Eastern Europe: Olivier's sphere of influence

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Debate & Discussion > Eastern Europe: Olivier's sphere of influence

Nenonen: Oct 22, 2009; Mulla on aina kolkyt donaa taskussa

Paladinus posted:

Somehow this is happening in Ukraine.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/20/ukraine-protesters-clash-with-police-over-coronavirus-evacuees

They have the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone right there, wtf not use it smh

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:24

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# ? May 14, 2024 16:26

Paladinus: Jan 11, 2014; heyHEYYYY!!!

Nenonen posted:

They have the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone right there, wtf not use it smh

Some protesters unironically suggested that along with abandoned military bases, and occupied territories.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 18:26

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

Some of our work on IDing Russian spies has resulted in Bulgaria issuing red notices for the real identities of GRU agents involved with a 2015 assassination plot:

quote:

Bulgaria names Russians charged with poisoning linked to Skripal case

Bulgarian prosecutors on Friday named the three Russians they have charged with the attempted murder of three Bulgarians whose poisoning is being investigated for possible links with the 2018 nerve-agent attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal.

Prosecutors said they had charged Sergey Viacheslavovich Fedotov, Sergey Viktorovich Pavlov and Georgi Gorshkov in absentia. They said the men, who used false identities when they travelled abroad, were currently living in Moscow.

Fedotov also went by the alias D.V.S. prosecutors said. The initials match the name Denis Vyacheslavovich Sergeev, a high-ranking officer of Russia�s GRU military intelligence service, who operated internationally under the name Sergey Fedotov, according to investigative website Bellingcat.

In October 2018, Russian news website Fontanka named Fedotov as a suspect in the Skripal case.

Moscow never comments on the identity of GRU staff, but has denied involvement in the poisoning of Skripal.

�We have identified the men. The names we revealed are the ones we have worked with so far. We believe the initials we have also published represent their genuine identities,� a spokeswoman for Sofia Prosecutor�s Office told Reuters.

The three Russians were charged with trying to kill arms factory owner Emilian Gebrev and two other Bulgarians in Sofia between April 28 and May 4, 2015 by �intoxication with an unidentified organophosphorus substance,� in a way that was �dangerous to the lives of many�.

Gebrev and the two other victims fell ill but survived.

Prosecutors said they were cooperating with U.S. and British services on the investigation.

Bulgaria, a close satellite of Moscow during Soviet times, declined to join its allies in the European Union and NATO in expelling Russian diplomats over the Skripal case in 2018.

But it has recently adopted a tougher stance. Since October it has kicked out three Russian envoys accused of espionage and refused a visa for an incoming Russian military attache.

We'll be publishing more details on this next week, including more details of GRU activities elsewhere in the world connected to the individuals identified as part of the Bulgaria plot.

# ? Feb 21, 2020 20:43

BurningChrome: Jan 18, 2020; They said she cooked her own cancers for people who crossed her, rococo custom variations that took years to kill you. They said a lot of things about Chrome, none of them at all reassuring.

Brown Moses posted:

Some of our work on IDing Russian spies has resulted in Bulgaria issuing red notices for the real identities of GRU agents involved with a 2015 assassination plot:

We'll be publishing more details on this next week, including more details of GRU activities elsewhere in the world connected to the individuals identified as part of the Bulgaria plot.

Small world, wild af.

# ? Feb 22, 2020 11:35

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

We've published our latest Russian spy investigation, this time IDing a GRU officer involved in a 2015 assassination attempt with a nerve agent in Bulgaria who was then placed at the WTO as a diplomat, and who ended his posting early when we started publishing about Russian spy activity in Europe and returned home:

quote:

Was A Russian Diplomat In Geneva An Agent Overseeing A Secret Hit Squad? Bellingcat Says Yes

A Russian man who had diplomatic credentials in Geneva was in fact a military intelligence officer linked to a secret hit squad accused of a spate of poisonings in Europe, according to a new report by the open-source investigative organization Bellingcat.

The report, released on February 25, was the latest to examine the operations of Russian security agencies, highlighting what experts warn are aggressive and far-reaching efforts by Moscow to conduct surveillance, sabotage, and even assassinations abroad.

President Vladimir Putin, who previously headed Russia's main intelligence agency, has made the country's military and spy agencies a priority during his tenure in office.

In March 2018, former Russian agent Sergei Skripal, along with his daughter, nearly died after being poisoned with what British experts said was a sophisticated military-grade nerve agent.

