Europe War in Ukraine - Thread 2

[Gethelred]

This is a sensitive area for some. With that in mind, I'm going to remind a few posters a few things:

• personal attacks are against forum rules. From this point, any attacks that are directed at another poster will be treated with a warning, then infractions and threadbans if it continues.
• the spread of misinformation is also against the rules. This is taken very seriously by moderation, and you will be asked to support your opinion from time to time. If you cannot satisfy this, you will be provided an opportunity to retract your post; if you do not, you will receive an infraction and a threadban on that basis.

This is a forum for adults, and I'd appreciate you all treating each other appropriately.

 

[Visions]

It would be defending the indefensible at this point.

They've shifted to "but the west has done war crimes too" from what I've seen.

If only! They have shifted to "these massacres in Bucha were conducted by the Ukrainians on civilians because they were helping the Russian forces"

Blaming it on the UK who are very good at moving bodies into correct positions. Did you hear lunacy quite like this?



Even though this is out there.

 

[swingdog]

If only! They have shifted to "these massacres in Bucha were conducted by the Ukrainians on civilians because they were helping the Russian forces"

Blaming it on the UK who are very good at moving bodies into correct positions. Did you hear lunacy quite like this?



Even though this is out there.

Why do I get the feeling they've just watched the new film Operation Mincemeat?

 

[76woodenspooners]

That’s heartbreaking to see …

… but there’s a few reasons why shutting off the fossil fuel taps is challenging …

(1) As much as Putin’s Russia is currently a pariah state, the alternatives aren’t great either. There’s Saudi “bonesaw” Arabia. Venezuela has hardly been a model for human rights in recent times. Many of the African oil states lead the world in corruption.

(2) The West stops buying fuel from Russia and buys from third countries instead. Global market for fuel becomes expensive and Russian fuel becomes cheap. China and India buy fuel from Russia instead of third countries. So we’re back to where we started, except maybe the West pays more for fuel than China and India. The world is interconnected.

(3) Stopping fuel from Russia would be massively disruptive to the western economies, impacting their ability to build up NATO defences and supporting Ukraine.

Things are progressing. Apparently Germany has reduced its reliance on Russian oil by 10% since the start of this conflict. My guess is that Europe will turn off the taps (Lithuania already has) it’s just a matter of when.

 

[Visions]

This former US Army general is great to listen to. When this war first started and everyone was talking about the imminent collapse of Kyiv and Ukraine in general, he was one of the few to predict that not only would Ukraine overcome the initial attack but would actually come out on top and win.

This is his analysis on the next Donbas phase, how those forces that got routed in the north are useless moving forward and that the same fate awaits the Russian army, a defeat.

Hopefully the Russian soldiers bring sunflower seeds.

 

[TheDudeAbides]

It would be defending the indefensible at this point.

They've shifted to "but the west has done war crimes too" from what I've seen.

Yeah its disgusting looking up and hashtags on the socials...""But USA....blah blah" or "what about Iraq / Afghanistan / Syria...blah blah". It still am unable to comprehend some people thinking or mindset on defending all this Russian action like its deserved...

No innocent population should have to deal with any of this anywhere in the world...its all equally as shocking where-ever it takes place...

 

[Visions]

Ukraine getting some toys from the Czech republic. Need more of these offensive weapons. Artillery would be good.

 

[Hornberger]

Things are progressing. Apparently Germany has reduced its reliance on Russian oil by 10% since the start of this conflict. My guess is that Europe will turn off the taps (Lithuania already has) it’s just a matter of when.

How is that 10% being measured? It that based on average demand over a year, or the instantaneous demand which is reflecting the transition from winter to spring.

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

Yeah its disgusting looking up and hashtags on the socials...""But USA....blah blah" or "what about Iraq / Afghanistan / Syria...blah blah". It still am unable to comprehend some people thinking or mindset on defending all this Russian action like its deserved...

No innocent population should have to deal with any of this anywhere in the world...its all equally as shocking where-ever it takes place...

They had already chosen a side and prefer to look stupid rather then say they were wrong.

 

[Mobbs]

A few recent articles from Meduza.

Living in Bucha under Russian occupation :

“Someone rode a bicycle before they died. Someone was walking in pairs”

Bucha - Local council member Katerina Ukraintseva talks about how this city lived under Russian occupation

After the retreat of Russian troops from the Kiev region in the city of Bucha, dozens of bodies of civilians were found, including those with their hands tied behind their backs. In total, 410 bodies of civilians have already been removed from the liberated settlements . Nevertheless, the Russian Ministry of Defense called the photos and videos from Bucha “another staging of the Kiev regime” (this is the standard reaction of the Russian side not only to the statements of Kiev, but also to the reports of independent journalists working on this war). Katerina Ukraintseva, a member of the city council and a territorial defense volunteer, told Meduza about how Bucha lived under Russian occupation

During the invasion of the city, I was in Bucha. Evacuated from there on March 11th. Yesterday [April 2] I returned there for the first time with humanitarian aid. Bucha is located near Gostomel. We, as ordinary citizens, naively believed that the main actions would take place in Kyiv, and Bucha would be bypassed. We thought it was a safe place. Even after the start of the war, we did not expect that it would start with us. But already on February 24-25, we heard a roar and explosions all over Bucha, we saw a glow [from explosions and fires]. The helicopters have gone. Our artillery began to "work out" those who landed there. We practically watched from the windows how the turntables [helicopters] entered the Gostomel airfield. They were bombed, but they still flew. After that, sabotage groups [of the Russian army] began to seep into the forests. And we have cottages and the private sector there - they began to occupy people's houses, who were evacuated at the very beginning. The first DRGs [sabotage and reconnaissance groups] appeared. We sat in tension, closed the entrances. The Russian troops were getting closer and closer. They began to dig around Bucha, but this was not felt in the center. On March 4, a convoy of Russian military equipment passed through the central street, Vokzalnaya, on its way to Irpin : Bucha was first used as a passage there. They were "worked out" by artillery from the Irpin checkpoint, destroyed most of their equipment - literally burned to the ground. The rest began to dissipate along the Bucha.

