1/ Tens of gigabytes of secret data on Russia's strategic electronic warfare systems has been hacked by the pro-Ukrainian Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK). They say that Russia's EW shield is "not just fragile - it's full of holes" due to multiple flaws and vulnerabilities. ⬇️
2/ Two weeks ago, the RDK announced that it had obtained a large quantity of data on Russia's EW systems, including technical specifications, diagrams, official correspondence, equipment setup methods, drawings, test reports, and functional information.
3/ RDK commander 'Fortuna' says that "We got more than just the external appearance. We see the internal logic, architecture, connections between nodes, we know who designed it, which companies supplied the units, which research institutes are responsible for the developments."
4/ "We received a number of important military developments along with protocols, engineering solutions and approvals from the Russian Ministry of Defence. In addition, we managed to establish the entire chain of enterprises involved in production and supply.
5/ "And it is also important that all the persons involved in the development and creation of these stations were identified. Upon completion of the operation, the RDK had their names, addresses, car numbers, places of work."
6/ RDK announced in a YouTube video that it had obtained data on the following:
🔺 "ANCHAR-K — a polar warfare naval station. An automated station for electronic suppression of satellite communication lines in Arctic conditions. It is installed on icebreaker-class ships.
7/ "Developed as a response to the vulnerability of the Russian Federation in high-latitude areas."
8/ The system is intended to disrupt signals from satellites, aviation radars and ship navigation. However, the documents obtained by the RDK indicate that it is not capable of resisting Arctic conditions, including wind, cold and icing.
9/ According to the RDK, "When the ship maneuvers, the Anchar loses tracking. The guidance time is more than four minutes. In the event of a failure, the entire system is switched off." Its location is exposed when it is in operation.
10/ 🔺 "OZON-MEI — over-the-horizon. Over-the-horizon radar project using the evaporation waveguide effect. It works by forming a plasma channel in the near-surface atmosphere."
11/🔺 "Tirada-2.3 — "Interference". Satellite communications electronic suppression station. Part of the Tirada-2S complex."
According to the RDK, this is a narrow-target system for disabling satellite communications which uses directional antennas to focus on specific targets.
12/ Operating in ranges from 225 MHz to 15 GHz, it is used to temporarily disrupt communications with US and British military satellites (WGS, MUOS, Skynet).
13/ 'Fortuna' says: "Such a complex jams communications and also generates false signals. For example, a drone flying over the Bryansk region may "think" that it is over Ethiopia. Disorientation and substitution of coordinates occur."
14/🔺 "NMS REP DDV — suppression radio brain. Ground-based mobile station for suppressing long-range satellite communications. Controls other electronic warfare systems. Suppresses FleetSatcom, Milstar, MUOS, etc. links."
15/ The RDK desribes this as a key element of Russian signal suppression technology:
“This is a radio brain, everything depends on it: it determines radiation modes, types of interference, phasing."
16/ However, they say that it has serious flaws. It is reported to be extremely sensitive to weather, vibrations, requires complex settings and a stable power supply. The system copes poorly with combat conditions.
17/🔺 "Software modules, OS, CORVETTE. Operating systems and software modules used for protection and work with electronic warfare. We understand the architecture, but will not disclose all the security details."
18/ The hacked documents also reveal that Russia exploits China's satellites, apparently without China's knowledge. "Russia uses civilian Chinese satellites to cover the calibration of its systems."
19/ "That is, Russian electronic warfare systems are posing as terminals of the PRC’s civilian fleet in the Pacific Ocean. China has not been officially notified of this. If a signal is detected, Russia is betting that the responsibility will fall on the Chinese channel.
20/ "This is a risky game. Sooner or later, China will understand this. And we already know which satellites they “hang on to,” which channels they mimic. This is an extremely interesting and unexpected observation."
21/ 'Fortuna' says that Russian strategic electronic warfare systems suffer from the lack of an operational ecosystem. "This is a huge, overloaded structure, not ready for a real war."
