Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victor Lavrinenko
[REGNUM] Lithuania has sentenced the notorious Estonian hitman Imre Arakas, also known as the Butcher. The story is reminiscent of the plots of Guy Ritchie films. The Butcher began his criminal career during the Brezhnev era, became famous as a killer in the 90s, committed a number of high-profile murders, but his agreement to carry out an order for an Irish cartel was his undoing.
Now Arakas the Butcher is in prison, and the investigation is revealing more and more details of his previous bloody "exploits". The irony is that in today's times he could well be proclaimed a hero of the "struggle against the Soviet occupation regime".
FREELANCE KILLER
The 67-year-old Butcher is a colorful character. In his youth, he played sports, was a wrestler, thought about becoming an actor, but ultimately decided to live by robbery. Imre began his criminal career in the Estonian SSR, at the age of 18. Together with his accomplice Heiki Terras, they were engaged in thefts, and then decided to flee the Soviet Union. To do this, in August 1977, they stole a rubber boat.
The plan failed due to a motor failure, and on the morning of October 1, 1977, the wind and waves carried the boat back to shore. The accomplices returned to theft: in the following months, they stole a boat motor from the Dynamo sports base in Tallinn, two stereo tape recorders with speakers from the Tallinn Conservatory, and similar equipment from a music school.
In the autumn of 1978, Terras and Arakas stole a police uniform, documents and sobriety testing devices from a traffic police car. Then they visited Dynamo again, stealing a bow, arrows and, for some reason, a flag. Later, they stole two more boat motors from the pier of the lifeguard station in Tartu, then stole a car. In the end, the criminals became so brazen that they attacked an employee of the gun room of the shooting range at the same Dynamo base. After beating him up and intimidating him, the criminals took possession of the keys and stole thirteen pistols and 1,248 rounds of ammunition.
Given the extraordinary nature of this crime for the calm Soviet times, the entire local police force was put on its feet. The criminals were caught, but Arakas managed to make a daring escape right from the courthouse. Three months later, he was caught again and given fifteen years of strict regime - he served his sentence in prisons in Russia.
Imre Arakas was released in the early 90s and found himself in a world of rampant crime, where he immediately found a place for himself. Arakas joined the so-called "Poultry Farm Group" that existed in Estonia at the time, waging a merciless war against its competitors. He quickly found his specialty, becoming one of the most professional killers in the post-Soviet space.
In 1996, the Estonian police arrested Arakas on suspicion of committing contract killings, but they failed to prove his guilt. His specific fame quickly crossed the borders of Estonia, and he began to receive orders in other countries. In 1998, when the number of Arakas' enemies in his homeland exceeded all limits, the killer considered it best to change his place of residence and moved to Spain. His enemies tracked him down in Marbella, Arakas received several gunshot wounds, but survived.
In 2011, Arakas helped Estonian businessman Toomas Tamm stage an attempted murder. Tamm wanted to blame his competitor, but everything came to light, and Arakas received a year and two months suspended sentence. Before one of the court hearings, Myasnik attacked the photographer who was taking his picture and hit the poor guy several times.
Continuing his career as a freelance killer, Arakas managed to get away with it for many years. He was suspected of many crimes, but each time there was not enough evidence. He himself flaunted his fame - in a 2015 interview, when asked whether he still led his old lifestyle, Arakas said: "Maybe a little bit."
That same year, Lithuanian gangsters recruited Myasnik and two other Estonians to murder crime boss Deimantas Bugavičius, the lover of pop star Vita Jakutiene. The crime caused quite a stir, as the deceased was a very influential man.
"DEEPLY TRAUMATIZED"
In early 2017, the Irish contacted Imre Arakas. At the time, the country was in the midst of a long-running bloody confrontation between the Hutch and Kinahan gangs. Members of the Kinahan cartel hired the Butcher to eliminate James Gately, an important person in the criminal structure built by the Hutch gang. For this task, the Estonian was promised 100 thousand euros. He desperately needed the money, because he had recently gotten into large debts. And here, for the first time in many years, luck turned its back on the then 59-year-old Arakas.
The employers leaked the information, and when Arakas bought a plane ticket to Dublin, the authorities found out. The Estonian only managed to get instructions from the gangsters and was arrested in Dublin on April 5, 2017, in the company of two cartel members, before he could even carry out the order.
