KYHorn

I saw a stat recently where some 70% of Russians view Stalin favorably. Imagine present-day Germans thinking "Yeah, that Hitler guy was alright." So much points to the need to totally restart with the Russian region. It seems like this will only continue unless it's broken up in more logical ways that don't require strongmen, oppression, and oligarchy.

FT: Russia has found a simple and effective way to circumvent the oil "price ceiling" Russia overestimates the cost of oil transportation and related services, which allows it to sell its oil at a price above the limit set by the G7 countries, according to the Financial Times. Based on information obtained from contracts for the delivery of Russian oil to India in May-July 2023, journalists of the publication found out that in the Baltic ports in tankers are loaded at a basic price of $50 per barrel, which is $10 below the oil ceiling set by the G7. After arrival at Indian ports, the cost of a barrel of oil rises to $66. Thanks to this scheme, Russia, according to the publication, was able to earn from May to July an additional $800 million. The revenue of the Russian shadow fleet, which carries 40% of the oil, during this period amounted to another $350 million. The authors of the research suggest that similar practices are used in Russia's oil trade with other countries, including China.

Full text above, but clearer summary here: Key points in English: 1. The issue of cluster munitions being used against Russian forces in Ukraine is still a major problem, despite previous discussions. More details have emerged showing the severity of the situation. 2. Cluster munitions are causing devastating casualties among frontline soldiers as well as damaging civilian infrastructure in the rear. 3. An incident in Tokmak resulted in heavy losses of vehicles and drivers. The military decided not to publicize this to avoid giving justification to the enemy. But some war correspondents published videos that may have revealed more than they should have. 4. Russia should have tried harder to block the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine by declaring they wouldn't be used by Russia and pressuring European countries where they are banned. But instead Russia boasted about having huge stockpiles. 5. Much of Russia's cluster munition stocks are obsolete and degraded. Reversing the rhetoric now is difficult. 6. Cluster munitions are especially deadly and gruesome. Without proper medical care, survival is unlikely. The enemy has learned to cut off routes for reinforcements and retreat, leaving soldiers trapped and dying in horrific ways. 7. Counter-battery warfare is lacking. The problem needs to be acknowledged and solved at the highest levels. Bold rhetoric about striking back hard is not helping soldiers dying in the field. 8. The scale of casualties from cluster munitions is likely already in the hundreds or thousands over the past couple weeks. Precise figures should not be publicized to avoid aiding the enemy. 9. Solutions require decisions above the level of individual generals. The problem of cluster munitions needs to be addressed through action, not bluster.

Commander Syrskyi on the situation near Kupyansk: "Due to the complication of the situation in the Kupyansk direction, most of the day I worked in the units that lead the defense on the approaches to the city. The enemy is trying to break through the defenses of our troops every day, in different directions, with assault squads consisting mainly of prisoners, with the aim of blocking and later capturing Kupiansk. A number of important decisions were made.” Deputy Prime Minister of #Ukraine Irina #Vereshchuk urged fellow citizens to prepare for a protracted war She stated that Ukraine still has many trials to overcome, and one must be prepared for the fact that the fight against Russian aggression will take longer than previously mentioned.

Double kill Kremlin media report the death of former Deputy Defense Minister and head of the Defense Ministry's Main Military and Political Directorate Gennady Zhitko. The occupier was acting commander of the Eastern Military District in 2022. He was 58 years old. Also today it became known that Lieutenant General of the Federal security service Gennady Lopyryov died in prison from the disease. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the case of receiving a bribe of 6 million rubles in November 2017. The disease known as defenestration.

Seems legit: Shoigu's statements at the Moscow Security Conference: The military resource of Ukraine is almost exhausted. Russia "put an end to Western military dominance." There is nothing invulnerable to Russian weapons on the battlefield today. Soviet-made equipment is in many cases superior to Western equipment. Russia did not use cluster munitions in Ukraine.

