so far: Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashes en route to Grozny
Rosaviatsia has confirmed that an AZAL Embraer 190, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near the eastern Caspian coast at approximately 9:30 am Moscow time while attempting to land at Kazakhstan’s Aktau Airport.
Preliminary investigations suggest a bird strike led to an emergency that forced the crew to divert to Aktau.
Kazakh emergency services are currently conducting search and rescue operations, while Rosaviatsia remains in contact with AZAL, as well as Azerbaijani and Kazakh aviation authorities.
RIA Novosti reports that survivors of the crash have been taken to the hospital - 67 people are alleged to have been on the plane.
#AZAL🔸
An Azerbaijan Airlines flight departing from Baku and headed for Grozny has crashed in Kazakhstan.
Here is what is known so far:
▪️There were 62 passengers and 5 crew members on board.
▪️Six individuals survived the crash.
▪️The crash was caused by a collision with a flock of birds.
▪️A total of 52 rescuers and 11 pieces of equipment from the Ministry for Emergency Situations of Kazakhstan have arrived at the crash site.
▪️The Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan has announced that a special investigation will be conducted into the crash.
📌SputnikInt🔸
A bird's-eye view of the plane crash site in Aktau, Kazakhstan.
From SputnikInt ⤴↩t.me/RTandSputnikNews🔸
🛬 An Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) plane flying from Baku to Grozny crashed in Aktau, local media reports.
Prior to this, it had requested an emergency landing.
Video source: Tengri🔸
🛩 Footage from the crash site of the plane.
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Emergency Situations reports that there are survivors.
🛩 An Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines, operating flight Baku-Grozny No. J2-8243, made an emergency landing 3 kilometers from the city of Aktau.
This was reported to Caliber.Az by the press service of AZAL.
According to preliminary information, the incident was caused by a bird strike.
#Caliber #plane #Azerbaijan #Kazakhstan #Baku #Grozny
Video source: Lada.kz🔸
🛩 Firefighters are working at the site of the plane crash in Aktau.🔸
⚡️We’ve received another video from the crash site of the AZAL plane. We’ll leave the conclusions to our viewers, but to put it mildly, this doesn’t seem like it was caused by birds… We await the results of the investigation.🔸
🛩 The fuselage of the AZAL plane is being removed from the crash site, according to local media reports.
Video source: Kazinform ⤴↩t.me/caliber_az_english🔸
https://caliber.az/en/post/azerbaijan-airlines-plane-crashes-in-aktau-kazakhstan
A comprehensive look from beginning to indicated timestamp with running updated media.🔸
⚡️⚡️⚡️Preliminary investigation: AZAL aircraft shot down by Russian air defence - Exclusive data by #Caliber.az
https://caliber.az/en/post/preliminary-investigation-azal-aircraft-shot-down-by-russian-air-defence🔸
🔸The Azerbaijan Airlines story is not getting picked up. Some are saying it was shot down, and of course claiming Russia shot it down. But the fact that it's not getting picked up suggests there's something the west wants to hide. Here's one of the claims.
blancolino YT ↩pvt_acct🔸
✈️ The “big bad Russians” shot down a plane full of innocent civilians. How convenient.
News flash: it’s 2024 - Military radar can identify the spots on a seagull’s back from 500 miles away.
They don’t “mistake” an Embraer for the enemy. This is either a rogue deep state attack IMHO or a complete psyop.
And of course the story is linked to previous engagements with Ukrainian DRONES.
Let’s see what happens.
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/azerbaijan-airlines-flight-was-downed-by-russian-air-defence-system-four-sources-2024-12-26/
🇺🇸🤔🇺🇸 t.me/newstreasonupdates🔸
❗️💬 Russian aviation authority head on the Azal plane crash in Aktau:
◾️With regards to the Embraer plane crash near Aktau, the Russian side immediately informed its Kazakh and Azerbaijani colleagues of its full and comprehensive readiness to cooperate in the investigation of this tragedy.
◾️The situation on that day and at those hours in the vicinity of Grozny airport was very complicated.
◾️ Ukrainian combat drones were launching terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Grozny and Vladikavkaz at that time.