Cocaine worth around €5,000 was found on the detainees. The butcher had two pieces of paper with him. One had Gately's address in Belfast and instructions on how to find his photo in a search engine. The second piece of paper had a description of the victim's apartment, information about his driving style, where he parked, and the gyms he frequented.
At the time of the arrest, the police seized Arakas's phone. During the investigation, the police read Myasnik's correspondence with the customers, in which he stated that he intended to kill the victim "with one shot to the head." This correspondence was photographed literally at the last moment - it was soon deleted remotely.
Arakas eventually admitted his guilt, but the trial did not start immediately: Myasnik suffered a stroke in the pretrial detention center. At the trial, the killer chose a unique line of defense: he complained that he spent the entire 1980s behind bars, that he "suffered and was deeply traumatized by imprisonment in Russia."
However, the judge was not particularly impressed by these outpourings, and on December 12, 2018, the Irish court sentenced the Estonian to six years in prison. The term turned out to be relatively short, since Myasnik did not have time to commit the crime. Other mitigating circumstances were the defendant's serious health problems and his cooperation with the investigation.
While Arakas was behind bars, the local press, hungry for sensations, began to paint him as a romantic folk hero, almost like Robin Hood. “Depending on who you talk to in Estonia, he’s either a folk hero, a bloodthirsty gangster, or both,” The Irish Times vividly wrote. The most tragicomic thing here is that the newspaper presented Arakas’s long-ago crime of robbing a shooting gallery as “an act of protest against the communist regime.”
"FIGHTER AGAINST OCCUPATION"
Arakas was generally satisfied with the conditions of detention in the Irish prison, expecting to serve out these six years in peace and return home. But fate intervened again. In Lithuania, the investigation into the death of the authority figure Bugavičius had been ongoing all these years. It led to an international criminal group involved in smuggling weapons and drugs. Butcher's accomplices in the murder of Bugavičius were detained, having given the police all the information about this crime.
In June 2020, a request for Myasnik's extradition was sent to Ireland from Lithuania. The review dragged on for several years, but in 2023 he was finally deported to Lithuania.
In December 2023, Imre Arakas gave an interview to the Estonian Kanal2 from a Lithuanian prison. He claimed that he was promised freedom, $5 million, new documents and travel to the United States in exchange for agreeing to become an informant for the Kinahan cartel. After all, the group’s fame and influence have long since transcended the borders of Ireland — the syndicate is considered one of the largest organized crime groups in the world. “I told them to fuck off,” Myasnik fumed.
Meanwhile, new charges continued to be brought against him. In June 2024, Lithuanian police completed their investigation into the murder of Remigijus Morkevicius, a well-known Lithuanian martial artist who had crossed paths with the local criminal community. During the investigation, it was suspected that Arakas was the shooter. It also emerged that in November 2016, Myasnik had shot at Bugavičius's associate Gia Zabachidze — he did not kill him, but seriously wounded him.
After reviewing the evidence, the prisoner admitted guilt in both crimes. On January 21, a Lithuanian court found him guilty and sentenced him to ten years. In addition, he must pay 100,000 euros in compensation to Morkevicius' relatives and 15,000 to Zabachidze to cover medical expenses. Myasnik has not yet been sentenced for his participation in the murder of Bugavičius.
There is a touch of comedy in this story. Last year, Heiki Terras, an accomplice of Arakas's criminal youth who served eleven years in prison, filed a petition to review the 45-year-old court decision and to rehabilitate himself. He claimed that all of his and Arakas' criminal actions, which had once landed them in a Soviet prison, were motivated by... "resistance to the occupation regime."
In December 2024, an Estonian court ruled that the theft of an inflatable boat and motor in 1977, the subsequent theft of police uniforms and documents, and finally the robbery of a shooting range could indeed be interpreted as “resistance to occupation”. However, the theft of tape recorders from the Tallinn Conservatory and the carjacking “are not related to the struggle for Estonian independence or resistance to injustice inflicted on the Estonian people”. Therefore, Terras was only partially rehabilitated.