It gets better: https://news.yahoo.com/shooting-between-kadyrovites-dagestanis-occurs-131215264.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly90LmNvLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABcXFNXIldQA7AG8taoq2SCs3yAuSubKlCDNWKAZMeqKAVGtCHnQQJ1HbHpKGMT0AsiF_Ini2FKW9lJSI_hbD0ziLnYxzIVzvs4dBPEmWbcqFQ8xL-AgCuJf1lqUMk-xG35ta0_knydWpru8XJE2gsRaWwTrRr1IKqb1HompJq4T In the temporarily occupied village of Mykhailivka, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, a conflict between units of the Russian army has occurred. Source: National Resistance Center of Ukraine Details: Reportedly, on 12 August, the Russian propagandists arrived in the village of Mykhailivka in the Vasylivskyi district of Zaporizhzhia Oblast to shoot a news piece about the "great contribution" of a top official from the Kadyrovites fighters to the reconstruction of Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine. [Kadyrovites are pro-Russian Chechen forces led by Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader – ed.] At about 20:00 on the same day, a verbal altercation occurred between Kadyrovites and Dagestanis from another unit of the Russian occupying forces near the Central Park of the village. During the argument, one of the occupiers opened fire into the air from an automatic small arm. During the fight, one of the participants received multiple stab wounds incompatible with life. It led to an open confrontation between the units with the use of GP-25 Kostyor under-barrel grenade launchers, offensive hand grenades and automatic small arms. Dagestanis have reportedly won the fight. The National Resistance Center reports irreversible losses on both sides: 20 soldiers of the Russian units were killed, and 40 more were injured. The commander of the Kadyrovites (likely a colonel) was sent to frontline positions as a punishment

I think he posted a link to the guy's Twitter profile, which apparently loads a ton of tweets

The #German automaker Mercedes-Benz has completely disconnected #Russian dealers from its software. Access to online systems for maintenance and troubleshooting is also limited. The lack of official software can increase the time it takes to repair and maintain cars, as well as create problems with updates for new cars.

The Russian commander of the #1822 battalion from Samara city, Major Tomov, who disappeared 5 days ago, resurfaced alive on the Ukrainian side. In this video he helps the #Ukrainian officers by disclosing and putting on the map the Russian positions and fortifications along the eastern bank of the Dnipro river. [Video by the Ukrainian military.] For context: On August 9, "Z-war correspondents" claimed that the Ukrainian military had raided the left bank of the Dnipro River, probably advancing 800 meters deep. The Russians concealed this operation, denied it, and then issued that they had sunk all the boats. As a result, Major Tomov and at least 17 other men from his group disappeared near the village of Kozachi Laheri, as the Rashists wrote. Russian propaganda also tried to cover up the disappearance of the reconnaissance group, but something went wrong.

The Ukrainian MoD released two spectacular videos, showing surviving Russian troops fleeing from Urozhaine. It is absolute carnage because those Russians have no armored vehicles, no vehicles at all and flee in broad daylight on an open road and fields. The 2nd video is even worse for them because it shows the usage of cluster ammunition, blasting those troops into absolute bits. This is just another video proving the low quality of Russian command structures. To give so panicking withdrawal orders and allowing the own troops being literally destroyed with no cover from the dark or some vehicles is a masterclass in failure in itself. It is unlikely that there are any Russian troops alive in Urozhaine. Location: just south of Urozhaine. See map.

That's a big nope from me Interesting. Maybe they can't maintain the commercial planes with sanctions or parts/planes are needed for the war? Russian media say that the Kremlin regime is thinking of closing some or even all Moscow airports "for several weeks with subsequent prolongation" due to the terrorist threat (drones and, allegedly, in the short term, the possibility of strikes by long-range missiles from Sumy region, Ukraine). Reportedly, this issue seems to be very painful for the Presidential Administration, FSB and the Russian government. It may unpredictably affect public mood, cause reputational losses of the inoperative air defense forces, and inflict financial losses - the regime's primary concern. Allegedly, the Russian ministry of defense considers the closure of civilian skies as an unpleasant, but not a catastrophic event within the logic of war. The ministry of defense believes the closure of airports will cause an increase in patriotic sentiments and demands to strengthen military escalation. They think that the situation may cause the military to use those types of weapons against Ukrainian facilities that have not been used so far.