◾️ As a result, a regime dubbed 'Carpet' was introduced in the vicinity of Grozny Airport, which required the immediate departure of all aircraft from the area.
◾️ There was dense fog around Grozny airport and visibility was non-existent at an altitude of 500 meters
◾️The pilot made two attempts to land the plane in Grozny, which were unsuccessful.
◾️ The pilot was offered alternative airports but decided to proceed to Aktau Airport.
📌SputnikInt ↩t.me/RTandSputnikNews🔸
🔸⚡️ #Caliber.Az reports that an Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) flight was attacked by Russia’s Pantsir-S air defence system on its approach to Grozny, with electronic warfare disrupting communication. The aircraft disappeared from radar, later reappearing over the Caspian Sea. The situation raises questions about the failure to declare a no-fly zone and the denial of landing permissions. Baku demands accountability and an official apology from Russia.
▶️
🇦🇿🛩🇰🇿 An Azerbaijan Airlines aircraft was targeted by Russia's Pantsir-S air defense system near Grozny, causing communication failure and radar loss. Denied landing at multiple airports, it was diverted to Kazakhstan. Baku demands Russia's acknowledgment, apology, and a full investigation.🔸
🔸🇦🇿🛩🇷🇺Russian "Pantsir" hits Azerbaijani civilian aircraft: Military experts weigh in on the tragedy
The tragedy involving the Embraer 190 aircraft of Azerbaijan Airlines, which crashed near the city of Aktau, continues to be the focus of attention for many global media outlets. As previously reported by Caliber.Az, preliminary findings of the investigation have revealed that the AZAL aircraft, en route from Baku to Grozny, was attacked on its approach to Grozny by the Russian air defence system "Pantsir-S." Furthermore, the use of Russian electronic warfare systems completely disabled the communication system of the Azerbaijani aircraft.
What do foreign experts, contacted by the Caliber.Az correspondent, think about this? …
https://caliber.az/en/post/russian-pantsir-hits-azerbaijani-civilian-aircraft ⤴↩t.me/caliber_az_english🔸
Look at what shows up this morning!
Putin apologizes to Azerbaijan's Aliyev over deadly plane crash
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called his Azerbaijani counterpart, Ilham Aliyev, to express condolences for the deadly plane crash that occurred in Kazakhstan this week, the Kremlin said.
Putin offered an apology for the fact that an incident “took place in Russian airspace,” adding that it occurred during a Ukrainian drone raid, which was being repelled by air defenses.
The Russian Investigative committee is probing the incident for possible violations of air traffic safety rules, the Kremlin said. “Civilian and military specialists” in Russia are being questioned about the events, it added.
#Kazakhstan #Azerbaijan #Russia🔸
🔸The Kremlin's full report on the phone conversation between the Presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan:
🔶On the initiative of the Russian side, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.
🔶The presidents discussed in detail the issues related to the crash of an Azerbaijani Airlines passenger plane on December 25 near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
🔶During the conversation, it was noted that the Azerbaijani passenger aircraft repeatedly tried to land at the airport of the city of Grozny.
🔶At that time, Grozny, Mozdok and Vladikavkaz were attacked by Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, and Russian air defense systems repelled those attacks.
🔶The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case under Article 263 of the Criminal Code (violation of the rules of traffic safety and operation of air transport). Initial investigative actions are underway; civilian and military specialists are being interrogated.
🔶Currently, two employees of the General Prosecutor's Office of Azerbaijan are in Grozny, where they work together with representatives of the General Prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee of Russia.
🔶The relevant services of Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are closely cooperating at the disaster site in the Aktau city area.
📌SputnikInt ⤴↩t.me/RTandSputnikNews🔸
✈🔸🛫🔻🔥🔸🛬🔻🛩
Our second incident is the sabotage (or drone attack) and sinking of a ship in the Mediterranean. The Ursa Major (not kidding!) Here's the story.
⚡️⚡️⚡️🇷🇺🇪🇸 - Russian maritime cargo company Oboronlogistika, whose biggest ship Ursa Major sank in the Western Mediterranean earlier this week, released a statement reporting that the incident was a terror attack.
Three explosions reported, at least two people missing. The ship is lost.