Thanks to @POTUS leadership, Belarus just unilaterally released an innocent American, ANASTASSIA Nuhfer, who was taken under JOE BIDEN! @ChrisWelbySmith from our team did a great job on this. 🇺🇸 PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH
Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 13.49 Russian troops have struck positions of the Defense Forces and populated areas of Ukraine this week using about 1,250 aerial bombs and more than 750 attack drones, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, January 26.
13.27 Israel has begun supplying Ukraine with Russian weapons seized in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, according to OSINT data.
12.43 Units of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine have again hit the facilities of the Ryazan Oil Refinery Company, which is involved in providing the Russian occupation army. This was reported by the press service of the General Staff on Sunday, January 26.
11:37 In the area of Chasovy Yar, enemy units of Akhmat appeared, which include former members of the Wagner PMC and Russian neo-Nazis from the Rusich formation. This was reported on the air of Suspilne Novyny by Andrey Polukhin, a representative of the press service of the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Daniel.
10:29 Russian troops attacked the Dniprovskyi district at night with artillery and drones. This was reported by the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA Serhiy Lysak on Sunday, January 26.
The shelling did not cause any damage, the situation is under control.
09:43 The Defense Forces shot down 50 drones with which Russian troops attacked Ukraine since the evening of January 25, another nine enemy UAV simulators were lost without negative consequences. This was reported by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
08.33 The thousand and sixty-eighth day of large-scale armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine has begun. Ukrainian defenders are steadfastly holding back the onslaught of the occupiers, inflicting significant losses on them. In total, 167 combat clashes have been recorded over the past day. This was noted in the General Staff report on Sunday, January 26.
07.31 Over the past 24 hours, the Russian army lost 1,720 soldiers killed and wounded at the front. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the morning report on Sunday, January 26.
07.27 Russian troops carried out 325 strikes on 13 settlements in the Zaporizhia region in 24 hours, including attacks by aircraft and drones. Houses and infrastructure were damaged, there were no civilian casualties. This was reported by the head of the Zaporizhia OVA Ivan Fedorov on Sunday, January 26.
07.19 The military recorded an enemy ship in the Black Sea in the morning of January 26. Russia has withdrawn the vessel from Kalibrama again after weeks of absence. This was reported by the press service of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Sunday, January 26.
05.10 Russians attacked Kharkov with drones. City authorities reported that one of the strikes hit a private home in the Osnovyansky district of the city. According to preliminary information, the windows, roof and part of the building were damaged. There were no casualties.
04.58 Russian troops captured the settlement of Vremovka in Donetsk region and advanced in Velyka Novosilka, Toretsk, Kotlino, near Nadeyevka, Petrovpavlovka and Kotlino, the DeepState project reported.
02.52 Drones have again attacked an oil refinery and oil depot in the Russian city of Ryazan. A large fire broke out. The Center for the Prevention of Cruelty to the NSCDC commented on this: "The Ryazan refinery is trying to achieve this. This is fuel for military equipment and more." The previous attack was two days ago.
Linked article is available only through a VPN. [EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
In Kharkov direction, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of one motorized infantry brigade and one air assault brigade of the AFU near Volchansk (Kharkov region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 40 troops, two motor vehicles, one field artillery gun, and three electronic warfare stations. One ammunition depot was wiped out.
The Zapad Group of Forces' units improved the tactical situation. Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of two mechanized brigades, one air assault brigade of the AFU, two territorial defense brigades, and one national guard brigade close to Peschanoye, Zagoruikovka, Kutkovka, Putnikovo, Kurilovka (Kharkov region), and Yampol (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to more than 390 troops, two armored fighting vehicles, seven motor vehicles, five field artillery guns, three of which are NATO-made ones. One ammunition depot was wiped out.
The South Group of Forces' units took more advantageous lines and positions. Strikes were delivered at formartions of three mechanized brigades, one airmobile brigade of the AFU, one territorial defense brigade close to Seversk, Dronovka, Verkhnekamenskoye, Ivano-Daryevka, and Chasov Yar (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 200 troops, one US-made M-113 armored personnel carrier, three motor vehicles, and two NATO-made field artillery guns. Two ammunition depots were wiped out.
As a result of active operations, the Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Zelyonoye (Donetsk People's Republic).
