NPR

Top Russian official says British politicians now a legitimate military target
Dmitry Medvedev argues U.K. is ‘de facto leading an undeclared war against Russia.’

LONDON — British politicians are now a legitimate military target for Moscow, a senior Russian official said, after the U.K.’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly argued Ukraine has the right to use force within Russian borders.

Speaking in Estonia Tuesday, Cleverly said Ukraine “has a right” to project force “beyond its own borders” as part of its self-defense, following a series of drone strikes that hit Moscow’s wealthiest neighborhoods. The U.K. minister argued that Kyiv striking inside Russia would “undermine” the Kremlin’s ability to continue its war in Ukraine, which has officially denied responsibility for the attack.

Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, hit back on Wednesday arguing that the U.K. is “de facto leading an undeclared war against Russia” by supplying Ukraine with military aid and specialists.

“That being the case, any of its public officials (either military, or civil, who facilitate the war) can be considered as a legitimate military target,” he wrote on Twitter.

Medvedev, who regularly makes blunt remarks about the war in Ukraine and has called for the killing of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warned: “The goofy officials of the U.K., our eternal enemy, should remember that within the framework of the universally accepted international law which regulates modern warfare, including the Hague and Geneva Conventions with their additional protocols, their state can also be qualified as being at war.”

Cleverly’s remarks meanwhile appear to be at odds with the U.S.’ position. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a briefing Tuesday that the U.S. was still gathering information on the reports of drones striking in Moscow.

“We do not support attacks inside of Russia. That’s it. Period,” she said.

https://www.politico.eu/article/russian ... ry-target/

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 8:20 pm This is all lovely PsyOps by whoever is directing these drones.

I mean it's only a "Special Operation", & yet there all the Orc mouthpieces on TV are, horrified about this attack on the motherland; but what are they attacking ? ... the 0.001% of the population that send off the children of the rest of the population to die, for what ??? .... to keep those fuckers in clover.

If this war has done nothing else for the Mobiks, it's shown them their true place in society, & if they just want to continue to eat shit & die when required, that'll be what happens to them, & their children, & their children's children ....

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 8:41 pm

fishfoodie wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 8:20 pm This is all lovely PsyOps by whoever is directing these drones.

I mean it's only a "Special Operation", & yet there all the Orc mouthpieces on TV are, horrified about this attack on the motherland; but what are they attacking ? ... the 0.001% of the population that send off the children of the rest of the population to die, for what ??? .... to keep those fuckers in clover.

If this war has done nothing else for the Mobiks, it's shown them their true place in society, & if they just want to continue to eat shit & die when required, that'll be what happens to them, & their children, & their children's children ....

No different to the last 700 years so.

dkm57 wrote: ↑Wed May 31, 2023 9:30 pm Reports of a couple of Orc divisions (2,500- 5,000) cut off and surrounded in Lyman.

Enzedder wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 6:42 am

On your marks....

Link to a great interview between Boris Akunin (famous russian/georgian writer now living in western europe) and Yuri Dud (russian journalist and one of the biggest Youtubers in Russia, declared a foreign agent in Russia in late 2022 after criticizing the invasion of Ukraine and now in exile in Turkey):



Fascinating discussion from a russian perspective on the mindset of Putin, on russian imperial history, and contemplation on where Russia is headed politically. Recorded in March 2022 but still highly relevant. Rewind to the start. Interview recorded in russian with english subtitles but well worth the watch.

Extraordinarily, responding to two video messages posted today by Chechen leaders in which they accused Prigozhin of various sins is no other than Dmitry "Wagner" Utkin, founder and commander of the PMC, who previously extremely rarely appeared in public.

The message, a text note for now, was posted on the large GREY ZONE Telegram channel, which became known since the start of the full-scale invasion for posts criticising negative elements of the Russian army, but the channel admin's identity remained anonymous.

A photo is attached to the post, apparently showing Utkin exiting a helicopter at an unknown landing area, signed with "GREY ZONE" "Wagner".

The note itself lists responses to a number of claims and accusations made by the Chechens loyal to Putin. Utkin reminded his counterparts of knowing each other since the times of the 1st and 2nd Chechen wars and his readiness to “talk”. The mention of two wars in this case is hardly too accidental since during the first war the men were on opposite sides of the front.

But the appearance of Utkin on stage is likely to continue as it serves the purpose of supporting Prigozhin and carving out more influence in the internal conflict between rapidly emerging factions within the Russian public space.

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 10:13 am There was also a claim yesterday on Twitter that the President of Moldova had given permission for UA forces to take cross-border action in Transnistria should the need arise but can't find a reliable corroboration of this at all despite searching, sounds like a small statement about co-operation was blown up out of context...

Hellraiser wrote: ↑Thu Jun 01, 2023 7:54 pm

Mobilized from Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, russia, recorded a video message about the situation in the 1307th regiment, where, after the change of commander, the military began to be treated like “cannon fodder”. Here's what they say:

The service is being held for the eighth month, we have been on the territory of the “special military operation’’ for the fourth month. In early May, a local, who hails from Ukraine, was appointed commander of the battalion. Previously, he commanded near Kreminna, then they lost a whole regiment there.

The new commander canceled the rotation. We stopped washing, shopping for groceries. All the cars are broken and we are not allowed to fix them. We repeatedly asked for food and water on the radio — the regiment commander said: "Not small, they will suck d*ck."

They put sticks in the wheels. In addition to the machine gun and bulletproof vest, we are not provided with anything. Not a single humanitarian aid has reached us, it is sold by the command. During all this time they gave four cans of condensed milk.

“We were removed from our positions and sent forward to dig in the forest field. Allegedly, the next day you will be replaced by one of the contractors. As a result, we came under mortar fire and enemy attack. We spent 16 hours lying in a ditch while the tank and artillery worked on us.

“After that, we were deceived into positions. The commander brought people to the point of no communication, and said: “You are coming under the control of a PMC,” after which he left. Once a platoon commander was hit by a shell and tore off his leg. The battalion commander ran away without providing any help.

There was no evacuation. For several days we couldn’t pull the wounded from the battlefield.

“When we started complaining about the lack of thermal imagers and walkie-talkies, threats began to come in. “If you continue, the division commander will come and shoot the complainers. If that doesn’t work, he will deploy batteries and simply smash [the positions of the mobilized].”

“We are being thrown to the slaughter. We have been given to understand that we are cannon fodder, and with our lives the task will be accomplished. We do not refuse to carry out the task, but without the support of the command, we cannot do this.”

Raggs wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 1:59 pm Sounds so very Russian to put a Ukrainian in charge of one of their battalions

tabascoboy wrote: ↑Fri Jun 02, 2023 5:10 pm

1/ The Russian authorities reportedly believe that Tuesday's drone attack on Moscow was launched from within Russia. An operation to find vehicles carrying drones is said to have been launched across a wide area of western Russia.

2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that "Moscow is confident that the drones that attacked the capital and several other regions were launched from Russian territory. As a result, from today, cars will be searched at checkpoints for UAVs."

3/ The Russian Ministry of Defence is said to have launched Operation Anaconda to seach for 'UAV carriers' on a permanent basis. VChK-OGPU reports that "teams of operatives, district police officers and traffic police officers are now being set up to be deployed at key posts."

4/ "Similar reinforcements have already been seen today in the north of the Moscow region. From tomorrow, officers will be deployed in the southern regions. Particular attention will be paid to foreign number plates, [and] any UAVs in the cabin or the trunk."

5/ "The officers will also be directed to thoroughly check the documents of drivers and passengers, with the data from the scene to be sent to the Interior Ministry's Centre for Operational Information and Investigation (TsORI)." /end