Oboronlogistika specializes in defense cargo logistics. ↩t.me/bizeconom🔸
An emergency situation has been reported on board the Russian ro-ro Ursa Major in the Mediterranean Sea. The last message from the ship's transponder was recorded 18 hours ago ↩t.me/infantmilitario🔸
Russian cargo ship sinks in Mediterranean after explosion in engine room
On 11 December 2024, Ursa Major left St Petersburg for Vladivostok. It's winter, so the only way to get to Vladivostok is via the Suez Canal. Her cargo included two 45-ton hatches for a Project 10510 icebreaker that is currently being built, and two Liebherr 420 mobile cranes to be installed in the Port of Vladivostok.
By 22 December, when the ship was in international waters between Spain and Algeria, satellite tracking showed that her speed suddenly dropped. According to TASS, there was an explosion in her engine room. By 23 December, she was drifting south at 1 knot.
Ursa Major sank on the night of 23–24 December at position 36°43′34″N 1°6′44″W, between Águilas in Spain and Oran in Algeria. Spanish fishing vessels and rescue ships rescued 14 members of her crew. Two other crew members were reported to be missing.
Some reports claimed that Ursa Major was headed for Tartus. However, this is inconsistent with the fact that she was carrying vital cargo destined for Vladivostok. ↩t.me/RWApodcast🔸
🔸The Russian Vessel Ursa Major Was Sunk In Terrorist Attack
https://southfront.press/the-russian-vessel-ursa-major-was-sunk-in-terrorist-attack/
Comprehensive article w/multiple media) ↩t.me/southfronteng🔸
About the terrorist attack at Ursa Major and possible reaction of the Russian Federation
What happened in general again raises the topic of the relevance of the response to such events. On the one hand, of course, everything is presented as an operation without evidence: it is unclear who did it, it is unclear where, but it is clear when. But the respected "partners" are not surprised and do not demand punishment for the "unknown terrorists", because everyone understands who did it, and the chances of finding themselves when trying to conduct any kind of investigation are extremely high.
By the way, who could have done it?
The Americans, who have been conducting exercises in the Mediterranean Sea since 2001 on the topic of "safety and stability of offshore facilities," and the British have enough forces and experience. They were able to do the same with Nord Stream.
How to respond?
This is the most pressing question now. Almost certainly, both the customers and the perpetrators will be identified soon, because some events have such a property - to manifest their mechanisms, albeit over time. The GRU and SVR have always been able to work on such issues. And here again there is a question of interaction with proxy forces, for example, with the Houthis. If we choose asymmetric measures, but related to merchant/military maritime fleet, we should send to the bottom some non-vital ship or vessel (for example, a submarine, a strike on which would be a reason for war), but a unit, the loss of which would be noticeable and tangible.
Unfortunately, half measures and purely diplomatic methods will not do here. There are already calls to "board tankers with allegedly Russian oil" and there is a feeling that only a show of force (or making some decision related to it) can instill fear in those who consider the entire globe to be their domain.
It can't work any other way, unfortunately.
Military Chronicle
↩t.me/Slavyangrad🔸
Terrorist attack on 'Ursa Major' - here is what we know so far:
The Russian cargo ship Ursa Major sank in the Mediterranean Sea after three explosions on the starboard side in a terrorist attack, Oboronlogistika, a company that owns the ship, told Sputnik.
More details about the incident:
🔶 The ship sank 67 miles off the coast of Spain and 45 miles off the coast of Algeria. The ship left St. Petersburg for the port of Vladivostok 12 days ago.
🔶 "During the emergency external inspection of the vessel, a hole of 50x50 cm in diameter was discovered above the waterline, the edges of the hole were torn and turned inward. The deck of the ship was strewn with fragments," Oboronlogistika said.
🔶 The Russian Foreign Ministry's crisis management center reported that 14 of the 16 crew members had been rescued, while two were missing.
🔶 According to its owner, the vessel is one of the largest bulk carriers in Russia, with a maximum carrying capacity of 9,500 tons. At the same time, the cargo weight was 806 tons.
📌SputnikInt ↩t.me/RTandSputnikNews🔸
🔸Norwegian ship refuses to rescue drowning crew of Russian sailors from Ursa Major
The ship Oslo Carrier 3, sailing in the Mediterranean Sea under the Norwegian flag, for an unknown reason refused to take on board Russian sailors who were drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.