Bellingcat, along with other outlets, later identified a military intelligence unit -- known as Unit 29155 -- that was behind the incident, and two of the agents involved.

Bellingcat later published a report accusing Russia's military intelligence agency, unofficially known as the GRU, of also being responsible for the poisoning of a Bulgarian arms dealer in Sofia in 2015.

In December, Bulgarian officials said their investigation of the case focused on five alleged GRU agents, including a Russian general.

Last month, Bulgarian prosecutors announced charges against three Russians, and an Interpol arrest warrant was issued.

In its new report, released in conjunction with the Russian news site The Insider and the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, Bellingcat said one of the three Russians who was charged by the Bulgarians and who went by the name Georgy Gorshkov was in fact a Russian named Yegor Gordienko.

The report said Gordienko had official diplomatic status at Russia�s mission to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva, and was first posted there in January 2017, with an expected assignment of three years.

But he was abruptly recalled from Switzerland in October 2018 after Bellingcat and The Insider published a report identifying the existence of a GRU team operating in Europe.

Bellingcat said Gordienko was also in regular contact with two other GRU agents who have been charged in Britain for their role in the Skripal poisoning.

Bellingcat said they confirmed Gordinenko's presence in Geneva based on official diplomatic lists provided by the WTO and the Swiss Foreign Ministry. And they published what they said was an online record of a road race that Gordienko apparently ran in 2018.

But Bellingcat said that, when their Swiss partner publication contacted the Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva, they were told no such diplomat named Gordienko had ever existed.

Russia's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking further comment from RFE/RL.

Bellingcat said that Gordienko left Geneva late on October 25, 2018, and arrived in Moscow early the next month. Electronic metadata for Gordienko�s cell phone showed that he called his boss, the commander of Unit 29155, Major General Andrei Averyanov.

Averyanov wasn't widely known publicly until last year, when his name first surfaced in a New York Times report that examined the operations of Unit 29155.

A joint investigation by RFE/RL and Bellingcat later determined Averyanov attended the wedding of his daughter in July 2017 at a Moscow region country club

With our work on the Bulgaria case we've managed to get a case local authorities had brushed under the carpet reopened, linked it to other spy activity across Europe, including the Skripal case, and got it attention from investigators in various countries working on GRU and FSB related activity in Europe. More to come as well.

# ? Feb 25, 2020 14:58

HUGE PUBES A PLUS: Apr 30, 2005

Saw you on 60 minutes. Very nice you're getting some air time.

# ? Feb 25, 2020 15:09

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

They put some extra footage on the CBS site as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EgTXJ-49IQ

The whole thing is here. Currently in MH17 world Max van der Werff, an MH17 truther, has got his hands on documents apparently leaked from the JIT about the investigation. There's nothing really special in them, if anything it supports the case against Russia, by the usual suspects are spinning the contents anyway.

# ? Feb 25, 2020 15:14

Paladinus: Jan 11, 2014; heyHEYYYY!!!

Van der Werff is getting enormous amounts of attention from Russian TV right now. Even Russian state propaganda basically says that only a foreign independent investigator has it all figured out, because nobody believes Russian truthers anymore.

# ? Feb 25, 2020 15:51

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

The last leak they announced shows the Buk Russia presented satellite imagery of which they claimed moved on July 17th, was disabled, proving again Russia lied about it, but they completely ignore that and just try to spin it. If what they've leaked so far is the best they've got then they really haven't for a leg to stand on.

# ? Feb 25, 2020 16:09

Mozi: Apr 4, 2004; Forms change so fast
Time is moving past
Memory is smoke
Gonna get wider when I die; Nap Ghost

Given that the broad strokes of what happened were pretty clear shortly after the incident you must feel like Sisyphus still rehashing it over and over.

# ? Feb 25, 2020 16:45

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

I've tried to avoid debating this stuff with the truthers, at this point if they still think Russia is innocent then there's no hope for them. The most interesting thing about the Max van der Werff leaks is they appear legit, but sadly for Max and pals they're not the shocking revelations about the investigation they like to pretend they are.

# ? Feb 25, 2020 17:09

twerking on the railroad: Jun 23, 2007; Get on my level

Breaking news!

Western imperialist Higgins says that mh17 leaks are legit!!11

# ? Feb 26, 2020 13:05

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

You forgot the RT link.

