Today, we had a largish raid group of 11+ to take on an #OriginFormePalkia in - it turned out to be a good raid.
Just for fun, my strongest ditto was backing up my mega salamence who was in #1 position. Turns out that the ditto's shapeshift did not cancel out my salamance's mega form which was a happy surprise 😁
Hundreds of thousands of soldiers have been killed since #Russia invaded #Ukraine two years ago. #SatelliteImagery of Russian #gravesites appears to reflect some of those mounting death tolls.
Journalists pointed out that the #RussianEconomy is experiencing growth despite #sanctions. Sikorski noted that this is due to their economy's transition to a #wartime footing. "When we begin to make, say, a larger number of missiles instead of cars, our #GDP escalates, but the country's wealth contracts." #Ukraine
Support in #Russia for the war started by Vladimir #Putin has slumped by a quarter in the last 12 months, amid increasing anxiety among the population about impending mobilization, a survey by an independent Russian pollster has found. #Ukraine
It must have been the term she used, "demonic", that finally did it. Truth hurts.
#Navalny’s widow, #YuliaNavalnaya, had earlier demanded the release of his body for burial, accusing Russian President Vladimir #Putin of mocking #OrthodoxChristian values and “torturing” his corpse.
"Any Russian who has the bravery to oppose Putin endangers themselves. Many courageous people have sought refuge in Germany. We're committed to providing full protection to these individuals and are doing everything necessary to fulfill this duty," Nancy Faeser stressed. #Russia#Ukraine
"What I’ve been struck by is the commentary in the #UnitedStates that the death of #AlexeiNavalny is some great show of strength by #VladimirPutin when in fact the very idea that he had to lock this guy up, try to muzzle and silence him, and now he's trying to suppress and silence anyone who wants to come out and mourn him — that's a sign of weakness." #Russia#Ukraine
The Hungarian parliament's vote, which is expected to pass smoothly after a visit by Swedish Prime Minister #UlfKristersson last Friday during which the two countries signed an arms deal, will end months of delays to complete #Sweden's security policy shift. #Russia#Ukraine#Orban
The multi-billion dollar #NordStream 1 and 2 pipelines transporting gas under the #BalticSea were ruptured by a series of blasts in the Swedish and Danish economic zones in September 2022, releasing vast amounts of methane into the air. #Russia#Ukraine
According to Ms Pevchik, Russian President #VladimirPutin changed his mind at the last minute. She said he "could not tolerate #Navalny being free" - and since there was an agreement "in principle" for Krasikov's freeing, Mr #Putin decided to "just get rid of the bargaining chip". #Russia#Putin
The country being referred to is the #Philippines, we're reportedly going for the #Gripen E/F instead. That leaves, potentially, eight Gripen C/D fighters for #Ukraine now that #Sweden is joining #NATO.
"Reportedly, 12 Gripen C/Ds were produced in Switzerland a few years ago in the hope of commercial success, but the country did not opt for this type, so #Hungary could instead receive four of these #Gripens." #JAS39Gripen#Gripens4UA
#MuharremDemirok, the leader of the Swedish #CentreParty, expects decisions regarding the aircraft supply from the Swedish Prime Minister as early as today. The Centre Party has long insisted on sending planes to #Ukraine, even before #Sweden's #NATO accession, journalists reported. #JAS39Gripen#Gripens4UA
Mendras, who has written several books on #Russia, said #Putin has managed to stay in power since 1999 — when he was appointed the Prime Minister of Russia by then-President #BorisYeltsin — using "more and more political violence," as well as conflict and wars. They include five wars in #Chechnya, #Georgia, #Donbas, #Syria, and #Ukraine
#PeterKreko says that #Hungary has virtually no influence on #EuropeanPolicy anymore. "It is important to see that Hungarian obstructionism is not shaping Euro-Atlantic answers to major political questions, but at best delays them or waters them down a little. " #Ukraine#EU
"To have a #Russia without #Putin, we need to stop him together. We all build the future, every day. The people of Russia don’t demand that people in the west sacrifice their lives as #Navalny did; we ask that you save the lives of the people who are left." #AlexeiNavalny#Ukraine
Never believe Putin is unstoppable – after Navalny, this is how a new global opposition can bring him down | #MashaAlekhina, #PussyRiot
For both #Finland and #Sweden, membership is the end of a long 30-year process of what Dalsjo called "our long goodbye to #neutrality.” First came the collapse of the #SovietUnion and the decision to join the #EuropeanUnion, which meant dropping neutrality for what both countries called "military nonalignment.” #Russia#Ukraine
#Beijing has maintained silence on the leaked Russian military documents revealing the #Kremlin's plan to use a tactical #NuclearWeapon against #China during a conflict-like scenario.