The strikes were delivered with manpower and hardware from four mechanized brigades, one motorized infantry brigade, and one airmobile brigade from the AFU near Sribnoye, Dzerzhinsk, Novopavlovka, Shcherbinovka, Andreyevka, and Novoyelizavetovka (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 650 troops, four armored fighting vehicles, eight motor vehicles, and three field artillery guns.
The Vostok Group of Forces' units continued advancing into the depths of the enemy's defense. Strikes were delivered at formations of two mechanized brigades, one tank brigade of the AFU, one naval infantry brigade, and one national guard brigade close to Velikaya Novosyolka, Burlatskoye, Razliv, and Volnoye Pole (Donetsk People's Republic).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 150 troops, one tank, one armored fighting vehicle, and three motor vehicles. Four field artillery guns were neutralized, to include NATO-made one.
The Dnepr Group of Forces' units have engaged manpower and hardware of one mechanized brigade of the AFU and one territorial defense brigade close to Malaya Tokmachka (Zaporozhye region) and Berislav (Kherson region).
The AFU losses amounted to up to 40 troops and seven motor vehicles.
Operational-Tactical Aviation, strike unmanned aerial vehicles, Missile Troops and artillery of the Russian Groups of Forces have engaged power facilities providing for actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the defense industry complex, infrastructure of military airfields, production workshops, depots for the storage of UAVs, places where they are stored and prepared for launch as well as clusters of enemy manpower and hardware in 153 areas.
Air defense systems shot down three US-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles and 68 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 652 aircraft and 283 helicopters, 41,507 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 20,852 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles, 1,510 MLRS combat vehicles, 20,945 field artillery guns and mortars, and 30,806 units of special military vehicles have been neutralized.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to defeat AFU formations in Kursk region.
In the course of offensive operations, units of the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on formations of one tank brigade, one heavy mechanised brigade, four mechanised brigades, two air assault brigades, one naval infantry brigade, and three territorial defence brigades of the AFU close to Viktorovka, Gogolevka, Goncharovka, Gornal, Guyevo, Zaoleshenka, Kazachya Loknya, Pervy Knyazhy, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Mirny, Nikolayevka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Sverdlikovo, Sudzha, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye.
Operational-Tactical and Army aviation and artillery engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Viktorovka, Guyevo, Zazulevka, Kazachya Loknya, Pervy Knyazhy, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Melovoy, Mirny, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Sverdlikovo, Staraya Sorochina, Sudzha, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye, Yuzhy as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Vodolagi, Zhuravka, and Miropolye (Sumy region).
During the day, the enemy losses amounted to more than 180 troops, one U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, four armoured fighting vehicles, 10 motor vehicles, one self-propelled artillery system, two towed howitzers, one mortar, three electronic warfare stations as well as two UAV command and control centres, and one ammunition depot.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 55,000 troops, 319 tanks, 238 infantry fighting vehicles, 183 armoured personnel carriers, 1,626 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,639 motor vehicles, 392 artillery guns, 44 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 16 anti-aircraft missile launchers, eight transport-loading vehicles, 103 EW stations, 14 counter-battery warfare radars, four air defence radars, 32 units of engineering and other materiel, including 13 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, nine armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 20:53 Russian Armed Forces advance near Kotlino –MAP. 20:27 Ukrainian Armed Forces driven out of Nadezhdinka –MAP.
19:47 Footage of pursuit and destruction of a Ukrainian Armed Forces pickup truck in the Kursk region.
During surveillance of enemy positions in one of the districts of the Kursk region, Rosgvardia UAV operators discovered an enemy vehicle transporting militants of the armed formations of Ukraine to the line of combat contact. The driver of the pickup truck managed to spot the attack drone pursuing him and attempted to escape.
The vehicle and the Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel inside were destroyed.
19:32 Russian Armed Forces advance near Petropavlovka, Dachny and Sukhi Yal –MAP.
19:04 From 16:00 to 18:00 Moscow time by air defense systems on duty destroyed seven unmanned aerial vehicles: five Ukrainian UAVs were shot down over the territory of the Belgorod region and two over the territory of the Republic of Crimea.
