People

Ukrainian Woman Documents What Her Family Cooks and Eats Inside Bomb Shelter amid Russia’s Invasion

Natasha Dado – March 15, 2022

Valeria Shashenok, a Ukrainian photographer, is documenting her family’s experience from inside a bomb shelter amid Russia’s invasion of the country.

Since the war, Shashenok has shared a series of videos on TikTok, which show how her family is coping while, she says, they are hunkered down in the shelter, which is located Chernihiv.

In one clip, Shashenok — who goes by the username @valerissh and has garnered over 800,000 followers — chronicles how she cooks pasta. In the clip, the 20-year-old is seen showing off a pan of noodles as she imagines “she is in Italy.” Another clip shows Shashenok’s mom preparing borscht — a sour soup common in Eastern Europe — on a small electric hot plate.

TikTok–

In a video posted on March 11, Shashenok demonstrates how she and her family made coffee during a power outage at the shelter. With limited resources, Shashenok adds ground coffee beans and water to what, appears to be a heat-proof cup, before lighting the container with a blow torch, which instantly creates the coffee. “I’m shocked, but it works!” Shashenok wrote over the clip.

TikTok

Her account also chronicles the damage done to Ukraine. In a different video shared on March 4, Shashenok leaves the bunker to retrieve some items from her home, and while on the way, she shares footage of the country’s destruction.

Despite the heartache of war, Shashenok manages to incorporate humor in her TikTok videos, joking in one clip that the bomb shelter is like a “5 star hotel” and the bathroom area is a “place for reading books!”

TikTok

Speaking on her decision to document her experience, Shashenok told The Cut: “I want to show what’s happening in my country… I’m that person who always ragged on everything with humor. It’s the best way to show people the problem. I’m that person who always sees light in the dark, and it’s a nice way to do something for my country.”

RELATED: Morning Show Host Broadcasting from Inside Bomb Shelter During Russia Invasion: ‘Not Sure I Am Safe’

RELATED: Russian TV Channel Editor Marina Ovsyannikova Interrupts Live Broadcast with Sign Reading ‘No War’

Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades. Details of the fighting change by the day, but hundreds of civilians have already been reported dead or wounded, including children. More than a million Ukrainians have also fled, the United Nations says.

The invasion, ordered by President Vladimir Putin, has drawn condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia.

With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.

Putin, 69, insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy, 44, vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,” he told the European Union in a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”

The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE’s complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.

Yahoo! News

The superyachts (worth £680m) seized from oligarchs as sanctions hit Russians

Ross McGuinness – March 15, 2022

As the Russian invasion in Ukraine continues, so too does the wave of economic sanctions against the nation’s oligarchs with links to president Vladimir Putin.

On Tuesday, the UK announced sanctions against a further 350 Russian individuals and entities, taking the total to more than 1,000.

And the EU imposed its own sanctions on 15 new individuals, including Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who was already on the UK list.

One of the most prized assets of oligarchs are their superyachts – and these are now being seized on a regular basis.

The latest vessel to be seized through sanctions belonged to oligarch Sergei Chemezov, a close ally of Putin.

Here are the luxury vessels that have been take off the hands of Russian oligarchs since their country’s invasion of Ukraine began almost three weeks ago.

Sergei Chemezov – Valerie superyacht – £115m

A superyacht belonging to Sergei Chemezov was seized by Spanish authorities in Barcelona on Monday.

The boat, named Valerie, is estimated to be worth about £115m.

Chemezov is a former KGB officer with strong links to Russian president Vladimir Putin.

He is the chief executive of the Russian state-owned conglomerate Rostec, which comprises 700 businesses across the defence and civil sectors.

Chemezov was appointed to the role by Putin – the pair became friends when stationed in the old East Germany in the 1980s.

The Valerie is 85m long and sails under the flag of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The vessel is registered to Chemezov’s stepdaughter, Anastasia Ignatova, through a British Virgin Islands company, according to a 2021 article published in the Pandora Papers information leak.

Chemezov was sanctioned by the EU and the US in 2014 and the UK in 2020 over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and was named in sanctions lists this month by the US and Australia.

Andrey Melnichenko – Sailing Yacht A – £450m

On Saturday, Italian police seized the superyacht Sailing Yacht A, owned by Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko, said to be close to Putin.

The 143m long yacht was seized at the northern port of Trieste.

Melnichenko owned major fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal company SUEK. The companies said in statements on Thursday that he had resigned as a member of the board in both companies and withdrawn as their beneficiary.