Notably, these plans reveal #Moscow's deep-seated suspicions toward China, a nation with which #Russia has ostensibly been building a closer alliance since the early 2000s. #Ukraine
"The #Conservatives and #SocialDemocrats who have alternated in government over the past four decades blame each other. But in fact, there has been a mostly bipartisan consensus about selling off public assets, while eagerly inviting Chinese businesses to invest in factories and critical infrastructure." #Russia#China#Ukraine
Russian aircraft appear to be carrying #GlideBombs more, almost certainly "to provide a greater stand-off distance to avoid further losses." But getting unpowered glide bombs to travel far enough from a distance requires lobbing from very, very high altitudes and speeds, making the Russian jets easier to spot & target. #Ukraine
In adherence to a policy enacted in September 2023, #Lithuania, along with its neighbors #Latvia and #Estonia, has prohibited the entry of automobiles bearing Russian plates. This move came as a result of a directive from the #EuropeanCommission. #EU#Russia#Ukraine
According to the new Prime Minister of #Slovakia, #RobertFico, he received a message from the Italian government regarding the withdrawal of the #AirDefenseSystem that was lent to Slovakia for a year - (it) will be withdrawn from because #Italy needs it elsewhere.
Earlier, #Fico had stated that Bratislava would not support providing military assistance to #Ukraine to counter Russian aggression. #Russia
Just a heads up, the #RussianTrolls are starting to appear in the #Ukraine hashtag timelines. Blocked two already since yesterday. Easy to spot since they echo the propaganda narratives from #Russia. "Nothing to fear from a (Russian) occupation:" & "an exhausted (and soon defeated) Ukraine" are telltale phrases.
Oh, and include "everything is going according to plan" 😜
Kyiv is bracing for a Kremlin-sponsored narrative that will seek to exploit doubts about the President Volodymyr #Zelenskiy standing in an effort to destabilize public trust, particularly among Ukrainian frontline troops.
Although he is backed by a large majority of Ukrainian citizens, polls show his standing softening. Last month’s dismissal of his popular top general, Valeriy #Zaluzhnyi, and setbacks on the frontline have prompted a slow erosion of trust. #Ukraine
More than 20,000 soldiers from 14 countries will take part in the Norweigan-led #NordicResponse24 exercises in the northern regions of #Finland, #Norway and #Sweden, with the participation of Finland as a #Nato member for the first time.
The air base is located in the small town of #Kucova once known as "#StalinCity" when Soviet and Chinese-made MIGs were on standby for orders to scramble in the case of a war with the West that never arrived.
Using #WebX for this top secret conference call was crazy 🤪
An extraordinary leak of an online call involving #Germany’s air force chief and three subordinates emerged on Friday, in which they discussed whether it might be possible to persuade a reluctant chancellor to approve giving the long-range #TaurusMissile to #Ukraine
The new #T14 is much more advanced and functional than Russia's arsenal of existing #tanks, but it is "too expensive" to be fielded in #Ukraine, #SergeyChemezov, director general of the defense conglomerate #Rostec, told the RIA state news agency. #Russia
The European Defence Industrial Strategy (#EDIS) aims, over the long term, to give incentives to European #ArmsManufacturers to invest more, make their production more agile and -- for the first time -- to collectively catalogue what they have available. #US#Russia
The strength of the proposal is that seized assets would be deemed to have been returned to #Russia after the payment of #reparations. The proposal’s weakness is that it assumes Ukraine will win a military victory and a defeated #Moscow will be prepared to pay reparations for the damage it caused to #Ukraine.
On March 11, in a significant event at #NATO headquarters in #Brussels, #Sweden’s national flag will be hoisted, signifying the country’s formal induction into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), as reported by Swedish broadcaster TV4 on March 6. #Russia#Ukraine
The business newspaper Kommersant reported that in the first two months of 2024, #CorporateBankruptcies had increased by more than a half compared with the same period last year—and experts predicted an increase in #insolvencies in future. Russian firms are facing #refinancing issues "as the effects of monetary tightening are starting to kick in." #Ukraine
The Central Bureau of Investigation(CBI) said it had found that trafficked Indian nationals were being trained in combat roles and deployed at front bases in #Russia-#Ukraine war zone "against their wishes, thus, putting their lives in grave danger".
President Vladimir #Putin met with billionaire #RomanAbramovich to discuss swapping the late opposition activist #AlexeiNavalny for Russians jailed in the West just hours before he died in an Arctic prison last month, the investigative outlet Agentstvo reported Friday, citing four sources familiar with the matter. #Russia#Ukraine
The first flight was made by a Swedish #GulfstreamS102B reconnaissance aircraft. It flew over #Poland near the borders of the #Kaliningrad region and #Belarus. The aircraft is equipped with various equipment capable of intercepting and analyzing messages and other electronic signals. #Ukraine
Finally, that "white flag" comment was a disaster on the part of #PopeFrancis.
Cardinal #PietroParolin, the# Vatican's secretary of state, says the Vatican was pressing for a ceasefire and 'first of all it should be the aggressors who stop firing'. #Russia#CatholicChurch
#Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022 has shattered #Ukraine’s economy and finances, forcing it into a #SovereignDefault. This would be the first effort to formalize debt talks between private #bondholders and the country
WASHINGTON, DC, #USA – #G7 nations are prepared to respond with severe new penalties that could include a ban on #IranAir flights to #Europe if #Iran proceeds with the transfer of close-range ballistic missiles to #Russia, a senior US official said on Friday, March 15. #Ukraine
Driving cars registered in #Russia in #Finland is no longer possible without a special permit as from Saturday, 16 March. All Baltic countries have now banned the entry of cars with Russian number plates. #Ukraine
Ahead of a concert in #Vilnius on Thursday, band members met with exiled Belarusian opposition leader #SvetlanaTikhanovskaya and supporters of late Kremlin critic #AlexeiNavalny who died in an Arctic prison last month.