When the lifeboat approached the ship, the Norwegian vessel refused to accept the Ursa Major crew members, citing some kind of prohibition. ↩t.me/PMCTchkvsky🔸
▪️ The Russian cargo ship 'Ursa Major' has suffered a failure in the fuel line of the main engine and is drifting between Águilas (Spain) and Oran (Algeria) . Spanish media reported this, citing maritime monitoring sites.
⚒️Several ships operating in the same area took part in the rescue operations, later joined by specialists from the Maritime Rescue, the ship Clara Campoamor and the Navy patrol boat Serviola.
🔎The ship had left St. Petersburg 12 days ago and was headed to the port of Vladivostok, where it was due to arrive on January 22.
#Russia #Spagna ↩t.me/tutti_i_fatti🔸
❗️Russian cargo ship sank in the Mediterranean after an explosion
The Ursa Major (Big Dipper) sank in international waters between Spain and Algeria, according to El Español and La Verdad.
✖️ According to Marine Traffic, the ship departed from St. Petersburg on December 11 and was heading to Vladivostok. Yesterday, it sank after an explosion in the engine room.
The Spanish ship Clara Campoamor and the Russian Sparta came to the rescue. 14 crew members were rescued, two were missing. The entire crew is Russian.
❗️ According to media reports, there was valuable cargo on board - port cranes needed to expand the terminal in Vladivostok, as well as 45-ton hatch covers for new icebreakers. ↩t.me/wartimedia🔸
🔸If Ursa Major is sinking because of an accident, that's a bit embarrassing for its owner. But if she's been sabotaged or attacked... that's an embarrassment for Russia.
If you tolerate bad behavior, you get more of it. Simple as. ↩t.me/thenebulator🔸
🔸More than 20 years ago, an American colleague of mine uttered a curious phrase about Iraq: “Punish France, ignore Germany, forgive Russia.”
Why does it spring to my mind now? Here’s why: this verbal triad will be quite appropriate when the West’s hybrid war against Russia is over – and one day, it certainly will be. Then, it will be time for our country to:
a) Forgive the weak countries that succumbed to the Anglo-Saxons’ pressure and played along, even if passively, with the anti-Russian political shitshow (these are mostly Asian and Latin American countries).
b) Ignore the US. This one is simple: we don’t foresee friendship with the US within the next 100 years, and going to war with America is too costly: a direct clash would obviously mean global nuclear war.
c) Punish Europe. Now, this one, I will expand upon, because, looking at the Old World today, the only thing I feel is deep revulsion. It is Europe, now a mad old hag, which became the world’s stronghold of Russophobia. It was lying Europe that caused the Istanbul talks to fail. It was brainless Europe that furiously unleashed its bungled sanctions campaign, inflicting massive economic damage on its citizens. It was bloodthirsty Europe that fed the worst demons of war without any regard for loss of life on either side of the conflict.
This is why Europe must be punished by all means available, be it political, economic, or hybrid. And this is why we must help all destructive processes happening in Europe. Hail raging mobs on its quaint streets! Hail swarms of migrants wreaking havoc and wrathfully tearing down European rainbow values. May the loathsome mugs of European bureaucrats be swept away by floods of civil turmoil!
Why so harsh? But how else could it be, given the facts? A Norwegian-flagged vessel, Oslo Carrier 3, refused to take aboard distressed Russian sailors from Ursa Major as it was sinking in the Mediterranean. What more is there to explain? That cannot be forgiven!
We shall act, for it is written: “The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.” (Ps. 58:10) ↩t.me/medvedev_telegramE🔸
🚢🔸⚓🔻🚢🔸⚓🔻🚢
Our third catastrophe is a fire in a shopping mall in Russia (are you starting to see a pattern here?). Here's the story.
❗️Explosion at a mall in Russia’s Vladikavkaz
Local groups report heavy smoke and broken windows; the cause is not yet known.
#Russia🔸
⬆ 🔸❗️Fire at Vladikavkaz mall was caused by a gas explosion — Emergency services
Nine people were injured.