18:32 Russian flag flutters over Velikaya Novosyolka. As a result of active offensive actions by units of the 5th Guards Separate Tank Brigade of the 36th Army and the 40th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade of the "East" group of forces, the settlement of Velikaya Novosyolka of the Donetsk People's Republic was liberated. After clearing Velikaya Novosyolka of the Kyiv regime formations, the guardsmen installed the state flags of the Russian Federation and the banners of their units in all areas of the settlement.
17:33 "Working, guys." Assault units of the "Southern" group of troops are developing an offensive, clearing the forest belts in the Kurakhovsky direction of Ukrainian nationalists. Unit commanders control the battle from the command post, making adjustments based on the operational situation.
13:11 This morning the enemy attempted to transfer troops to the Tetkino area. The attempt was promptly uncovered by fighters of the state border cover group in the Tetkino direction, the troops and armored vehicles were destroyed by FPV drone crews and our artillery –MAP.
12:10 Calculations of heavy flamethrower systems inflicted strikes with thermobaric rounds on nationalist positions, destroying their shelters, firing points and observation posts.
The assault groups then continued clearing buildings, basements, and positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The assault forces received fire support from rocket and barrel artillery crews, as well as FPV drone operators.
Velyka Novosyolka is the last large, well-prepared line of defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the South Donetsk direction.
11:54 The settlement of Novoegorovka in the LPR is completely under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
"Novoegorovka is ours and completely under our control! All goals will be achieved, victory will be ours!" - servicemen of the "West" military group announced the liberation of Novoegorovka.
As a result of intense combat operations, the units of the West group of troops were completelytookunder control of the settlement of Novoegorovka on the territory of the Lugansk People's Republic.
Despite the enemy's attempts to attack from several directions, a well-organized maneuverable defense allowed Russian servicemen to successfully complete the task.
11:00 Drone operators work seven days a week. Calculation of FPV drones of the Rubicon center struck combat armored vehicle of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Pokrovsk direction.
09:20 In the morning, the Black Sea Fleet’s duty fire weapons in the northwestern part of the Black Sea destroyed two unmanned boats heading towards the Crimean Peninsula.
08:33 A curious situation folds west of Pokrovsk.
The Russian army is currently just over three kilometers from the administrative border with the Dnepropetrovsk region. The flanking attack southwest of Pokrovsk continues to develop. It is 85 kilometers to Pavlograd as the crow flies. About 100 kilometers by road. And 120 km if the crow has to take the bus...
Considering that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost Velyka Novosyolka, the "East" and "South" groups may unite to further develop the offensive and enter operational space. Although it is possible that the "Eastern" will turn west after Velyka Novosyolka and strike towards Gulyaipole in the Zaporizhia region.
07:21 During the past night, air defense systems on duty destroyed 15 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles: eight UAVs over the territory of the Ryazan region, six over the territory of the Kursk region, and one over the territory of the Belgorod region.
06:33 Powerful attack of our attack aircraft.
On frames- assault on the stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces by units of the "Center" group of forces in the Krasnoarmeysk direction. Previously, UAV operators identified and destroyed the main firing points of the Ukrainian militants. Then, attack aircraft of the "Atlant" motorized rifle battalion of the 35th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade of the "Center" group of forces, under the cover of a grenade launcher, entered the forest belt where the stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was located.
Covering each other, the soldiers eliminated the militants who refused to surrender. After that, they cleared the dugouts, consolidated their positions, and continued their offensive.
05:12 Orlan found, "thirty" destroyed.
Crews of 122mm D-30 howitzers, in cooperation with the crew of the Orlan-10 unmanned aerial vehicle of the combined arms army of the Zapad group of forces, destroy camouflaged strongholds, concentrations of manpower and lightly armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
During aerial reconnaissance using the Orlan-10, a concentration of enemy manpower and equipment was detected in fortified positions camouflaged in a forest belt. Having received the coordinates, the crews successfully hit the targets.
01:02 Russian Armed Forces advanced north of Kotlino in the Pokrovsky direction –MAP.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[ColonelCassad] Against the backdrop of Trump's decision to suspend foreign aid, the Zelensky regime has once again stepped up its campaign of air-to-air drone strikes on Russian territory. UAVs have become the main type of weapons for Ukraine, as other weapons have either been knocked out or their numbers are steadily declining. And if the US turns off the tap on military supplies, drones will become the only thing Ukraine will be able to fully use on the battlefield.
