Author: disinfo1
Thirty-four years ago, Ukraine made one of the most significant decisions in its modern history: it voluntarily gave up nuclear weapons, even though it held the third largest arsenal in the world, after the United States and Russia. In the early ’90s, this move was seen as a sign of trust in the international order and a step towards peace. Today, after years of Russian aggression, many wonder if the price paid was too high. How Ukraine became a non-nuclear state On October 24, 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted a resolution on the status…
Moscow is escalating its threats against Ukraine’s Western allies. Russian political scientist Sergei Karaganov, nicknamed “Professor Apocalypse”, launches a terrifying threat of a third world war, in which “the UK will be destroyed with nuclear weapons”, according to Express.co.uk. Sergei Karaganov believes that Russia should use a nuclear explosion to intimidate the British political leadership, to make it submit to Vladimir Putin’s demands. Putin’s adviser has warned that a new world war is approaching, which can only be stopped if the West clearly understands that Russia will use nuclear weapons. “Russia should make a firm commitment, in the event of…
Russian President Vladimir Putin is consolidating his control over power by promoting loyalists from the younger generation, amid increasing instability within the Kremlin, as he ages, reports Fox News. Recently, the British publication The Telegraph reported that Putin, 73, who has led Russia for more than two decades, is “running out of cards to play,” as pressure on his regime increases both domestically and internationally. In this context, it is revealing that the Federal Security Service (FSB) recently opened a criminal case against exiled opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky and 22 members of the Anti-War Committee, accusing them of conspiring to…
The widespread nationalization launched by the Kremlin following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine has led to a redistribution of confiscated wealth to friends from Vladimir Putin’s inner circle. Former members of the Ozero cooperative received assets totaling $3 billion according to Novaya Gazeta Evropa, quoted by Moscow Times. The “Ozero” Cooperative is an association of dacha – Russian vacation homes – that Vladimir Putin and his friends established in 1996, on the shore of Lake Ozero, in the Leningrad region. Apart from Putin, the group included Vladimir Smirnov, Vladimir Iakunin, Andrei Fursenko, Serghei Fursenko, Iuri Kovalciuc, Viktor Meacin,…
The most recent wave of tax increases in Russia, designed to strengthen the state’s finances in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, will heavily impact a tenth of small businesses. Many Russian business owners say they will have no choice but to close or move into the grey area of the economy, reports Reuters. Russia has gradually increased local taxes since 2023, the second year of the war, including personal income and corporate profit taxes, to keep up with military expenditures, which are now at their highest level since the Cold War. The new tax regime, including a…
The Russian law on “foreign agents” has been tightened again, allowing criminal prosecution after a single administrative fine. Previously, a criminal case could be preceded by two administrative violations. This is by no means the first and probably not the last amendment to this controversial law, reports The Moscow Times. The increasingly strict requirements have led to the closure of many independent media organizations and important NGOs, including Nasiliu.net, the main support center for victims of domestic violence in Russia. “The law on ‘foreign agents’ has gradually deprived us of more than just simple resources,” declared its founder, Anna Rivina.…
Through the smoke and dust still hanging in the air, Ukrainian General Oleksandr Volobuiev hurriedly walked, clutching a small body wrapped in his military coat to his chest. From the coat, two pink shoes protruded. The photograph captured at that moment has gone around the world — an image of despair, but also of courage, on a day when Kharkiv once again experienced the horror of war, writes BBC. The “Honey Academy” kindergarten in the Holodnohirski district of Kharkiv had been directly hit by a Russian Shahed drone. In the shelter beneath the building were 48 children. None were injured.…
The hybrid warfare campaign conducted by Russia against Europe – which includes acts of sabotage, cyber attacks, air incursions and drone raids – pursues three main objectives, claims Kirilo Budanov, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), in an interview given to the Italian publication Il Foglio. According to Budanov, these actions are not random and are part of what, in military language, is called “reconnaissance by combat” – a strategy meant to test both the reaction of the adversary and the efficiency of their own methods. “Putin is psychologically preparing the Russian population. He wants…
The fate of Ukraine, caught between the deadlock at the front and the risk of forced capitulation, could depend on a weapon that changes the rules of the game. A former British intelligence officer, Philip Ingram, warns that supplying Tomahawk missiles to Kiev could redraw the map of the war — but also the global security balance, writes The Sun. In a new episode of the Battle Plans Exposed series, Ingram explains why these long-range cruise missiles are, geopolitically, “the most important hidden card on the table”. The Stake of Tomahawks: the ability to “strike deep” During his most recent…
David Museliani, the former lover of gymnast Alina Kabaeva, is accused by Moscow authorities of embezzlement and has been put on international wanted list. He risks up to five years in prison if extradited. Alina Kabaeva, now 42 years old, the former Olympic champion in rhythmic gymnastics and an emblematic figure of Russian sport, has recently reappeared in the public space. At the same time, her former partner, David “Shelva” Museliani (52 years old), is wanted by Russian authorities, according to the Daily Star. The two had a relationship in the early 2000s, before Alina Kabaeva’s life intersected with that…