Watch: Drone footage shows superyacht under investigation for Putin linksScroll back up to restore default view.

A spokesperson for Melnichenko, Alex Andreev, said the billionaire industrialist has “no relation to the tragic events in Ukraine” and “no political affiliations”.

He was placed on the EU sanctions list on 9 March. He had attended a meeting between Putin and other oligarchs in February just before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Alexei Mordashov – Lady M – £20m

The Lady M superyacht belonging to Russia’s richest man, Alexei Mordashov, was seized by Italian authorities earlier this month.

The 65m boat was seized at the northern Italian port of Imperia.

Mordashov is under EU sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The EU called him the “personal bank” of the senior officials who benefited from Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.

He is the chairman of Severstal, Russia’s largest steel and mining company.

According to Forbes, he has a net worth of about £22bn.

Gennady Timchenko – Lena – £6m

The 40m long superyacht Lena, belonging to billionaire Russian businessman Gennady Timchenko, was seized in the Italian port city of Sanremo earlier this month.

Timchenko was placed under EU sanctions and UK sanctions last month. He is a close friend of Putin, who gave him an oil export licence in 1991.

Igor Sechin – Amore Vero – £91m

Earlier this month, French authorities seized the 85m long Amore Vero superyacht belonging to Igor Sechin, a long-time confidante of Putin’s.

Nicknamed “Darth Vader”, Sechin served as Russia’s deputy prime minister from 2008 to 2012 and now runs the management board of oil company Rosneft.

The EU sanctioned Sechin last month and had his assets frozen. The UK has also imposed sanctions on Sechin.

Yacht Watch columnist: ‘World’s biggest privately-owned yacht’ seized amid Russian sanctions

Alex Finley, Yacht Watch columnist, author, and former CIA officer, joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the seizure of yachts owned by Russian oligarchs due to sanctions violations amid the Russia-Ukraine war.

Related:

Yahoo! Finance

Russian oligarch yacht troubles continue as White House promises: ‘That is just the beginning’

Ben Werschkul and Adriana Belmonte – March 18, 2022

The fate of impressive watercraft owned by sanctioned allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin has become one of the more unexpected barometers for how the sanctions imposed by the West are going.

Tracking the status of these incomprehensibly luxurious vessels has become a sport online, with experts including former CIA officer Alex Finley — who recently appeared on Yahoo Finance (video above) — providing updates. President Biden mentioned the yachts in his State of the Union (SOTU) address, and the topic has come up in the White House briefing room.

“Let me give you just a couple of examples of assets that have already been seized,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said told reporters before diving into the details. Her summary included both the yachts and superyachts (which is most often defined as a vessel longer than 80 feet in length) now under Western control.

“That is just the beginning,” Psaki added, referencing a multinational task force the U.S. is involved in to hunt down the physical assets of sanctioned Russian companies and oligarchs. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Attorney General Merrick Garland convened the U.S. wing of the task force for the first time this week.

Yacht seizures have happened alongside other newly confirmed actions, like the impounding of an $18 million resort linked to oligarch Alisher Usmanov in Sardinia. And while the U.S. is not in a position to seize the yachts directly — since the oligarchs are clearly avoiding U.S. waters — authorities are assisting European efforts to cut off assets.

Here’s a running tally of some of the watercraft that Western governments have taken control of — and others that are on move around the globe in search of friendlier waters — with internet sleuths like Finley hot on their tales.

The Lady M — linked to Alexei Mordashov

The White House confirmed that the 213-foot yacht was recently impounded in Italy.

According to a summary online, it was built in Wisconsin and finished in 2013. It requires a crew of 14 to operate and can accommodate up to 12 guests spread across six suites. One notable perk, according to the listing, is a beauty salon.

This month’s seizure might be a blow to Mordashov, though he apparently has a second yacht that is reportedly still at large, according to Finley.

Mordashov, who is known as Russia’s richest businessman, was estimated to be the 51st richest person in the world before the invasion, based on being a majority shareholder in Severstal, the Russian steel company.

The Lena — linked to Gennady Timchenko

This yacht is also confirmed to have been seized in Italy.

It was built in 2010 and reportedly holds nearly 8,000 gallons of fuel. It has two decks and needs two diesel engines in order to power it, according to a sketch provided by Super Yacht Times.

Gennady Timchenko founded a private investment group called the Volga Group and is reportedly a close friend of President Vladimir Putin. He was able to afford luxuries like the Lena after gaining a Russian oil export license.