#Russia🔸
❗️Moment explosion rips through Vladikavkaz mall
One person was killed, and two others were injured.
#EMERCOM🔸
❗️One person died in the shopping center explosion in Vladikavkaz, eight others were injured —
The video shows Russian emergency services working at the scene.
#EMERCOM
⤴↩t.me/RTandSputnikNews🔸
🔸🇷🇺🇺🇦 Chronicles of the special military operation
for December 25, 2024
Russian forces delivered a series of strikes on energy facilities in the territory of the so-called Ukraine. Hits were recorded in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk regions and the occupied part of the DPR, where the Zmiyiv, Burshtyn and Sloviansk thermal power plants were hit.
Ukrainian formations launched drones against Russian rear regions. In Vladikavkaz, a drone hit the "Alania Mall" shopping center, and several dozen more were shot down by air defenses in the Voronezh and Belgorod regions.
In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian troops are engaged in fierce battles in the area of Dachne and Novyi Trud, and on the southern flank, the advance of Russian Armed Forces units was recorded west of Pushkino.
In the Kurakhove direction, on the northern flank, Russian assault troops occupied the territory of the Urochyshche Zarya landscape reserve west of Zarya, and are also advancing in the vicinity of Kurakhove itself. Fighting has begun in the east of Shevchenko, with the private sector in the western part of the city captured, and significant progress in the forest belts near Dalnie.
⭐️ Online maps available by subscription at map.rybar.ru
#digest #Dnipropetrovsk #report #IvanoFrankivsk #map #Kurakhove #Pokrovsk #Poltava #Russia #Sloviansk #Ukraine
@rybar Original msg🔸
👩👧👧🔸👩👩👦🔻💅🔸👛🔻👜
Our fourth story is another fish story of a sort. It involves more ocean going ships, and another former narrative - communication and power cables being cut in the bay near Helsinki. And here's the story.
China says it provided information in Baltic Sea cables breach inquiry
December 23, 2024 by LRT.lt
China has provided information and documents to a joint investigation into two damaged undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, Reuters has reported.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks at a news briefing when asked about a Financial Times report that Sweden had criticised China for refusing full access despite an open investigation, and for not allowing its public prosecutor to board the suspect ship, Yi Peng 3.
The Chinese bulk carrier is moving again after sitting still for more than a month in Danish waters, the Swedish Coastguard said on Saturday. China allowed representatives from Germany, Sweden, Finland and Denmark to board the vessel for the investigation last week. …
https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2446031/china-says-it-provided-information-in-baltic-sea-cables-breach-inquiry🔸
🔸🔴Chinese Vessel Implicated in Baltic Cable Damage Incident Sets Sail to Egypt; China Evades Accountability…Again
🔶A month ago two telecommunications cables were severed within Swedish territorial waters where a Chinese ship was crossing. <Nothing FISHY ?😃>
🔶 Same ship has set sail again from Europe its headed to Egypt now, while china refuses to cooperate in the investigation.
No sanctions.. nothing‼️
https://resonantnews.com/2024/12/25/chinese-vessel-implicated-in-baltic-cable-damage-incident-sets-sail-to-egypt-china-evades-accountability-again/🔸
🇫🇮🇪🇪🚨 Estlink 2 between Estonia and Finland interrupted - suspected sabotage
Today at 12:26, Estlink 2, the power link between Estonia and Finland, unexpectedly failed. According to Estonian grid operator Elering, the cause of the outage is still being investigated. Estonia's power supply remains secure for now, regional reserves can compensate for the outage.
🇭🇰 Suspicious ship in focus
The Hong Kong-registered ship Xin Xin Tiang is suspected of damaging the submarine cable. It reportedly reduced its speed in the area of the cable. This ship is a sister ship of the NewNew Polar, which was linked to the destruction of the Balticconnector pipeline in 2023.
Investigations are ongoing, but similarities to the earlier incident raise questions about possible acts of sabotage.
#Estonia #Finland #HongKong
🔰 t.me/MilitaryNewsEN🔸
🇫🇮🇪🇪🇨🇳🚨 NEW: The Xin Xin Tiang, a Hong Kong-registered vessel, crossed the EstLink 2 area around noon today and is suspected of cutting the cable.
