Author: disinfo1

The founder of Telegram, Pavel Durov, stated that the criminal case opened against him in Russia for “complicity in terrorist activities” is related to the authorities’ efforts to limit freedom of speech and the right to privacy. In a message published on his own channel, Durov wrote that Russian authorities “invent new pretexts every day to restrict access to Telegram”, accusing the state of trying to suppress freedom of speech. What the Russian authorities say On February 24, the publications Российская газета and Комсомольская правда, quoting materials from the FSB, reported that law enforcement agencies are investigating the actions of…

European intelligence services warn that Russia has transformed properties in Western Europe into a network of “Trojan horses”, prepared to support a possible coordinated sabotage campaign. According to security officials, quoted by The Telegraph, Russian clandestine units have exploited legislative loopholes to acquire properties located near sensitive military and civilian targets in at least 12 European countries. Officials claim that Moscow is intensifying its so-called “hybrid war” against the West. The term describes a combination of conventional and unconventional tactics – from disinformation and cyber attacks, to sabotage and undercover operations – aimed at destabilizing an adversary without triggering a…

Two Russian citizens working for a private security company were on board a tanker seized by French authorities in September, suspected of being part of Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”, according to the French press, quoted by Euronews. According to informed sources and a lawyer who spoke to AFP under the protection of anonymity, the two men were employees of Moran Security Group, a private Russian company founded by former officers of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The men, aged 34 and 40, were tasked with monitoring the crew and collecting information while on board the Boracay ship. One of…

On the eve of the four-year commemoration of the Russian invasion, President Volodimir Zelenski stated that it is “only a matter of time” until Ukraine regains all its lost territory. However, for months the war has been extremely tight along a 1,200 km front, with progress slowed by the evolution of tactics and technology, according to an analysis by The Independent. Diplomatic efforts reflect the stalemate on the battlefield. While the fourth round of direct negotiations between Kiev and Moscow is expected to take place this week, both sides remain firm: Russia continues to insist on maximalist territorial demands, while…

Over a third of the long-haul aircraft remaining in Russia are not in operation due to problems with spare parts, caused by sanctions, writes Kommersant. According to the publication, out of the 93 foreign wide-body aircraft left in the country, less than 60 are operational. The rest are either in prolonged maintenance or grounded. Engine and parts shortage Engines and components for these aircraft are hard to find. Wide-body aircraft make up only about 16% of the global fleet, which exacerbates the shortage and increases the cost of parts. Sources quoted by the publication claim that attempts to organize engine…

Russia has turned the civil infrastructure of Belarus into a weapon of war, while Ukraine watched everything from within. For six months, Ukrainian IT specialists tracked in real time how Russian drone operators planned their attacks – from launch orders to exact flight paths. Everything was discreetly transmitted to the Ukrainian defense forces, writes euromaidanpress. According to the InformNapalm investigative community, Ukrainian hackers infiltrated the systems of Russian operators and discovered how Moscow used mobile phone towers in Belarus to guide drones over Ukrainian energy infrastructure – and even to test attack routes towards NATO states. Infiltration into Russian military…

In the fifth year of the war initiated by Vladimir Putin, the Russian army is losing more soldiers on the front than it manages to recruit. For three consecutive months, the losses have exceeded the number of those who signed contracts, Western officials and military personnel told Bloomberg. According to them, Russian generals have not changed their strategy and continue to send troops into frontal attacks. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have reportedly become more efficient in repelling and neutralizing these assaults. Impact on Moscow’s plans Western sources estimate that this trend could affect the Kremlin’s ability to launch a major offensive…

The European Commission is preparing a legislative proposal aimed at completely banning the import of Russian oil into the European Union, but the document will be officially presented only on April 15, three days after the legislative elections in Hungary. The decision was reportedly taken to prevent Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán from exploiting the issue in the election. Two European officials have stated that the timing of the presentation was deliberately chosen so that the ban on Russian oil would not become a central theme in the Hungarian election campaign, a country heavily dependent on Russian oil imports, according…

Italian investigators are trying to determine how thousands of essential aircraft components disappeared from an Air Force warehouse in Brindisi, amid suspicions of embezzlement and possible resale abroad, reports Euronews. Italian prosecutors are investigating the disappearance of nearly 2,500 components for military aircraft, valued at about 17 million euros, from the Air Force warehouses in Brindisi. According to the Italian press, among the missing parts are modules and electronic systems for Panavia Tornado fighter-bomber aircraft and AMX, as well as for Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft. The Rome Prosecutor’s Office and the Military Prosecutor’s Office have listed about a dozen…

Since the beginning of Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 20,000 Ukrainian children have been forcibly deported to Russia, according to Ukrainian authorities. So far, they have managed to bring back 2,000 minors, a difficult process that, in some cases, has taken years, reports Euronews. Among the survivors is Vlad Buriak, now 20 years old, who was 16 when he tried to evacuate from Melitopol, a city in the Zaporizhia region occupied by Russian forces in the early weeks of the invasion. On April 8, 2022, the car in which Vlad was traveling was stopped by Russian troops at…