By their actions, it was clear that they did not orientate themselves on the terrain, they simply drove randomly around the city. Self-defense was present in the city, a shootout began. They [the Russian military] began to answer directly to residential buildings. During such a firefight, there was a fire in my house: a shell flew to the third floor. I live on the fourth.

Earlier in this article it was said that the projectile was fired by the BRDM - an armored reconnaissance and patrol vehicle. After the publication, Yekaterina Ukraintseva told Meduza that she had no doubts that the projectile was fired from “heavy equipment,” but that she did not have the expertise to identify it.

Fires were all over Bucha. We [in the house] did not have a strong fire, so my neighbors and I took a ladder and extinguished it ourselves. There was a hit in the store, in cars in the yard.

When it began to fly into the yard, everyone began to hide already in the basements. We sent all the old people and children down there. For us, living in the basement began from the first days of the war. We dragged everything [necessary], prepared water, tried to create as many conditions for life as possible.

“People sat in basements and asked to be taken away”
I believe that there was poor preparation [of the city authorities for the start of the war]. We were told to the last that everything was under control, and the city, of course, was not ready for an invasion. We were under shelling, shops and pharmacies were abruptly closed. The humanitarian catastrophe began in February. When a Russian tank hit Novus), people ran there and began to endure everything that was. You could call it looting, but they had no choice. People needed at least some food supplies. The need for medicines was critical, so shops and pharmacies began to be opened. Nobody stopped them [the people who did it]. The police and the draft board left in the first days. There was no one in the city, it was defended on its own. It wasn't even a therodefense, not an official formation. As such, we didn’t have therodefense: there were those who united themselves. People went [to the draft board] and asked for weapons, they wanted to defend themselves, they didn't know where to go. There was nowhere to go. There were veterans who fought before, just patriots. They put on everything that was left from 2014, took the weapons that had been stored since then, and went to defend the city. The first to die was Volodya Kovalsky. In 2015in the Donbass , he lost two legs, moved on two prostheses. I didn’t drink too much, like many in such a situation, but continued to live. He built a house, organized a business, provided for his family. At the very beginning [of the war] came into self-defence. They kicked him out, but he still stayed. So he - and without two legs! - took a piece of equipment from the enemy and drove it to our guys. Later he died in battle. He left behind a wife and children. We don't even know how he was buried. The family was taken out. The evacuation was not organized for a long time, when [still] it was possible to do it. In Irpen , the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the defense and local authorities joined in - people were taken out under bullets. In Bucha, people chose only themselves. The occupation took place on the 5th [March]. From the 4th to the 5th they fired at the Stekolka area. Now the corpses of civilians lie on Yablonskaya - this is our longest street, it is parallel to Irpin. They [killed residents of the city] have been lying there since the beginning of March.

Russian troops placed all their equipment there, and Irpen was bombed from this street. They pulled heavy equipment to these houses, occupied the roofs, put machine guns there. The Russians dug in - down to the snipers - on the upper floors of high-rise buildings. People heard the scraping of metal in the hallways. Those who tried to get out were driven back, threatened with execution. They were allowed to go outside only on March 8 or 9. They allowed to heat water on fires outside, because there was no electricity or water. In those days, the first reports of civilian bodies on the streets appeared.

In the same place on Yablonskaya, they set up their checkpoint. To evacuate, people had to go through a Russian checkpoint in order to get to the Ukrainian one. How many people managed to leave is unknown, the corpses would first be counted. We [volunteers] delivered humanitarian aid yesterday, one of the teams saw these bodies. Someone [before his death] rode a bicycle, someone walked in pairs. They are completely different there. We cannot determine the cause of their death from the photographs. It will be clear only after examination.

In my presence, people were not shot. Those who lie on Yablonskaya died as a result of chaotic shooting. Those who got out of Yablonskaya say it was hell. There was panic. From the first day, people from there [street residents] wrote to me. They sat in the cellars and asked to be taken away. They asked to take them with babies, they said that they would die.

“They said that they need to go further to Kyiv, but they don’t want to”
Bucha did not behave aggressively. We did not have Ukrainian rallies, no one came out with flags. There were talks [about rallies] at the very beginning, they wanted to unite. But the Russian troops went so hard that people simply did not dare. We tried to take care of people.

We had a situation when a girl went out to the common balcony in the evening to smoke - with a phone in her hands. We almost drove her out with cuffs on the back of the head: there was a risk that she would be mistaken for a fire spotter, then [the whole] house would not be left.