# ? Feb 26, 2020 14:06

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

The MH17 trials start on March 9th in The Netherlands, with 4 suspects charged. Ahead of the trial some details have already come out:

quote:

Thirteen witnesses in the MH17 crash case will remain anonymous as their life may be at significant risk.

"According to an investigating judge, witnesses have the right to protection because their health and safety can be compromised. According to the prosecutor's office data, the witnesses are at significant risk," Nos.nl reports.

As noted, this stems from the documents available to the media outlet.

The trial of suspects in downing MH17 flight will start on March 9, 2020.

On June 19, 2019, the international Joint Investigation Team named four suspects believed to be involved in the transportation and combat use of the Buk missile system, from which MH17 flight had been downed. Three of them are Russians: Igor Girkin, retired officer of the Russian Armed Forces, and former colonel of Russia�s Federal Security Service; Sergey Dubinskiy, colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces; Oleg Pulatov, lieutenant colonel of the Russian Airborne Forces Reserve. The fourth suspect is Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian civilian, who fought on the side of the so-called �Donetsk People�s Republic.�

Oleg Pulatov expressed a desire to join the legal proceedings and will be represented in court by a Dutch law firm.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over conflict-hit Donbas in July 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board. All of them died. The JIT reported that the plane had been shot down from a Buk missile system that belongs to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk.

And some more details here

https://twitter.com/sl0zhny/status/1232461007907368960

There's probably not going to be evidence presented to the court for quite some time, even with the trial starting on March 9, but it's already interesting they've got 14+ witnesses, so expect to see a lot of new information come to light over the next year as the trial continues.

# ? Feb 26, 2020 15:17

Nitrox: Jul 5, 2002

Looking forward to that

# ? Feb 27, 2020 18:22

Somaen: Nov 19, 2007; by vyelkin

Russia has been having a pretty bad month with the international court ruling they have to return 50 billion for taking over YUKOS, the above MH17 thing and now the oil/gas prices crashing. A small, victorious war against Turkey is exactly what can get support ratings back on track!

# ? Feb 28, 2020 10:47

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Elections in Slovakia took place yesterday, results show conservative right-wing Catholic populism everywhere. Looks like it's about to go the way of Poland.
Neo-Nazis still in parliament, too.

# ? Mar 1, 2020 10:46

Private Speech: Mar 30, 2011; I HAVE EVEN MORE WORTHLESS BEANIE BABIES IN MY COLLECTION THAN I HAVE WORTHLESS POSTS IN THE BEANIE BABY THREAD YET I STILL HAVE THE TEMERITY TO CRITICIZE OTHERS' COLLECTIONS

IF YOU SEE ME TALKING ABOUT BEANIE BABIES, PLEASE TELL ME TO

EAT. SHIT.

anilEhilated posted:

Elections in Slovakia took place yesterday, results show conservative right-wing Catholic populism everywhere. Looks like it's about to go the way of Poland.
Neo-Nazis still in parliament, too.

To be fair there was the whole left-wing government being involved in the murder of a journalist thing which entirely dominated the elections.

I wouldn't blame the people too much for it. After all the (centre-)left has been in power there for a very long time and still managed to get around a third of the vote despite what happened.

Now watch the same thing happen in the Czech Republic, which hasn't even had that many leftist government recently.

Private Speech fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Mar 1, 2020

# ? Mar 1, 2020 17:24

anilEhilated: Feb 17, 2014; But I say fuck the rain.; Grimey Drawer

Well, most of the current Czech opposition is conservative right-wingers, but considerably fewer of them want to bring the country back to the Middle Ages. Also, Babi� is still the most popular politician in the polls in spite of all the evidence; he hasn't shat the bed the way Fico did. So far, anyway.

# ? Mar 1, 2020 22:25

Avalerion: Oct 19, 2012

And the liberal / progressive faction didn�t make the government cut by like 900 votes.

Yea I�m personally not too fond of Matovic, he�s kind of a clown and said some homophobic things in the past, but the pressing issue on most people�s minds in Slovakia is dealing with all the fraud and blatant corruption, and he�s been very vocal about that so we�ll see. My main concern is how he�ll be able to work together with Kollar who could easilly turn out to be Fico2 if left unchecked.