#Russia recognised #SouthOssetia and another breakaway region, #Abkhazia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war in 2008.
But the West accused Russia of effectively annexing Abkhazia and South Ossetia, one fifth of #Georgia's territory. #Ukraine
People also wrote '#Navalny' on their ballots & took it to his grave.
Long queues formed at several polling stations in Moscow and other Russian cities as people took up a call from #AlexeiNavalny’s widow to head to the polls at noon on Sunday in a symbolic show of dissent against Vladimir #Putin’s all but certain re-election as president. #Ukraine
The experiences from conflicts like those in #Ukraine and the #Gaza Strip have impacted the utility of #CombatHelicopters. Their future role , particularly in reconnaissance, must evolve, incorporating #drones as forward observers or for marking targets, enhancing their survival odds.
The #Kremlin has relocated some of its #BlackSea assets from #Crimea to its #Novorossiysk base in Russia's #Krasnodar region, further from #Ukraine's coastline. Moscow is also thought to be establishing another base in #Abkhazia, a breakaway region internationally recognized as part of #Georgia.
The colors of the Ukrainian flag can be seen all around #Vilnius. The capital changed the name of the street where the #RussianEmbassy is located to #HeroesOfUkraine Street. "Putin, #TheHague is waiting for you," is written across the top of a building. #Lithuania#Ukraine
More than a dozen #EuropeanCouncil members have said that the #EU must increase its #security and defensive capabilities in the face of #Russia’s full scale invasion of #Ukraine.
The signatories also say that the #EuropeanInvestmentBank (EIB), which functions as a lending arm to the EU, needs to be empowered to invest in #DefenceRelated initiatives beyond existing dual-use projects.
When the #US and #Europe tried to sever #Russia from the Western financial system, #Moscow found workarounds. Key among them: banks in the #Gulf and #Europe that maintained ties with Russia.
Now, Washington’s efforts to close these loopholes appear to be paying off. #Ukraine
#Microsoft will stop providing #CloudServices to users in #Russia later this weeks as part of the sanctions package imposed on the country by its Western peers. Other major global #CloudProviders, #Amazon, and #Google, will soon follow in Microsoft’s footsteps for the same reason. #Ukraine
Funny, this is exactly what #China is saying to the #Philippines over bases being built on our northern territory. Maybe the experts are right, we are the "Romania" of Asia.
According to Klimov, the larger the 'anti-Russian' #MilitaryBase and the 'closer it is to #Russia's borders, the more likely it is to be among the first targets for retaliatory strikes”. #Ukraine#Taiwan
Sanction efforts have slowed and in some cases stopped shipment of goods that could have military uses through countries such as #Turkey, #Serbia and the #UnitedArabEmirates.
Since #Russia’s invasion two years ago, #Ukraine has revolutionized warfare with its use of #drones in the #air and at #sea. Now it wants to do the same with unmanned ground vehicles, or #UGVs, aiming to replicate the low-cost, do-it-yourself approach that it has used to such deadly effect. #UGV
At the invitation of the American side, the Kazakh Foreign Minister, #MuratNurtleu, will visit the #USA, where he will hold talks with several high-ranking officials. On his way back, he will make a two-day visit to #China.
Chinese journalists found it strange that there is no trip to #Russia planned in the Kazakh minister's schedule. #Ukraine
The Ukrainian air force said #Russia had launched 88 missiles and 63 Iranian-made #ShahedDrones. Of them, 37 and 55 respectively were shot down, but others hit the country’s largest dam and caused blackouts in several regions, it said.
Despite pressure from the West over the past two years, #India’s government has relied on cheap #RussianOil to help curb inflation. Last month, Bloomberg reported that India was becoming a key global player in the #OilMarket as it was refining its cheap Russian #CrudeImports and then exporting it to #Europe and the #US. #Ukraine
Triggered by shifts in the security landscape, the project aims to erect a barrier designed to deter unauthorized crossings. The wall, featuring #SteelMesh construction, surveillance enhancements, and #barbed wire, is targeted to span approximately 200 kilometers of critical border areas by the end of 2026. #Ukraine
With Russia's internal security apparatus concentrating on suppressing dissent, this was bound to happen. They took their eye off other internal and much deadlier threats - this won't be the last one.
#MOSCOW, #Russia – At least 40 people were killed and 145 wounded on Friday, March 22, when camouflage-clad gunmen opened fire on concertgoers near Moscow, with #IslamicState claiming responsibility for what was one of the deadliest attacks on Russia in decades. #Ukraine
While #ISIL’s attack in #Moscow is a “tactical shift”, it highlights grievances with #Russia that have been there since the armed group’s founding, says Kabir Taneja, a fellow at the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank, and the author of The ISIS Peril. #Russia#IslamicState#CrocusCityHall#Ukraine
Add comment