Author: disinfo1
The war with Ukraine, now in its fourth year, and the drastic expansion of the powers of the security structures have caused deep ruptures in Russia’s governance system, pushing it towards internal power struggles. According to sources close to the Kremlin, quoted by “Important Stories”, what is happening at the top increasingly resembles growing chaos: usual decision-making mechanisms are being destroyed, everyone is pulling resources towards their own faction, and the security services are acting without limits, as they please. “There is a systemic battle for any kind of resources. Because they have become much fewer,” explains one of the…
Lukoil is trying to quickly alienate all its assets outside of Russia before American sanctions fully come into effect, according to sources cited by Bloomberg. The company wants a single transaction for the entire portfolio, but this approach complicates negotiations, as potential buyers are only interested in certain parts of the business. Bloomberg notes that a discussed solution could be a two-step process: a buyer — possibly a financial company — to take over the entire package, with the assets to be subsequently resold separately to investors interested in certain areas or projects. Among the companies analyzing individual assets are…
A former Russian prisoner, turned into an agent of the Moscow special services, is at the center of a diplomatic confrontation between several European countries and the Kremlin. According to The Washington Post, it is about Iaroslav Mihailov, 37 years old, who is said to have been involved in organizing attacks with explosive devices in Western Europe, at the command of the Russian services. Mihailov, using a fake passport, took refuge in Azerbaijan after allegedly coordinating a network of saboteurs who sent several trap parcels through DHL, equipped with timers and flammable compounds based on magnesium. These were shipped from…
The Supreme Rada in Kiev has dismissed ministers Gherman Galuschenko and Svitlana Grinciuk, amid a corruption scandal in the energy sector involving the Energoatom company. The Supreme Rada, the unicameral parliament of Ukraine, voted on Wednesday, November 19, with a two-thirds majority, to dismiss Gherman Galuschenko, former Minister of Energy and current Minister of Justice, and his successor, Svitlana Grinciuk. The move comes in the wake of a growing corruption scandal in the energy sector, after information about a bribery scheme at the Energoatom company leaked to the press and intense political pressure in the Ukrainian parliament. Before the vote,…
The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia imposed on Wednesday a new set of sanctions against several Russian IT companies, accused of providing IT infrastructure and “bulletproof hosting” services for hackers and cybercrime networks. Among the entities targeted are “Media Land” and “Aeza Group”, as well as associated companies and individuals in Russia and other countries. According to the US Treasury Department, the sanctions focus on networks that have provided digital shelter to criminal groups, systematically refusing to cooperate with authorities when asked for customer data or illegal content. Among those targeted is also the “Kirishi” data center in…
The Ukrainian front enters its toughest stage so far. As the army advances to Kupiansk, more and more Western analysts warn that the risk of a strategic loss becomes palpable. German journalist Julian Röpcke talks about a mobilization crisis that can no longer be masked, while British analyst Mark Galeotti describes the “rupture” at Pokrovsk, and experts from Kiev draw attention to Ukraine’s number one deficit: people. An increasingly vulnerable front “The situation can no longer be hidden either by PR operations of the General Staff or by the government’s attempts to minimize the reality on the ground,” warns German…
The anti-corruption investigation currently shaking Ukraine has advanced further than any other during Volodymyr Zelensky’s term – and inevitably, closer to the president. For a society weary of war, but also of repeated promises of “cleaning up the system”, the new revelations bring back to the fore an old question: how much of the promised anti-corruption is real and how much is just rhetoric? It was past two in the morning when Timur Mindici, Zelensky’s former business partner, crossed the border into Poland. A few hours later, back home, detectives were raiding his residence, in one of the most extensive…
Two Ukrainian citizens who collaborated with Russian intelligence services are the main suspects in the case of the two acts of sabotage on the Polish railway network, stated on Tuesday Prime Minister Donald Tusk, according to BBC. Tusk told parliament that one of the suspects had already been convicted in absentia for acts of sabotage in Ukraine. On Monday, the Prime Minister visited the site of an explosion near the town of Mika, southeast of Warsaw, which damaged the railway line leading to the border with Ukraine over the weekend, calling the incident “an unprecedented act of sabotage”. Another incident,…
The defense budget of the Republic of Moldova is expected to gradually increase, so that by 2030 the allocations will reach 1% of GDP. The statement was made by the Minister of Defense, Anatolie Nosatîi, when the Government voted in October for the military strategy for the next 10 years. Experts consider this to be extremely low funding. If Romania, as a NATO member state, commits to a massive increase in defense spending up to 5% of GDP by 2035, which would mean 3.5% for basic expenses and 1.5% for related investments, such as strengthening the presence of NATO allied…
The German company ARX Robotics has secured a new major contract in Ukraine for the supply of unmanned ground systems GEREON. According to the company’s information, Ukraine is set to develop “the world’s largest military ground robotics park”, consisting of several hundred platforms interconnected in a single network. According to the dev.ua portal, the GEREON vehicle network will be used for logistic missions, evacuations, reconnaissance operations, and activities carried out near the front line – areas where the risks for personnel are particularly high. All platforms will operate through Mithra OS, an operating system that integrates autonomous functions, sensors, and…