It so happened that [Russian] soldiers handed over dry rations to the basement, and then threw a grenade there. And this happened. There are no death tolls in this story. In one of the residential complexes, during the cleansing, they were afraid to go into a dark basement, and just in case, they also threw a grenade there. By chance, no one died from it.

There is a feeling that different units were dispersed around Bucha - they behaved very differently. The city center was lucky - there was some kind of medical unit. They collected their “two hundredth” [dead] and “three hundredth” [wounded], even gave their diesel fuel to the hospital. There were very young guys there, as if they were students. When they gave away the diesel fuel, they said that they needed to go further to Kyiv, but they didn’t want to, and they would rather tell [the authorities] that they had “rolled” everyone. Among them were those who did not want to fight.

But those who came in at the very beginning, when the occupation began, are animals. A lot of people have disappeared. We don't know what's wrong with them.

"They took everything"
The first coordinated evacuation along the green corridor took place only on March 9, and already from March 4 it was impossible to move around the city. If before that it was simply dangerous, then from that moment it became impossible. When the evacuation began, people were allowed to travel only by car. For all the time it was carried out four or five times. [For the whole] week before the liberation there was no evacuation at all, people were on the verge of collapse. It's scary to imagine how many people died from lack of food and medicine. Recently, I have had messages from the series: “A person died at such and such an address. Who will take the body? You receive this information, but there is no one to transfer it to. Only the Russian military remained in the city. They took everything: both ambulances and hospitals. When a person died during shelling, this is understandable, this is war. But when civilians die without food, water and medicine, that's a whole different story. Even war has its rules. They [the Russian military] tore down all the doors in houses, conducted searches in private sectors, searched foratoshnikov . Someone leaked [the Russian army] the base of ATO veterans and their families. I myself am a member of the community of relatives of the victims, my brother died in 2014. There were people [residents of the city], who voluntarily showed where to look for the military and their families, [as well as] just patriots. We have a family: the guy was the son of a deceased ATO veteran. They found their son and shot him. The body was taken away for burial. Now there is no contact with his mother. Of those who sat in the Forest BuchaI had one girl with whom we kept in touch. At some point, she sent a photograph of the corpse. A man lies on his stomach, and behind his hands are tied with tape. I asked him to identify - they sent documents, they can't check. She sent me a photo of him upside down, although it was impossible to do this - he could have been mined. His face was already beginning to rot, he had been lying on the pavement for so long. When I enlarged [the photo], I saw that a cable was stretched through his mouth [between his lips, around his head], and his eyes were wrapped with tape.

They buried him themselves, left his identification next to him: I think the Russians found fault with him just because of him. An old ID card from 2005, it says "Advisor to the President". Apparently, they saw this phrase. It will most likely be possible to install it, but later.

"We were looking for someone who would cooperate"
I witnessed the first contact between the Russian military and the executive committee. There was no longer any of the authorities, only guards and volunteers. It was around March 8th or 9th. I went to the building of the executive committee to check on the guards and volunteers, I stood near the barrier. The [Russian] military drove up in an old armored personnel carrier, three people were sitting on the armor. They drove up to the central entrance of the executive committee, began to pull on the door. The guards came out the back door. The military ask them: “Where are the mayor and all the deputies?” They told them that they all left. And they [the Russians] say that life in the city must be improved somehow. We were looking for someone who would cooperate. They occupied the city and destroyed everything - both the water supply system and the communication towers. No electricity, no water, no internet. And they need to live somehow. Hearing that there was no one, they sat down [in an armored personnel carrier] and left, promised to return later. Later, I found out that they took these guys [the guards of the executive committee and volunteers] prisoner, covered their eyes with tape, beat them with machine guns and interrogated them. Later released. The guys said that [at the interrogation] there was a sniper who said that he had been watching them through the scope for three days. He tried to demoralize, to say that the Ukrainian troops had abandoned them. At the same time, another guy was being interrogated on a nearby bench [as I was told]. He let's take everyone. He told who lives where in the nearest houses, boasted that he served with that the Ukrainian troops threw them. At the same time, another guy was being interrogated on a nearby bench [as I was told]. He let's take everyone. He told who lives where in the nearest houses, boasted that he served with that the Ukrainian troops threw them. At the same time, another guy was being interrogated on a nearby bench [as I was told]. He let's take everyone. He told who lives where in the nearest houses, boasted that he served with [by Igor] Girkin . That's how you live and you don't know who your neighbor is.

Many cooperated [with the Russian army], but even more of those who resisted. Everyone who remained in the occupation helped the Armed Forces of Ukraine in any way they could. Everything that could be seen and transmitted - everything was transmitted. Without the people, such victories are impossible. Everyone fights on their own front.

“ I left, and three days later they were already in our house ”
[March 11] I gathered all the neighbors and said that I was evacuating, offered to join, some agreed. There are those who have sick parents who have no one to leave with. The elderly don't leave either. I have been very active in public. People really needed information, so I often broadcast live [on social networks] - as soon as I learned something. They [Russian troops] have already occupied Bucha, and I recorded live broadcasts of where they are. I was then informed that they even watch my streams. If I had information that there would be a purge, I informed them. "Cleansing" means street fighting, and it's even easier to die in them than from artillery. Bullet is stupid. We immediately passed [information] about it, people locked themselves in basements. We had no sirens, no air defense systems, no organized bomb shelters like in Kyiv. The peaceful city was not ready for such a brutal war. I left because I began to receive signals that the Russian military were looking for me. I had to physically get out of there. I left, and three days later they were already in our house. If I was dead, I would be of less use. "You can return now"
The city itself survived compared to Irpin: there are hits in apartment buildings, some private buildings were destroyed, but less restoration will be required. If the Armed Forces of Ukraine answered [the Russian army] in full, the city would have been completely destroyed.