“Sailing Yacht A” — linked to Andrey Melnichenko

Melnichenko made billions through his stakes in the fertilizer producer Eurochem and coal energy company SUEK. Like Mordashov, he apparently owns two boats, with the second still at large.

The “Sailing Yacht A” vessel is described online as “the ultimate embodiment of German superyachts built for the 22nd century” includes features like an underwater observation pod and the world’s tallest masts that top out 100 meters above the waterline.

The White House confirmed this week the boat had been seized in Italy.

The Dilbar — linked to Alisher Usmanov

Usmanov is the 99th richest man in the world, according to Forbes, and his yacht is one of the largest in the world at 512 feet long and is reportedly valued around $600-$735 million.

The status of his superyacht is currently uncertain with reports that his entire crew has been fired because of the sanctions, leaving the vessel stuck in a port in Hamburg where it is undergoing repairs. The boat itself may or may not have been seized though it is at least being monitored closely by German authorities.

Either way, the White House recently announced a host of sanctions on Usmanov, with the U.S. Treasury stating that “any transactions related to the yacht or aircraft, including things such as maintenance, the hiring of operating personnel, or payment of docking or landing fees, conducted with U.S. persons or in U.S. dollars, are prohibited.” (The sanctions also apply to Usmanov’s private jet, reportedly one of Russia’s largest privately-owned aircraft.)

A total of 9 yachts reportedly under Western detainment of sorts

The White House confirmed this week that two more yachts are now seized: former KGB officer Sergei Chemezov’s $140 million yacht (seized in Spain) and Igor Sechin’s 280 foot yacht (impounded in France).

According to Bloomberg, the Sechin’s yacht was confiscated “as it was preparing an urgent departure.”

Finley added three more yachts to the tally on Thursday, bringing the total up to nine that have been seized since the invasion began. She reports a boat called the Lady Anastasia — linked to Russian businessman Alexander Mikheev — has been detained after a Ukrainian crew member reportedly tried to sink it. She also says a boat called the Royal Romance — linked to Putin pal Viktor Medvedchuk — has been detained in Croatia.

A superyacht called the Crescent — the second boat linked to Igor Sechin — has been detained and Reuters photos show it docked in Spain.

“Congratulations, Igor!” Finley tweeted after a second asset of Sechin’s was apparently seized by the West.

Reuters

Japanese, U.S. marines practice airborne assaults in sign of deepening cooperation

Tim Kelly – March 15, 2022

TOKYO (Reuters) – In a sign of deepening military cooperation between Japan and the United States, amphibious Japanese troops and U.S. Marines on Tuesday practised airborne landing assaults together for the first time.

Japan is revising a decade-old national security strategy this year in the face of China’s growing military assertiveness. The upgrade to defence policy guidelines is expected to call for the country to take a more active role alongside Washington in regional security.

The drills in the foothills of Mount Fuji on Tuesday involved 400 troops from Japan’s Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade (ARDB), and 600 U.S. marines, and is part of a three-week joint exercise to hone interoperability between the allies. Tilt-rotor Osprey troop carriers were used during the drills.

“The real significance from this training is that the Marines and the ARDB are doing serious combat training of a sort that would have been unthinkable a decade ago,” said Grant Newsham, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel who advised Japan as a liaison officer when it set up its amphibious force.

“It demonstrates a more solidly linked U.S. and Japan.”

Activated in 2018, the ARDB troops are Japan’s first marines since World War Two and were formed to reinforce its defence along its southwest islands at the edge of the East China Sea.

Trained to take back captured islands using helicopters, Ospreys and amphibious landing craft, the force of around 1,500 soldiers would likely be one of the first in action to counter any Chinese attack on Japan’s islands.

China, which is locked in a territorial dispute with Japan over uninhabited islands controlled by Tokyo in the East China Sea, routinely dispatches ships to assert its claims.

The joint drills also come as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine raises fresh security concerns in East Asia where China is putting pressure on Taiwan following its crackdown on Hong Kong. Japan also faces Russia’s forces operating from Far East bases that are increasingly cooperating with China’s military.

Moscow describes its military action in Ukraine as a “special operation”.

(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Karishma Singh)

HuffPost

Retired Lt. General: Russia May Face Trouble In Ukraine ‘Within The Next 10 Days’

Nick Visser – March 15, 2022

A former U.S. Army general predicted Monday that the Russian military could soon run out of the manpower and weaponry needed to continue its invasion of Ukraine.

Retired Lt. Gen. Ben Hodges, the former commander of U.S. Army forces in Europe, said recent moves by Russia to extend its campaign to western Ukraine and reports that the country had asked China for military supplies may mean the Kremlin is running out of steam.