—> Observers noted that its speed decreased while in the vicinity of the undersea cable.
The Xin Xin Tiang is a sister ship to the NewNew Polar, the vessel implicated in the 2023 destruction of the Balticconnector undersea gas pipeline. ↩t.me/TabZLIVE🔸
⬆ 🔸‼️🏴☠🇫🇮 Possible sabotage: Important communication line between Estonia and Finland is disconnected
▪️This is stated in a press release from the Finnish network operator Fingrid, writes the Finnish publication Yle.
▪️Fingrid's head of supervision, Arto Pahkin, told Yle that the cause of the malfunction is being investigated.
▪️According to Fingrid, the Estlink 2 power line was disconnected at 12:26 on Christmas Day and was transmitting 658 MW of electricity from Finland to Estonia at the time of the accident.
▪️According to Iltalehti, the ship tracking service MarineTraffic shows that the Hong Kong-flagged container ship Xin Xin Tian 2 was near the power cable at the same time as the connection was lost.
↩t.me/ForeignAgentIntel🔸
Finnish police have published photographs of the Eagle S tanker from Russia's shadow fleet, which they claim may have been involved in damaging underwater communications in the Baltic Sea.
↩t.me/ForeignAgentIntel🔸
🔸Fwd from @lady_north
🇫🇮🇪🇪🇷🇺 The border guard and police are investigating an incident of power supply disruption between Finland and Estonia, reports the Finnish news outlet Yle.
According to monitoring resources, at the time of the accident in the area of the Estlink 2 power cable in the sea, there were two vessels - one of them is the oil tanker "Eagle_S" sailing from St. Petersburg to Egypt under the flag of the Cook Islands. Western analysts attribute it to the so-called "Russian shadow fleet" used to circumvent sanctions. The ship's crew is suspected of sabotage.
🔺 Currently, the "Eagle_S" (MMSI 518998865) is at anchor near the port of Porkkala, and it is being inspected by border guards from the Finnish patrol ship "Turva".
❗️ And just yesterday I wrote that European countries have united in a coalition led by the UK, declaring a fight against the "Russian shadow fleet", and called for restrictive measures against such ships, up to arrests and fines.
🔺 Well, now it is to be expected that the Finnish border guards will grip this ship (and its cargo) with an iron fist and, even without finding any evidence of sabotage, will find other reasons to arrest it.
#Finland #Estonia #Russia
Original msg🔸
🇫🇮🇷🇺🇨🇰Finland has detained a Cook Islands-flagged oil tanker sailing from Russia on suspicion of damaging four cables in the Baltic Sea: one power supply and three internet lines connecting Finland and Estonia.
The country's authorities announced this, Reuters reports.
According to law enforcement officials, the ship's anchor was the cause of the damage.
Finnish customs believe that the Eagle S vessel belongs to the Russian Federation's "shadow fleet" that transports its oil in circumvention of sanctions. ↩t.me/intelslava🔸
❗️🇫🇮🇷🇺 The Finns captured a Russian oil tanker
The Eagle S vessel was sailing from St. Petersburg to the Egyptian Port Said under the flag of the Cook Islands. He was stopped by the patrol ship Turva, brought into Finnish coastal waters and local border guards invaded on board under the pretext of checking for involvement in the rupture of the Estlink 2 submarine cable.
▪️Previously, the Finns also had Chinese ships damaging their cables with anchors.
| | #important🔸
Baltic chihuahua s barks back for the undersea cable wars waged by Russia using Chinese commercial shipping as a proxy
Estonia strikes back ⤴↩t.me/wartimedia🔸
Estonia, Lithuania ask NATO fleet to protect their undersea cables
The Estonian and Lithuanian leaders asked NATO for help with maritime security after the EstLink 2 between Estonia and Finland cable was damaged.
"Estonia would like to receive reinforcements from NATO in the form of a deterrence fleet," Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said.
In November, a communications cable between Lithuania and Sweden was cut in the Baltic Sea. The recent incident prompted further statements from the Lithuanian government.
"Protecting maritime infrastructure must be raised both at the NATO level and bilaterally as a key priority in Baltic Sea cooperation," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda wrote on X.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the alliance is following the investigation into the incident and stands ready to provide support.