Now I am organizing humanitarian shipments to Bucha, and it is more convenient to do this from Kyiv. Walking [on Bucha] is still not entirely safe - sappers have to check everything. But you can return. Only there is still no water, light and communications. The city is dead in this regard.

I haven't seen my neighbors for two weeks. Came to Kyiv black from the fire [on which food was heated]. They [the neighbors] have not been able to wash themselves for two weeks. I offered to go to the capital to swim, and then return, but no one wanted to.

It was scary to enter my apartment, move around it. The neighbor volunteered to help. I stayed there for a while and realized that I was at home. But first you need to help people, and then return.

The general conclusion is this: now you always need to remember that there is a northern neighbor who will be shot in the head, and he will fly in helicopters with troops. Our city borders on the Gostomel airfield and now must always be ready for war with Russia.

«Кто-то перед смертью ехал на велосипеде. Кто-то гулял парой» Буча. Депутат местного совета Катерина Украинцева — о том, как этот город жил под российской оккупацией — Meduza

После отступления российских войск из Киевской области в городе Буча были найдены десятки тел мирных жителей, в том числе со связанными за спиной руками. Всего из освобожденных населенных пунктов уже вывезли 410 тел мирных жителей. Тем не менее министерство обороны РФ назвало снимки и видео из...

meduza.io

Turning sanctions back onto the Russian population with threats of jailtime.

Deputies proposed punishment of up to ten years in prison for the implementation of anti-Russian sanctions in Russia

A draft law introducing criminal liability for the implementation of anti-Russian sanctions on the territory of Russia has been submitted to the State Duma. This was reported to journalists by one of the initiators of the amendments, the head of the Committee on State Building and Legislation Pavel Krasheninnikov. The document has not yet been published in the database of bills on the website of the State Duma.

“A number of Russian companies, including those with state participation, for one reason or another, refuse to work with banks and enterprises that have already fallen under sanctions, because they are also afraid to fall under them. It is obvious that one of the goals of foreign sanctions is to destabilize the domestic economy of Russia, pushing domestic companies against each other. To prevent the deterioration of the economic situation within the country, we propose to amend the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, ”TASS quotes Krasheninnikov as saying.

According to the proposed amendments, the article on abuse of power (Part 2 of Article 201 of the Criminal Code) is proposed to be supplemented with a new aggravating circumstance - "enforcement of a decision of a foreign state on the introduction of restrictive measures against the Russian Federation."

It will be punishable by a fine of up to one million rubles, forced labor for up to five years, or imprisonment for up to 10 years.

The initiative to introduce criminal liability for the implementation of Western sanctions against Russia was earlier proposed by the United Russia party. Also earlier in March, Russia introduced administrative and criminal liability for calls for sanctions against Russian persons. The corresponding article of the Criminal Code provides for punishment of up to three years in prison for this.

Депутаты предложили наказание до десяти лет тюрьмы за исполнение антироссийских санкций в России — Meduza

В Госдуму внесен законопроект, вводящий уголовную ответственность за исполнение антироссийских санкций на территории России. Об этом журналистам сообщил один из инициаторов поправок, глава комитета по госстроительству и законодательству Павел Крашенинников. В базе законопроектов на сайте Госдумы...

meduza.io

Don't mention the war, especially as a journalist.

“This is not justice, but the fulfillment of some kind of order”

Interview with Andrei Novashov, the first journalist who is going to be tried for “fakes” about the Russian army

Freelancer Andrei Novashov became the first Russian journalist (of those who remained in the country ) to be prosecuted under a new article on “public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the RF Armed Forces.” Taiga.Info spoke with Novashov about his criminal case, why he considers it an "order" and why he does not believe in an acquittal. With the permission of Meduza, this interview is published without abbreviations.

Taiga.Info: “One of the Siberian journalists took an interview with Novashov at a personal meeting on his own initiative until March 30th. His name is known to the editors, but for security reasons we do not name him.

- Under what article are you still accused - two different articles appeared in the media at once? What exactly are you accused of?

- Part 1 of Art. 207.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ( public distribution under the guise of reliable messages of false information about the use of the RF Armed Forces, - note "Taygi.Info" ). Up to three years in prison. The minimum punishment is 700 thousand rubles fine. I am not rich. That kind of money just doesn't exist. However, judging by how famously the court rejects all the complaints and objections of the lawyer, I will not get off with a fine.

Everything that is happening is one big meanness, including the wording of this article. The reason for the arrest was a repost on my VKontakte page, in which it was about what happened in Mariupol in the first days of the special operation. I do not rule out that the accusation will be reformulated, reclassified, and the punishment will be tougher. But in the repost there are no calls for murder, violence, blood, revenge. There is no information, for example, about the movement of troops, which could somehow interfere with the special operation. The state believes that a VK user who made any “wrong” repost should be imprisoned for three years. And if it, the state, is "good today" - then just "squeeze out the apartment." A fine of up to 1.5 million rubles - I think that's about the cost of housing in a small provincial town.