22/ Russia has invested heavily in its EW systems to compensate for its relative lack of satellites, compared to the United States or China. The leak is likely to be a considerable setback, as it will enable Ukraine's Western partners to develop countermeasures. /end
1/ Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin warns from his jail cell that Ukraine and the EU have no reason to accept the Dmitriev-Witkoff proposals to end the war, because Russia is currently incapable of inflicting a strategic defeat on Ukraine, despite local tactical victories. ⬇️
2/ The imprisoned Girkin has posted a lengthy analysis of the context of the 28-point plan (he says that he has not yet read the full content of the points, "which our media modestly remained silent about").
3/ In a perspective which likely reflects that of powerful factions within the Russian security establishment (with which he has been closely linked), he sees the situation as overall negative for Russia, with the fiasco surrounding the plan hurting its own people's morale:
1/ Russian soldiers are complaining that if they fall foul of military regulations in any way – such as having only 1 litre of water in their car instead of 2, or wearing a non-regulation patch – they face being arrested by the military police and forced into an assault squad. ⬇️
2/ The notoriously corrupt Russian military police have been hated and feared by Russian soldiers throughout the Ukraine war for their brutality and larceny. To the soldiers' frustration, they are now reportedly dragging men off to die in assault squads for petty infractions.
3/ A correspondent writes to the 'Vault No. 8' Telegram channel:
"Requirements for military drivers at the border (Rovenki checkpoint and others), what must be in the cabin:
- 2 litres of bottled water.
- Engine oil.
- Regulation winter uniform for military personnel."
1/ Why have so many supposedly MAGA accounts on X been exposed as being based in Nigeria? The answer may be linked to the unfortunate coincidence that the word "maga" in Nigerian Pidgin English means "a gullible person, a fool, or the unsuspecting victim of a scam". ⬇️
2/ "Maga" is widely believed to have evolved from the Yoruba word "múgùn" (or "mugu"), which translates to someone who can be easily manipulated or used as a "ladder to reach the top".
Calling someone a "maga" is an insult, implying they are simple, easily controlled, or naive.
3/ Some specific examples:
🔺 "Maga don pay": → A common phrase among scammers, meaning "the victim has paid up," indicating a successful swindle.
🔺 "Maga must pay": → Reflects the mindset that it is inevitable for a naive person to be conned.
1/ A Russian soldier recruited under duress from a penal colony says that his unit has suffered 97% casualties in recent assaults, with a constant supply of new cannon fodder arriving and dying immediately. "They fucking keep replenishing, replenishing, replenishing," he says. ⬇️
2/ The man, who identifies himself as Ramzan, says that he was serving a sentence in a penal colony when he was brutally forced to sign a military contract by a "camp boss" – another prisoner who was working for the prison management.
3/ "They told me, 'You fucking cunt.' I said, 'Okay, we'll see.' ... He fucking wanted to shove me into the toilet. That's why I went to the Special Military Operation."
When he arrived in Ukraine, he found himself being thrown into bloody assaults in an unspecified region.
1/ The Kyiv Independent is reporting that Trump envoy Steve Witkoff is "running a shadow operation inside the White House in an effort to sideline pro-Ukraine officials", cutting out Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in an effort supported by Vice President J.D. Vance. ⬇️
2/ According to sources quoted by the Kyiv Independent, Witkoff is "running a broader operation with [Russian envoy Kirill] Dmitriev, trying to sideline the pro-Ukraine voices in the Trump administration."
3/ An unnamed White House communications official "is seen as "one of Witkoff's people," feeding media talking points favorable to Witkoff and his Russia-friendly approach."
1/ Russian lawyers say that gamers could face up to six years in prison or charges of treason if they stream S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 or wear a S.T.A.L.K.E.R. T-shirt, following the Russian government's designation of its Ukrainian developers as an 'undesirable organisation'. ⬇️
2/ The Russian Prosecutor General's Office added Kyiv-based GSC Game World to its list of 'undesirable organisations' on 18 November. The developer relocated many of its staff to Prague after the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022.
3/ Since then, GSC has raised $800,000 for the Ukrainian military via a charity sale of its games and has also encouraged its fans to make donations to Ukrainian military causes. This has been cited by the Prosecutor General's Office in its decision.