# ? Mar 2, 2020 09:05

Baronjutter: Dec 31, 2007; "Tiny Trains"

I know she's apparently of legal age but I'm getting serious child soldier vibes from this poor girl. At least she has a lot of stickers on her gun?? She looks like... 14. Some local "instagrammer" got called up and now she's paroling trenches in full combat gear.
https://imgur.com/gallery/fPMgxoA

I can't read any of it but apparently her twitter is quite surreal. https://twitter.com/ohiAnnablya

Baronjutter fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Mar 2, 2020

# ? Mar 2, 2020 20:52

Paladinus: Jan 11, 2014; heyHEYYYY!!!

Baronjutter posted:

I know she's apparently of legal age but I'm getting serious child soldier vibes from this poor girl. At least she has a lot of stickers on her gun?? She looks like... 14. Some local "instagrammer" got called up and now she's paroling trenches in full combat gear.
https://imgur.com/gallery/fPMgxoA

I can't read any of it but apparently her twitter is quite surreal. https://twitter.com/ohiAnnablya

Call me cynical, but it looks like a viral ad for that online perfume store.

# ? Mar 2, 2020 21:04

Munin: Nov 14, 2004

OTOH when has a right winger elected to sort out the corrupt establishment ever worked out well.

# ? Mar 3, 2020 02:54

Scaramouche: Mar 26, 2001; SPACE FACE! SPACE FACE!

Munin posted:

OTOH when has a right winger elected to sort out the corrupt establishment ever worked out well.

It depends on how many of the current corrupt are his friends/share his views.

# ? Mar 3, 2020 08:31

Private Speech: Mar 30, 2011; I HAVE EVEN MORE WORTHLESS BEANIE BABIES IN MY COLLECTION THAN I HAVE WORTHLESS POSTS IN THE BEANIE BABY THREAD YET I STILL HAVE THE TEMERITY TO CRITICIZE OTHERS' COLLECTIONS

IF YOU SEE ME TALKING ABOUT BEANIE BABIES, PLEASE TELL ME TO

EAT. SHIT.

Scaramouche posted:

It depends on how many of the current corrupt are his friends/share his views.

The thing about strong right-wingers is that the very best you can hope for is that they are incompetent and corrupt.

Because the alternative is much more terrifying, see just about any of them.

# ? Mar 3, 2020 20:33

HUGE PUBES A PLUS: Apr 30, 2005

https://twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/1235847911885299720

You better believe our spin or else.

# ? Mar 6, 2020 09:46

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

HUGE PUBES A PLUS posted:

https://twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/1235847911885299720

You better believe our spin or else.

I've got to the point now when I just think these denials are great content for our upcoming podcast series on Unit 29155. The Russian Embassy to the UK also put out a lengthy statement on the Skripals, but it boils down to the usual denials.

# ? Mar 6, 2020 10:52

Rinkles: Oct 24, 2010; What I'm getting at is...
Do you feel the same way?

man, TVP news programs are such clumsy propaganda. jeez, at least pretend to give a gently caress about impartiality.

also it's deeply ironic after years of (rightly) decrying dziennik telewizyjny

# ? Mar 7, 2020 22:32

Squalid: Nov 4, 2008

Americans in the state of Pennsylvania have strong opinions about potato dumplings and they want people to know about them:

https://twitter.com/treblaw/status/1236456067212640264?s=19

# ? Mar 8, 2020 04:36

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

The MH17 trial started today, the prosecution is about to start presenting its case (way earlier than I thought they would), so you can watch a live stream of it in English here, and I've created a Twitter list of people covering the trial live here. Last year we worked with Newsy on putting this video together based on our research into the identity of separatists and their involvement with the downing of MH17, and the suspects in court today are the same people who are the subject of the video, so it gives you an idea of their involvement and why they were charged:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7dC2etVPTM

# ? Mar 9, 2020 12:49

Budzilla: Oct 14, 2007; We can all learn from our past mistakes.

It's good the see the trial happening but what are the end results if the defendants are found guilty? They can't exactly be punished.

In other news it seems that Russia has rebuffed the Saudis.

quote:

OPEC and key ally Russia failed to agree Friday on a cut to oil production that would have contained the plunge in the price of crude caused by the new coronavirus outbreak�s massive disruption to world business.

The price of oil fell sharply in international markets as a result, with the international benchmark plunging 9.4%, down by a third since the start of the year.

While cheaper oil will translate into more affordable energy for consumers and businesses, it hurts producing countries and companies. Thousands of workers have already been laid off in the U.S. oil patch.