I'm a journalist, but I'm not popular on social media. I have few friends and subscribers. The repost, which the investigation seized on, was viewed by about 100 people by the time of my arrest. Six or seven likes. Now the number of views has increased many times, as I was told. But it is necessary to say thanks to those who initiated this criminal case. It seems that it would be easier for my persecutors to contact Roskomnadzor to block my page, and social network users would not be able to see the “seditious” repost. Or, for starters, write to me and demand that I, for example, delete my page. Instead, what happens is what happens.

I have to conclude that this whole process was not started in order to protect someone from access to any information whatsoever, but to shut me out. There were less than 100 views, after the search-arrest there were 500, as I was told. It turns out that the investigation contributed five times more to the dissemination of relevant information. Will all those involved in the persecution of me, a little-known user of VKontakte, also be prosecuted for this?

- Who initiated the case?

- The case was initiated on March 21, 2022 <...> by an investigator of the Department for the Investigation of Particularly Important Cases of the Investigation Department [IC of the Russian Federation for the Kemerovo Region]. "Especially important"! What could be more important for the state than the persecution of a social network user who made a repost that got 100 views.

Here's what's indicative. They came to me in Prokopyevsk with a search at 6 am on March 21, on the same day that the case was opened. The group that conducted the search - the investigator, witnesses, eshniki [employees of the center "E" of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Kemerovo] - was from two cities - Prokopyevsk and Kemerovo. Even if you drive very quickly from Kemerovo to Prokopyevsk, it will take more than two hours. That is, the case was opened at night. By that time, that same repost had been hanging on my VKontakte page for several days, and there was no reason to think that I would delete it any minute. Why such a hurry? The investigator obtained permission to search after the search had been carried out. This already suggests that the whole story is some kind of “curve”.

I have no close friends and relatives in Ukraine, I have never been there. Moreover, I was not in Mariupol during the special operation. This can be understood, for example, from other posts on my page. I did not pretend to be an eyewitness to the events, and even if we assume (however, I am far from such assumptions) that the information is not true, I could not know this for sure, there can be no talk of any “faithful information”.

On my VKontakte page, I published a copy of a Facebook** post by Moscow journalist Victoria Ivleva, indicating that this information was from her. Ivleva has been collaborating with Novaya Gazeta for many years. After the Maidan, she traveled all over Ukraine, published a book-photo album about it. Helped evacuate refugees. One of the first to join the campaign in defense of Oleg Sentsov. And now she is in Ukraine. I know Victoria personally, which I am very proud of. I trust the information she posts. I made an appropriate repost so that those who do not use VPN have the opportunity to find out a different point of view on the “special operation”. Although, I repeat, I understood that few would read on my page.

- Why did you decide to repost, knowing that under the new "laws" criminal liability may threaten?

- Why do people go to single pickets, knowing that the security forces will easily find a reason to close them for several days? And how many of these “why?” Then ask: “Why resist, if it’s safer and more profitable to crawl?” And the special operation is not only about Ukraine. For me, this is an indicator of the moral degradation and dehumanization of Russian society.

- Were you ready for a search or for an arrest?

- Yes and no. “Punks love dirt and hippies love flowers. Both those and others are taken by the cops. You can live lovingly, you can live rudely, but if you are not a cop, they will take you too, ”this is from an old song by Boris Grebenshchikov. I didn't keep silent. For many years, all silent Russians have been at risk of reprisals - both popular and unknown. I reproach myself for carelessness - it was necessary to protect information on electronic media more seriously.

The laptop and smartphone seized during the search were password-protected. Judging by indirect signs, they have not yet been hacked, but soon, of course, they will. Get access to personal correspondence.

I was quite frank in both journalistic publications and posts on social networks, the correspondence will not tell the investigation much new, not to mention the fact that neither I nor my friends are criminals. But it's disgusting when outsider stupid people find out the details of private life - yours and friends. In our region there is such a slop public - “Kuzbass. No censorship." He's affiliated with Center E, no doubt about it. When the Kemerovo journalist Foma Neverov was searched, and all his equipment was also confiscated, Without Censorship published fragments of his private correspondence.

What did the security forces take from you?

— Working and two broken laptops. Smartphone. All memory cards, including one completely new, are in their original packaging. Removable hard drives. Digital voice recorder. Digital MP3 player. They even took Mp3 discs - if you remember what it is. There is also a picture printed on the outside of the discs themselves. It is clear that these are old discs with music and there is nothing else on them. There was a laptop on the table. It just doesn't have a disk drive. Why do they need these discs? Just for fun listening? In general, this whole search is a circus.

Recently, Semyon Sheikin and Alexander Balashov, who went out on pickets, were locked up in a special detention center in Kemerovo. The administrators soldered them for their old posts in VK. And what exactly they made these posts, the courts established without examining their gadgets. They can when they want! It's just that the administrative cases of Sheikin and Balashov and my criminal case are united by the fact that they seem to have been sucked out of a finger. This is not justice, but the fulfillment of some order.

The search carried out at my house, after all, had goals: to humiliate me, my mother, who is 70 years old, to scare me half to death. She has a bad heart.