Kiev is simultaneously declaring its "own production of drones" — but is this really true?
At the end of last year, the enemy announced plans to produce/purchase/receive from 1.2 million to 1.5 million drones of various types in three months, most of which are FPV drones. For these purposes, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense plans to distribute UAH 2.5 billion between the brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. And this is where the most interesting part begins.
The main external sources of modern drones for Ukraine are NATO countries, as well as the purchase of various Chinese quadcopters through third countries. But due to China's export restrictions in relation to Ukraine, some NATO countries are beginning to actively develop their own production.
In addition, a network of workshops and workshops for the assembly of FPV drones of various types has been deployed on the territory of Ukraine, which are massively supplied to the troops. But there is a subtlety. Kiev would not have found its own money for this, and for a long time everyone wondered who was paying for such investments. The answer turned out to be simple: $1.5 billion was secretly invested in drone production in Ukraine.
Apparently, the United States knew for sure that by scaling up the use of FPV drones, the Ukrainian Armed Forces would try to compensate for the shortage of anti-tank systems, as well as hamper the offensive activity of the Russian Armed Forces in key areas. As
in the past year, FPV drones are an important part of the tactical defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in most areas. And in the future, the stake on this type of weapon will increase, especially with a reduction in the supply of artillery systems and anti-tank weapons.
In addition, quadcopters play an important role, putting serious pressure on the tactical defense/offensive zone of the Russian Armed Forces and on the logistics of our troops. Here it is worth highlighting first of all drones of the “Baba Yaga” type, which, as a rule, are also purchased and assembled on the basis of agrodrones for spraying chemicals.
In order to strike the territory of the Russian Federation, the enemy has launched mass production of aircraft-type kamikaze drones and is regularly working to improve them, trying to compensate for the lack of classic strike weapons. However, given that 95% of components for Ukrainian drones are produced in China and Europe, and eight European countries are helping Kiev with the production of UAVs, there is no point in talking about any independence of Ukraine even in this matter.
It is also highly likely that Kiev's Western sponsors assemble a certain percentage of the drones used not on the territory of Ukraine, but in the nearest border areas - Romania and Poland, in order to avoid Russian missile strikes on production facilities. Kiev receives finished products, practically ready for use.
Text taken from the Telegram, account of prorivists
Commentary by Russian military journalist is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] In one squabble with anti-Soviets regarding the "innocently repressed Japanese spies", the constant refrain was "I think" that there could not have been so many spies, and they could not have been engaged in minor sabotage such as driving spikes into logs to break blades for a sawmill.
I would like to say the following on this account.
1. Japanese intelligence already at the beginning of the 20th century put forward the principle of "total espionage", that is, the exceptional mass nature of agents.
2. All other intelligence services of large capitalist countries came to this principle during the First World War - the huge territory of combat zones required mass agents.
3. After the Civil War in the USSR there was enough mass material for recruitment - the state security agencies caught those who had compromised themselves by shooting Red Army soldiers, handing over Red partisans, and banditry up until the 1970s, until this contingent died out for natural reasons. And this was after large-scale purges, after the Great Patriotic War, when the "heroes of the White cause" again crawled out in the uniform of Vlasovites and policemen, having decided that the Reich was forever.
4. The mass nature of the personnel naturally resulted in their extremely low quality. Such agents had zero training, they were of little value as expendable material. Most did not have access to any important information.
5. As follows from the above, they were used by intelligence extremely wastefully, and often one-time. They were not seriously cared about covering them when handing out assignments. Therefore, they also poured out en masse, to the delight of the OGPU and NKVD.
6. Since managing mass agents is a very complex matter, a significant part of them did not have clear instructions from the intelligence service for which they worked, but had a very vague direction of activity - such as, "in the event of a conflict with the Mikado's troops, conduct sabotage activities."
Due to the low training and low education of the mass personnel, this was interpreted very freely. Therefore, a recruited peasant could unscrew nuts from railroad tracks, and at interrogation, with full right to say that he did it on the instructions of Japanese intelligence, and, most importantly, everything will be true, depending on the imagination of the person. Someone, working as an accountant, mixed up the accounting, someone hammered spikes into logs at a sawmill, someone drew a swastika on bread.