“Russia’s decision to transition to a war of attrition, where they’re smashing cities, putting civilians on the road for fear of being murdered, they need three things to do this, and they don’t have those three things,” Hodges said on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press.” “They don’t have the time, they don’t have the manpower and I don’t think they have the ammunition.”

Hodges’ comments were buoyed by evidence that Russia was running low on weaponry as Ukraine continued to mount a fiercer-than-expected resistance, notably around the capital of Kyiv. He said that if the West continued to support Ukrainians, it could be less than two weeks before the Russian military reached what he referred to as its culmination point.

“Assuming that we, the West, not only continue but accelerate the delivery of the capabilities the Ukrainians need, I think within the next 10 days that Russia is going to culminate, which means they will not be able to continue the attack any further,” Hodges said. “So, it’s kind of a race, actually, if we give the Ukrainians enough so they can outlast Russia.”

Hodges added that there was a big caveat to his prediction, a nod to Putin’s unpredictability during the invasion.

“I’ve been wrong a lot,” he said. “I don’t have a crystal ball here.”

One Mile at a Time

Bermuda Revokes Russian Aircraft Airworthiness, And Why It Matters

Bermuda has just suspended the airworthiness certificates of all Bermuda-registered jets in Russia. This might seem random given all the sanctions that Russia is facing, but this is more significant than you might think… sort of.

Ben Schlappig – March 13, 2022

Many Russian planes are registered in Bermuda

As of March 13, 2022, the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA) has provisionally suspended all certificates of airworthiness of Bermuda-registered aircraft operating in Russia. The reason this matters is because roughly half of the commercial jets in Russia are registered in Bermuda (including a majority of the planes that are leased).

International sanctions make it hard for Bermuda to maintain safety oversight of these Russian operated aircraft, meaning that Bermuda can no longer confidently verify that these aircraft are airworthy.

Why are so many planes flying in Russia registered in Bermuda? There are a few reasons, including lower import duties, better safety oversight, and easier and better insurance options. The process of trying to re-register aircraft in Russia is currently taking place, but that also has its complexities.

Why this doesn’t matter all that much

Under normal circumstances, half of a country’s commercial aircraft losing their airworthiness certificates would be really significant. But at this point it probably doesn’t matter all that much:

• Russian airlines have almost entirely suspended international flights, so demand for air travel is a fraction of what it once was; airlines don’t need all of their planes
• With sanctions in place, hundreds of Russian jets are supposed to be seized, as lease agreements have been terminated; however, Russian airlines are refusing to return these jets, and repossessing them in Russia isn’t exactly easy right now
• Many Russian planes are without insurance now, but even so, continue to fly

On the surface it’s significant that half of Russia’s commercial jets are officially no longer considered (legally) airworthy. Then again, Russian airlines are illegally refusing to return planes to leasing companies, so I’m not sure Russian airlines care much more here either?

Bottom line

Aviation regulators from Bermuda have suspended the airworthiness certificates of the hundreds of jets registered in Russia. This move comes as the regulator can no longer confidently speak to the airworthiness of these planes.

While this would usually have major implications, Russia no longer cares about international laws, so this is likely all a moot point.

Business Insider

Russia is seizing Western-built airliners while sanctions block parts, maintenance, and support

Taylor Rains – March 14, 2022

• Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law authorizing the seizure of hundreds of Western-built aircraft operated by Russian airlines.
• The planes are owned by aircraft lessors, which have canceled contracts following sanctions against Russia.
• The seize could pose a risk to passengers because the planes may not receive proper maintenance repairs due to sanctions.

On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law that will allow Russian airlines to take control of hundreds of the Western-built planes leased from international firms, Russian news agency TASS reported, per The Wall Street Journal.

The jets will be added to the country’s aircraft register and be deployed on domestic routes, according to Reuters. The news comes on the heels of the island of Bermuda revoking the airworthiness certificates for over 700 leased aircraft in Russia, which went into effect Saturday night.

The battle between Russia and lessors has been ongoing since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, with the EU forcing aircraft leasing companies to cancel their contracts with Russian airlines by March 28, meaning those foreign planes need to be returned to their owners.

However, Russian authorities and airlines have made the task difficult, including airspace closures and a ban on most international flights.

Meanwhile, European and US sanctions have cut Russian airlines off from planemakers Airbus and Boeing, which produced the bulk of the leased aircraft. That means the two Western companies cannot provide support in the form of maintenance, spare parts, or updates for the complex machines, which could pose a risk for passengers and airline staff, the Wall Street Journal noted.