I am a journalist, and everything selected during the search is my working tools. True, they left the camera, but without other gadgets it is useless for me, as a journalist. Then the court determined the measure of restraint, definitively excommunicating me from the profession. I am not allowed to make calls or use the Internet. I used to write news, but now I can't even read them. The news is telling me. TV was not banned, but watching state channels is torture, to which the court did not sentence me. For a journalist, a total forced disconnection from the news agenda is an additional burden on the psyche. And now I don’t understand how to provide for myself. I have a bracelet on my leg. You can see the transmitter box that comes with it. It is unlikely that someone will hire an “enlightened” person, even as a loader.

The circle of persons with whom it is allowed to communicate in person is not limited today, so the interview is possible.

What else do you remember about the search, arrest and interrogation?

Everything is pretty standard. But Russia, in my opinion, is on the eve of mass arrests “for politics”. Here someone will write in social networks, for example, that you can’t get sugar - they are buying up in stores in the morning. Why are they selling out?

The person who wrote the post will be accused of maliciously spreading false information that discredits the armed forces of the Russian Federation, and may even be declared an American spy. Don't understand this logic? Nothing, the investigator will explain to you. This is a reality, if not today, but tomorrow.

In general, I tell you, any user of VKontakte can come in handy. They arrived, as already mentioned, early in the morning. They rang insistently, then drummed with fists. They did not break the door, but it was clear that they were ready to do it. Mom went to open it. Here I would have time to send an audio message to at least someone, but there was no time left for this. If you can, send an audio message so that a friend tells several independent journalists and human rights activists that a search has begun at your place, and immediately block your smartphone. Then I was allowed to call two numbers. But the hour was early - the subscribers did not pick up the phone. No more calls were allowed. Fortunately for me, my smartphone was put aside, and after a couple of minutes it blocked itself. I didn't give them the password. But it was necessary to try to inform about the search, the arrest and the article that was charged. I remembered, that there is a Prokopyevsk acquaintance who works in a relatively large organization who knows who to tell. I told my mother to call there when they took me away. <…> I will call him by a fictitious name Peter.

I repeatedly wrote about the meanness (I won’t pick another word) of “Eshniks” when I was preparing publications about activists and journalists. But the "eshniki" surprised even me. When they took me to the car to take me to Kemerovo, one of them - my mother later nicknamed him "Plump" - said: "You don't need to call Peter - he works in a budgetary organization, and if you call, Peter will be fired immediately." And my mother obeyed. She is a decent person, she cannot set someone up. Some of the security forces who came with the search took me to Kemerovo. Others hurried to make a publication in their [public] "Uncensored".

— You were brought to Kemerovo. What's next?

- On the way, "Plump" asked if there was a lawyer whom I would like to see as my defender. I gave my last name. Fatty contacted her. The lawyer helped me a lot, but I won't thank Fatty. He himself said that he was calling a lawyer, as it should be, so that later “no claims” would be made against him. Then I sat in Center E for several hours, waiting for the lawyer to be released. There was a mug with a print - a portrait of Hitler - on the table at the Ashniks. Not as material evidence, but along with other dishes. "Plump" saw that I noticed this, and removed the mug. He gave such explanations: this is not Hitler, but a person who looks like Hitler, and there are no Nazi symbols in the portrait. The mug was either confiscated in a handicraft printing shop, or the owner of the shop presented it to the “eschniks” as a keepsake.

Then they were taken to the Investigative Committee. They took me to the office of the investigator who was entrusted with my case. Even before the arrival of the lawyer, the investigator began a conversation not under the protocol, but with the video camera turned on. I was told that I was the accused. They presented a decision - it's different. In general, papers had to sign a bunch. Including a non-disclosure agreement. I signed on autopilot, but the lawyer said it was in vain. They also took such a subscription from her, but the lawyer wrote on it why she believes that the subscription was illegal <...> She wrote the same thing on my subscription. I also signed below, and scratched out my signature in the column above. The investigator tore up my summons and threw it away. They didn't give me a new one. I believe that I did not give any subscription, so now I am answering your questions.

Only the lawyer told me what repost became the basis for initiating a criminal case. For some reason, the investigator did not tell me this, but she really expected that, even without knowing what exactly I was being charged with, I would admit my guilt. At the time of the interview, I did not testify on the merits, using Article 51 . I don't think I'm guilty of anything. Only if they prove to me that the information reported by Victoria Ivleva, which I reposted, is not true, I will change my mind. The investigator refers to the reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, but for me they are not proof.

We were taken to the temporary detention center for the night. There are also rituals. First, they ordered me to strip down to my shorts while still in the investigator's office, and they thoroughly searched me. Then handcuffs. A cramped iron closet in a paddy wagon. Waiting in some barred room is already directly in the temporary detention facility. Another screening with turning socks inside out, removing panties to the knees and squats. Then another box - this time, without windows and doors. Next, they rolled their fingerprints and took a picture with a sign in their hands. I read somewhere that fingerprints are not allowed. But this is about detainees at rallies, and I am already in a different status - a defendant in a criminal case.

The IVS cell, where they finally left me alone, was the most pleasant thing in the last 14 hours or so. The neighbor was a sixty-year-old man who beat the saleswoman. He has two hands for a special operation. He said that Russian troops in Ukraine are saving the local population from the Nazis. It's amazing that such patriots are kept in cells. Vladimir Osechkin from "Gulagu.net" wrote that they would start releasing them soon. To make room for people like me.

- In the morning, the court on the choice of a preventive measure?