Is Russia just hoping that OPEC will cut production first? I can't imagine they could sustain their budget at $35 for oil.

# ? Mar 9, 2020 13:22

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

It appears the court can award compensation, and it'll likely have a knock on effect with the European Court of Human Rights case which is currently asking for roughly $2.8 billion from Russia, as $10 million per person killed. I think the bigger impact will be seeing the cases presented in court with all the supporting evidence, it'll rather destroy Russia's position it's all based on fake YouTube videos, even among its own public.

# ? Mar 9, 2020 13:29

Nenonen: Oct 22, 2009; Mulla on aina kolkyt donaa taskussa

HUGE PUBES A PLUS posted:

https://twitter.com/mfa_russia/status/1235847911885299720

You better believe our spin or else.

On first glance my brain was telling me I was looking at two budgies.

# ? Mar 10, 2020 15:30

Wistful of Dollars: Aug 25, 2009

Nenonen posted:

On first glance my brain was telling me I was looking at two budgies.

They're probably very relieved no one can tell who they are in those outfits

# ? Mar 10, 2020 15:39

Nitrox: Jul 5, 2002

Brown Moses posted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7dC2etVPTM

Is this working for everybody? Im on mobile and it's taking me to main menu.

# ? Mar 10, 2020 15:45

Qtotonibudinibudet: Nov 7, 2011; Omich poluyobok, skazhi ty narkoman? ya prosto tozhe gde to tam zhivu, mogli by vmeste uyobyvat' narkotiki

so, about those constitutional reforms where putin at least gave up some nominal control (while moving more of the country's overall government under the executive): https://twitter.com/meduza_en/status/1237349219167592448

# ? Mar 11, 2020 08:50

woodenchicken: Aug 19, 2007; Nap Ghost

So he's resetting his terms count to zero, huh. Just as well, honestly. Better just come out and say "Yeah I don't give a gently caress what anyone thinks.", than continue to trash the entire political system in order to "conceal" it. They were legitimately considering annexation of Belarus ffs

# ? Mar 11, 2020 10:06

Brown Moses: Feb 22, 2002

The first two days of the MH17 trials is over, and is planned to meet again on March 23rd. Other dates span all the way until February 2021, so it'll be a long haul, but there's been some interesting information already. According the prosecution there was at least one other Buk that came from Russian, arriving on July 14th, but it promptly broke down and got sent back. That clears up some earlier confusion about claims from the separatist and Ukrianians about the separatist controlling a Buk prior to July 17th, as the investigation established the Buk that shot down MH17 arrived on the night of July 16th-17th and left on the morning on July 18th. The prosecution also talked about a lot of witnesses, one of which was a separatists who was near the Buk when it fired the missile, plus witnesses who provided additional video and photographic material. Only one defendant has a lawyer, the rest are doing the best they can to ignore the trial, and his defence argued the airspace should have been closed by Ukraine, which the prosecution had already pointed out wasn't a valid defence in this case, and I expect the judges are going to agree.

We also heard details of the Russian defence in the European Court of Human Rights case over MH17, separate from this trial, which includes Russia claiming metadata in one of the videos shows it was from the day before MH17 was shot down, but it's actually a known YouTube bug that was addressed almost as soon as it was brought up by the MH17 truthers who first discovered it 5 years ago, so it's rather mind-blowing Russia's defence is reduced to cribbing debunked conspiracy theories off the internet.

# ? Mar 11, 2020 12:20

HUGE PUBES A PLUS: Apr 30, 2005

woodenchicken posted:

So he's resetting his terms count to zero, huh. Just as well, honestly. Better just come out and say "Yeah I don't give a gently caress what anyone thinks.", than continue to trash the entire political system in order to "conceal" it. They were legitimately considering annexation of Belarus ffs

So is that not going to happen now or is it just postponed? Presidential elections are this year I think, which means five more years of Lukashenko

# ? Mar 11, 2020 13:22

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# ? May 14, 2024 16:26

woodenchicken: Aug 19, 2007; Nap Ghost

HUGE PUBES A PLUS posted:

So is that not going to happen now or is it just postponed? Presidential elections are this year I think, which means five more years of Lukashenko

The whole (difficult, expensive) plan was only needed to give Putin a new job, and looks like that's not going to be a problem for the next... (let's see) ...16 years? Jesus.

# ? Mar 11, 2020 13:40

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