1/ Russian Black Sea Fleet submarines based in Novorossiysk are reportedly suffering from constant mechanical breakdowns, which are being blamed on sabotage. The suspected culprits, however, are not Ukrainians but the fleet's own personnel. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that according to a source, "since the beginning of 2024, constant breakdowns have been occurring on submarines of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation."
3/ "Because of this, all ships of the Black Sea Fleet were sent for inspection. More interesting is the reason for what happened. It is not [Ukrainian] saboteurs who are under suspicion, but the personnel of the fleet.
4/ "According to the source, over 50 minor incidents occurred on the submarines Kolpino and Krasnodar over the year, which slowed down their scheduled and combat work. The most common is a leak in the fuel cylinder.
5/ "In order to check the accident rate of the boats, unscheduled repairs were scheduled for all boats of the Novorossiysk base, based on the results, navigational repairs of the submarines Velikiy Novgorod and Krasnodar were extended.
6/ "At the same time, the fleet command, with the participation of divisional mechanical engineers and the commander of military unit 80515 [the 4th Separate Submarine Brigade], Captain 1st Rank Skarga, are focused on constantly fixing the breakdowns.
7/ "They prefer not to talk about the reasons for what is happening. According to the source, all the breakdowns have obvious signs of interference: a loose lubricator drive, a gearbox failure, etc.
8/ "The main suspects are the junior officers who arrived to continue their service. During the replacement or repair of any part, the crew can rest easy." /end
1/ Russian veterans of the war in Ukraine – known as SVOshniks – have a reputation for violence and abuse back home in Russia, committing many murders, rapes and assaults. Few are more exposed to the danger than Russia's prostitutes, whose experiences point to future trouble. ⬇️
2/ The St Petersburg news outlet Bumaga ('Paper') has been speaking with prostitutes about how their business has changed since the start of the war in Ukraine. They say that soldiers now amount for as much as 50% of their clientele, but are also the most violent and difficult.
3/ While the police are causing many problems by repeatedly harassing prostitutes and closing down their salons, says St Petersburg single mother Veronica, "SVOshniks cause much more trouble."
1/ Russian warblogger Alexander Garmaev has published a photo showing what he says are two Ukrainian POWs tied together with sticky tape, with one of them being made to hold a primed hand grenade which will explode if either try to escape or if it is dropped. ⬇️
2/ Garmaev writes:
"A waltz performed by two crests [derogatory term for Ukrainians]🤣
Only those who pay close attention will understand that this dance cannot be completed without fatal consequences🤣"
3/ The grenade – probably a Soviet-era RGD-5 – could be defused by someone else putting the pin back in, but it's unclear how this situation ended. It's consistent with a long-running pattern of abuse and murder of Ukrainian POWs by their Russian captors. /end
1/ As Russian refineries continue to explode on a virtually daily basis, Russian warbloggers are furious at their government's failure to protect vital infrastructure. They blame government incompetence and call for a drastic overhaul of air defences. ⬇️
2/ The success of the Ukrainian drone campaign is undermining morale at the front, writes 'Brothers in Arms', who complains: "Seriously, do you know what it looks like from the outside?"
3/ "We've been half-dead here for months, digging mud in the trenches, under drones every day, counting bullets, while back home, oil refineries are burning down in batches. Novoshakhtinsk has been completely burned down. Ust-Luga has also been hit pretty hard.
1/ A Russian soldier who was shot in the head miraculously survived when the bullet passed through his helmet, grazing him. He expresses dismay at how easily the bullet penetrated the helmet. Other soldiers and relatives say Russian army helmets can be "pierced by a nail". ⬇️
2/ The unidentified soldier shows his helmet after being struck by a bullet from a machine gun, which pierced right through, leaving entry and exit holes. He received a grazing wound on his forehead but was otherwise uninjured.
3/ "I've calmed down now," he says. "You see, it's not for nothing that the commander gave us vodka. Here it is, the exit, the entry, the exit. Holy shit!"
Russian soldiers and their relatives have complained previously of the low quality of army helmets.
1/ Russian refugees deported by the United States back to Russia have experienced intensive interrogation, threats, violence, and torture, according to Russian sources. Thousands of Russians have fled to the US to escape the war and political persecution by the Putin regime. ⬇️
2/ On 27 August, 50 Russians were deported from the US to Russia, including dozens of asylum seekers. According to Dmitry Valuev, they comprised Russian citizens who were in immigration prisons in the United States, who had lost asylum cases or chose self-deportation.
3/ The Russian human rights activist Vladimir Osechkin reports:
1/ This needs unpacking a bit. Entry to the Schengen zone is recorded in the EU-wide Schengen Information System (SIS). Each Schengen country has a national SIS (N.SIS). They use it to identify persons of interest (such as wanted criminals or those with entry bans).
2/ Alerts include details like name, nationality, reason for the alert, and instructions for action (e.g., arrest, deny entry, or locate). They are uploaded to the central SIS database and instantly accessible to all member states.
3/ The alert type determines what action border control authorities take (e.g. detain or refuse entry). However, although they're binding in principle, this isn't always the case in practice. Each state can decide whether to enforce it based on their own laws or circumstances.