- Yes. In the temporary detention facility, approximately the same rituals were repeated as late in the evening the previous day, only in reverse order. We were given dry rations for the whole day. Again handcuffs, paddy wagon. A closet-cell in the court, where I spent most of my second day in prison. The ration, which he brought with him, was given out at lunchtime. I had some water with me in a bottle that the lawyer had given me the day before. I ate this ration almost dry, there was little water left. Then they brought boiling water. Nobody warned me that he would. There were two tea bags in the ration, but you never know ...

I am talking in such detail because detentions at rallies and pickets, administrative detention for 5-12 days in special detention centers for posts on social networks are relatively well-known stories. But a criminal case for a pacifist, in fact, repost is a phenomenon that has not been studied so much. You asked if I was ready. To the special reception - yes. But in a criminal case - still no.

Readers, if they get into the same binding, will be at least a little bit easier. Let me also remind smokers: in the TDF they are not allowed to take lighters into the cell. Do you repost VKontakte? Then always carry a box with you. I could smoke in a cell in a temporary detention facility, because the rowdy patriot had matches.

How was the trial?

— The judge decided to make the process closed.

- You said that your prospects are bleak.

- Back in the investigator's office, in front of the temporary detention center, the lawyer said that by the standards of criminal cases, mine is not considered serious. Later, at the court session, when I was in the aquarium, I told the court that for crimes of such severity, the accused is most often not given a preventive measure at all. In extreme cases - a written undertaking not to leave. But I'm already clothed, as you can see.

The lawyer asked me to leave the opportunity to remain in the profession, albeit with some restrictions. But what sanction the judge has chosen - already told. In my opinion, the court does not listen to any arguments of the defense. The prosecutor made a very interesting speech. He said that if the appropriate restrictions are not imposed on me, then I “will continue to engage in criminal activities, to cover the activities of the opposition.” I quote not verbatim, but close to the text. For him, writing news about civil activists is synonymous with criminal activity. Such is the picture of the world in man. The investigator behaved very strangely. She reminded me of an excellent schoolgirl who didn’t learn her lesson this time, but was sure that she would somehow slip through. After not the most tricky question of the lawyer, the investigator was somehow completely embarrassed and asked for a fifteen-minute break.

The lawyer explained that only the desire of the prosecutor and the investigator was not enough to declare the court closed. That the law stipulates cases when the court can be declared closed, and my case does not fit into any of these cases. However, the judge took the side of the prosecution in this issue.

I must make one caveat. Lawyer under a non-disclosure agreement. In this interview, I speak only on my own behalf. The lawyer doesn't know I'm doing this interview. I assume all risks. But this is my life, my destiny.

- Well, it is unlikely that the investigator shares your position: since the subscription is broken, it means that you have no obligation not to talk about the details of the case.

- I also think that he does not share. The trial is being held behind closed doors, and if you will allow me, I will tell you now what I will say before the trial. In a certain sense, I fulfilled the terms of the subscription, which, by the way, was not terminated by me, but by the investigator herself. I do not name the names of the judges, the prosecutor, the investigator. He didn't even give the lawyer's name. I can only say that I absolutely trust the lawyer.

I do not disclose the names of witnesses who allegedly accidentally discovered a seditious repost and were offended to the core. As I have already mentioned, “Eshnik2“ Tolstenkiy ”(by the way, I also do not disclose the names of those who conducted the search), it is not clear why he deceived my mother, dissuading her from calling Pyotr. It's not all about politics, though. It is the first hours after arrest that are the most dangerous. For anyone arrested. It was during these hours that he was forced in various ways to sign the devil-those that slander himself. I wanted to be as safe as possible. Peter had to call the editorial offices with which I cooperate and human rights activists to report the incident. I did not interfere with the seizure of "material evidence". I am the only accused in the case, so I can’t frighten off the “accomplices” in any way. They simply don't exist.

The prosecutor in his speech said that the trial should be held behind closed doors "due to the difficult international situation." Not exactly how he put it, but the idea is clear. In general, he does not want information that, in his opinion, discredits the armed forces of the Russian Federation, to get into the Internet. But, firstly, then it would be logical to assume that, on the contrary, he is interested in publicizing this case. The article I'm under is new. Not everyone knows what happens now for reposts on VKontakte. Well, all the more so it is necessary to blow all the pipes about my case so that as many people as possible are aware of it. Or would the prosecutor, on the contrary, want as many users as possible to get caught? It seems to me that the investigator and the prosecutor are fulfilling someone's order. They want to bury me, but quietly, so that no one will know.

- Aren't you afraid to end up in a pre-trial detention center after this interview?

- I'm afraid. And I'm afraid of the colony. But, honestly, I feel that the decision, which the court will announce later, has already been made. Court hearings still resemble a poorly rehearsed performance. This is very subjective - what I just said - but I think this is just the case when "you need to trust your feelings." If the decision has already been made to imprison me, it will not change whether this interview is published or not. Closing the court and applying to me those restrictive measures that doom me to poverty - I consider lawlessness.

I prefer to speak in the end than to perish in silence.

- At the very beginning, you said that the repost that you are accused of is just an excuse.