7. Finally, among the mass agents there were such categories as support agents with tasks that did not contain anything openly spy-like (for example, simply bringing food to a taiga hut on the "path" along which the supply goes, from time to time, such an agent could be used blindly), canned agents, and finally, just agents who got lost in the accounting or did not maintain contacts.
8. The main direction of foreign intelligence work against the USSR in the 20-30-40s was the organization of an armed uprising, from this, in particular, followed the mass recruitment of agents, including those incapable of intelligence work. For example, a man plows the land in the wilderness, stupid and illiterate, he will not be able to find out a secret. But for the "rebellion" it is just right - he knows the taiga, has combat experience, shoots like a god, loves money, Soviet power - on the contrary.
In a word, the capitalist intelligence services in the USSR recruited "cannon fodder" quite comparable to the mass of those repressed for espionage.
I. Shevtsov
What the mass recruitment of disposable agents looks like could be clearly seen after the beginning of the SVO, when the public suddenly realized that enemies of the people, mass sabotage and sabotage and foreign agents are not figures of speech.
Another submarine cable between Latvia and Sweden has been damaged Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] An underwater fiber-optic cable in the Baltic Sea was damaged on the morning of January 26. This was reported by the LSM portal with reference to the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC).
"At the moment, there is reason to believe that the cable is significantly damaged and that the damage was caused by external influences. A possible culprit has also been identified," the article says.
LVRTC also added that the company's data transmission monitoring system recorded interruptions on the section between Ventspils, Latvia, and Gotland, Sweden.
It is noted that the company has already notified the country's Navy, which has contacted NATO allies, including Sweden. The investigation in Latvia has also opened a criminal case, and the country's Prime Minister Evika Silina has held a meeting of responsible services and ministries.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on January 14, the Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported that the submarine cable in the Baltic Sea connecting Sweden, Lithuania, Germany and Finland had been damaged. Earlier, four other cables had been reported damaged.
On the same day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk noted that the North Atlantic Alliance would radically increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea. According to him, the incident could have been caused by Russian aggression.
In December, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also promised to urgently consider the issue of deploying a Navy Policing mission in the Baltic Sea to protect infrastructure facilities.
On January 16, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the alliance had used the incident with the damaged submarine cables as a pretext to increase its military presence in the strategic region. She noted that Western countries continue to undermine global energy security.
The Swedish Prosecutor's Office has detained a vessel suspected of damaging a fiber-optic submarine cable in the Baltic Sea. This was reported on January 26 by the press service of the Swedish agency.
"A preliminary investigation has been launched into possible serious sabotage following the alleged damage to a communications cable running between Sweden and Latvia in the Baltic Sea," the statement said.
It is specified that by decision of the prosecutor's office, a vessel suspected of damaging the cable has been arrested. What type of vessel is in question and who it belongs to is not specified.
As Senior Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist explained, several agencies are involved in the investigation, including the National Police Operations Directorate, the Coast Guard and the Armed Forces.
"I can say that the Swedish authorities are now working intensively and collaboratively to investigate this incident," the senior prosecutor added.
Earlier, Regnum news agency reported that the Latvian Navy had spotted a vessel at the site of the damaged underwater cable, which was allegedly heading to Russia under the flag of Malta, but did not find any traces of suspicious activity.
Earlier, the LSM portal, citing the Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC), reported that the underwater fibre-optic cable in the Baltic Sea was damaged on the morning of January 26. The centre claims that there is reason to believe that the cable is significantly damaged and that the damage was caused by external influences.
On January 14, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported that a submarine cable in the Baltic Sea connecting Sweden, Lithuania, Germany and Finland had been damaged. Four other cables had previously been reported damaged.
In December, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte also promised to urgently consider the issue of deploying a Navy Policing mission in the Baltic Sea to protect infrastructure facilities.
On January 16, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the alliance had used the incident with the damaged submarine cables as a pretext to increase its military presence in the strategic region. She noted that Western countries continue to undermine global energy security.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/27/2025 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[EngMilRu] The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the special military operation.