📌SputnikInt ↩t.me/RTandSputnikNews🔸
Estonia unleashes its mighty navy to shield Baltic power plug
The Baltic state’s armed forces have rolled out their Navy to guard the Estlink 1 undersea power cable, a critical lifeline linking Finland and Estonia in the Baltic Sea.
This move comes hot on the heels of Finland nabbing a ship suspected of damaging the Estlink 2 power cable, which led to a massive blackout and snapped four internet lines in the area.
#Baltics ↩t.me/RTandSputnikNews🔸
Baltic Sea breaches no longer seem like coincidence – Lithuanian president
https://www.lrt.lt/en/news-in-english/19/2447768/baltic-sea-breaches-no-longer-seem-like-coincidence-lithuanian-president🔸
🔸Fwd from @inners_of_the_politics
🇷🇺🇫🇮 On the consequences of the seizure of the vessel Eagle S
In fact, we have to agree with our colleagues that this incident with the vessel Eagle S will have far-reaching consequences for our communication in the Baltic Sea.
♦️ The seizure of the tanker under a fabricated pretext is a tactic that NATO countries have been practicing over the past two years. Regular exercises were conducted in the Baltic waters, and the main task was to work out actions in a crisis situation. Like the one that was recorded between Finland and Estonia.
None of the Western countries will bother to figure out whether it was true or not. Whether this tanker was involved or not. The West no longer cares. They have a pretext for new aggression. We do not rule out that the Finns themselves organized this cable break. Who can prove the opposite?
There have been many exercises of this kind. For example, the latest was Pikne with the participation of Estonians, Finns, and Britons - well, you generally understood the message. And coastal underwater operations were practiced there. Last year, under the same unknown pretext, a ship group of the "Joint Expeditionary Forces" was created.
❗️Now, in addition to the sanctions that will clearly be imposed on what the European Union now calls the "shadow fleet" of Russia, more dangerous steps from the point of view of Russia's positions in the Baltics should be expected, such as more serious provocations. Why?
At least to justify the strengthening of the presence at sea and to escort civilian vessels following from Russia, and at most to block the gulf and allow ships to pass only with their permission.
#Russia #Finland Original msg🔸
🔸Fwd from @lady_north
🇪🇪🇫🇮🇷🇺 A military operation to protect the Estlink-1 submarine cable has begun in the Gulf of Finland. Estonia is sending its patrol boat "Raju" to the area where the cable is located.
🔻 The country's Minister of Defense Hanno Pövel stated that he expects assistance from NATO allies in this matter.
I'm sure the allies will respond. Especially since yesterday NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has already promised to support Estonia and Finland in protecting critical infrastructure.
🔺 In the context of recent news about European countries declaring a fight against the "Russian shadow fleet" in the Baltic Sea, we should expect an increase in the military presence of the alliance in the gulf and further incidents with vessels engaged in the transportation of petroleum products from St. Petersburg and Ust-Luga.
#Finland #Estonia #NATO #Russia
Original msg🔸
A little about the essence of the incident - the damage to four energy cables in the Gulf of Finland between Estonia and Finland.
On Wednesday afternoon it became known that the Estlink 2 energy cable between Finland and Estonia had broken, and yesterday it was reported that three more communication cables had failed. At the time of this accident, there were allegedly two ships in the area where the cables were located: the bulk carrier Xin Xin Tian 2 and the oil tanker Eagle S, which is classified as part of Russia’s “shadow fleet.” According to media reports, it helps Russia bypass sanctions on oil sales. According to media reports, Eagle S sailed under the flag of the Cook Islands from one of the Russian ports and was carrying oil to Egypt. Now the tanker is detained by Finnish border guards, the police are considering the incident as vandalism with aggravating circumstances.
I don’t know whether our ship, even though it sailed under the flag of the Cook Islands, actually cut the cables for the Estonians and Finns or not. But if it broke, it was by accident. It was not for nothing that his anchors were torn off. It could accidentally get caught and break both the anchor and the cable.
Recently there was the same thing with a Chinese ship. Then two undersea fiber optic telecommunications cables that connect Finland with Germany and Sweden with Lithuania were severed. On suspicion of “sabotage,” a Chinese cargo ship.