- Yes. As a journalist, I wrote on topics that the "statists-partiots" do not like very much. I am a freelancer. Most actively collaborated with the site "Siberia Realii" - the project " Radio Liberty ". Both Svoboda and Realii have been declared foreign media agents by the Ministry of Justice. The investigator repeatedly mentioned this in her speeches at court hearings. Although, from the point of view of formal logic, what does this have to do with it? Now I am being judged for reposting VKontakte, and not for my journalistic publications. The prosecutor, as already mentioned, explained to the judge that without a ban on using the Internet, I can continue to cover the activities of the opposition. But there is not a word about the Russian opposition in the incriminated repost about the Russian opposition. They all roll into one pile. They judge for the way of thinking, but there is no such article in the Criminal Code.

- Do you rule out that the case will fall apart or that you will be acquitted?

- At all. People generally do not like to admit their mistakes, and even more so the employees of Russian law enforcement agencies.

<...> What can I say to the judges, the investigator and the prosecutor? “Well, surprise me! Issue an acquittal, or at least stop ignoring all the arguments of the defense. Give me the opportunity to return to the profession. And I will definitely write about it so that readers will be surprised too.

«Это не правосудие, а выполнение какого-то заказа» Интервью Андрея Новашова — первого журналиста, которого собираются судить за «фейки» про российскую армию — Meduza

Фрилансер Андрей Новашов стал первым российским журналистом (из тех, кто остался в стране), на кого завели уголовное дело по новой статье о «публичном распространении заведомо ложной информации об использовании ВС РФ». «Тайга.Инфо» поговорила с Новашовым о его уголовном деле, о том, почему он...

meduza.io

 

[Chief]

"But USA....blah blah"

USA and NATO have plenty of blame to carry - mainly prodding around knowing Putin would go mental, but not doing anything to protect Ukraine from what they knew would happen.

This isn't an excuse for Putin, just recognising NATO should have done better, more, and sooner.

 

[CD Xbow]

If only! They have shifted to "these massacres in Bucha were conducted by the Ukrainians on civilians because they were helping the Russian forces"

Blaming it on the UK who are very good at moving bodies into correct positions. Did you hear lunacy quite like this?



Even though this is out there.

Blonde women saying stupid lies in a setting that looks a lot like fox news. Convergence!

 

[76woodenspooners]

How is that 10% being measured? It that based on average demand over a year, or the instantaneous demand which is reflecting the transition from Winter to Spring.

You raise a good point

 

[CD Xbow]

USA and NATO have plenty of blame to carry - mainly prodding around knowing Putin would go mental, but not doing anything to protect Ukraine from what they knew would happen.

This isn't an excuse for Putin, just recognising NATO should have done better, more, and sooner.

Or less, according to some.
Using the retrospectoscope makes better decisions very easy. I'm pleased at the degree of European unity.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Fat chance:

Fox and Tucker are an embarrassment

 

[TheDudeAbides]

USA and NATO have plenty of blame to carry - mainly prodding around knowing Putin would go mental, but not doing anything to protect Ukraine from what they knew would happen.

This isn't an excuse for Putin, just recognising NATO should have done better, more, and sooner.

Maybe there is an element of this, buts not an argument to be had (and Im not saying its your argument - just to those making those arguments or excuses) while they are stacking body bags of innocent civilians being purged in an act of genocide by the russians.

By all means have the discussion, but not under the picture of a mother who dug a 10cm grave for her young daughter and covered her with a wooden crate, shot buy the russian soldiers all because she thought she could look at tanks as they drove past her house in convoy.

 

[Chief]

Maybe there is an element of this, buts not an argument to be had (and Im not saying its your argument - just to those making those arguments or excuses) while they are stacking body bags of innocent civilians being purged in an act of genocide by the russians.

By all means have the discussion, but not under the picture of a mother who dug a 10cm grave for her young daughter and covered her with a wooden crate, shot buy the russian soldiers all because she thought she could look at tanks as they drove past her house in convoy.

They are separate things IMO.

 

[Zidane98]

USA and NATO have plenty of blame to carry - mainly prodding around knowing Putin would go mental, but not doing anything to protect Ukraine from what they knew would happen.

This isn't an excuse for Putin, just recognising NATO should have done better, more, and sooner.

The appeasement way was never going to work. By staying out of it they just made things worse. Putin was always going to blame them no matter what - may as well just have defended Ukraine and got it over and done with.

 

[HirdyLannister]

Very powerful

 

[Zidane98]

 

[Zidane98]

The Bucha Atrocities and the Kremlin Apologists

Commentators suffering from Ukraine Derangement Syndrome are distorting and distracting from the horrible facts.

www.thebulwark.com

 

[Zidane98]

One for Marcel Proust

 

[Crankyhawk]

Meh if you are likely being forced into baking gifts you would take opportunity to **** over invaders.

 

[Crow54]

What if Tucker Carlson is a lizard alien from some flat planet sent here to fry our brains? I’m not saying any of this is true, I’m just asking the questions. Why can’t we ask these questions?

We can ask the questions, but we know the answer. He's a POS.

 

[Zidane98]

Meh if you are likely being forced into baking gifts you would take opportunity to fu** over invaders.

Considering what Russian soldiers have done to innocent Ukranians I think this action is justified and probably saved many Ukranians from being killed.

 

[76woodenspooners]

We can ask the questions, but we know the answer. He's a POS.

Tucker Carlson has not ruled out a tilt at the Presidency at some stage in the future. That’s concerning a lot of people.

He’d be similar to Trump, but would have far far greater ability to navigate through the American political and administrative system and bend it to his will.