As Boeing and Airbus are banned from shipping spare parts to Russia, this could force airlines to turn to risky alternatives, like buying uncertified supplies from China or “cannibalizing” parts from planes on the ground, including lessor jets.

According to aviation consultancy Ishka, $10 billion worth of planes is stranded in Russia.

“The lessors may end up having to take a writeoff,” Nick Cunningham, an analyst with Agency Partners, told Bloomberg.

HuffPost

Russia Facing ‘Outright Defeat’ And ‘Sudden’ Collapse In Ukraine, Author Says

Ed Mazza – March 13, 2022

Author and political scientist Francis Fukuyama said the Russian military is now facing the possibility of “outright defeat” in Ukraine.

And he’s warning Russian President Vladimir Putin that the end could be swift ― for both his military and his more than two-decade rule.

“The collapse of their position could be sudden and catastrophic, rather than happening slowly through a war of attrition,” Fukuyama wrote for the American Purpose website. “The army in the field will reach a point where it can neither be supplied nor withdrawn, and morale will vaporize.”

Fukuyama, author of 1992′s “The End of History and the Last Man,” blamed incompetent planning by Moscow, which anticipated that its forces would be welcomed in Ukraine.

“Russian soldiers were evidently carrying dress uniforms for their victory parade in Kyiv rather than extra ammo and rations,” wrote Fukuyama, who holds several positions at Stanford, including Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at the university’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

Now, those soldiers are stuck outside of cities, facing both supply issues and constant attacks from Ukrainian forces.

If they’re defeated, he predicted, that would also spell the end of Putin.

“Putin will not survive the defeat of his army,” Fukuyama wrote. “He gets support because he is perceived to be a strongman; what does he have to offer once he demonstrates incompetence and is stripped of his coercive power?

Read Fukuyama’s full analysis here.

The Week

220,000 Ukrainians have returned home in the last 2 weeks

Catherine Garcia, Night editor – March 14, 2022

In the last two weeks, 220,000 Ukrainians have made the trek home, the country’s border guard said — many were traveling when the Russian invasion began, others needed to tie up loose ends at their foreign jobs, some are returning to fight, and a few say it’s even harder to be a refugee than it is to be back in Ukraine.

On their journey last week from the Ukrainian town of Mykolaiv to Poznan, Poland, Zhanna Sinitsyna, her 30-year-old daughter Nadiia, and 12-year-old granddaughter Kira witnessed explosions and heard gunfire. Once in Poznan, the plan was to find work and send money to Mykolaiv, where Zhanna’s husband and 19-year-old son are part of efforts to defend the city.

They were unable to find an affordable place to stay in Poznan near areas with employment opportunities and quickly discovered they didn’t have enough money to purchase necessities. After just two days, Zhanna convinced Nadiia and Kira to return to Mykolaiv on Saturday, despite their concerns. “In my soul, Mykolaiv is my home,” Zhanna told The Washington Post. “And I need to be home.”

Oleksii Zvieriev is from the Kyiv suburb Brovary, and works as a truck driver, delivering goods across Europe. On the day Russia invaded, he decided that as soon as the job was over, he would go back to Ukraine and start fighting. Standing at a train station in Przemysl, Poland, on Saturday night, he told the Post he was keeping his word and heading home.

“It’s hard to talk about the emotions of going back into a war,” Zvieriev said. “I have friends sitting in basements telling me they’re hearing explosions all the time. I can’t stop worrying.” Two of his friends — one 40 years old, the other 25 — were killed shortly after picking up arms against Russia. 

NBC News

Why are Ukraine’s cheap, slow drones so successful against Russian targets?

Ken Dilanian and Courtney Kube – March 14, 2022

The video shows a Russian missile launcher sitting in the open. Suddenly, it is enveloped in a huge fireball.

Ukrainian officials say what looked like a video game was actually the work of a small, relatively cheap Turkish-made drone that has had a surprisingly lethal impact on Russia forces.

A U.S. defense official said Monday that Ukraine has made “terrific” use of Turkish Bayraktar TB2 unmanned aerial vehicles, which can loiter over tanks and artillery and destroy them with devastatingly accurate missile fire. The official said the U.S. is working to help keep the drones flying.

Ukraine received a new shipment of the drones this month, Ukraine’s defense minister said on Facebook. He didn’t say how many. It’s unclear whether the U.S. has made efforts to facilitate the supply of the Turkish drone or other similar systems to Ukraine, in addition to the Javelin anti-tank and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles it is providing.