But there is one significant difference. The Chinese ship remained in neutral waters and did not follow, as it was persistently suggested, into Swedish territorial waters. And our ship moved into Finnish territorial waters. The Finns themselves wrote that they forced the captain to follow into Finnish waters through deception and threats.
If Swedish or Finnish ships stormed a Chinese or Russian ship in international waters, it would be piracy. But if they voluntarily swam into their territorial waters, then that’s a different matter.
Now the Chinese have sailed away, and our ship will be arrested, the crew will be detained, we will get an international scandal, in which Russophobia will be escalated for at least another six months. It turned out bad. ↩t.me/llordofwar🔸
Finnish special forces seize oil tanker Eagle S in international waters.
Finnish authorities suspect the ship's crew of involvement in the breakage of the Estlink 2 underwater cable, which transmits electricity to Estonia.
The main complaints are about the absence of one of the anchors.
I can smell 🐂💩 ↩t.me/wartimedia🔸
🔸🎣 This week saw yet another incident of alleged submarine cable sabotage in the Baltic Sea. A power line running along the seabed from Finland to Estonia was reportedly disrupted. Western news media have fingered a tanker carrying Russian crude oil as being responsible, with the implication that the damage was caused deliberately.
In recent weeks, there have been other incidents of alleged sabotage of telecommunication cables under the Baltic Sea. On November 17, a data link between Finland and Lithuania was damaged. The next day, on November 18, another internet line lying on the seabed from Finland to Germany was reportedly cut. Both cables were said to have been wrecked by external force.
Any independent criminal investigator would easily find credible answers to the question of Cui Bono (Who Gains?).
Cables are cut with unusual frequency (suggesting not accidental damage); the people reporting the damage do so without showing evidence (we are relying on their version); the accusations are basely leveled at Russia without evidence but reliant on Russophobic prejudice; the accusations, in turn, are cited to make calls for increased NATO protection; and NATO duly provides the requested “protection”.
The alleged vandalism of the submarine cables is a return to the scene of the Nord Stream crime 💥
💬 Read more in this week’s Editorial
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If this hadn't been long enough we could have gone with a full house version - there was an attempted assassination of another Russian official. But since they averted that one I decided to just mention it.
How many coincidences does it take? Five attacks on Russia across the five days 12/22-12/26. And another Chinese vessel at the scene of Baltic undersea cable incidents. WWIII, the asymmetric version is decidedly underway. If they can get Russia to react then they can scotch (at least postpone) the upcoming January 21 inauguration. So far, Putin has been cool as a cucumber. Everyone else can moan and wail about his non reactive nature. But in the end the tortoise always won the race for Aesop against the always faster (but not smarter) hare.
Our headline story plane crash has as many structural issues as all of our other scenes have. Like where did all the water from putting out the fire go? Where did the tracks dug into the ground from the two halves of the plane separating go? Where's all the smoke damage? Ukrainian drones in Grozny and Vladikavkaz just when these things were happening. And no one has speculated yet but the Ursa Major attack wasn't unlikely to be Ukrainian special forces (or US or French) known to be in Northern Africa. Meanwhile Russia is quietly moving its Syrian bases to Libya.
And we've seen every scene before, too -they can't even try for originality. Plane crash✔. Ship attacked or sabotaged✅✅. Mall bombed☑☑☑. Cables cut by ship anchor✔✔✔✔. Even try to assassinate Russian official✅✅✅✅✅. You are seeing all out psychosis level p a n i c. By New Year's Day we should be seeing the drones back from Christmas break. And possibly Bluebeam apparitions of every size and kind. 2025 looks to be really colorful already.
Well, didn't want to let this get cold. It's not so much the stories themselves. It's the repetition and the timing that are the thing. And that NATO and/or Ukraine have their handprints all over these stories. 2024 is ending with a NATO sleepover, only no one is getting any sleep at all. Well except for the drone operators temporarily.
Happy New Year to all!
Thanks for this, Karen.
Difficult to say if any of it is real!
Wishing you a happy Hogmanay and new year. 2025 is certainly going to be interesting!
The next news will be that Ukraine is making a new incursion into Russia... except that may be true.