Before the war began, military experts predicted that Russian forces would have little trouble dealing with Ukraine’s complement of as many as 20 Turkish drones. With a price tag in the single-digit millions, the Bayraktars are far cheaper than drones like the U.S. Reaper but also much slower and smaller, with a wingspan of 39 feet.

As so often has been the case in this war, however, the experts misjudged the competence of the Russian military.

“It’s quite startling to see all these videos of Bayraktars apparently knocking out Russian surface-to-air missile batteries, which are exactly the kind of system that’s equipped to shoot them down,” said David Hambling, a London-based drone expert.

That is confounding, Hambling said, because the drones should be easy for the Russians to blow out of the sky — or disable with electronic jamming.

“It is literally a World War I aircraft, in terms of performance,” he said. “It’s got a 110-horsepower engine. It is not stealthy. It is not supersonic. It’s a clay pigeon — a real easy target.”

If nothing else, the Russians should be able to down the drones with fighter jets, Hambling said. But without air superiority, Russia hasn’t been flying regular combat air patrols. As for electronic jamming, one of the mysteries of the Ukraine invasion is why the Russians haven’t made more use of what experts believe is their advanced electronic warfare capability.

The bottom line is that the Turkish drones continue to star in videos shared across Twitter and other social media platforms that feature them blowing Russian vehicles to smithereens. Ukrainians have even praised them in song. It’s unclear how many have been shot down, but some, at least, remain effective, U.S. officials said.

“It is puzzling,” Hambling said. “It may be massive incompetence by the Russians. It may be that the Ukrainians have discovered some sneaky tactics they can use.”

It’s hardly the first time the Bayraktar has played an important role in an armed conflict.

Azerbaijan used small Turkish-made drones to devastating effect against the Armenian military in 2020, bringing a decisive end to a stalemate over a disputed enclave that had gone on for years.

Video released by Azerbaijan shows the drones pummeling artillery, tank and troop emplacements surrounded by trenches that offered no protection whatsoever from the fiery death raining down from above.

The Turkish drones also had a significant impact in battles against Russian-made military gear in Libya and Syria.

The drones are manufactured by Baykar Technology, whose chief technology officer, Selçuk Bayraktar, is a son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

“I’m sure it’s going to be selling extremely well,” Hambling said.

Many experts have argued that another type of unmanned weapons system would be even more helpful to Ukrainian forces: a so-called kamikaze drone, a vehicle packed with explosives that is essentially a smart guided missile launched miles away from a target. Two Israeli companies make versions of those drones, the Harop and the Hero. The U.S. military fields a system called the Switchblade, the larger version of which can destroy tanks. That weapon isn’t approved for export except to the U.K.

Turkey, which has sought to maintain friendly relations with both Russia and the West, was sanctioned by the U.S. in December 2020 over its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems. Erdoğan declined to say Monday whether Turkey would buy more Russian weapons.

“Under the current circumstances, it would be premature to talk about what the future shows right now,” he said Monday during a visit to Germany, according to Reuters. “We have to see what the conditions bring. We have to maintain our friendship with Mr. Zelenskyy and Mr. Putin.”

Deadline

Antiwar Protester Storms Set Of State-Run Russian Newscast With Message “Don’t Believe The Propaganda”

Ted Johnson – March 14, 2022

A woman appeared in the background of the set of a state-run Russian newscast and shouted “no war” and “don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here.”

The woman was later identified as Marina Ovsyannikova and was an employee at the network Channel One, according to the Associated Press, citing the OVD-Info website. In a pre-recorded video, Ovskyannikova said that “what is going on in Ukraine now is a crime, and Russia is the aggressor. The responsibility for this aggression lies only on one person and that person is Vladimir Putin.” She said that her father is Ukrainian and her mother is Russian.

“Unfortunately, I have been working at Channel One during recent years, working on Kremlin propaganda, and now I am very ashamed. I’m ashamed that I’ve allowed the lies to be said on TV screens. I am ashamed that I let the Russian people be zombified.”

The woman was detained and is in police custody, according to the AP. The Russian News Agency TASS also reported that she had been detained and, citing a source, may be charged under a law that bans “public actions aimed at discrediting the armed forces.”

In her message, Ovskyannikova also urged Russians to protest.

! Russia's main propaganda "news program" tonight. pic.twitter.com/lrRVnF8LoW

— Christo Grozev (@christogrozev) March 14, 2022